Special Features: The Audio Commentary

Now I hardly contain my love of special features and this segment will be the first in series of articles on the miraculous stuff behind the camera.

Audio commentaries can range from personal anecdotes and descriptions from the production to elegant film scholars talking about auteur-ist arks and historical significance.

Really good commentaries can make me giddy, and sometimes I will watch them more than the film itself. Yeah, I’ve got an addiction.

The ten commentaries below (in no particular order) cover the entire range from serious to studious to just plain silly.

1. Resident Evil (2002)
-This videogame hit (that surprisingly holds up) features auteur (?) Paul W.S. Anderson, producer Jeremey Bolt, Mexican hottie Michelle Rodriguez and geek goddess Milla Jovovich in this veritable battle of the sexes commentary. The guys and the gals go head-to-head divulging technical and production information versus what everyone really wants to see: Milla Jovovich naked.

2. Throne of Blood (1957)
-Michael Jeck is a master Japanese film scholar and his commentary (courtesy of Criterion no less) is simply hypnotic. This man knows more of the making of Kurosawa’s masterpiece than perhaps Kurosawa knows himself. Do not doubt the power of a scholarly commentary.

3. Border Radio (1987)
-Independent filmmakers Allison Anders and Kurt Voss are old friends, and in this Criterion commentary recorded years after finishing their UCLA punk masterpiece the exuberant reminiscing is insightful and hilarious.

4. Day After Tomorrow (2002)
-My favorite bad movie and possibly the most ridiculous disaster movie ever, German catastrophe maestro Roland Emmerich and his drunk producer Mark Gordon differ greatly onto the quality of this “epic.” Roland Emmerich philosophizes quite innocently while Mark Gordan is clearly taking a shit on the film (With Emmerich in the room who seems not to notice!). Confusing, but very very funny.

5. I’m Not There (2007)
-Todd Haynes’s semiotics degree from Brown comes in handy during this director’s commentary about the many guises of the “folk” magician Bob Dylan. Insightful and classy, Haynes is very earnest and it’s heartbreaking to hear him talk about Heath Ledger when this commentary was recorded around the time of his death.

6. Grand Illusion (1937)
-Jean Renoir’s great anti-war epic gets the thorough and insightful treatment via film historian Peter Cowie. The scholar covers everything from intricate character details and poetic realist techniques to controversies and the history behind the exhibition of the film and subtitle translations. You will learn everything you need to know about the film and Renoir from Cowie.

7. Wall-E (2008)
Andrew Stanton is a brilliant mind and what makes this Pixar commentary really beautiful is Stanton’s willingness to take us through every painful step and every cathartic triumph during the making of my favorite Pixar film. I could listen to the man speak for hours.

8. An Autumn Afternoon (1962)
-David Bordwell is the modern film theorist (responsible for most of our film books) and is a total pimp when it comes to his knowledge of Ozu. Bordwell is completely on fire during his commentary on Ozu’s last film and at times his knowledge is overwhelming but never dull. A must listen for all film students.

9. Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
- Mainly buoyed by the four hobbits (Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, Billy Boyd and Dominic Monaghan) and Andy Serkis, this actors' commentary is actually the best actor commentary I think I’ve heard. It’s as equally insightful as any director or scholar commentary but twice as funny because of Billy and Dom’s sidesplitting banter.

10. Lord Of The Rings Trilogy (2001-2003)
-Simply put hearing Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens wax about the entire epic trilogy is a joy to hear and is exciting and thrilling all at the same time. The three commentaries for the entire trilogy are magical and I have nothing but oodles of respect for those three sweating over every intricate detail. Nothing is left uncovered and untouched. Everything is addressed. Quite wonderful.

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So that wraps up this first segment of the new column on special features. A word of warning, not all commentaries are good (ie. Michel Gondry and Charlie Kaufman’s incomprehensible Eternal Sunshine banter or Mel Brook’s obsessively grateful eulogizing in Spaceballs), but when you find an individual (or individuals) with passion about a film it can only be infectious and marvelous.