Audio commentary

An audio commentary is an additional audio track, usually digital, consisting of a lecture or comments by one or more speakers, that plays in real time with a video. Commentaries can be serious or entertaining in nature, and can add information which otherwise would not be disclosed to audience members.

History

The Criterion Collection introduced audio commentary on the LaserDisc format, which was able to accommodate multiple audio tracks. The first commentary track, for the 1933 film '' King Kong'', was recorded by Ronald Haver, a curator at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and was inspired by the stories Haver told while supervising the film-to-video transfer process. Criterion expected that the commentary would only be of interest to serious film students. It received a favorable reaction, and his commentary on ''King Kong'' is considered to ultimately have started the trend. Haver went on to provide commentaries for Criterion for the rest of his life.

Excerpt of Haver's commentary for ''King Kong'':

DVD and Blu-ray audio commentaries

DVDs, Blu-rays, and 4K Ultra HD Blu-rays have made audio commentary a key component of special features. They often include commentary from cinematographers, screenwriters, actors, producers, directors, film historians, film critics and subject matter experts.
For example, American cinematographer Garrett Brown, the inventor of the steadicam, is featured throughout the audio commentary track for '' The Shining'', where he discusses his work with the ground-breaking technology. The DVD of the science-fiction movie '' Sunshine'', directed by Danny Boyle, contains an audio track with English physicist and professor of particle physics Brian Cox. In the cast commentary for '' The Silence of the Lambs'', former F.B.I. criminal profiler John Douglas, an advisor to the filmmakers, offers his anecdotes about the film.

The box set of '' The Ultimate Matrix Collection'', has two audio commentaries on each film, one by philosophers who loved it; Dr. Cornel West and Ken Wilber, and one by critics who hated it; Todd McCarthy, John Powers and David Thomson. The DVD release of '' Ghostbusters'' contains a video commentary track with director Ivan Reitman, Harold Ramis, and Joe Medjuck, with silhouettes of the trio added to imitate '' Mystery Science Theater 3000''. The Blu-ray edition of the film ''Galaxy Quest'' includes a tongue-in-cheek trivia commentary called "Galactopedia", by American graphic designer Michael Okuda, known for his work on ''Star Trek'', and Denise Okuda, co-author of the '' Star Trek Encyclopedia''.

On the DVD release of '' Bowling for Columbine'', Michael Moore allowed his interns, secretary and production assistants to record the audio commentary for his documentary. In the commentary for '' True Romance'', Quentin Tarantino, who wrote the film script, explains why he didn’t direct the movie himself, and the inspiration behind him writing the script. For '' The Goonies'' audio track, many of the original cast members, Sean Astin, Josh Brolin, Corey Feldman and Martha Plimpton, along with director Richard Donner, reunited and watched the film together, offering their opinions on the classic comedy film.

Film directors commentary

Film directors can also provide their perspective into how a film is made. In his commentary for the 1970 film '' M*A*S*H'', director Robert Altman gives background information on production and on the way the script was used and misused. He also comments on problems he had with the studio in relation to the connection with the Vietnam War. Director Mel Brooks discusses in his audio commentary for '' Young Frankenstein'' how the movie was turned down by Columbia Pictures because its 2 million dollar budget was too high. He also points out the homages in his film, in relation to the history of Frankenstein movies.

Director Oliver Stone in his audio commentary for ''Wall Street'', explains how his family influenced the making of the film, and speaks candidly about the actors, mildly criticizing them, particularly Charlie Sheen. In his commentary for the 2003 film '' Shattered Glass'', director Billy Ray is joined by '' New Republic'' editor Chuck Long, who explains the differences between the film and the actual event. Ray, in his directorial debut, also admits his lack of experience, and how he relied on more experienced members of his production crew.

Director Francis Ford Coppola in his audio commentary about his epic film ''The Godfather'', recounts how the original title of the film was supposed to be "Mario Puzo's The Godfather", but that "no one remembers it that way", and in the 2007 DVD release of '' Hearts of Darkness'', a documentary about the production of ''Apocalypse Now,'' Coppola explains why it's not a good idea to film a movie in the Amazon jungle. He also talks about a scene in the film where Martin Sheen was drunk and cut his hand, and relays how the opening shot with a huge explosion in the jungle was completely unintentional.

Film historians and critics

Film historians are frequent contributors of audio commentary, including: Tim Lucas who has recorded numerous audio commentaries since his first, for Mario Bava's '' Black Sunday''; Peter Cowie has provided commentaries for numerous DVDs of Ingmar Bergman's films, including '' Wild Strawberries'', written and directed by Bergman; Donald Richie has recorded commentary tracks for many Japanese films; and respected historian Rudy Behlmer, who is primarily known for his audio commentaries of American classic cinema, most notably ''Casablanca'', ''Gone with the Wind'' and ''Frankenstein''. John Fricke has recorded, or participated in, several audio commentaries for Judy Garland's films, including '' The Wizard of Oz'', '' Babes in Arms'', '' Easter Parade'', '' For Me and My Gal'', ''Girl Crazy'', '' Meet Me in St. Louis'', and '' The Pirate''.

Film critics are also frequent contributors to commentaries like: American film critic Roger Ebert who recorded DVD audio commentary tracks for many classic films, including ''Citizen Kane'' and ''Casablanca'', and Richard Schickel who has provided commentary for ''Double Indemnity'', '' Strangers on a Train'', ''On the Waterfront'' and ''The Good, the Bad and the Ugly''. Leonard Maltin has also offered commentary on several films including, Marx Brothers '' A Night at the Opera'', and '' The Harold Lloyd Comedy Collection'' (volume 2).

Hong Kong action cinema expert Bey Logan is a frequent commenter for Asian films, including '' Fist of Fury'', '' The Banquet'', '' Iron Monkey'', ''Musa'' and ''Bullet in the Head''.

Animation historian Jerry Beck has recorded dozens of audio commentaries for animation productions, including ''Sinbad the Sailor'' and the '' Looney Tunes Golden Collection'' series, and historian Michael Barrier also regularly contributes commentary to selected shorts in DVD packages, including the ''Popeye

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