Bey Logan Counterparts?

[White Line]

I'm a little disappointed at the lack of extras on Kubrick films. Now we know he wasn't that bothered about DVD, and of course the fact that he's no longer with us, left us with almost bare-bones releases of his films. But surely there must be a leading authority on Kubrick - a 'Bey Logan' if you will - who could provide us with some fascinating commentaries for these discs.

This also made me wonder if there are other such individuals who could give us the same on other discs, one for each genre or director maybe.

[Michael Brooke]

For Kubrick, Michel Ciment would be the obvious choice - he knew Kubrick personally, he knows the films backwards, he's been a highly-regarded professional critic for decades, and despite his nationality he speaks English flawlessly (almost without a trace of a French accent, barring the occasional dropped 'h').

Peter Cowie is the Bey Logan equivalent when it comes to Ingmar Bergman - as those who've sampled Criterion's <I>The Seventh Seal</I> know only too well: again, he knows Bergman personally (and is his authorised biographer), he's an expert on Scandinavian cinema, and both the commentaries I've heard by him (the other being for Renoir's <I>La Grande Illusion</I>) are absolute models of their type, offering tons of information while still remaining eminently listenable.

[kanedaa]

Criterion used Michael Jeck for an Audio Commentary on Kurosawa's Seven Samurai - I've never actually listened to this but its a shame they never continued the trend for their Kurosawa releases since then.

Using an expert of a film/director is something i'd personally like to see more of - most of the time they are far more interesting than the actual director/actors!

dave.

[dunctay]

sometimes the films speak for themselves but bey logan certainly made a terrible movie a lot more interesting hkl should be congratulated for turning a turkey of a movie into an essential package.
does the film justify this kind of attention?
background info is fascinating and i agree the seventh seal commentry is very informative and certainly sheds light on the reasons for its importance and methods of working etc for those who like me spend more time watching movies than reading about them.
one day hopefully the films of Kubrick will be released with a lot more in the way of extras if a body of work surely deserves the 'criterion seal' style they do warners know they hold a fantastic body of work and will continue to play on them financially. But it must be said the documentry included with the box is superb.
There is argument that Kubrick's movies they should retain their 'mystique' and lets face it many people don,t even like this kind of movie so it could be wasted on the public at large.

[p_chally]

I have to agree with the Bey Logan comments, I'd never heard of him before buying HKL films, but he turned a very ordinary film into a very enjoyable one. I didnt really enjoy OUATIC but watching with the commentary track on it was a very enjoyable experience, although why they chose Mark King to join Bey Logan is beyond me, he just has contempt for the film and the hong kong film industry as a whole. I am glad OUATIC2 only as a Bey Logan commentary, mind you havent seen the film yet with or without commentary(and i've had it since the last HKL offer at play247.com).

[wong fei hong]

I've been a fan of Bey Logan for quite a while - his book 'Hong Kong Action Cinema' is a really good overview of the industry, and packed with fun asides (like top ten lists) and shed loads of photos. He also used to edit Impact (bad action magazine with good articles by him and John Mosby, plus the only way of getting HK movie news pre-internet).

As for the OUATIC commentary, I think it's okay. It is pretty funny to get two industry insiders, one a genre expert in love with movies, and one jobbing hack with disdain for his own work. For me, OUTIC is one of the greatest films ever made, so to hear a cast member heaping on the scorn made me giggle. Granted, a co-commentary with Jet Li, Tsui Hark or Rosamund Kwan would have been infinitely preferable, but.... what'cha gonna do?:D