Who Gives Good Commentary?

[FrauBlucher]

I listened to Linda C Ehrlich commentary track for After Life. First time I’ve heard her. It’s terrific. A very easy listen. She never talked too much. Her transitions between what was going on on screen and her knowledgeable anecdotal comments were a smooth follow.

What else has she done?

[Maltic]

There's an interview with her on the Criterion DVD for The Spirit of the Beehive, apparently.

[FrauBlucher]

Interesting, she makes a scene comparison in After Life to El Sur, which I think Kor-reeda is a fan of

[Maltic]

Commentary by Linda Ehrlich is consistently interesting, offering insights into everything from color schemes that identify different sections of the film to the use of dialects which "locate" certain characters. Ehrlich does have a tendency to speak for a minute and then not say anything for a while, so it's best to "stay tuned", so to speak.

For the 2018 Milestone bluray release of Maborosi.

She wrote a book on Koreeda and edited one on Erice, so maybe she only talks about stuff she actually knows about...

[DeprongMori]

I listened to Linda C Ehrlich commentary track for After Life. First time I’ve heard her. It’s terrific. A very easy listen. She never talked too much. Her transitions between what was going on on screen and her knowledgeable anecdotal comments were a smooth follow.

What else has she done?

She first came to my attention with her excellent commentary on Milestone’s Maborosi.

[beamish14]

Banking off a mention in the Lenny thread—what’s the consensus on Kremer’s commentaries? His tendency to bank on anecdotes involving someone from the film he met/became friends with has me hesitating to get new Imprint releases that he’s on. Are his tracks with cast and crew (Sydney Furie, etc) any better?

I like him quite a bit. His commentary with Allan Arkush (!) on Karel Reisz’s Isadora is solid. Kino also distributes one of his own features, which is really interesting

[FrauBlucher]

Commentary by Linda Ehrlich is consistently interesting, offering insights into everything from color schemes that identify different sections of the film to the use of dialects which "locate" certain characters. Ehrlich does have a tendency to speak for a minute and then not say anything for a while, so it's best to "stay tuned", so to speak.

For the 2018 Milestone bluray release of Maborosi.

She wrote a book on Koreeda and edited one on Erice, so maybe she only talks about stuff she knows something about...

With After Life she'd announced her silence by saying let's listen to this scene. And then explain some points afterwards. I didn't find her silence to be random

[Maltic]

The quote was from this review.

Usually, I don't mind pauses in a commentary. You're rewatching a movie anyway.

[FrauBlucher]

Thanks for the link. It looks like it's OOP. The Ebay link has 1 listed for $200 or best offer

[Maltic]

It seems the DVD is available on amazon.com at a reasonable price, though.

[Orlac]

I definetly enjoy the commentaries and video essays of Stephen R Bisette.