In-theater audio commentary[edit]
In-theater audio commentary is an audio track that is downloaded before going to a movie theater, and then played back on your device while watching the film. American director Kevin Smith was one of the first filmmakers to provide this feature with Clerks II.[34][35] Rian Johnson provided in-theater commentary for The Brothers Bloom, Looper and Knives Out.[36][37] John August also used in-theater commentary for The Nines.[38]
Television series[edit]
When complete seasons of TV series are released to DVD and Blu-ray boxsets, they often include audio commentary. Older classic shows like The Twilight Zone[39] The Monkees,[40] Night Gallery,[41] The Brady Bunch,[42] Dennis the Menace,[43] Star Trek: The Original Series,[44] Groucho Marx's You Bet Your Life,[45] The Abbott and Costello Show,[46] and The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour[47] have all featured audio commentaries by the cast, crew members and special guest stars.
Modern classics with commentaries from the creators, writers, directors and cast include (select few): Everybody Loves Raymond,[48] One Tree Hill,[48] Second City Television,[48] Smallville,[48] The Sopranos,[49] Arrested Development,[50] Buffy the Vampire Slayer,[51] Sex and the City,[52] Will & Grace,[53] Game of Thrones,[54] It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia,[55] Seinfeld[56] and Friends.[57]
Animated TV series are also a genre that frequently provide audio commentaries, which include: My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic[58] and Nickelodeon's SpongeBob SquarePants.[59] Classic cartoons include: The Flintstones,[60] The Jetsons,[61] and Tom and Jerry[62] which have all been released with audio commentaries. Adult and cult classics with audio commentaries from creators, writers, directors and cast include: South Park,[63] Beavis and Butt-Head,[64] Robot Chicken[65] and Aqua Teen Hunger Force.[66]
Music videos[edit]
On the DVD release of Queen's Greatest Video Hits 2, which features music videos with audio commentary, band members Brian May and Roger Taylor reflect on their memories and opinions of each video.[67] On the 20th Anniversary Remastered Edition of Paul's Boutique, the Beastie Boys provide their insights on a downloadable hour long audio commentary, which offers "rambling" revelations into album characters like Johnny Ryall.[68]
The 2000 Criterion DVD re-release of The Rolling Stones Gimme Shelter, a 1970 American documentary, features audio commentary from directors Albert Maysles and Charlotte Zwerin, along with collaborator Stanley Goldstein.[69] The 2006 Fade to Red: Tori Amos Video Collection, a double DVD set, has commentary from Tori Amos on each video.[70]
Broadway plays[edit]
The 2011 Broadway revival of Godspell featured a downloadable ten-part audio commentary series from composer Stephen Schwartz and director Daniel Goldstein, who "discuss their process and personal experiences of creating the Broadway revival".[71]
Video games[edit]
Video game developers have also included audio commentaries in their games. Unlike DVD commentaries, in-game prompts are used to allow players to activate a relevant audio commentary for a specific area in the game. Star Wars Episode I: Battle for Naboo is believed to be the earliest video game with audio commentary.[72] Other select video games with commentary include: Portal,[73] Alan Wake,[73] Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge Special Edition,[73] Deus Ex Human Revolution Director's Cut,[73] Grim Fandango Remastered,[74] Day of the Tentacle Remastered,[75] BioShock: The Collection,[76] Firewatch,[77] Duke Nukem 3D: 20th Anniversary World Tour,[73] and Half-Life: Alyx.[78]
James Bond commentary[edit]
Controversy surrounded the audio commentary on Criterion's 1991 laserdisc release of the first three James Bond films, Dr. No, From Russia with Love and Goldfinger.[79][80] Eon Productions notified Criterion of "185 statements in the audio commentaries which they considered to be 'inaccurate, insensitive, inflammatory or potentially libelous'".[79] The audio tracks featured commentary from various members of the production crews who worked on the films. Amongst the offensive commentary; they criticized the budgets for the three films, gossiped about Sean Connery's weight gain during From Russia with Love, and "insinuated that several female costars were bad actors and had been cast solely for their looks".[79] Additionally, when English film director Guy Hamilton was commenting about Goldfinger, which he directed, he referred to the fictional character Pussy Galore as a "dyke".[79] In response to EON’s complaints, Criterion discontinued the collection, and issued a recall of the unsold copies. The following year, they reissued the three films as single-disc versions, with all the extra features removed.[79]