Who the hell watches DVD commentaries? (rant)

[skygazer]

We've been watching the first seasons of Battlestar Galactica on DVD from Netflix and for some reason, the commentaries will arbitrarily kick in every once in a while. It's not like it's set initially - we'll watch one or two episodes on a disc and then the third one will begin and some asshole will begin talking.

Most DVD commentaries have a pretty clear "on/off" option but for some reason these don't and it's like pulling teeth to figure out how to turn it off - generally, I have to turn off the machine and re-insert the disc to do it.

But besides the obvious irritation of that, who watches DVD's with the commentary on anyway? Why would I want to hear these people droning on about the show when I'm trying to WATCH the show? Does ANYONE actually enjoy the things? And if so, why?

:rant:

[tanngrisnir3]

1. Barney, the shoe check-out guy at Lincoln Lanes in Monterey, CA.

[ZombieHorde]

2. Press triangle on your PlayStation controller and look at the options. nt

[skygazer]

4. I'm not watching on a Playstation

[ZombieHorde]

14. Inconceivable! If you don't own one, run out and acquire one. nt

[Starbucks Anarchist]

3. Movies and TV shows don't come out of thin air.

People behind the camera help bring them to life, so it's nice to hear from the unseen people once in awhile.

As for turning the option off, it should be in the set-up or special-features menu, just like any DVD.

[skygazer]

5. But during the movie?

How do you enjoy a movie if someone is babbling all through it? I enjoy listening to them talk on extras when they discuss the origins of a show or how they brought it to life but not when I'm trying to watch the damn thing.

As for the set-up, you would think, wouldn't you? This is not the first time I've watched a DVD - I am familiar with how they usually work. These don't work that way. I don't know why.

[Starbucks Anarchist]

8. So they can talk about specific scenes.

From the director/cinematographer/writer's/etc. viewpoint.

BSG is a newer show, so I don't know why the setup would be any different than other DVDs. Even old, low-quality DVDs have the "off" setting, so I'm not sure what's wrong with this DVD. It can't affect all copies of the DVD, because otherwise there would have been a recall of some kind.

[skygazer]

10. Yeah, it's weird

Like I said, I'm getting them from Netflix so it may be a specific version of the set with a strange configuration. But honestly, the commentary starts, I stop the episode, go to the options and it just has the commentary mentioned without any on or off. There's no way to highlight or un-highlight it. It's just strange.

I finally discovered that if I turn the whole thing off and re-start the disc, it re-sets (or something).

Anyway, the whole process just annoyed me. I actually have listened to commentaries on films I've seen many times (Roger Waters and Gerald Scarfe on The Wall are a riot for example) but this experience has soured me on them.

But I am loving the show.

[Rob H.]

6. I do, sometimes

I've watched the commentaries for Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz and enjoyed them both--the cast commentaries for both were pretty funny.

There are some movies I wish had more extensive commentaries, even. I really liked Brick, but sadly there's no Joseph Gordon-Levitt on the commentary track and the commentary itself is only present during part of the film.

[DarkTirade]

7. I only watch with the commentary after I've seen the episode/movie numerous times,

[Shakespeare]

9. Some are very good. Roger Ebert's commentary on the DVD for Dark City is like taking a film class.

And the commentary with Paul Reubens and Tim Burton on the PeeWee's Big Adventure DVD is just hilariously funny.

[sammythecat]

16. I'm taking notes here. Both sound really good.

I loved PeeWee's Big Adventure. I've never seen Dark City. I keep forgetting about it but I know Roger Ebert loved it. I like Ebert a lot and I think his commentary on this would be very interesting.

Note to the OP: I'd watch the movie first and then watch it with commentary.

[Starbucks Anarchist]

26. I got that from Netflix yesterday.

I saw the movie awhile ago, but wanted to see it again. :hi:

[MrSlayer]

11. Actually, yes.

I have all the Deadwood dvds and I find the commentaries to be quite interesting. They talk about the direction, give a little more depth to the characters or tell great stories of things that happen on the set. On movies and the like you can learn interesting tidbits such as first casting choices, why the story goes in certain directions and whatnot.

For instance, in Pulp Fiction I would have never known that Butch was the one who keyed Vincent's car if I hadn't watched the commentary.

I enjoy them.

[skygazer]

13. I just like watching movies

I sometimes like watching extras where they discuss certain aspects of the movie or casting choices but watching it while the film is playing just seems weird. Interesting to see that there are quite a few people who enjoy them. I guess that's why they put them on there.

I just wish they'd make it easier to turn these particular ones off. :banghead:

[MrSlayer]

15. Well I don't watch them unless it's a movie or series I really like.

And then only after I've watched whatever is a few times.

The fact that they are just coming on at random would disturb me as well.

[bigwillq]

12. I do.

And sometimes I watch the commentary over the movie. Other times I watch just the "extras"

[Nevernose]

17. I wrote a paper in college based on the "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" commentaries

I forget the exact title, but it was something like "From the Divine to the Absurd: A Study of Arthurian Legends from Mallory to Monty Python."

The twin commentary tracks are every bit as entertaining (educational and funny, too) as the original movie was, and like every one else, I WORSHIP the original movie.

It was either undergraduate "Intro to British Lit, Part II" or the graduate version of the same -- it's all kind of hazy now. I distinctly remember getting an A, though. Once upon a time I was a writer and a scholar...

[crispini]

18. Me.

I like them. :)

[Broken_Hero]

19. I do, but very rarely

I've watched the commentaries on all of the Superman movies, Smallville episodes(that it was available), and a few of the Justice League commentaries....

I rarely watch commentaries, unless its a movie that highly interests me

[blogslut]

20. I love DVD commentaries.

I've listened to so many I can't even imagine the number. That's the one thing I miss about streaming flicks online, via Netflix.

Everything about films interests me. Some DVD commentaries are downright dull but so many are enlightening as hell. The commentary for Love, Actually is actually, a riot. I learned about the great British crew revolt on the set of Aliens. I can hear what a slimy poser John Voight's become when he barges in constantly during the commentary for Coming Home. I find all that stuff delicious.

[ghostsofgiants]

21. I love listening to the commentaries. They're usually really interesting and entertaining.

[Lost in CT]

22. I do some of them are great... the best being on Arlington Road where

the director Mark Pellington is so anti-Christan and anti-right wing that Tim Robbins spends most of the commentary trying to calm him down and ends up halfheartedly defending the Republican party.

It's a hoot.

[Initech]

23. The cast commentary on "Tropic Thunder" was fuckin' hilarous.

Jack Black is exactly how I think he is in real life, and just like Robert Downey Jr.'s character, he doesn't break it until the end of the commentary.

[Rhythm]

24. I watch them on occasion... AFTER i've watched the film all the way through

I find the discussions between actors and directors interesting in many cases, especially when they're talking about how they approached a particular scene, or actors who do their own stunts talking about the challenges of a particular sequence.

:hi:

[mwooldri]

25. Two words: Blind People.

Depending on whether the commentary is any good. Some of them are more like audio descriptors of what's going on. Some of them are blathering on about stuff not related to the plot.

Mark.

[MissMillie]

27. my son does

in fact, I think he knows, verbatim, the cast commentary for all 3 of the Lord of the Rings movies.

(yeah, he's nerdy like that, but I love him anyway)

[TheMightyFavog]

28. Hey, don't knock the BSG podcast commentaries.

Those commentaries incorporate three of the most fun things known to humanity; Drinking, swearing and smoking. (At least when Ron D. Moore's wife isn't around.)!

[cemaphonic]

29. There are some memorable ones out there

Somebody mentioned Dark City. Terry Gilliam's commentaries for his own movies are always very well-prepared and interesting, and give a lot of insight into how putting a film together actually works.

On the funny side, there is the hilarious fake commentary for the Coens' "Blood Simple," It's totally scripted and read by an actor buddy of theirs about what the movie would have been like without studio interference. And Spinal Tap, where the band gives a commentary in character, as if they are watching it together after 20 years, and just starting to realize that it made them look like doofuses.

But yeah, for some random show I was watching for the first time, I wouldn't want them on. I doubt anyone would.

[mduffy31]

30. Kevin Smith's commentaries from his movies are pretty funny