Super Commentary
So the DVD commentary for X-2 rocks ... at least for me.
You have to understand, I usually don't like the commentary on DVDs. I find most commentaries on DVDs involve actors, and let me tell you about actors... The actor's job is very specific. Actors are about finding their characters and manifesting their characters, and they can be very good at it. It's a hard job to do, a fun job to do, and people who do it well are really cool! However, often the actor has enough of a rough task on his/her hands just getting the acting down that they don't have time to step back and observe the big picture of the show in general. I think this is less the case in theater than in movies, where unless you're also the executive producer or for some reason the film is your baby, a lot of the stuff that goes on goes on without you. So movie actor commentary is not necessaruly the most engaging. What would Halle Berry know about the X-Men? What would she care? If she's read the comic, it's only been in preparation for the role. She's come in, tried out different wigs, memorized her lines, hit her marks, and then gone to the gym and gone home.
Maybe it should come as no surprise then that so many commentaries I hear are just collections of anecdotes. "Oh, remember how Kurt was really sick that day." "Yeah, it was raining, so that was a hard shoot." Yawn. That's my least favorite type of commentary.
My second least favorite type of commentary is commentary that spends all its time breaking down movie effects for you. Now, if you show someone a magic trick, there's one type of person who's reaction is instantly, "Cool! How'd you do it?" And they want to know. They'll walk around and scrutinize and try to figure it out. That's not me. I'm the person where you show me a magic trick, I say, "Cool! Do it again!" I don't need to know how the illusion works. I know it's an illusion, and it's fun to see that illusion. (Of course, if we're talking about a really cool, complex special effect like the digital creation of Gollum in The Lord of the Rings, that's something different.)
The commentary for X2 is by director Bryan Singer and his cinematographer for the past 10 years, Thom Sigel and it's awesome. Sure there are anecdotes and sure there movie effect breakdowns, but most of it is discussion of actual filmmaking: cameras used, lighting schemes, design choices, narrative strategies, character development, and how all of those come together to support each other -- what choices were made and why. Plus, Singer gets a kick out of pointing out all the little grace notes and Easter Eggs in the film, the movies that inspired him for particular shots, and where and how he's doing an hommage. Plus, Singer actually likes the X-Men and knows about the X-Men. Plus he and Thom Sigel are friends (not just people thrown together for this project), so they have a very laid back, easy going interplay with each other that's quite engaging, especially as the commentary goes on and Sigel feels comfortable enough to start joking more.
It's pretty cool. Just the thing to occupy my dinner break between rehearsals.
2 Comments:
I like seeing the trick done again and I want to know how it's done.
My favorite commentaries are definitely the ones done by film makers -- though some directors are really awful commentators.
My favorite commentary is Robert Rodriguez on El Mariachi and Desperado. Still the best.
My second-favorite is a bit of a surprise, because it's done by an actor: Ben Browder on Farscape. If you watch these DVDs, catch the commentary that does involve Browder and skip all the rest.
What's amazing: not only does this handsome jock fratboy type turn out to be extremely intelligent and well-spoken, but he turns out to care about all aspects of the show. He knows about the visuals, the makeup, the puppetry, the science-fictionall cultural references, the plot (and he ended up writing some of the episodes), and the skills, styles, and motivations of his fellow actors. The one thing that was good about suffering through some of the other actors' commentary was listening to them talk about how involved Browder was behind the scenes, and how helpful he was to them as actors. Very cool and very unexpected.
(And on a completely different topic than X-2. Sorry, CJ.)
The best commentaries are, by definitions, those that comment upon the film. When DVDs started coming out, it was usually a collection of directors, Director of Photography (DP) or Cinematographers (DC) and Executive Producers that did the talking. Those were the days. DPs and DCs and EPs (not the Director - I've already seen his or her vision) talking about the vision of the movie is pretty damned fascinating.
Actors, on the other hand, or other people who are the trees, not the forest, often react surprised when they're looking at the telecine of the movie they're commenting on. The worst is the Matrix. You'd think that, after creating such a thrilling movie with groundbreaking special effects and a contemporary plotline that is at least unique enough to thrill a generation that never heard of 1984 or read Aldux Huxley, that they would have some kick ass commentary, too.
I've never made it past the first ten minutes of Carrie Anne Moss telling us how she was doing her nails or whatever she's babbling on about. It's painful.
So I pretty much gave up on commentaries. Besides - I have better things to do with my 2 hours than see a movie I've already seen with someone talking throughout the whole thing...
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