Listen.

dvd "The Narrator somehow imagines that the job of an audio commentator is to painstakingly explain what's happening onscreen for viewers too stupid to follow the action. Though Narrators seemingly derive great satisfaction out of merely explaining a film's storyline in jaw-droppingly literal terms, they're also generally keen on explicating how this relates to resonant themes and character motivation." -- one of the 15 People You Meet Listening To DVD Audio Commentaries

Amazingly perceptive as usual from the AV Club. Here are ten further 'notables':

Rob Reiner -- I'm yet to hear a Reiner commentary in which he says anything that isn't either in the extras or doesn't describe something on the screen. It's particularly annoying on A Few Good Men because you know they had fun making that film.

Brian Grant -- whose single commentary, for The Long Game episode is just appauling. He describes everything that happens on screen, even interupting the couple of actors who are there and almost say something interesting just so that he can tell us something thats already no doubt on the official audio description for the blind

John Logan -- commentary for Star Trek : Nemesis -- sometimes gets character and actor names wrong and generally doesn't seem to care too much about the final product.

John Hay -- another describer -- There's Only One Jimmy Grimble -- in which he appears to have written the commentary down beforehand. This is the one occasion when I can say, yes, I know, I was there, and it wasn't like that.

Eddie Kaye Thomas -- honorary mention because it's not his fault -- American Pie 2 whilst the rest of the cast enjoy a party track elsewhere Finch is all on his lonesome. At one point he says something like 'I'm sure there are some very interesting and funny things I should be saying here...' Yup.

1 comment:

Pete Ashton said...

Honorary mention, please, for Sean Austin exuberant and over the top contributions to the LotR commentaries and the palpable bemusement of Serkis and Wood as they presumably exchange WTF glances.