Audio Commentary Tracks: A Victim of Streaming? – Tedium

As the formats hosting our favorite movies, music, and games change, some things will be lost. (Sometimes, even the formats themselves.) By some estimates, 75 percent of silent films were never converted to more stable mediums. They are gone forever. On the bright side, most of it was crap unworthy of saving. But there were a few gems, like Charlie Chaplin’s A Thief Catcher, though a copy was found in 2010. In an age of Gmail, Dropbox, and Netflix, people rarely worry about losing their favorite entertainment. One artform, inextricably tied to a dying format, is endangered–damn near extinction, even. Today’s Tedium looks at the lost art of DVD commentary.

I have listened to one film commentary: Almost Famous. It’s one of my favorite movies, and I was interested in hearing what Cameron Crowe had to say, since the film is auto-biographical.

It was a slog. I have no desire to listen to these things, but I do understand people – especially this in the industry, or aspiring to be part of it – who listen to them.

But this is a great point. These commentaries are sold on optical disc versions of films as bonuses. Perhaps studios will start adding them to streaming movies, but I’d suspect they’d rather just get people to buy them if they want those extras.

Source: Audio Commentary Tracks: A Victim of Streaming?