DVDs with Writer Commentaries - DVDfile.com forum for DVD, Blu-Ray, and HD-DVD

esc · 01-22-2005, 01:44 AM

how many DVDs can you name that have commentaries from just the writer, or the writer and the director ?

I decided to get off my ass finally and pound out several of the screenplays I have had in the back of my head for the last 10 + years and I am looking for a little guidance and inspiration.

One of the projects is a film noir detective story, so I'm watching lots of old B&W mystery movies (39 Steps, etc) so that I know what the story should feel like and so that it is as authentic as possible and true to the genre. ie. for my teen slasher, i'll be watching about a solid week of 70's and 80's gorefests to get in the mood.

I want to get some first hand tidbits from other writers and some of their experiences and techniques they use, and the only commentary that is exclusively from a writer (and a first time one at that) that i can think of off the top of my head, is on The Big Hit.

As I remember that one had a ton of great information and he relayed some good stories about his first time experiences in hollywood and how his original script was changed quite a bit after it got out of his hands because he was very low on the hollywood totem pole... thats the kind of commentary i'm looking for, not just "now they do this" ... "heres the scene where this happens"

Efstar · 01-22-2005, 01:51 AM

All of the American Pie Movies
All of the Blade Movies- Blade Three will count event though its not out yet
Star Wars- if you count George Loucas as a Writer
Fight Club
All three Lord of the Rings Movies(Extended editions)

I hope that gets you started.

Moonraker · 01-22-2005, 02:30 AM

Die Hard with a Vengeance has a good writer commentary track.

Moose · 01-22-2005, 03:31 AM

Black Hawk Down Deluxe Edition

LeChuck · 01-22-2005, 04:06 AM

Fight Club's was quite good because it had both Chuck Palahniuk (Author) and Jim Uhls (Screenplay).

Drugs Delaney · 01-22-2005, 05:30 AM

Frequency

Master Gandhi · 01-22-2005, 10:08 AM

Charlie Kaufman:
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Tina Fey:
Mean Girls

Quentin Tarantino:
True Romance - Special Edition

Cameron Crowe:
Fast Times at Ridgemont High
Say Anything...
Jerry Maguire - Special Edition
Almost Famous (Untitled) - Bootleg Cut
Vanilla Sky

All of Kevin Smith's films on DVD.

Those should get you started off nicely.

McMurphy · 01-22-2005, 03:00 PM

Oceans Eleven with directer Steven Soderbergh and writer Ted Griffin. I found this to be very interesting and fun. Especially the part about the ending of the film.

AnonomusBob15 · 01-22-2005, 05:23 PM

Panic Room has a special commentary with David Koepp and legendary screenwriter William Goldman. I've listened to bits of it, and it's extrememly interesting.

The Tarantino commentary on the True Romance disc is definitely one of my top five commentaries.

Drugs Delaney · 01-22-2005, 08:10 PM

Hard Eight

JakeLipson · 01-23-2005, 02:48 AM

Amongst the other tracks, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl has a great commentary with the three or four writers who contributed to its screenplay, including Ted Elliot and Terrry Rossario, who also wrote Aladdin, The Mask of Zorro and the original Shrek.

Drugs Delaney · 01-23-2005, 03:03 AM

Garden State has Zach Braff commentary.

bgbohemian217 · 01-23-2005, 07:25 AM

John Irving (writer of the novel and screenplay) has a commentary in The Cider House Rules DVD.

walter's femur · 01-23-2005, 09:33 AM

Ocean's Eleven has a commentary with Soderbergh and the writer. From what I remember it's very sarcastic with alot of oneupmanship.

aedavela · 01-24-2005, 02:32 PM

Friday Night Lights has a writer/director track. The two participants are cousins, btw.

blakely614 · 01-24-2005, 05:10 PM

The Sum of All Fears has a track with director Phil Alden Robinson and author Tom Clancy. Clancy pulls no punches with Robinson. Its pretty refreshing in light of most commentaries.

Also, Traffic - Criterion has a track with director Steve Soderbergh and screen writer Stephen Gaghan.

retroboy · 01-24-2005, 07:51 PM

I love the sparring between Steven Soderbergh and writer Lem Dobbs for The Limey. Meoow!

limacharliewhiskey · 01-24-2005, 08:14 PM

One that hasn't been mentioned yet is the 2nd release of First Blood, with a very informative commentary track by writer David Morrell.

Drexl · 01-25-2005, 11:51 PM

The Sweet Hereafter has a commentary from Atom Egoyan, who wrote the screenplay and directed the movie; and Russell Banks, who wrote the novel the movie is based on.

The Shining (miniseries) has a commentary from Stephen King, who wrote the teleplay and novel.

Goodfellas has a commentary that includes Martin Scorsese and Nicholas Pileggi, and others. Pileggi wrote the book and co-wrote the screenplay with Scorsese.

01-22-2005, 01:44 AM	#1 (permalink)
esc Stay behind my aura! Join Date: Jun 2000 Location: camrose, alberta, canada	DVDs with Writer Commentaries how many DVDs can you name that have commentaries from just the writer, or the writer and the director ? I decided to get off my ass finally and pound out several of the screenplays I have had in the back of my head for the last 10 + years and I am looking for a little guidance and inspiration. One of the projects is a film noir detective story, so I'm watching lots of old B&W mystery movies (39 Steps, etc) so that I know what the story should feel like and so that it is as authentic as possible and true to the genre. ie. for my teen slasher, i'll be watching about a solid week of 70's and 80's gorefests to get in the mood. I want to get some first hand tidbits from other writers and some of their experiences and techniques they use, and the only commentary that is exclusively from a writer (and a first time one at that) that i can think of off the top of my head, is on The Big Hit. As I remember that one had a ton of great information and he relayed some good stories about his first time experiences in hollywood and how his original script was changed quite a bit after it got out of his hands because he was very low on the hollywood totem pole... thats the kind of commentary i'm looking for, not just "now they do this" ... "heres the scene where this happens" Last edited by esc : 01-22-2005 at 01:48 AM.

01-22-2005, 02:30 AM	#3 (permalink)
Moonraker A Look Inside... Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Brooklyn, NY	Die Hard with a Vengeance has a good writer commentary track. __________________ "Time, won't leave me as I am, but time won't take the boy out of this man." - U2 "In my dream I was drowning my sorrows, But my sorrows, they learned to swim" - U2 A Look Inside ... ARCHIVES \| XBOX Gamertag: MoonrakerC \| PS3 Network: MoonrakerB \| Twitter: MoonrakerB

01-22-2005, 10:08 AM	#7 (permalink)
Master Gandhi Orinoco Flowin' Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: here	Charlie Kaufman: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind Tina Fey: Mean Girls Quentin Tarantino: True Romance - Special Edition Cameron Crowe: Fast Times at Ridgemont High Say Anything... Jerry Maguire - Special Edition Almost Famous (Untitled) - Bootleg Cut Vanilla Sky All of Kevin Smith's films on DVD. Those should get you started off nicely. __________________ "There is no death. It is only a transition to a different sphere of consciousness." - Poltergeist "I can only express puzzlement, which borders on alarm." - Sin City My DVD Collection

01-22-2005, 03:00 PM	#8 (permalink)
McMurphy Actor Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Toronto, Ont.	Oceans Eleven with directer Steven Soderbergh and writer Ted Griffin. I found this to be very interesting and fun. Especially the part about the ending of the film. __________________ The next woman takes me on's gonna light up like a pinball machine and pay off in silver dollars! --Randle P. McMurphy , One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest

01-22-2005, 05:23 PM	#9 (permalink)
AnonomusBob15 Actor for over 4 years now! Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Auburn University	Panic Room has a special commentary with David Koepp and legendary screenwriter William Goldman. I've listened to bits of it, and it's extrememly interesting. The Tarantino commentary on the True Romance disc is definitely one of my top five commentaries. __________________ The Revised DVD Collection

01-22-2005, 01:51 AM	#2 (permalink)
Efstar Actor Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Lenexa, KS	All of the American Pie Movies All of the Blade Movies- Blade Three will count event though its not out yet Star Wars- if you count George Loucas as a Writer Fight Club All three Lord of the Rings Movies(Extended editions) I hope that gets you started.

01-22-2005, 03:31 AM	#4 (permalink)
Moose Actor Join Date: Jan 2003	Black Hawk Down Deluxe Edition

01-22-2005, 04:06 AM	#5 (permalink)
LeChuck "Woman Hands" man Join Date: May 2004 Location: Cambridge, MA	Fight Club's was quite good because it had both Chuck Palahniuk (Author) and Jim Uhls (Screenplay).

01-22-2005, 05:30 AM	#6 (permalink)
Drugs Delaney Banned Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Previously Banned User	Frequency

01-22-2005, 08:10 PM	#10 (permalink)
Drugs Delaney Banned Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Previously Banned User	Hard Eight

01-23-2005, 02:48 AM	#11 (permalink)
JakeLipson All Hail Peter Jackson! Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry	Amongst the other tracks, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl has a great commentary with the three or four writers who contributed to its screenplay, including Ted Elliot and Terrry Rossario, who also wrote Aladdin, The Mask of Zorro and the original Shrek. __________________ Proud Supporter of Blu-ray Disc! My modest collection of little silver movie discs

01-23-2005, 03:03 AM	#12 (permalink)
Drugs Delaney Banned Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Previously Banned User	Garden State has Zach Braff commentary.

01-23-2005, 07:25 AM	#13 (permalink)
bgbohemian217 Actor Join Date: Nov 2002	John Irving (writer of the novel and screenplay) has a commentary in The Cider House Rules DVD. __________________ -Bryan My DVDs My Top Films My Top Films of '04

01-23-2005, 09:33 AM	#14 (permalink)
walter's femur Actor Join Date: Apr 2003	Ocean's Eleven has a commentary with Soderbergh and the writer. From what I remember it's very sarcastic with alot of oneupmanship. __________________ My DVD's

01-24-2005, 02:32 PM	#15 (permalink)
aedavela Color Me Surprised! Join Date: May 2003 Location: Buffalo, NY	Friday Night Lights has a writer/director track. The two participants are cousins, btw. __________________ "Pussy? Well who taught you judo?" My DVD Collection My Top 20 Movies Guzzlefish Last DVD(s) Acquired: Kingdom of Heaven Director's Cut; Ronin SE

01-24-2005, 05:10 PM	#16 (permalink)
blakely614 Actor Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: A Red State	The Sum of All Fears has a track with director Phil Alden Robinson and author Tom Clancy. Clancy pulls no punches with Robinson. Its pretty refreshing in light of most commentaries. Also, Traffic - Criterion has a track with director Steve Soderbergh and screen writer Stephen Gaghan. __________________ “You know what always cheers me up? Rolled up aces over kings." - Worm

01-24-2005, 07:51 PM	#17 (permalink)
retroboy Actor Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Rock 'n' Roll High School	I love the sparring between Steven Soderbergh and writer Lem Dobbs for The Limey. Meoow! __________________ "I think Canadians see the world more as anthropologists. I think we're not burdened by the weight of being a superpower and that gives us the chance to listen and understand different issues around the world."

01-24-2005, 08:14 PM	#18 (permalink)
limacharliewhiskey FryMaster Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: The O.C.	One that hasn't been mentioned yet is the 2nd release of First Blood, with a very informative commentary track by writer David Morrell. __________________ "Believing oneself to be perfect is often a sign of a delusional mind." - Data in Star Trek: First Contact DVD Aficionado collection.

01-25-2005, 11:51 PM	#19 (permalink)
Drexl Actor Join Date: Jun 2000	The Sweet Hereafter has a commentary from Atom Egoyan, who wrote the screenplay and directed the movie; and Russell Banks, who wrote the novel the movie is based on. The Shining (miniseries) has a commentary from Stephen King, who wrote the teleplay and novel. Goodfellas has a commentary that includes Martin Scorsese and Nicholas Pileggi, and others. Pileggi wrote the book and co-wrote the screenplay with Scorsese.

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