Alternate Audio Tracks for Movies

Patrick Stein writes "DVD Tracks is a forum for the distribution of home-brew, alternate audio tracks for movies. Inspired by Roger Ebert's column in Yahoo!Internet Life entitled You, Too, Can Be a DVD Movie Critic, DVD Tracks puts you behind the microphone to talk about your favorite flicks." Cool idea, but there's only one track. (Groundhogs day?)

Comments

Calling Joel Hodgson

[bandix]

This sounds like the killer app for DVD. The original and the MST3K audio track on the same disc.

Re:Calling Joel Hodgson

[poot_rootbeer]

The latest batch of MST3K DVDs to have been released have this feature. Or rather, they're double-sided DVD's with the original cut of the movie on one side and the MiSTed cut on the other.

Comment removed

[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

Average track

[NiftyNews]

"Hey and welcome to the movie. Man, this is cool. Oh hey, anyway, this is Brian Chamberlake III and we're going to watch Tank Girl together. [40 second gap]. Here come the credits. [50 second gap]. Alright...Hey Jim, get me some popcorn! [2 hour gap, end]."

Total Downloads of this clip: 3

Will copyright lawyers squish this?

[Dr.Dubious DDQ]

I hope not. It just occurs to me that this might be a "derivative work" according to the MPAA...

I think most of us rational people realize that "alternate soundtracks" are perfectly harmless if not actually helpful to the bottom line of companies whose DVDs are getting alternate tracks made for them, but I think most of us recognize just how rational the MPAA is...

If they do attack this, at least the the "squashing of free speech" aspect of their current campaigns will be more blatant (if such a thing is possible), and if they DON'T, then we'll have another legitimate reason for 'fair-use' space-shifted copies of DVD movies (to make SVCD's with the alternate soundtracks for personal use on our standalone players, of course.)

Groundhog Day commentary

[svferris]

I imagine the Groundhog Day commentary would go something like this:

"Hi this is Pat and welcome to my commentary on Groundhog Day. The movie stars Bill Murray..."

*five minutes later*

"Hi this is Pat and welcome to my commentary on Groundhog Day. The movie stars Bill Murray..."

Critics should not have a unquestioning audience

[ackthpt]

This is the simple practice I have for seeking critical advice on films:

Read a few reviews

Note who wrote them and what they had to say

See the movies, and then reconcile which critic(s) you most often agree with

Look for their review when you're planning how to spend your disposable income

Update list as necessary

I've noticed some reviewers are excellent for films targeted at 18-30 year old, who are completely out of it when reviewing something like A Bugs Life. Keep tabs on where their opinions are off base and on target. Disappointingly many have forgotten what it was like to be young.

Groundhog Day commentary

[svferris]

I imagine the Groundhog Day commentary would go something like this:

"Hi this is Pat and welcome to my commentary on Groundhog Day. The movie stars Bill Murray..."

*five minutes later*

"Hi this is Pat and welcome to my commentary on Groundhog Day. The movie stars Bill Murray..." .

Re:This sounds cool but...

[Jonathan]

Well, perhaps the best commentary track I've heard is Roger Ebert's "Dark City" commentary. It is far more interesting than the director's commentary track (also on the DVD). Commentaries can be genuine film scholarship -- they don't just have to be random trivia about making a movie. After listening to the commentary, I felt as if I've attended a film school lecture.

On the other hand, Joe Blow is not going to have the knowledge of both film and literature that Roger Ebert has, so maybe amateur commentaries aren't a great idea.