The three DVDs with the best Commentary Tracks ~ on DVD

I've missed almost all of the first run movies the last few years so catching up by watching movies on DVD from Netflix is great.    And one of the great things about DVDs that's better'n 'n the theater is that you get bonus tracks along with the movie. Mostly though, what you end up with is listening to some lameoid director and an actor or two droning on about "motivation" and "emoting" or some drivel about what lenses they used and whatnot, or some producer bitching about how expensive movies are to make and how difficult the studios executives make things.

Boring,boring, boring!

If we wanted to know any of that we'd go to UCLA and major in film and wait tables for a living. However, once in a while you get a DVD that has bonus tracks that are as good as the feature. I narrowed it down to the three DVD versions with the commentary tracks that I like the best so far so The Sudden Curve audience would be sure to see and hear them  :

The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra has the best commentary of an ensemble cast of actors on a dvd track that I've ever heard. The actors come across as actually ... likeable.  Listening to it makes you forget that actors are the worst people in the world, except on screen when they are pretending to be other people.  But in real life actors are yeeeeeech!  This DVD has TWO commentaries that are great, both the actor's and the director's tracks are funny as heck- probably because they are the same people.  The movie is great too, a drop dead funny homage to low budget Sci Fi films of the 50's.

Bubba Ho-Tep (Special Edition) Commentary with the King.  Okay this is Bruce Campbell, doing Elvis, doing Bruce Campbell doing Elvis discussing an Elvis impersonator's performance.  ????   Yes, that's what it is, and it's worth the Price of Admission.  Also seeing Ossie Davis portraying JFK is worth it so just get it and Hail to the King, baby.

Conan - The Complete Quest Commentary by John Milius and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Everyone knows that the cinematography of this old sword and sorcery flick is amazing, and that it was Schwarzenegger's breakthrough film and that Sandahl Bergman was hot, hot , hot.    But what hardly anyone knows is that Arnie and John Milius together are hilarious.  You also can learn a lot of sword and sorcery movie genre factoids from the commentary and all kinds of neato Nietzchesque philosophy about war and battle and conquering and that the best thing in life is hearing  da lamenations of dare wimmin.

posted by Tom Novak who talked like Elvis for a solid month after hearing Commentary with the King on Bubba Ho-Tep. " Think I'll watch it again, 'scuse me now, while I get me some popcorn, baby."

Comments

[Tom Ender]

I agree about Sandahl Bergman. Conan has a great soundtrack in addition to its other high points. Milius made great movies. I particularly like Red Dawn.