MovieChat Forums > My Man Godfrey (1936) Discussion > The Criterion DVD commentary

The Criterion DVD commentary

posted 19 years ago by ian2050
10 replies | jump to latest

The DVD is great but the commentary here by Bob Gilpin is really ponderous and the guy lectures as if talking to a bunch undergrads he has no respect for.

[–] [email protected] 19 years ago

On the contrary, I love these kinds of commentaries... I've listened to his commentary twice already... He talks like he really know his stuff; not like other commentaries where they spontaneously say trivias or run around the water without any sense at all...

[–] ian2050 19 years ago

I enjoy good commentaries on DVD but generally the best ones are from people who were actually involved with the film. What you get here is some academic and HIS opinion of a film he had nothing to do with. And he is very pretentious here.

[–] 19 years ago

[deleted]

[–] RustyShackleworth 17 years ago

I agree. Gilpin's commentary is pretty annoying.

What evil drives the Car?...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFWea3Eu97E

[–] [email protected] 17 years ago

I don't get what you guys are expecting on the commentary?... All the people involved in the movie have already passed away (as already stated) and what in the world are the commentators gonna talk about?... Seriously, instead of silly random trivias and fun facts, Gilpin talked about character/plot views, mis-en-scene, La Cava's direction, the actors' portrayals/etc... It makes a very good commentary...

[–] pacwarbuff 17 years ago

IMO it's a lousy commentary. Gilpin claims to have been teaching Godfrey "for years." He comes off as a complacent, tenured, academic hack with his overly-prepared notes and bland, montonous reading. He also makes a mistake early on, claiming that Powell was nominated for an Oscar in 1936 for both Godfrey and The Great Ziegfeld, winning for the latter. Wrong. He was NOT nominated for Ziegfeld, so he sure didn't win the Oscar for it, as Gilpin states. An easily-avoidable error on his part.

Consilio et prudentia

[–] JenniferLynne73 17 years ago

He probably goofed on the fact that Bill Powell was nominated for (and lost) best actor for My Man Godfrey but he also portrayed the title character Florence Ziegfeld in the biographical The Great Ziegfeld.

Academy rules in 1936 (and today) state that no actor can be nominated in a single category for more than one acting performance; since Powell was nominated as best actor for My Man Godfrey that elliminated his chances of being nominated for The Great Ziegfeld- a nomination for which many believed he would've won the Oscar. Even Florence Ziegfelds widow, Billie Burke, (who single handedly picked Powell to play her husband) praised his portrayal.

The Great Ziegfeld won best picture of 1936. Paul Muni won best actor for The Story of Louis Pasteur. :(

That's probably what Gilpin was referring to when he said Powell "won". Not that he won best actor, but that his portrayal of Ziegfeld won best picture. The biggest prize of them all!!! :-)

Too bad Bill didn't get a statuette for it....

"All you need to start an Asylum is an empty room and the right kind of people"-(My Man Godfrey)

[–] RustyShackleworth 16 years ago

I expect a commentary about the film not some academic take on 1930's America.

What evil drives the Car?...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFWea3Eu97E

[–] Danusha_Goska 15 years ago

I've often found academic's commentaries to be unbearable, and I can't get through them.

I've much more enjoyed commentaries by the people invovled in the film.

The academics are often so stiff, so wordy, so unaware that there is more than one way to view a scene or a film.

for all that they know, and it is an impressive amount, they often lack passion, insight, delicacy, appreciation ...

they often sound so bored, lifeless, dead, as if speaking with their heads up their own butts.

And they are so political, not in the elective office sense, but in the "say the right thing and get tenure" sense.

I don't know that I've been able to get through one entire film's commentary by an academic, whereas commentaries by people who made the movie and love movies in general I've really enjoyed.

[–] RustyShackleworth 15 years ago

Same here. It is almost always worthless to have a commentary by someone who was not involved in any way with the film. I hate Richard Schickel's commentary for The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly for the reasons you cited. I so disappointed when I got the DVD for that film. He talks mainly about himself and his views. And its especially frustrating since Clint Eastwood and Eli Wallach are still alive to talk about the film!

What evil drives the Car?...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFWea3Eu97E