(Did a search and found nothing like this, so I hope this isn't a repost.)

My favorite feature on DVDs is the audio commentary. I love watching them (or should I say listening to them?) and, as a film student, they can be pretty educational. There are some I can watch/listen to over and over again (Ex: Lord of the Rings, Kevin Smith movies). And then there are those that are just a total waste of time (Ex: Drumline). I don't mind watching a bad movie if it has a good audio commentary.

Some prefer just the funny commentaries while others are more interested in the "how-we-did-this" information without the joking around. I guess I'm a little of both. I'm not about the straight facts in a monotone voice, but I do like to have some amusement with it. I prefer the commentaries with several people there to comment (not just the director by himself) and where everyone is sitting at a table and talking about the movie as they watch it (most are like this) as opposed to the "planned" commentary where it sounds more like a documentary (Disney's Sleeping Beauty comes close to this), and it's one person talking (sounds like they're reading off of something) at a time instead of cast/crew members conversing about a certain part.

So, my question is, what audio commentaries have you found to be the most entertaining and/or educational? What kind of commentary do you prefer, and which ones would you recommend to me based on my preferences?

well so far i loved the LOTR:FOTR commentary. but for some reason that's only the 2nd one, i thin, that i've ever watched. and i've been thinking about it lately and need to watch more of them. i want to listen to some of robert rodriguez's commentaries, i heard he's one of the best.

I prefer cast commentaries.

I state it here all the time. The Blade 2 commentary by Guilermo Del Toro is IMO the overall BEST commentary I've ever heard. Extremely informative, there is never a quite moment, but on top of being informative he is extremely funny, self-depricating, & provides a lot of great anecdotes.

Recently the Underwold: Uncut DVD has a great commentary by Beckinsale, Speedman, & the director. Pretty funny.

There are tons of good ones. I lvoe a good cast commentary but I think my favorite typs of commentaries are any type they have a film critic or historian on the DVD, like Seven Samurai.

Any of Larry Cohen's commentaries are confessional, hilarious, hugely informative, and far more consistently entertaining than the movies themselves. On Blue Underground's Q: THE WINGED SERPENT, he admits to rejecting Susan Sarandon for a part because his dog disliked her, and his tales of shooting HELL UP IN HARLEM around the absence of the star are fascinating.

The BLADE II commentary is also very good, as mentioned. Looking forward to del Toro's HELLBOY yak-track. And Joss Whedon's for the final episode of "Firefly" is one of the few recent commentaries I've listened to a second time.

Bill C
filmfreakcentral.net

the only one i've listened to so far is the one for the alternate ending on 24 season 1...

i do plan on listening to more though when i get the time.

oh cool i'll have to listen to the Blade 2 one now.

Roger Ebert's commentary on Citizen Kane is the best I've ever heard.

Other faves: Joe Bob Briggs on Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter, the cast commentary on Not Another Teen Movie and any commentary by John Waters.

Rob

I think Anthony Minghella's commentary on The Talented Mr. Ripley is great because he goes into the deeper meaning and symbolism of the film.

Any of Roger Ebert's commentaries are great. He really prepares and makes his commentaries both informative and entertaining.

And Mike Nelson's commentary on the recent Reefer Madness: Special Addiction disc is, by far, the funniest one I've ever heard.

I like the Blade 2 one for a director/crew commentary.

The most recent commentary that I found really funny was the one by the King on Bubba Ho-tep. Great stuff.

I love the one on Spaceballs too, oh wait, thats one of the worst ones!

Roger Ebert - Citizen Kane
James Cameron and that other guy no one wants to hear - T2 Extreme

I enjoy commentaries by authors of books used as source material. Apollo 13, Black Hawk Down, and The Perfect Storm come to mind.

If you guys haven't seen it yet, you might want to check out
ratethatcommentary.com. It has votes and mini-reviews of commentary tracks from other visitors to the site. The highest-ranking commentary tracks on there right now are Black Hawk Down, Scream, Phantom of the Opera, Brazil, and Alien. Of those, I've only heard Scream, but that was definitely a good one. I've heard lots of good things about the Brazil Criterion set (commentary and other extras), but haven't gotten over the price yet to buy it, and Netflix only has the bare-bones version.

Speaking of GIlliam, I'm about halfway through the 12 Monkeys commentary now, and enjoying that one a great deal so far. And for some reason, I'm drawing a complete blank on other commentaries that I liked. It's somehow been months since I've listened to one (before starting 12 Monkeys earlier in the week), since I keep having new movies to watch instead...

cool site, thanks man.

For me, nothing tops the Task Force Ranger commentary on the Black Hawk Down 3-disc SE. Four guys who were there talking about the movie.

Ah, excellent. I was hoping that one would turn out to be good. Is it MST3K-ish? Did he prepare some riffing ahead of time, or is it just off-the-cuff funny stuff?

My favorites:

David Cronenberg (my all-time favorite)
Larry Cohen
George Romero
Joe Bob Briggs
Mike Nelson

Plus the Dr. Who DVD commentaries since I'm such a super-geek.

Really?? Shucks. I was hoping that one would be fun, whenever I get around to buying the DVD.

Well:

The cast commentary of COYOTE UGLY
The visual commentary of THE GOONIES
JERRY MAGUIRE S.E.
EVOLUTION
Some episodes of FUTURAMA

I find anything by Terry Gilliam or Robert Rodriquez to always be worth my time.

Some good ones as of late:

-Ebert's on Citizen Kane (I wish he'd do more)
-Joe bob Briggs on I Spit on Your Grave!
-Eli Roth's (1st one of five!) track on Cabin Fever
-Any John Carpenter.

I prefer historians, then director, then cast.

One of the best is the Christophe Gans one on the Brotherhood of the Wolf DVD. It's in French, though, but this guy knows movies and he's doing what he loves, so it's a terrific listen.

I can second the Brazil commentary. Gilliam goes off and never stops, giving away all kinds of info. Blade 2 is definitely one of the funniest tracks. Del Toro is a hoot to listen to. I can also second the Seven Samurai track on the CC DVD. Any guy who can be interesting for the full 3 1/2 without stopping has to be impressive. I'm surprised no one's mentioned Evil Dead 2 yet, which is probably the quintessential funny commentary. Ditto for Mallrats.

The type of track I dislike the most is the spliced-together one. Those drive me up the wall. Look, the T2:UE track was good, but oh, my god, can you have more people in it please, I not having enough fun reading the names of the participants. It's too bad Criterion's tracks are often like those. The funniest ones are by far the group commentaries (preferably with Ben Affleck or Bruce Campbell). Listen to the Versus group track and tell me I'm wrong. The most informative are the historian/professor ones (usually, the Triumph of the Will track was mostly boring narration). I like director tracks but you always run the risk of having a director that doesn't want to reveal any secrets and ends up narrating the movie. The one that comes to mind now is the commentary to The Nest (French flick) and Intacto (to a large extent). If the director's open to talking, the it can get really fun. I love hearing Paul Verhoven tracks for that reason. He gets so passionate that I can't help but be interested. John Carpenter tracks are intersting, that's true, but the guy always puts me to sleep. Not because he's boring, but his voice is such a soporific that I can't help it.

They are doing a new SE so hopefully he will do a new better commentary. The one there now he just forgets stuff, makes noises, and is annoying.

The best commentary is Cannibal The Musical featuring Matt Stone and Trey Parker. The spend the enitre commentary drinking and by the end they are drunk off their ass.
The Fight Club commentary featuring Brad Pitt, Ed Norton, and David Fincher is also truly excellent.

I really like the one by Stephen Price on Red Beard. Great great stuff.