October 12, 2004 - The addition of commentary tracks on DVDs have given movie fans a whole new perspective on film, as the commentary tracks give the filmmakers and stars a chance to speak up like they never have before. It's just the commentators, no one else. No flacks kicking them under the table or saying what's off limits. The Bad Behavior list should prove that.

Some directors speak best through their movie and make for dull commentaries. Others are more entertaining than their own film. Some love to talk and fill the commentary track with all manner of information. Some directors turn their commentary into film school. Others are just a wellspring of anecdotes from the set.

Consider this the sibling of the Bad Behavior list. It will probably become tricky to separate the two… no doubt there will be films that could be on either list.

If you have any contributions to the Must-Hear Commentary List, send them in with this link so the mail script sends it into a designated folder. Make sure to include the movie title, participants, and what makes the commentary so good. I can't credit everyone with a submission. Suffice it to say, I appreciate all user submissions to this list.

All of the new entries, or updated entries, are at the top of the list. The first two pages are all new entries, after that they are existing entries.

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The movie: The Alamo
The participant(s): Historians Allen Huffines and Stephen Hardin
Why it rocks: These two professors acted as consultants to the film and do an outstanding job of introducing every last detail of the film, dispelling myths (about Jim Bowie and David Crocket, mostly). They talk about the detail of the mission, the mores of the era, the dress, Santa Anna, everything. A history lesson on disc.

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The movie: The Shawshank Redemption (Special Edition)
The participant(s): Frank Darabont
Why it rocks: An excellent commentary full of stories and anecdotes from the shoot, all told by a very enthusiastic director.

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The movie: Super Size Me
The participant(s): Morgan Spurlock, with girlfriend Alex
Why it rocks: Suprlock is an absolute hoot, full of jokes and sarcastic comments, adding all kinds of information and editorializing as he goes along. Alex doesn't contribute much because her boyfriend is such a blabbermouth.

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The movie: Jonah: A Veggietales Story
The participant(s): Main cast
Why it rocks: The voice over actors do the whole commentary in character of the role they play on screen. The best part is, it's 100 times funnier than the movie!

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The movie: American Pie - Collectors Edition
The participant(s): The main actors, director Paul Weitz, producer Chris Weitz, writer Adam Herz.
Why it rocks: They provide loads of insight into the writing as well as giving lots of behind the scenes info. On top of that the whole crew together is hilarious and makes for some great humor. I've seen this movie a good 30 times and after watching the
commentary I picked up on over a dozen new details I missed...definitely check this out if you are a fan.