I'm struggling with this idea, but I think it will make a good discussion. More "Movie" oriented than strictly "DVD", that's why I'm putting it in this sub-forum.

I recently listened to the commentary track to the 2003 movie version of The Singing Detective directed by Keith Gordon. The movie has a stellar cast of big names. The commentary was recorded right at the time of the film's release. The commentary contains so many elements that date it, and it could really use a new commentary because SO much has happened to its cast since 2003.

The cast:
Robert Downey Jr: Today he's a superstar, but on the the commentary the director frequently mentions how RDJ was considered un-hire-able, that he was coming off of all kinds of drug problems and erratic behavior and that his career was sunk.

Mel Gibson: He was so hot at that time that his decision to produce and star was what got the film green lit after 10+ years of development hell.

Katie Holmes: Absolutely no mention of Tom Cruise. That wouldn't happen for 3 more years.

Adrian Brody: The director mentions that when he cast the film and during shooting he had not seen The Pianist. The guy was about to shoot to stardom, and then sort of fizzle, but here he has a small roll.

Robin Wright Penn: Who has since gone back to just Robin Wright was obviously in her momentary relationship with Sean Penn.

It's just strange that one film contains so many actors who ended up in the center of enormous tabloid and gossip news and whose lives changed so much before or after this film.

Anyone have any other nominations?

I think The Big Trouble In Little China commentary with Kurt Russell and John Carpenter. They touch upon the wirework in the film and talk about how it's hot to use nowadays and site Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon as an example. Crouching Tiger came out in like 2000. They also mention Kim Catrall and her being successful in Sex and the City and that had only come out 2 years prior. I reckon their commentary was from around 2001 or thereabouts.


That's also not to say that it's not one of the best commentary tracks of all time along with The Thing and Escape From New York.

That's a great example. I've heard that one and yes, several times they pat themselves on the back saying, "Doing stunts like this was popular in Asia, and we were way out ahead by using them in the US, and only now with CTHD are people becoming aware."

Listening to Kevin smith And Ben affleck on the Chasing Amy commentary talk about Ben's upcoming role in Good Will Hunting. I would call that pretty dated.

Charlie Chaplin on the commentary track of CITY LIGHTS insisting talkies would never last.

The "Fuck DVD" comment was dated before it was released on DVD.

Oddly though, I'd probably be saying it today if a long-awaited movie or show were to be released on DVD only, not BD.

But it makes perfect sense if you were into laserdisc and remember the year or so before DVD came out- the laserdisc format was being killed by many before DVD had even been able to prove itself as a format.

The commentary on the "Halloween" 25th Anniversary Edition which has John Carpenter, Debra Hill and Jamie Leigh Curtis was recorded in 1994 for the Criterion Collection LaserDisc.

I think the commentary by Danny DeVito for "War of the Roses" may have been recorded even earlier for its Laser Disc release.

I like all 3 films, they're fine and dandy but the commentaries are better than the films themselves. Those two guys are soooo much fun to hear them talk about the films.

I seem to remember Richard Donner's commentary for Superman had a lot of "I truly believe Christopher Reeve will walk again" type comments. I'm starting to wonder if that's ever going to happen now...

I was just wondering how many commentaries by people who are now dead are out there. (Meaning commentaries recorded specifically for discs, stuff like Walt Disney archival audio doesn't count.)

^^^Any one of Harold Ramis's commentaries.

I once researched the oldest films with commentaries by actual participants in the film and I think the oldest one we came up with was THE OLD DARK HOUSE (1932) with Gloria Stuart's commentary. The other ones I remember included DECOY (1946) with commentary by one of the writers, WINCHESTER '73 (1950) with James Stewart, THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL (1951) with director Robert Wise, and STALAG 17 (1953) with two of the actors and the co-author of the original play.

Any others from the 1930s and '40s that anyone knows of?

Listening to JC and KR talk is one of life's greatest joys, but better than their respective films? Blasphemy.

King Kong was supposedly the first audio commentary. I've heard Fay Wray was on it, but I'm not seeing that backed up anywhere. Maybe Alan Smithee can pull his laser disc to check.

King Kong was Criterion laserdisc spine number 2 and did contain the first ever commentary track, but not by Fay Ray or anyone involved in the making of the film. It was a scholar discussing the film. The first director commentary was Michael Powell on Criterion's release of Black Narcissus.

He is of course quite dead and left behind several audio commentaries.

Director Vincent Sherman (Along with a moderator) on The Return of Dr. X (1939)

He might have done some more right before he passed. Go check your Warner Bros boxsets.

And that's actually one laserdisc I still don't have.

You don't need it.

Listening to older commentary tracks is sort of like opening up a time capsule of sorts.

I always find Spielberg's commentary tracks so dated that they don't even exist.

Of course Ben Affleck was the bomb in Phantoms yo.

That's never stopped him

The first commentary track I recall hearing of was James Stewart discussing "Winchester '73"; however, it wasn't a commentary track in the strictest sense, it was a recording of a live discussion of the film (and his career in general) with the actor and it was transferred to the laserdisc as a "second audio". I remember not hearing of such a thing before and thought it sounded cool. I just looked up the film and it's also on the DVD.

Indeed it is on the DVD and it was on Laserdisc. However it was recorded in the early '90s. That first commentary, the one on Criterion's King Kong, was 1984. It's cool to hear Jimmy Stewart's thoughts on the film, but commentaries had been around awhile before he recorded that.

I have that DVD and I've listened to the commentary and I'm quite sure it was recorded as they were watching the film. Every time Stewart's character climbs the rocks, the moderator, not the sharpest knife in the drawer, keeps asking him about how dangerous that was and Stewart, showing extraordinary patience, keeps responding that all safety precautions had been observed and it looked much harder than it was, or words to that effect.