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Downloadable Film Commentaries Becoming Popular?
FilmFan writes "Now that Kevin Smith is offering a downloadable commentary for Clerks 2, will other Directors follow in his footsteps? Some studios think so and are already offering similar content for shows such as Battlestar Galactica, Dr. Who, and Star Trek: Enterprise. Other websites offer fan-created content and even offer a free DVD player capable of playing these downloaded commentaries in sync with a DVD."
Maybe. Depending upon who does the recording.
I always thought it would be interesting to have different people commenting on movies than those involved with making them. Critics, sure, but maybe directors influenced by the film or historians or other knowledgeable folks.
It'd be like watching the movie in the company of someone interesting.
Wow. That is such a Slashdot comment. "Uh...I have a date with Natalie Portman tonight. We're watching...uh...Casablanca."
That said, I do sometimes prefer the "Pop-Up Video" style commentaries (formatted like a subtitle, maybe).
I have the DVD of "Good Night and Good Luck." I really enjoyed the film (and I recommend it highly, especially around here, where its political sentiment will likely ring true with many readers). One of the coolest things about that DVD is that, after watching the film, I was able to watch it again and hear George Clooney and Grant Heslov's commentary dubbed over the movie. I'm not a big fan of George Clooney, but I didn't care; it was really insightful to hear anecdotes and scene descriptions from the writers themselves. You can gain a real understanding for the composition of the film.
You watch the film once and you interpret it in your own way. Then you can watch it again (and since you've already seen it, the voiceovers don't ruin anything) and you learn why certain scenes were included, why they contributed to the plot, why the actors were directed in a certain manner, etc. I think it's a cool feature. I'm not so sure about downloading a commentary, but having it on the DVD is a "value added" service that makes it worth owning, IMO...
Thanks to the War on Drugs, it's easier to buy meth than it is to buy cold medicine!
Unfortunately, English is not the official language in the United States'. I'm surprised Congress hasn't brought up the idea of an amendment to make it official. If they're going after flags, gay marriage, and illegal immigration to hand-wave people away from the real issues, english as a national language would do a much better job in my opinion.
I don't get it.