Commentary tracks are typically found on DVDs, Blu-rays, and the like. But Rian Johnson has traditionally encouraged his fans to buy multiple tickets to see his work by releasing director’s commentary tracks while his films are still playing in theaters. You could download the tracks for free like a podcast, pop them on your iPod or phone, then listen to it with your headphones in the theater while the movie played.
Well, DVDs are barely a thing anymore — and for a Netflix movie like Johnson’s Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, so are movie theaters — but Johnson is continuing the tradition anyway. Today, a few months after Glass Onion first hit streaming, Netflix unveiled a commentary track for the film. The link to download or stream it can be found here.
Netflix also released a new poster for the movie for the occasion:
As a film nerd who came of age in the DVD era, I love and miss director’s commentary tracks. Some boutique home video labels like Criterion and Kino Lorber keep the tradition alive, but the days when almost every movie came complete with a commentary track are long gone. Netflix has experimented with adding commentary to some of its original content in the past; they had David Fincher do commentary on House of Cards Season 1, for example, but they must have found it was a niche item that didn’t generate a lot of listens, because they have largely abandoned them — along with any special features for their films. (The streaming service with the best selection of special features in my opinion is Disney+; most of their movies include an “Extras” tab that includes an assortment of supplementary materials.)
Maybe if millions of people download this commentary track, Netflix will be inspired to release more of them? It would be nice.
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