Do you like commentary tracks?
 

I have to say, I'm not a huge fan. I try to like them, but I just can't into them. Perhaps the only one I've really ever cared for is the live commentary on the UCB disc, where they answer questions and give some interesting tidbits about the show. But I couldn't imagine going through a whole movie (again). I guess there are some movies where I'd like to know more (like Braveheart) but just to listen to a commentary for the sake of it is just not my game.

What about the rest of you?

I will put an audio commentary on in the background while I am cleaning or cooking, or whwnever I am doing something that does not require me to be watching TV. Some are funny, some are informative and some suck. Overall I enjoy them.

Well I have to really like the movie to listen to a commentray. And it sucks that sometimes movies I desperately actually want a commentary for does not have one like "Signs." or any M Night movie for that matter.

Or if I hear the track is really funny like Clerks I will listen. I have probably listened to about 20% of the commentray tracks on the discs I have.

I sort of feel the same thing (as wfujosh) . . . I've never actually watched a movie all the way through with the commentary on (although, the parts of it that I saw on The Goonies disc were pretty funny). I think part of it is that I feel like I really need to know the movie prety well before I can appreciate the commentary, because you can't always tell what's going on in the movie (conversationally) when the commentary track is on. There are not a ton of movie that I feel like I know well enough to do that.

It's unfortunate though, because I think I would enjoy the information, stories, jokes, etc. I plan on trying it with some in the future (LOTR especially) but, the other problem is that I also have a stack of "have not watched yet" DVD's to go through and I can imagine watching commentary tracks on ones I've seen while I have a bunch that I haven't seen at all yet.

Don't get me wrong though . . . I like the idea, I just don't feel like I can take advantage of it.

Edit: Ooooh . . . cruzness . . . I like the idea of listening while doing other stuff. I may have to try that.

I actually tried to listen to them while working out but it just didnt work for me. :)

If you throw commentary track on an average DVD it really increases my interest in that movie. I'm way behind in listening to the ones I have but it just means I have to listen to more each week and I'm fine with that.

There are a few tracks I've made a note of because they are so good. I listen to them once a year or so and I enjoy them more and more each year.

Care to share?

I love them, although i don't get around to listening/watching all of them like i should.

Yes all of the ones I've listened to were incredibly informative. I think you have to have a strong interest in the movie or the person giving the commentary to be able to sit through an entire movie. I would highly recommend Steven Soderberg's commentaries. Highly informative and entertaining.

yes

I don't even have enough time to watch new discs as they come in, so I rarely ever listen to commentaries and I'm not too bummed about it to be honest. Maybe if I didn't have to work during the day...

All Kevin Smith movies
Fight Club
Se7en

Those are my top favorites.

Yup - I listen to them while at work every so often.

I'd prefer that information be contained in a seperate feature on the disc. I find those much more interesting and for most commentaries I don't think you'd be missing much. Sometimes I'll put on a commentary and then mute the TV and channel surf while listening.

I'm not a big commentary watcher/listener, but a couple of the ones I really enjoyed>>

Ghostbusters
Finding Nemo
Toy Story

Still haven't seen/listened to the casablanca and citizen kane commentaries. Anyone else care to share their favs?

I don't really know if I like them or not cause I've never listened to one before but I might try it sometime.

I never played a commentary track, and I still have about 100 unwatched movies. I keep saying some....day.

I really like the technical commentaries, but I think I'm in the minority because those are usually dismissed as boring.

Roger Ebert gives good commentary too. I'd love to hear him do some on movies he hates. :lol:

When the South Park commentaries came out on CD I took them to work and listened to them there. It actually worked really well. I'm thinking about ripping some commentaries I haven't heard off my DVD's and doing the same thing with those.

I like having commentary tracks, as it gives you a lot of insight about any movie you enjoy. I don't listen to all of them, but I have listened to all the Simpson ones, and those are great. You learn a lot from them and they're usually really funny. I also want to listen to the LOTR ones.

The most informative one I have listened to is Roger Ebert's commentary on Citizen Kane. It gave me an understanding as to why that film is considered so great. I think its hard to appreciate old films in this era, so I'm sure Citizen Kane has been lost on many generations.

I always watch commentaries while watching the movies with subtitles on. I think I tried just listening to them, but it wasn't quite the same..

EDIT: For all you people who have never watched commentaries, try to watch the commentary on your favorite movie. You'll probably learn a lot, and since its your favorite you probably won't mind watching it again,

Love 'em. Just don't have the time anymore to listen to them.

Might try some of the suggestions above.

I like 'em. Favorites include "Texas Chainsaw Massacre," "This is Spinal Tap," and "Chasing Amy."

I really like them. I wish more movies could have them. I do the same, just put them on when I go to bed, work on the computer or around the house and just listen. A must for any extra.

The Driller Killer commentary cracks me up every time.

I love them. I will listen/watch them whenever I get the chance, but my problem is after I've seen the movie I usually want to move onto another title that is in my backlog rather than rewatch the film with a commentary track.

That is precisely my problem with the TTT:EE. I've already watched it twice: once normally, the other with PJ's commentary on. Now that I have the Alien set I want to get through all of the movies and bonus material in that, in addition to Pirates and Alias. I have no idea when I will get a chance to sit down and watch TTT:EE with one of the other 3 commentary tracks. So, mostly it's just a time issue with me. If I had more time I would listen to more of them.

Love 'em (with a few exceptions) - just about my favorite "extra" on a DVD.

Depends on who the commentator is. I enjoy Kevin Smith commentaries and they add great value to the dvd. On the other hand I have also had a few that were just plain dull.

I like them but I don't listen to many at all. I've listened to all the Kevin Smith commentaries and loved them. I'm like the rest of you. I usually don't have time for more than just the movie and when I'm done with one title I want to go onto another in my backlog of unwatched movies.

Since the South Park Season 1 commentaries were on CDs I listened to them in my car to and from work for about a week. I enjoyed them except when they were pointing out details of the animation that I couldn't see.

I've been meaning to listen to some when I'm on the computer working or surfing the net.

Oh yeah I do. Though it matters whether or not you like the movie they're for. Some good ones:

Almost Famous
Austin Powers 1,2,&3
Comedian (with Jerry)
South Park S1 & Cannibal! The Musical
Monty Python films
Old School
UHF
The Simpsons
..and of course all the Kevin Smith dvd's.

Edit: Oh yeah, and LOTR, but I haven't gotten a chance to listen to a full track of either movie.

"This is Spinal Tap" has a great commentary track -- almost makes it like a whole different movie.

Neither like or dislike them... I could care less to be honest. Like matome said, I barely have enough time to watch the films on the DVDs that I have... Extras, at this point, mean very little to me... That said though, when I do get the time to viddy the extras on a particular DVD, the commentary track ranks dead last in my order of importance.

My favorite "regular" special feature on DVDs. The only feature I appreciate more is full storyboards.

I'm really into the technical and creative aspects of storytelling, so getting to watch the movie "with" the creators often gives a good amount of insight into the film.

My Fav extra. Its like an entirely new film to me

I don't care for them.

Commentary tracks are what made DVDs buyable rather than just renting for me. Back in the days of VHS, it wasn't so important for me to own a movie, but I enjoyed getting books and reading about movies. With commentaries and other extras, I get the stories about the movie as well as the movie itself.

Most of my favorites echo those that have been listed before, but I'd like to add Bruce Campbell commenting on the Evil Dead movies for some good entertainment. Raimi should have had him do a commentary on Spider-Man with Stan Lee. Sure, they both just had cameos, but they could have pulled it off.

It depends ... as with most everything, there are good ones and bad ones. Off the top of my head (IMO):

Not terrible, but dissapointing: commentary on Black Narcissus. This featured Martin Scorsese and director Michael Powell. This may have been one of the first director's commentaries (it was done for Criterion's laserdisc release of the movie). Unfortunately Powell sounds very frail (he was probably in his 80s when this was recorded) and takes a long time to make any comments, so we don't get to hear that much from him ... to bad as this was a rare chance to hear this legendary director.

Very good: Mad Max. Several people who worked on the film, recording the commentary all together. They play off of each other very well, prompting back-and-forth discussion about various aspects of working on a low-budget film. They also point out a lot of interesting details that most viewers would probably miss.

I dont have the patience for them. They are good when your doing other things around the room though. It's just hard to sit and focus on them the whole time, because I end up turning them off and wanting to watch the movie.

How would one go about doing that?

Wow that's a great idea to put them on CD. I might have to rip some to minidisc and take it to work - the minidisc player is tons smaller than my portable DVD player and it'll be easier to get to the track.

Re: Do you like commentary tracks?
 

Yes, especially the highly technical commentaries. &nbsp I love hearing the details of how the movie was put together.

I started a thread about this once since I am always listening to DVD commentaries at work. It really depends on the person doing the commentary. The commentaries for May were pretty interesting off the top of my head. I will even buy a movie if I have heard that the commentary was particularly good because it does help my work day go by quicker.