Who Gives Good Commentary?

[yoloswegmaster]

They never commissioned a new commentary from him but they have hired him to do essays, both visual and written. Plus he never said in his tweet that he had done commentaries for this company in the past, just that they hadn't called on his services in a while.

[ChunkyLover]

They never commissioned a new commentary from him but they have hired him to do essays, both visual and written. Plus he never said in his tweet that he had done commentaries for this company in the past, just that they hadn't called on his services in a while.

Ah, I hadn't thought about that into consideration.

[Maltic]

Criterion don't do commentaries any more though, while Kino slap one on every other release.

[yoloswegmaster]

They have already commissioned new commentaries this year for 'This Is Not a Burial, It’s a Resurrection' and 'Hollywood Shuffle'...

[Maltic]

Not by critics

[FrauBlucher]

They never commissioned a new commentary from him but they have hired him to do essays, both visual and written. Plus he never said in his tweet that he had done commentaries for this company in the past, just that they hadn't called on his services in a while.

Ah, I hadn't thought about that into consideration.

Criterion actually has an Adrian Martin page with his essays He also has a commentary for The Immortal Story (archival). Maybe "it's a good one" = The Trial

[ryannichols7]

either way, it's great news. both Criterion and Kino completely under-use Martin's talents, whereas Indicator, BFI, and Eureka all call on him pretty often thankfully. Arrow less so recently but still enough play over time. Martin is basically the scholar I see get the most unanimous praise whenever he does a track (up there with Tony Rayns and David Kalat), and it's a shock to me that Kino (who do commentaries all the time) don't go for him more often.

while I'm here, I'd love to mention that O Sangue is a film he's a big fan of that's due for an upgrade from both Second Run and Grasshopper..

Maybe "it's a good one" = The Trial

this would be good but I think it's pretty established Criterion will go with the Naremore/Rosenbaum team that tackle the Welles titles regularly. unless they legitimately fell out after their hilariously catty track for Kane. but I'm genuinely always pleased to see those two, though Martin was really good on Immortal Story

I do hope whenever they release that, they bring in some sort of Kafka scholar to talk about the adaptation in that lens

[Maltic]

More from the AM feed

Jan 1
1st day of the year: @DVDBeaver lists me among its 2022 “film commentarists worth listening to” and plaintively inquires: “Why isn’t he doing 50 commentaries a year?” My question exactly !!

Dec 9, 2022
This week, two of my DVD/Blu-ray audio commentaries appeared: Mitchell Leisen’s REMEMBER THE NIGHT (Indicator) & Blake Edwards’ THE MAN WHO LOVED WOMEN in Umbrella’s Burt Reynolds boxset. If you like my commentaries, do let these (and other) companies know: I need more work!

[dwk]

Adrian Martin previously mentioned on twitter that Criterion calls on him about every 2 years. So it seems they are due to hire him for something.

[Penti Mento]

Not by critics

Thank god

[Maltic]

To each his own

The examples I could come up with btw:

Kalat on Ringu (2019)
Saeed-Vafa and Rosenbaum on And Life Goes On (2019)
Vance on The Circus (2019)
Burke on Il Bidone and Roma (2020)
Rosenbaum and Naremore on Kane (2021)
Dobbins, Fennessey and Ryan on Visions of Eight (2021)
Erlich on After Life (2021)
Weaver on The Incredible Shrinking Man (2021)
Dennis on Arsenic and Old Lace (2022)

There might be more? Still just a few % of 200+ releases though. Kino is probably the better bet.

[ryannichols7]

two small corrections: Ringu was Arrow and Roma was recorded a few years back

that said! Criterion's scholarly commentaries have been absolutely paltry, and frankly inexcusable with their level of capital and the fact that basically other label has no problem commissioning them. KLSC obviously have a lot of unfavorable tracks but at least they're getting them. the UK labels thankfully have a much better batting average. it's shocking that someone like Imogen Sara Smith, who has done multiple really good commentaries for Kino, Indicator, etc routinely gets brought in by Criterion to do visual essays but not tracks. not every movie needs a commentary, but Smith is one such example where she works better in the full length format. ditto the same for Martin - his video essays are nice and all, but his commentaries are where he really shines

if the above post is asserting that scholarly commentaries aren't worth the while, then I don't understand what the preferred alternative is. director/cast/crew tracks where they just banger from 90-120 minutes? that can be fine, but rarely is great

[Maltic]

Oh right, I got Ringu confused with his Godzilla ones

[Penti Mento]

if the above post is asserting that scholarly commentaries aren't worth the while, then I don't understand what the preferred alternative is. director/cast/crew tracks where they just banger from 90-120 minutes? that can be fine, but rarely is great

I prefer to read criticism, that's all, unless it's someone like Joe Bob Briggs.

[pianocrash]

if the above post is asserting that scholarly commentaries aren't worth the while, then I don't understand what the preferred alternative is. director/cast/crew tracks where they just banger from 90-120 minutes? that can be fine, but rarely is great

I prefer to read criticism, that's all, unless it's someone like Joe Bob Briggs.

While I can't say most movies need commentary tracks, I do appreciate when someone does go the extra mile in either spectrum, i.e. full-on engagement scholarly with less than a second to spare, and/or whatever is actually happening on the I Like Bats track.

Far be it for me to tell anyone how to run their business, but having the commentator on I Like Bats, among other things:

-affect a Dracula accent that occasionally slips into the Iron Sheik
-perform a lengthy dramatic reading of a Polish new wave pop song with no apparent relevance to the film
-cite Dracula: Dead and Loving it as an essential text in the vampire genre
-ramble about “the 1986” until numbers and the word the lose all meaning

SpoilerShow

Was not a great decision. The film itself is insufferably tedious, you could at least have an informative track to try and explain why it’s worth watching. Then again, the film is so bad that such a defense might be impossible. If you want 80 minutes of slow psycho babble and the lamest twist on Dracula’s Daughter (minus the gay subtext) with a schmaltzy “love is the cure” ending, this is for you. And you’re not well.

Also, I did see someone buy a used copy of The Rules Of Attraction the other day, and I mentioned that they should have fun with all those commentary tracks, to which, after glancing at the special features, they replied, "Oh My God!".

One trend that I wish had stuck from the DVD era was the audience reaction track, i.e. on Freddie Got Fingered, but I suppose I'm admitting to more than just love for a trend that could serve many exploitation films' 4k audience too well (the real answer to that is nobody even watches the movies they buy anymore, so on-disc commentary is less an issue, but anyway here's ).

[MichaelB]

I can't for the life of me remember which Arrow release it is, but one of their Blu-rays definitely includes an audience reaction track from a screening of the restoration in the town in which the film was shot.

As for commentaries versus written criticism versus video essays, I now have a fair bit of experience with all three, and consequently an increasingly clear idea of which films suit which medium. I love the way that commentaries effectively establish a dialogue with the film, but it has to be a dialogue worth having - if you just end up stating the obvious throughout, or even most of the time, you pretty much have to be Brian Blessed (Flash Gordon) or Jack Nicholson (The Passenger) to get away with that. It's usually pretty clear from the first few minutes how much actual research the commentator has done.

I'm currently mulling two offers, both of which gave me carte blanche in terms of medium, one of which is perfectly suited to a commentary because I have a lot of production info and also a lot of running time to fill (so I should be able to achieve a good balance between critical appraisal and production anecdote), but I'm umming and aahing about the other as it's more of a L'Argent situation where I feel that the most effective critical analysis would involve direct comparison between multiple scenes in this film and also stuff from the director's other films made at around the same time - which suggests a video essay. The golden rule for me is that if I'm instinctively hesitant about doing a commentary, it's probably a good idea to say no!

[Robin Davies]

I can't for the life of me remember which Arrow release it is, but one of their Blu-rays definitely includes an audience reaction track from a screening of the restoration in the town in which the film was shot.

The Slayer.

[MichaelB]

That's the one - thanks!

[yoloswegmaster]

Looks like MichaelB is recording 2 new commentaries with Johnny Mains.

[Mr Sheldrake]

I was really disappointed with Richard Pena’s commentary on Cohen’s recent release of Rivette’s The Gang of Four. It appears he did zero preparation. We watch several minutes of the movie when he finally pipes up with a couple minutes of commentary in which he basically describes the action we are watching, a pattern that continues for 2 hours 40 minutes. There is a lot to unpack in a a Rivette movie and we get next to nothing on the production history, Rivette’s techniques or how it places within his filmography. Sadly Pena is providing the commentaries for the next two Rivettte Cohen releases in the coming weeks. With Adrian Martin presumably available! His commentary on Celine and Julie Go Boating is brilliant and essential.

[therewillbeblus]

His commentary on the BFI blu of Paris nous appartient is also fantastic and well worth the double dip. He should really just be the go-to guy for Rivette like Godard

[Ovader]

RE: Reaction from this forum on Columbia Pictures Film Noir Classics, Vol. 1 press release back in 2009.

I'm guessing that those of you who are expressing enthusiasm over Ellroy's presence have never sat through Ellroy and Muller's insufferable schtick at any of the L.A. film screenings they've sabotaged, er, introduced.

I heard from someone at Sony that Ellroy's remarks were so suffused with his usual racist and sexist invective that they weren't sure any of his commentary would get past the lawyers, but I guess it did.

Last year my question was asked to Eddie Muller about his experience of working with James Ellroy on two audio commentaries. Here is the link for your viewing and listening pleasure via ASK EDDIE - October 13, 2022.

[MichaelB]

The Muller/Ellroy commentary for The Line-up ended up on the Indicator edition - supplied by Sony, if I remember rightly. I still haven't heard it; I had a ton of other jobs to do on that Columbia Noir box, and it had already been mixed to the same master that we were using, so there was nothing for me to do specifically, and I just passed it over to the QC team.

On the subject of commentators creating headaches for producers, I thankfully haven't had any really bad experiences. I had to censor one commentary track because the commentator kept swearing, and the film only had a 12 certificate (which basically means that one "fuck" is permissible, but no more) - it wasn't a situation where a re-record was necessary, but we had a quiet word with the commentator about this with regard to future commissions, as you have to keep within the bounds of the BBFC classification because no label is going to saddle themselves with a more restrictive one if it isn't necessary.

And one commentary had to be re-recorded from scratch because for some demented reason he didn't use headphones or audio level meters when recording it for the first time, and the result was inaudible to the point where even the mighty iZotope RX10 couldn't do anything useful with it. In situations like that, the commentator has basically failed to deliver even to the most minimal technical standards, and so if they want to get paid, they have no choice but to do it again. And I've had to cut bits out of tracks thanks to rightsholder disapproval - including five minutes out of one of my own tracks! - but that's easy enough to do. (In my case, I simply recorded a replacement five minutes on a totally different subject - our "crime" was not merely to interview but also name an uncredited screenwriter, which we didn't know upfront was strictly forbidden.)

[beamish14]

Warner Bros. seems to be fairly strict with regards to the commentaries their legal department clears. Michael Wadleigh recorded one for Wolfen that I imagined went too in-depth into its production problems, and they never released (or possibly recorded?) some announced commentaries with Robert Redford on The Candidate and Sidney Lumet on Prince of the City

[Maltic]

The Muller/Ellroy commentary for The Line-up ended up on the Indicator edition - supplied by Sony, if I remember rightly. I still haven't heard it; I had a ton of other jobs to do on that Columbia Noir box, and it had already been mixed to the same master that we were using, so there was nothing for me to do specifically, and I just passed it over to the QC team.

The same set that had Tony Rayns talk for an extra 5 minutes on The Undercover Man as he hadn't gotten all of his points across when the film ended. One of his best tracks too, as I recall.