The Fates Were Cruel to Classic Film Lovers...

Lincoln Spector wrote:
> "Rob Farr" <lippfarr.TakeThisOut@nine.netcom.com (when replying change nine to ix)>
> wrote in message news:IEAcg.965$Sf2.298@newsread1.news.pas.earthlink.net...
> > ...when they took William K. Everson away from us before the advent of the
> > feature-length DVD commentary track.* Dr. Everson had so many fascinating
> > insights about even the blandest programmer that Milestone or Kino would
> > have had to add a second disc just to contain it all. Just a random
> > thought
> > before sunrise.
> >
> > * He was around for the laserdisc but, alas, never made a commentary
> > track.
> I've often wished that Alfred Hitchcock had lived a few more years and done
> some LD commentaries, which would now be available on DVD, of course.
>
> Lincoln

There are many directors whom I wish I could hear commentaries from who
lived well into the LD (and some into the DVD) era-Jacques Tati,
Hitchcock, George Cukor, Billy Wilder, Douglas Sirk, but one I most
wish could have been done would be Orson Welles.

However, with the exception of Welles, I don't think any of these
directors would have been interested in doing commentaries. Wilder, for
instance, never did DVD commentaries. I remember when the special
edition SOME LIKE IT HOT DVD was released in June 2001, I was wishing
he'd done a commentary for it (I remember when Wilder, Tony Curtis and
Jack Lemmon did a commentary on the film on TCM in 1997, with the
commentary track running on the SAP sound channel, a function I could
never get to work).

As far as historians, I wish John McCabe could have done some
commentary tracks on the Laurel and Hardy films.

Matt
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Disney has produced DVD "commentaries" by Walt Disney by poring through
recorded interviews and staff meetings. I doubt this could be done with
Everson, but there's probably enough Hitchcock around.

This method necessitates the intrusion of a third-party editorial
voice, and I'm sure some would have a problem with that. I think it's a
great idea so long as the production is handled by intelligent and
sympathectic people and the general methodology is understood by the
listener.

--Jason Liller
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One Hollywood veteran still with us has provided commentary tracks --
Vincent Sherman does commentary on MR SKEFFINGTON and I believe a few
others.





Jason Liller wrote:
> Disney has produced DVD "commentaries" by Walt Disney by poring through
> recorded interviews and staff meetings. I doubt this could be done with
> Everson, but there's probably enough Hitchcock around.
>
> This method necessitates the intrusion of a third-party editorial
> voice, and I'm sure some would have a problem with that. I think it's a
> great idea so long as the production is handled by intelligent and
> sympathectic people and the general methodology is understood by the
> listener.
>
> --Jason Liller
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In article <IEAcg.965$Sf2.298@newsread1.news.pas.earthlink.net>, Rob
Farr <lippfarr DeleteThis @nine.netcom.com> wrote:

> ...when they took William K. Everson away from us before the advent of the
> feature-length DVD commentary track.* Dr. Everson had so many fascinating
> insights about even the blandest programmer that Milestone or Kino would
> have had to add a second disc just to contain it all. Just a random thought
> before sunrise.
>
> * He was around for the laserdisc but, alas, never made a commentary track.

There are a number of people out there who do decent Everson
impressions that could probably do a nice job for you. But it wouldn't
be the same. I'd have liked to hear him do the sets on a WC Fields DVD
set, for example.

Eric
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"Rob Farr" <lippfarr DeleteThis @nine.netcom.com (when replying change nine to ix)>
wrote in message news:IEAcg.965$Sf2.298@newsread1.news.pas.earthlink.net...
> ...when they took William K. Everson away from us before the advent of the
> feature-length DVD commentary track.* Dr. Everson had so many fascinating
> insights about even the blandest programmer that Milestone or Kino would
> have had to add a second disc just to contain it all. Just a random
> thought
> before sunrise.
>
> * He was around for the laserdisc but, alas, never made a commentary
> track.
I've often wished that Alfred Hitchcock had lived a few more years and done
some LD commentaries, which would now be available on DVD, of course.

Lincoln
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> However, with the exception of Welles, I don't think any of these
> directors would have been interested in doing commentaries.
Hitchcock was a great interview subject who loved to talk about his films
(and just talk in general). He was also very witty. I think he would have
loved to do commentaries. Now Ford, on the other hand... :-)

> Wilder, for
> instance, never did DVD commentaries. I remember when the special
> edition SOME LIKE IT HOT DVD was released in June 2001, I was wishing
> he'd done a commentary for it (I remember when Wilder, Tony Curtis and
> Jack Lemmon did a commentary on the film on TCM in 1997, with the
> commentary track running on the SAP sound channel, a function I could
> never get to work).
The old Criterion Some Like It Hot LD (which I rented once but didn't buy)
had a commentary by a film historian, with some comments by Lemmon cut in.
The Lemmon comments were fascinating, but the main commentator was boring
and not very helpful.

Lincoln
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>Any other Hollywood or British film pioneers on commentary tracks?

I think Charles Bennett is on the Criterion laserdisc of Blackmail,
probably making him the only silent era figure to do a commentary track
on one of his pictures (though not the silent version).

Michael Powell turns up on a couple of the Criterion discs of his films
as well, though the full tracks are by someone else (M. Scorsese on
Colonel Blimp).

James Stewart did a commentary track on Winchester '73, actually it was
a live talk recorded in front of an audience while the picture ran, but
functionally the same.

The real cruelty of fate is that we will never hear from the classic
age people we would have loved to hear from, while the ones we could
care less about will never stop yakking.
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