On disc based video formats, an audio commentary is an additional audio track consisting of a lecture or comments by one or more speakers, that plays in real time with video. Commentaries can be serious or entertaining in nature, and can add a wealth of information which otherwise would not be disclosed to audience members. ^[1]

Types of commentary

Audio commentaries are located on separate audio tracks on the DVD. A single DVD can have several of these that can be selected by the viewer from the main menu of the DVD or by pressing a designated button on the remote. Each contains different content: one has the actual dialogue and sound of the movie, while others can contain different language dialogue (for translation purposes), a different type of audio encoding (Dolby Digital, DTS or PCM), music-only soundtracks, and audio commentaries. Dolby Digital is the marketing name for a series of lossy audio compression technologies developed by Dolby DTS Coherent Acoustics is the full name for the audio format standard usually known as just DTS. Some DVD productions include multiple commentary tracks. In general, directors are open to recording commentary tracks, as many feel it can be helpful to young filmmakers, or they simply want to explain their intention in making the film, while others (such as Steven Spielberg or David Lynch) feel commentary can de-mystify and cheapen a movie. Steven Allan Spielberg, KBE (Hon (born December 18 1946 is an American Film director, Screenwriter and producer. David Keith Lynch (born January 20 1946 is an American director, Screenwriter, producer, painter, Cartoonist, Composer

There are several different types of commentary. The two main types simply define the length of the commentary rather than the type of content. They are:

• Partial or scene-specific, which only covers selected scenes of the film. Sometimes these are recorded without the speaker viewing the film and thusly the commentator may make more general comments than pointing out specific details.
• Feature-length or screen-specific, which is recorded in one session: the speakers watch the movie from beginning to end and give their thoughts directly based on what is happening on-screen. Occasionally these can include silhouettes of the speakers (to enhance the "live" aspect of the commentary) or even telestrator prompts, allowing the director or commentator to "draw" on the screen, pointing out specific details. A telestrator is a device that allows its operator to draw a freehand sketch over a motion picture image There are also video commentaries, showing the speakers as they are recording the commentary. Video is the technology of electronically capturing, Recording, processing storing transmitting and reconstructing a sequence of Still images

Commentaries can be done in various fashions. The majority of commentaries include one person, likely the director, but can often contain producers and occasionally cast members. Other types of commentaries include:

• Edited, which is recorded at various sessions, often with various speakers. Multiple-person commentary tracks recorded for The Criterion Collection are noted for this technique. The Criterion Collection is a Privately held company that distributes "authoritative" consumer versions of "important classic and contemporary films" The audio is edited into a cohesive whole.
• Character, which features one or more actors commenting on the movie while in character. In Character is an Acting term referring to an Actor playing the part of a character either in a format setting (e
• Scholarly, which is performed by a film critic, historian or scholar, taking the viewer through the significance of the film, the technique, and at times telling the story behind its making. Variations feature fans who would also have some level of expertise concerning a title. Fans in Little Italyjpg|thumb|right|Fans in Little Italy Manhattan celebrating the victory of the Italian association football team after the 2006 FIFA World Cup]][[Image Wm-oly-de-cr

Sometimes, audio commentaries will also include hosts or moderators to keep the discussion flowing, and will feature either subtitling or a narrator to inform the viewer which person is speaking, if there are a considerable amount of participants. A presenter, or host (sometimes hostess, in feminine form is a Person or Organization responsible for running an event The goal of a commentary is of course to add some context to the choices made in making the film, whether that be of the actual filmmaking, or subtext in the writing or direction, although some commentaries, such as in-character commentaries or group cast commentaries tend to be more for entertainment than for educational value.

History of audio commentaries

The value of audio commentaries as a marketing tool was revealed during the heyday of laserdisc, the laser-based video format produced before the introduction of DVDs. The Laserdisc (LD is an obsolete Home video disc format and was the first commercial Optical disc storage medium The Criterion Collection company, for example, produced high-quality "deluxe" editions of classic movies on laserdisc, using the best available prints and re-edited versions. These were often very expensive compared to today's DVDs and included bonus material such as trailers, deleted scenes, production stills, behind-the-scenes information, and audio commentaries from the directors, producers, cast, cinematographers, editors, and production designers. Deleted scene is a commonly-used term in the entertainment industry especially the film and television industry which usually refers specifically to scenes removed from or replaced by A film director, or filmmaker, is a person who directs the making of a Film. A film producer is a person who creates the conditions for making movies. An actor, actress, player or thespian (see terminology) is a person who Acts in a Dramatic production and who works Film editing is an art of storytelling practiced by connecting two or more shots together to form a sequence, and the subsequent connecting of sequences to form an They were marketed to movie professionals, fans and scholars who were seen as an elite niche of consumers who could afford to pay more for definitive, quality editions. The audio commentaries on laserdiscs were typically encoded on secondary analogue tracks which had become redundant, as modern laserdiscs had stereo audio encoded digitally alongside. This is why certain older videodisc players, which predate the digital audio standard, are only able to play back analogue tracks with audio commentary.

The first audio commentary was featured on the Criterion Collection release of the original King Kong movie, on laserdisc in December 1984. King Kong is a landmark Black-and-white Adventure film about a gigantic Gorilla named " Kong " and how he is captured from It featured film historian Ronald Haver and his first words were:

“

Hello, ladies and gentlemen, I'm Ronald Haver, and I'm here to do something which we feel is rather unique. I'm going to take you on a lecture tour of King Kong as you watch the film. The laserdisc technology offers us this opportunity and we feel it's rather unique — the ability to switch back and forth between the soundtrack and this lecture track. . . ”

The decline of the laserdisc format and the increasing popularity of DVD was highlighted in the fall of 1997, when simultaneous laserdisc and DVD editions of the movie Contact were released. Contact is a 1997 Science fiction film adapted from the novel by Carl Sagan. The former contained one bonus audio commentary track by director, Robert Zemeckis, and producer Steve Starkey. Robert Lee "Bob" Zemeckis (born May 14, 1952) is an Academy Award - and Golden Globe -winning American Film director, However, the DVD contained two additional, separate audio commentaries (by Jodie Foster and the special effects producers), as well as other bonus features. Alicia Christian "Jodie" Foster (born November 19 1962 is a two-time Academy Award, BAFTA, and Golden Globe -award winning American Despite its history with laserdiscs, the idea of audio commentary was still such an uncommon notion that, in its January 1998 review of the Contact DVD, Entertainment Weekly scoffed, "Who in the universe would want to journey through more than eight hours of gassy, how-we-filmed-the-nebulae trivia included in this "Special Edition" disc? Meant to show off DVD's enormous storage capacity, it only demonstrates its capacity to accommodate mountains of filler. Entertainment Weekly (sometimes abbreviated as EW) is a Magazine published by Time Inc "^[2]

Notable DVD audio commentaries

• The DVD release of Ghostbusters contains a "video commentary" track with director, Ivan Reitman, writer/star Harold Ramis, and associate producer Joe Medjuck. Zuul redirects here For the videogame see Zool. Ghostbusters (titled on-screen as Ghost Busters) is Ivan Reitman (born October 27, 1946) is a Canadian film producer and director Harold Allen Ramis (born November 21, 1944) is an American actor director and writer specializing in comedy Joseph Medjuck (born February 17, 1943 in Fredericton New Brunswick) is a Canadian -born Film producer in Hollywood. Silhouettes of the trio were added to the picture using one of the subtitle tracks, in a manner that made it seem as if they were sitting in a theater commenting on the movie as it was screened for them. This was seen as a homage to (or imitation of) Mystery Science Theater 3000. Mystery Science Theater 3000 is an American Cult television comedy series created by Joel Hodgson and produced In some scenes, arrows, lines, or circles may be drawn onto the screen to highlight things the directors are talking about. The DVD releases of Men in Black and Muppets from Space had similar features. Men in Black is a 1997 science fiction comedy Action film directed by Barry Sonnenfeld, starring Tommy Lee Jones Muppets from Space was the sixth Feature film to star The Muppets, and the first since the death of Muppets creator Jim Henson to

• The DVD release of Fantasia features two separate commentaries: one by Roy E. Disney, James Levine, John Canemaker, and Scott MacQueen; and a second by Walt Disney, created using audio clips of interviews and a voice actor reading his production meeting notes, hosted by Canemaker. Fantasia is a 1940 Animated film produced by Walt Disney, and is the third film in the Walt Disney Animated Classics. Roy Edward Disney KCSG (born January 10, 1930) was a longtime senior executive for The Walt Disney Company, which his father Roy Oliver James Lawrence Levine (born 23 June 1943) is an American orchestral conductor and pianist. John Canemaker (born 1943 is an Academy Award -winning independent animator animation historian author teacher and lecturer Walter Elias Disney (December 5 1901 – December 15 1966 was a multiple Academy Award -winning American Film producer, director, Screenwriter Voice acting is the art of providing voices for animated characters (including those in feature films television series animated shorts and Video games) and When its sequel, Fantasia 2000, was released on DVD, it also included two separate audio commentaries: One featuring Roy E. Fantasia 2000 is an animated feature produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. Disney, Levine, and Canemaker, and the other featuring commentary on each of the separate segments of the film by the directors and art directors of each segment. For the sections starring Mickey Mouse ("The Sorcerer's Apprentice") and Donald Duck ("Pomp and Circumstance"), voice actors Wayne Allwine and Tony Anselmo were used to make it seem as though Mickey and Donald were providing their own commentary on their appearances in the film. Mickey Mouse is a comic animal Cartoon character who has become an icon for The Walt Disney Company. Donald Duck is a cartoon character from The Walt Disney Company. Wayne Anthony Allwine (born February 7, 1947 in Los Angeles California, though some sources say 1943 is an American Voice actor Tony Anselmo is an Animator and Cartoon Voice actor and since 1987 the voice of Donald Duck.
• The DVD releases for Atlantis: The Lost Empire (Special Edition), Treasure Planet and Finding Nemo contained specially-edited "video commentaries"; the feature-length audio commentaries by the directors and producers were punctuated by cues to video segments illustrating various behind-the-scenes aspects. Atlantis The Lost Empire is the 40th Disney Animated feature produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Treasure Planet is a 2002 Science fiction Animated feature film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation, and released by Finding Nemo is a 2003 computer-animated American Family film. Similarly, in several commentaries on the first season of Lost, the commentators would actually stop the episode's progress and play behind-the-scenes clips, continuing to talk over the footage. Lost is an Emmy and Golden Globe award-winning American serial drama television series.
• The 2000 DVD of This is Spinal Tap features a commentary by the three members of the band, in character. Spın̈al Tap is a semi-fictional heavy metal band the subject of the 1984 Rockumentary / Mockumentary film This Is {{Unicode|Spın̈al They relate how they felt slighted by the film, and how the director (Marty di Bergi in the film) did a "hack job" with the documentary. The commentary is another added element to the fiction of the band. Actors Michael McKean, Christopher Guest and Harry Shearer had previously recorded a commentary for a Criterion Collection DVD which had gone out of print. Michael John McKean (born October 17 1947) is an American actor comedian composer and musician perhaps best known for his portrayal of Squiggy's friend Christopher Guest (born February 5 1948 is an Emmy Award-winning writer Grammy Award-winning composer/musician director and comic actor Harry Julius Shearer (born December 23, 1943) is an American comedic Actor, Writer, Musician, and radio host Similarly, the DVD of series 1 of the BBC sitcom I'm Alan Partridge features commentary from the characters of Alan and his assistant, Lynne. I'm Alan Partridge is a BBC Situation comedy. Two series of six episodes were produced the first in 1997 and the second in 2002 Like Spinal Tap, Alan is heard to be frustrated at how the show makes him appear.
• The Ultimate Matrix Collection, a box set of the entire Matrix trilogy, has two audio commentaries on each film — one by philosophers who loved it (Dr. The Ultimate Matrix Collection is a DVD release featuring all the titles in the ''Matrix'' series, as well as several hours of special A box set (sometimes referred to as a boxed set) is a compilation of various musical recordings Films Television programs or other collection Cornel West and Ken Wilber), and one by critics who hated it (Todd McCarthy, John Powers and David Thomson). Cornel Ronald West (born June 2, 1953) is a Scholar, Public intellectual, Philosopher, Critic, Pastor, Kenneth Earl "Ken" Wilber Jr (b January 31, 1949, Oklahoma City, U David Thomson (b 1941 London UK) is a noted Film critic in the United States and the author of more than 20 books including The New
• The commentary on Trey Parker's Cannibal! The Musical (aka Alferd Packer: The Musical) is notable in that the commentators — cast and crew — start out sober at the beginning. Randolph Severn "Trey" Parker III (born October 19, 1969) is an American Animator, Screenwriter, Film director Cannibal! The Musical is a Student film directed by future creator of South Park, Trey Parker, while studying at the University Alfred G "Alferd" Packer (January 21 1842 – April 23 1907 was an American prospector who was convicted of Cannibalism First tried for As the movie progresses, the group drinks and gets more and more inebriated. A similar commentary, featuring many of the participants from that commentary, was recorded for Orgazmo. Orgazmo is a 1997 comedy - action film written by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the creators of the Animated series
• The fourth, fifth and sixth season box sets of The Simpsons contain special "illustrated commentaries" on selected episodes, where two animation directors draw on screen while commenting on the episode. The following Simpsons DVDs are all compilation releases in various regions The following Simpsons DVDs are all compilation releases in various regions The following Simpsons DVDs are all compilation releases in various regions An animation director is the director in charge of all aspects of the animation process during the production of an animated film or animated segment for a live-action film This is achieved by using subtitle data to produce the drawings overlaid on top of the video in sync with the audio commentary track.
• The Simpsons and Futurama, both Matt Groening creations, are among the few TV series to have audio commentary tracks on every episode in their season box set DVD releases. Futurama is an Emmy Award -winning animated American sitcom created by Matt Groening, and developed by Groening and Matthew Abram Groening (ˈɡreɪnɪŋ GRAY-ning) (born February 15 1954 is an American Cartoonist, television producer and writer from Portland A television program (US television programme (UK or television show (U For Futurama, the commentators point out who voiced minor characters. The actors for these characters are otherwise unlisted in the ending credits. Mr. Show, Red Dwarf, volumes 4 and onwards of Family Guy, the first season sets of Twin Peaks, The Shield and Goodnight Sweetheart and all episodes and specials of The League of Gentlemen are other examples of this. Mr Show (also known as Mr Show with Bob and David) was a Sketch comedy series featuring former Saturday Night Live writer/comedy According to the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram, a red dwarf star is a small and relatively cool Star, of the Main sequence, either late K Family Guy is an animated American television sitcom created by Seth MacFarlane that airs on Fox and regularly on other Twin Peaks is a Television Serial drama that follows the investigation of the brutal murder of popular respected Teenager and homecoming queen The Shield is an American Police - Drama Television series shown on FX Networks in the U Goodnight Sweetheart is a popular BBC Sitcom that ran for six series between 1993 and 1999 The League of Gentlemen is a quartet of British comedy writer/performers formed in 1995 by Jeremy Dyson, Mark Gatiss, Steve Pemberton
• The commentary for Eurotrip has the writers and director playing a drinking game to their own film, while giving a commentary. EuroTrip is a 2004 American Comedy film produced by the same people as Road Trip and Old School Drinking games are Games which involve the drinking of Beer or other Alcoholic beverages These games commonly take place at house parties public bars or
• When the first season of Veronica Mars was rushed to DVD so first-time viewers could catch up before the second season began airing in Fall 2005, the creator, Rob Thomas, recorded an audio commentary for the pilot which was a downloadable podcast because there wasn't time to get it on the boxed set. Veronica Mars is an American television series created by Rob Thomas. This article is about the writer Rob Thomas For other people with this name see Rob Thomas (disambiguation. A podcast is a series of audio or Video digital-media files which is distributed over the Internet by syndicated Download
• In lieu of recording a commentary himself, Michael Moore allowed his interns and secretary to record the audio commentary for his documentary Bowling for Columbine. Michael Francis Moore (born April 23 1954 is an Academy Award -winning American filmmaker author and liberal Political commentator. An intern or stagiaire is one who works in a temporary position with an emphasis on on-the-job training rather than merely employment making it similar to an Apprenticeship A secretary is either an administrative assistant in business office administration, or a certain type of mid- or high-level governmental position such as a Bowling for Columbine is a 2002 American Documentary film written directed produced by and starring Michael Moore.
• Despite his high profile, director Steven Spielberg has yet to provide a commentary track for any of his films. He feels that the experience of watching a film with anything other than his intended soundtrack detracts from what he has created. Woody Allen has a similar lack of enthusiasm for commentaries, stating, "I'm not interested in all that extra stuff. Woody Allen (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg; December 1 1935 is an American Film director, Writer, Actor, Comedian, and [. . . ] I want my films to speak for themselves. And hopefully they do. "^[3]
• On the DVD release of Shaun of the Dead, one (of the four) commentary tracks is given over entirely to a recording of the actors who played zombies in the movie. Shaun of the Dead is a 2004 British Zombie -themed Comedy (or " rom zom com " as it dubs itself film The first cast audio commentary (including Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Kate Ashfield, Lucy Davis and Dylan Moran) also mocks audio commentaries as the cast admit that they almost never listen to them (with Simon Pegg claiming he listens to them when going to sleep), as well as Dylan Moran saying that they simply involve people saying things like "oh, we used a steadi-cam for that one because Roger had a bad knee", and that no-one was interested in hearing it. Simon Pegg (born Simon John Beckingham; 14 February 1970) is an award-winning English Actor, Comedian, Writer Nicholas John Frost (born 28 March, 1972) is an award-winning English Actor, Comedian and movie script-writer He is best known Kate Ashfield (born 28 May, 1972) is an award-winning English actress and comedienne, best known for her award-winning roles as Jody Lucy Clare Davis (born 2 January 1973) is an English actress. Dylan Moran (born 3 November 1971) is a BAFTA and Perrier Award -winning Irish Comedian, Actor and
• There is a fake DVD commentary on the DVD of Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story with Rawson Marshall Thurber, Vince Vaughn and Ben Stiller arguing. Dodgeball A True Underdog Story (or commonly referred to as " Dodgeball " is a 2004 Comedy film from 20th Century Rawson Marshall Thurber is a writer and director of comedy films and commercials Vincent Anthony "Vince" Vaughn (born March 28, 1970) is an American Film actor. Benjamin Edward "Ben" Stiller (born November 30 1965 is an Emmy Award -winning American Comedian, actor Film producer and director 40 minutes into it, all three exit and the commentary is replaced with the audio commentary from There's Something About Mary. There's Something About Mary is a 1998 Romantic comedy film, directed by the Farrelly Brothers Bobby and Peter. The real audio commentary can be found as an easter egg on the DVD.
• On the audio commentaries for seasons of The Venture Bros., Jackson Publick and Doc Hammer have conversations that have little to do with the episodes being shown. The Venture Bros (alternatively The Venture Brothers) is an American Animated television series airing as part of Adult Swim

Prolific commentators

• Hong Kong action cinema expert Bey Logan was a popular commentator for UK DVD distributors Hong Kong Legends and their sister label Premier Asia. Hong Kong action cinema is the reason why Hong Kong film industry 's is so well known Bey Logan (born November 15, 1961 in Stamford, England) is a respected expert on East Asian cinema, particularly Hong Kong action He has recorded over sixty commentaries for Asian films including classics such as Fist of Fury, Project A and The Young Master as well as modern hits Iron Monkey, Musa and Ong Bak. "Jing Wu Men" redirects here For the real martial arts school see Chin Woo Athletic Association. For Project A the atomic weapons project see Project Alberta Project A (aka The Young Master ( is a 1980 Hong Kong martial arts - action film starring Jackie Chan as Dragon. Iron Monkey ( Literal Title "Young Wong Fei Hung Iron Monkey" a 1993 Hong Kong martial arts - action film called Musa ( Hanja 武士 Hangul 무사 released as The Warrior in English -speaking countries is a 2001 South Ong-Bak Muay Thai Warrior (องค์บาก oŋbaːk also known in the United States as Ong-Bak The Thai Warrior is a 2003 For the majority of his commentaries Logan was a solo commentator but occasionally he was joined by notable film makers and cast including Tsui Hark, Christy Chung, Donnie Yen and Maggie Q. ( 徐) Tsui Hark, born Tsui Man-Kong (徐文光 on February 15, 1950, is a New Wave Film director in Hong Kong Christy Chung (鍾麗緹 Jūng Laitài Pinyin: Zhōng Lìtí Vietnamese: Chung Lệ Đề, born September 19 1970 Donnie Yen Chi-Tan ( born July 27, 1963) is a Martial artist and Actor, Film director, fight choreographer, and Margaret Denise Quigley, better known as Maggie Q ( born May 22, 1979) is an American Actress and former fashion model He left Hong Kong Legends for the The Weinstein Co. in early 2006. The Weinstein Company is an independent American Film studio founded by Harvey and Bob Weinstein in 2005 after the pair left
• US film historian Rudy Behlmer has recorded commentaries for many classics of American cinema, most notably Gone with the Wind, The Adventures of Robin Hood and Frankenstein. Gone with the Wind is a 1939 American dramatic - romantic - War film adapted from Margaret Mitchell 's 1936 The Adventures of Robin Hood is an American swashbuckler film released in 1938 and directed by Michael Curtiz and William Keighley Frankenstein is a Horror film from Universal Pictures directed by James Whale and very loosely based on the novel of the same name
• US writer and director Peter Bogdanovich has not only recorded commentaries for his own films (The Last Picture Show, The Cat's Meow, Paper Moon) but has also recorded commentaries for important American classics including Bringing Up Baby, Citizen Kane, The Lady from Shanghai and Strangers on a Train. Peter Bogdanovich ( Serbian Cyrillic: Петар Богдановић Latin: Petar Bogdanović (born July 30, 1939, is an American The Last Picture Show is a 1971 film directed by Peter Bogdanovich, adapted from a 1966 novel by Larry McMurtry. The Cat's Meow is a Drama film directed by Peter Bogdanovich. Bringing Up Baby is a 1938 Screwball comedy directed by Howard Hawks and starring Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant. Citizen Kane ( 1941) is an American Dramatic film, and the first Feature film directed by Orson Welles, who also co-authored The Lady from Shanghai is a 1948 Black-and-white Film noir directed by Orson Welles and starring Welles his then-estranged Strangers on a Train is a Film released in 1951 by Warner Bros He also participated in the commentary for the pilot episode of The Sopranos. The Sopranos is an American Television drama series created by David Chase.
• Creator of The Simpsons, Matt Groening, has recorded commentary on most episodes of the show thus far released on DVD (as of 2007, seasons one through ten) as well as every episode of his other creation, Futurama. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. This means that, as of May 2007, he has recorded over 250 episode commentaries. May 2007 is the fifth month of that year It began on a Tuesday and 31 days later ended on a Thursday. He has also provided commentaries on other Simpsons/Futurama related products, such as the music videos on The Simpsons: Season Two DVD. David X. Cohen, Groening's co-developer and occasional writer on Futurama, also provided commentary on every episode, as well as several installments of The Simpsons. David X Cohen (born July 13 1966 born David Samuel Cohen, is an American Television writer
• Directors Kevin Smith and David Fincher are notable fans of DVD audio commentary, and Fincher's "Platinum Series" release of Se7en was considered one of the most in-depth DVDs of its time, mainly due to the four audio commentary tracks, all of which feature Fincher, and cover the writing, the cast, the sound design and the cinematography. Kevin Patrick Smith (born August 2 1970 is an American Screenwriter, Writer, Film director, Actor and Comic book writer David Leo Fincher (born August 28, 1962) is an American film and Music video director known for his dark and stylish portraits of Another commentary for Se7en was included on the Criterion Collection laserdisc, which included cast member Gwyneth Paltrow, but this track has not been released on DVD. Gwyneth Kate Paltrow (born September 27 1972 is an Academy Award - Golden Globe - and double Screen Actors Guild Award -winning American Smith's DVD for Clerks II features three audio commentaries, all featuring Smith, and he is known for bringing his stars, including Ben Affleck and Jason Lee onto his commentary tracks. Clerks II is the sequel to Kevin Smith 's 1994 movie Clerks, and his sixth feature film to be set in the View Askewniverse Ben Affleck (born Benjamin Géza Affleck-Boldt; August 15 1972 is an American Film Screenwriter, director, actor and older brother of Jason Lee may refer to Jason Lee (missionary (1803&ndash1845 American missionary and pioneer in the Oregon Territory Jason Scott Lee Smith has recorded audio commentaries for all of his films, and also appeared on the Road House audio commentary after mentioning it on the 10th Anniversary DVD of Clerks. Clerks is a 1994 film written and directed by Kevin Smith, who also appears in the film in a minor role Smith has also appeared on the special edition Donnie Darko DVD, doing commentary with Richard Kelly. Donnie Darko is a 2001 cult classic Psychological thriller Film written and directed by Richard Kelly, and starring Fincher has recorded a track for all of his films except Alien³, which he disowned after controversy over the production. Alien 3, styled as Alien³, is a 1992 Science fiction / Horror film (see 1992 in film) Directors Terry Gilliam, David Cronenberg and Paul Verhoeven are also highly respected as intelligent and informative commentators, often working with Criterion to create commentaries for their films. Terrence Vance Gilliam (born 22 November 1940) is an American -born British Writer, Filmmaker, Animator and member David Paul Cronenberg OC, FRSC (born March 15, 1943) is a Canadian Film director and occasional Actor. Paul Verhoeven (ˈpʌul vɛrˈhuvən born July 18, 1938) is a Dutch BAFTA Award - nominated Film director, Screenwriter
• Animation historians such as Jerry Beck and Michael Barrier regularly contribute commentary to selected shorts in DVD packages of animated shorts from the Golden Age of Hollywood, including the Looney Tunes Golden Collection series and the Popeye the Sailor DVD series. The bouncing ball animation (below consists of these 6 frames Jerry Beck (born February 9, 1955) is a well known animation historian with ten books and numerous articles to his Michael Barrier is an American Animation Historian. Barrier was the editor of Funnyworld, a groundbreaking journal devoted to comics and animation The Looney Tunes Golden Collection is a yearly series of six four-disc DVD box sets from Warner Bros Popeye the Sailor Man is a fictional hero famous for appearing in comic strips and animated films as well as numerous TV shows

Alternate commentaries

Originally inspired by a column by Roger Ebert,^[4] a small but active fan base of DVD commentary enthusiasts has sprung up since 2002 offering their own specially-recorded fan-made DVD commentaries. These tracks (usually made available in MP3 format) allow the fans to put forth their own opinions and expertise on a movie or TV series in much the same way as an on-disc commentary. MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a Digital audio encoding format using a form of Lossy data compression These commentary tracks are played either by starting a DVD player and MP3 player simultaneously, or using synchronization software such as Sharecrow.

The idea of downloadable commentary tracks has since been co-opted by TV show creators themselves, as creators of TV shows such as the 2004 Battlestar Galactica, Star Trek: Enterprise, and the Doctor Who revival have recorded downloadable commentary tracks meant to be watched along with the episodes as recorded from TV. Battlestar Galactica is an Emmy and Peabody Award -winning serial drama Television program created by Ronald D Star Trek Enterprise (simply titled Enterprise prior to season three is a Science fiction Television program created by Brannon Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC.

Kevin Smith recorded a commentary track for Clerks 2 intended for download to an MP3 player for viewing in the movie theater during the movie's first run; however, the commentary was not released because theater chains felt it would be distracting to viewers who were not listening to the commentary. Clerks II is the sequel to Kevin Smith 's 1994 movie Clerks, and his sixth feature film to be set in the View Askewniverse This commentary was later included on the Clerks II DVD. ^[5]

Mystery Science Theater 3000 head writer and on-screen host Michael J. Nelson has started his own website to sell downloadable commentaries called RiffTrax. Mystery Science Theater 3000 is an American Cult television comedy series created by Joel Hodgson and produced Michael John Nelson (born October 11, 1964 in St Charles Illinois) is an American Comedian and Writer, most famous for RiffTrax are downloadable audio commentaries featuring comedian Michael J He also regularly commentates on the public domain films that colorizing company Legend Films releases on DVD, including Night of the Living Dead and Reefer Madness. Night of the Living Dead (1968 directed by George Romero, is an independent Black-and-white Horror film. Reefer Madness (aka Tell Your Children) is a 1936 Exploitation film revolving around the tragic events that ensue when High school

Parody

DVD commentaries have been parodied by a number of people. Most notably:

• The Coen Brothers movie Blood Simple has a fake commentary written by the Coens and read by an actor posing as a film historian. Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, known together professionally as the Coen brothers, are four-time Academy Award winning American filmmakers Blood Simple is a 1985 Neo-noir Crime film. It was the directorial debut of Joel and Ethan Coen, and the first major film of This "historian" Kenneth Loring gives information about the production that almost everyone would recognize as being totally ludicrous. He claims for instance that one the opening scene was shot upside down with the actors saying their lines backwards and that some roles were reserved for Rosemary Clooney and Gene Kelly. Rosemary Clooney ( May 23, 1928 &ndash June 29, 2002) was an American Singer and actress whose warm radiant Eugene Curran “Gene” Kelly ( August 23, &ndash February 2,) was an American Dancer, Actor, Singer, director
• In an episode of The Simpsons ("The Bart Wants What It Wants" [1]), Bart is watching an Itchy & Scratchy DVD and decides to turn the commentary on. " The Bart Wants What it Wants " is the eleventh episode of The Simpsons ' thirteenth season. The Itchy & Scratchy Show is a segment or "side-show" featured on The Simpsons which usually appears as a portrayal of the fictional A small box appears at the corner of the screen, showing Scratchy ("We shot this at four in the morning, and the crew was getting a little cranky") and Itchy ("You can never get enough takes for Steven Soderbergh"); midway through Scratchy's next sentence, Itchy cuts off his head. Steven Andrew Soderbergh (born January 14 1963 is an American Film producer, Screenwriter, Cinematographer, editor, and
• The Welsh comedian Rob Brydon wrote and starred in the ITV comedy show Director's Commentary (2004) in which he played a fictional director, Peter De Lane, and parodied the often conceited and pompous nature of directors when giving DVD commentaries by articulating his thoughts over archive footage. A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience primarily by making them laugh Rob Brydon (born Robert Brydon Jones, 3 May, 1965, Swansea) is a Welsh Actor, Comedian and impressionist Independent Television (generally known as ITV) is a public service network of British commercial television broadcasters set up under the Independent Although the show was well received, it did not sustain viewer interest, and as of 2006 only one six-episode season was produced. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ^[6]
• The book Speak, Commentary, by Jeff Alexander and Tom Bissell, collects a series of fake audio commentaries purportedly made by well-known American cultural critics and political pundits on popular science fiction and fantasy movies. The contents include Ann Coulter on Ridley Scott's Alien, as well as Noam Chomsky and Howard Zinn on Peter Jackson's films of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers. Ann Hart Coulter (born December 8 1961 is an American Political commentator, Syndicated columnist, and best-selling Author. Sir Ridley Scott (born November 30 1937 in South Shields, Tyne and Wear) is a British Academy Award Nominated and Golden Globe Emmy Award and BAFTA Award winning Alien is a 1979 science fiction / Horror film directed by Ridley Scott and starring Sigourney Weaver. Avram Noam Chomsky (noʊm ˈtʃɑmski born December 7 1928 is an American linguist, Philosopher, cognitive scientist, Political Howard Zinn (born August 24 1922 is an American Historian, political scientist, social critic, activist and Playwright, best known Peter Robert Jackson, CNZM (born 31 October 1961 is a three-time Academy Award -winning New Zealand director producer and writer best known for directing The Lord of the Rings The Fellowship of the Ring is a 2001 Fantasy film directed by Peter Jackson based on the similarly titled first The Lord of the Rings The Two Towers is a 2002 Fantasy film directed by Peter Jackson based on the second volume of J

• The Adam and Joe Show parodied audio commentaries in a sketch which stated that audio commentaries often sound like "self indulgent wankers in a pub". The Adam and Joe Show is a British Television comedy show written and presented by Adam Buxton and Joe Cornish, which ran for

• Webtoon Homestar Runner has featured the characters of the H*R universe doing commentaries for many of their cartoons. A webtoon is a less common term used to describe an animated cartoon that is distributed via the internet which are often created by amateur creators Homestar Runner is a Flash animated Internet cartoon. It mixes Surreal humor with references to 1970s '80s and '90s pop culture Most notably The King of Town DVD, In Search of the Yello Dello and the music video for They Might Be Giants' "Experimental Film. They Might Be Giants (commonly abbreviated to TMBG) is an American Alternative rock band which began as a duo of John Flansburgh and John This article is on the variety of film For information on the They Might Be Giants song see " Experimental Film (song " "

• Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy contains audio commentary where the characters end up discussing very little of the film's content. Anchorman The Legend of Ron Burgundy is a Comedy film which was released on July 9, 2004.

• Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby features a commentary in which director Adam McKay fabricates nearly every piece of information about the film, such a the production's move to Brazil, the roles of Walker and Texas Ranger being played by robots, and that the original cut of the film was 9 1/2 hours long and contained a segment of a stick of butter. Talladega Nights The Ballad of Ricky Bobby is a 2006 Comedy film about NASCAR racing Adam McKay (born 1968 is an Emmy -nominated American Writer and Film director.

• The Hot Fuzz 3-disc collector's edition DVD includes a commentary featuring real policemen and a commentary in which director Edgar Wright and fellow filmmaker Quentin Tarantino discuss nearly 200 films^[7] but barely make reference to Hot Fuzz. Hot Fuzz is a 2007 British action Comedy film written by Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright and starring Simon

Quotes

• As an addendum to the commentary on As Good As It Gets (1997), the film's director, James L. Brooks, and its star, Jack Nicholson, share this brief exchange during the credits:

Brooks [on the virtues of the then new DVD format]: "It's a better mousetrap. As Good as It Gets is a 1997 film from TriStar Pictures that tells the story of an obsessive-compulsive, misanthropic, and bigoted James L Brooks (born May 9, 1940) is an American producer, Screenwriter and director. John Joseph "Jack" Nicholson (born April 22 1937) is an American Actor, internationally renowned for his often dark-themed portrayals "

Nicholson: ". . . What's better? What's better? You know, we're sitting here being remunerated for what is ultimately the cancer of film, which we claim to love above all else. "

• Ridley Scott is an enthusiastic supporter of commentaries and the DVD format in general. In the July 2006 issue of Total Film magazine, he stated:

"After all the work we go through, to have it run in the cinema and then disappear forever is a great pity. Total Film, published by Future Publishing, is the United Kingdom 's second best-selling Film Magazine. To give the film added life is really cool for both those who missed it and those who really loved it. "

• When DVD first started becoming commercially available in 1997, Kevin Smith was not a fan of the format. Smith expressed his animosity on the commentary for the Criterion Collection laserdisc of Chasing Amy. Chasing Amy is a 1997 Romantic comedy - Drama written and directed by Kevin Smith about two Comic book artists Holden Smith began the commentary by saying, "This is a Criterion laserdisc, and at this moment, we'd just like to say, 'Fuck DVD'. " Smith has since come to embrace DVD. When Chasing Amy was re-released to DVD, and the running commentary re-used, Smith filmed a special introduction in which he apologized for the comment, and attributed it to Jason Mewes. Jason Edward Mewes (born June 12 1974 is an American television and film actor known for playing foul-mouthed Drug dealer Jay the vocal half of Jay and

Commentary re-use

Some film companies transfer the audio commentary of the laserdisc release of a film on to the DVD rather than creating a new one. For example, El Mariachi Special Edition, Total Recall Special Edition Spaceballs and A Nightmare on Elm Street all contain the commentary from the laserdisc release. El Mariachi is a 1992 action thriller film written and directed by Robert Rodriguez. Total Recall is a 1990 Academy Award -winning American Science fiction film. Spaceballs is a 1987 Science fiction Parody film of Star Wars co-written directed by and starring Mel Brooks. A Nightmare on Elm Street is a 1984 American Horror film directed and written by Wes Craven, and the first This may be for financial reasons, depending on whether the rights to the original commentary are cheaper to use than recording a new one (a company releasing a film on DVD today may not be the same company who released it on laserdisc); or it could simply be that the original commentary does its job well without the need for an update. Contrastingly, some DVDs do not have a commentary even though the laserdisc release did (for example, Taxi Driver). Taxi Driver is a film directed by Martin Scorsese and written by Paul Schrader. This may be because the parties involved have not reached a publication agreement.

The audio commentaries of The Criterion Collection are often considered some of the finest and most informative commentaries ever made, and the Laserdisc releases of classic films can be highly priced because Criterion generally does not license their commentaries for use on later DVDs when the rights to films they have release revert back to the studio, including the aforementioned Taxi Driver. The Criterion Collection is a Privately held company that distributes "authoritative" consumer versions of "important classic and contemporary films" Other notables include the commentary for The Silence of the Lambs (featuring stars Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins, along with director Jonathan Demme) and Terry Gilliam's tracks for The Adventures of Baron Munchausen and The Fisher King. The Silence of the Lambs is a 1991 suspense film directed by Jonathan Demme and starring Jodie Foster, Anthony Hopkins, Robert Jonathan Demme (born February 22 1944) is an Academy Award -winning American Film director, producer and The Adventures of Baron Munchausen is a 1988 Film directed by Terry Gilliam, starring John Neville, Sarah Polley The Fisher King is a Comedy-drama Film made in 1991, written by Richard LaGravenese and directed by Terry Gilliam.

Audio commentaries in video games

Recently some video games have experimented with audio commentaries, most notably the episodic sequels to Half-Life 2, other Valve games and Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Anniversary. Half-Life 2 is a Science fiction First-person shooter computer game and the sequel to the highly acclaimed Half-Life Valve Corporation is an American video game development company based in Bellevue Washington, USA that was founded in 1996, and made famous Unlike DVD commentaries the system used for video games do not use a predetermined continuous flow of speech, because events of a game depend on the player's actions. Instead, in-game prompts are used to allow players to activate a relevant audio commentary for a specific area.

List of video games with audio commentary

Tomb Raider Anniversary
Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader
The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay (PC Version)
Half-Life 2: Lost Coast
Half-Life 2: Episode One
Half-Life 2: Episode Two
Portal
Team Fortress 2

References

1. ^ Los Angeles Times: Archives
2. ^ Video Capsule Review: Contact. Star Wars Rogue Squadron II Rogue Leader is a Star Wars video game developed by Factor 5 and LucasArts for the Nintendo The Chronicles of Riddick Escape from Butcher Bay is a Video game developed by the Swedish developers Starbreeze Studios set before the Half-Life 2 Lost Coast is an additional level for Valve Software 's 2004 First-person shooter Computer game Half-Life 2 Half-Life 2 Episode One is the first in a trilogy of episodes serving as the sequel for the 2004 First-person shooter game Half-Life Half-Life 2 Episode Two is the second installment in Valve Corporation 's series of episodes for the First person shooter Computer game Portal is a Single-player first-person action / puzzle Video game developed by Valve Corporation. by Steve Daly, Entertainment Weekly. (1998-01-09). Year 1998 ( MCMXCVIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar) Events 475 - Byzantine Emperor Zeno is forced to flee his capital at Constantinople. Retrieved on 2007-01-25. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 41 - After a night of negotiation Claudius is accepted as Roman Emperor by the Senate
3. ^ Total Film: Woody Allen interview
4. ^ Ebert, Roger (February 2002). Roger Joseph Ebert (iːbɝt born June 18, 1942) is an American film critic and Screenwriter. You, Too, Can Be a DVD Movie Critic. Yahoo! Internet Life. Archived from the original on 2002-10-12. See also 2002 (disambiguation Year 2002 ( MMII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. Events 539 BC - The army of Cyrus the Great of Persia takes Babylon. Retrieved on 2007-01-11. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 1055 - Theodora is crowned Empress of the Byzantine Empire.
5. ^ Luck, Richard (2006). Clerks II (2006) - Channel 4 Film Review. Channel4. com. Retrieved on 2007-02-21. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 362 - Athanasius returns to Alexandria. 1245 - Thomas, the first known Bishop of Finland
6. ^ Lewisohn, Mark. The Beatles and related subjects Over the course of his career Mark Lewisohn has worked for EMI, MPL Communications and Apple, and has written many reference The bbc.co.uk Guide to Comedy. BBC.co.uk. Retrieved on 2007-01-11. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 1055 - Theodora is crowned Empress of the Byzantine Empire.
7. ^ Every film mentioned by Edgar Wright and Quentin Tarantino in their Hot Fuzz commentary track

External links

• Rate That Commentary: Website devoted to user-submitted ratings and reviews of DVD audio commentary tracks.
• Commentary Tracks of the Damned: A feature of The Onion's A.V. Club focusing on the commentary tracks that accompany DVD releases of critical and/or box office flops. For the vegetable see Onion. The Onion is an American " fake news " organization The AV Club is an entertainment newspaper and website published by The Onion eaters. The phrase box office bomb refers to a Film for which the production and Marketing costs greatly exceeded the Revenue retained by the movie
• Sharecrow: Database of third-party DVD commentaries; offers synchronization software.