A new pizza roll
August 4, 2012 12:23 PM Subscribe
Mr. Plinkett's Star Wars Episode 4: A New Hope Commentary Track (stream for free or buy to download)
Heh. Smartass questions regarding the preferred nomenclature are answered in the first few seconds.
posted by Artw at 12:52 PM on August 4, 2012 [2 favorites]
posted by Artw at 12:52 PM on August 4, 2012 [2 favorites]
A weird thing: It appears to be impossible to buy 1-3 on DVD right now on Amazon without paying silly money.
posted by Artw at 12:52 PM on August 4, 2012
posted by Artw at 12:52 PM on August 4, 2012
Hopefully this one doesn't include serial kidnapping, beating and murder.
posted by Vindaloo at 1:07 PM on August 4, 2012 [2 favorites]
posted by Vindaloo at 1:07 PM on August 4, 2012 [2 favorites]
Yeah, as ever I'm a little torn on this - the guy has good insights, but the whole persona is a little bleh to me. See also film critic hulk and his annoying habit of just speaking like puny Banner in ALL CAPS and not speaking in proper Hulk speak....
posted by Artw at 1:11 PM on August 4, 2012 [6 favorites]
posted by Artw at 1:11 PM on August 4, 2012 [6 favorites]
Huh. Interesting that he's taking to doing full movie commentaries instead of just his (IMO very insightful and informative) reviews. I'll have to check out one of these commentary tracks, certainly. I can't imagine that they'd actually be anywhere near as good as his reviews, but they might be equally entertaining in a completely different fashion.
Interesting post. Thanks!
posted by hippybear at 1:17 PM on August 4, 2012
Interesting post. Thanks!
posted by hippybear at 1:17 PM on August 4, 2012
I wonder if he's gone to the commentary format because he holds a modicum of respect for episodes 4, 5, and 6 and would rather just talk about them than cut them up onto the editing room floor.
posted by carsonb at 1:26 PM on August 4, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by carsonb at 1:26 PM on August 4, 2012 [1 favorite]
Huh, and apparently RLM has a movie out, Feeding Frenzy [NSFW - language]. Given his ability to be pretty insightful about what makes movies that others have made NOT work, I wonder how well he/they've been able to make this movie work right. And I wonder if it's worth $7 to find out.
posted by hippybear at 1:27 PM on August 4, 2012
posted by hippybear at 1:27 PM on August 4, 2012
I love the Plinkett reviews and was pretty excited when they did this with Episode 1. But was never quite sure I had it synched properly. I am going to get this, because I love throwing money at people whose work I admire, and hopefully it will synch a little better.
Also, pizza rolls!
posted by munchingzombie at 1:27 PM on August 4, 2012 [1 favorite]
Also, pizza rolls!
posted by munchingzombie at 1:27 PM on August 4, 2012 [1 favorite]
I wonder if he's gone to the commentary format because he holds a modicum of respect for episodes 4, 5, and 6
It's a nice theory, but since he's also done a commentary track for The Phantom Menace, I'm not sure it's entirely correct.
posted by hippybear at 1:28 PM on August 4, 2012
It's a nice theory, but since he's also done a commentary track for The Phantom Menace, I'm not sure it's entirely correct.
posted by hippybear at 1:28 PM on August 4, 2012
Hippybear, it is a pretty good spoof. If you dig the characters in the reviews or Half in the Bag, you will get some enjoyment out of Feeding Frenzy. It isn't a great movie, but it is at least on par with the movies it spoofs. I got at least $7 worth of enjoyment out of it.
posted by munchingzombie at 1:29 PM on August 4, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by munchingzombie at 1:29 PM on August 4, 2012 [1 favorite]
Hopefully this one doesn't include serial kidnapping, beating and murder.
You get to basically the 49 minute mark before it does.
posted by hippybear at 2:49 PM on August 4, 2012 [1 favorite]
You get to basically the 49 minute mark before it does.
posted by hippybear at 2:49 PM on August 4, 2012 [1 favorite]
/sadly thinks of the parallel universe where Plinkett doesn't pull this shit and is basically ignored.
posted by Artw at 2:51 PM on August 4, 2012 [4 favorites]
posted by Artw at 2:51 PM on August 4, 2012 [4 favorites]
Yeah, given Mike Stoklasa's obvious love of schlocky horror movies (witness: Feeding Frenzy) and the fact that he doesn't actually take the actions in such movies seriously on any level, I'm not surprised he uses the tropes of murder and kidnapping and other horrible things as subjects of humor and injects them into non-related things such as movie reviews and commentary tracks.
posted by hippybear at 2:55 PM on August 4, 2012
posted by hippybear at 2:55 PM on August 4, 2012
Plinkett doesn't pull this shit and is basically ignored.
If he'd just gone as far as doing the voice and the sort of gonzo, profane yet super sharp criticism, I think he might have got noticed.
I'm just sitting here wondering how a fan edit would go. Just lop the grotty parts.
posted by Trochanter at 3:47 PM on August 4, 2012 [2 favorites]
If he'd just gone as far as doing the voice and the sort of gonzo, profane yet super sharp criticism, I think he might have got noticed.
I'm just sitting here wondering how a fan edit would go. Just lop the grotty parts.
posted by Trochanter at 3:47 PM on August 4, 2012 [2 favorites]
The list of innuendo which happens around 1h45m made me laugh out loud.
"Get in there, you big hairy oaf! I don't care what you smell!"
posted by hippybear at 3:47 PM on August 4, 2012 [1 favorite]
"Get in there, you big hairy oaf! I don't care what you smell!"
posted by hippybear at 3:47 PM on August 4, 2012 [1 favorite]
Three justs. I am the hero that Gotham deserves.
posted by Trochanter at 3:48 PM on August 4, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by Trochanter at 3:48 PM on August 4, 2012 [1 favorite]
Okay, I've watched the movie and listened to this commentary.
It's pure Plinkett through and through.
It's also a really interesting mix of admiration for the movie as an inspirational classic and a lot of insight about the real awkward plot problems and general inconsistencies within the movie specifically and in the context of the prequels.
In other words, it's the typical stew of brilliant insight and off-putting jokes and random sidetracks of thought.
I'm not sure I'll spend $2 to own it forever, but the online stream worked perfectly for me to watch it in something that seemed like synch with my DVD, and that was a great way to spend a couple of hours this afternoon.
Overall, I find Stoklasa's schtick to have enough insight and be entertaining enough that I don't shy away from his material. I understand why others might, but it really doesn't bother me because I generally see where he's coming from with the really dark stuff and it works for me on a humor level.
So, yeah. Good commentary. Made me laugh, made me think, made me look at the movie with fresh eyes. And that last one is a difficult thing, seeing as how I saw it in the theater 59 times the first summer it was out, and have seen it so many times since then I simply cannot count them all.
Again, thanks for posting. I had no idea he was doing these, and it was great fun!
posted by hippybear at 4:05 PM on August 4, 2012 [5 favorites]
It's pure Plinkett through and through.
It's also a really interesting mix of admiration for the movie as an inspirational classic and a lot of insight about the real awkward plot problems and general inconsistencies within the movie specifically and in the context of the prequels.
In other words, it's the typical stew of brilliant insight and off-putting jokes and random sidetracks of thought.
I'm not sure I'll spend $2 to own it forever, but the online stream worked perfectly for me to watch it in something that seemed like synch with my DVD, and that was a great way to spend a couple of hours this afternoon.
Overall, I find Stoklasa's schtick to have enough insight and be entertaining enough that I don't shy away from his material. I understand why others might, but it really doesn't bother me because I generally see where he's coming from with the really dark stuff and it works for me on a humor level.
So, yeah. Good commentary. Made me laugh, made me think, made me look at the movie with fresh eyes. And that last one is a difficult thing, seeing as how I saw it in the theater 59 times the first summer it was out, and have seen it so many times since then I simply cannot count them all.
Again, thanks for posting. I had no idea he was doing these, and it was great fun!
posted by hippybear at 4:05 PM on August 4, 2012 [5 favorites]
Holy Christ, 59 times. Puts my 12 times seeing Jurassic Park in the theater to absolute shame.
posted by adamdschneider at 4:47 PM on August 4, 2012
posted by adamdschneider at 4:47 PM on August 4, 2012
Yeah, well, I was 9 the summer it came out, and I could get into the movies for 50 cents. I spent my summer mowing lawns and going to the movie. (Not "the movies"... the movie.) Remember, this was 1977, and I didn't live in a major city at the time. It was cheap, and I was enthralled. I have no shame.
posted by hippybear at 5:15 PM on August 4, 2012
posted by hippybear at 5:15 PM on August 4, 2012
If you're wondering when to start the movie, start the commentary when Plinkett says "STAR WARS!" when the title zooms away after the "A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away..."
posted by chimaera at 5:23 PM on August 4, 2012
posted by chimaera at 5:23 PM on August 4, 2012
I have watched Star Wars a dozens of times at least in the 2 years... The joy of having a kid who is a Princess Leia fanatic.
posted by Artw at 5:28 PM on August 4, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by Artw at 5:28 PM on August 4, 2012 [1 favorite]
Looks like Harmy is prepping the 2.0 release of his original cut restoration, so this'll go nice with that.
posted by anazgnos at 5:34 PM on August 4, 2012
posted by anazgnos at 5:34 PM on August 4, 2012
If you're wondering when to start the movie, start the commentary when Plinkett says "STAR WARS!" when the title zooms away after the "A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away..."
Or, follow the instructions here, which state: "Start the commentary on the first frame of the SW logo right after the "in a galaxy far far away.." title." Which I accomplished by pausing my DVD as soon as I saw the SW logo appear, stepping backwards frame by frame until it disappeared, hitting forward once, clicking my mouse to start the commentary loading, hitting pause when it started, moving the tracking cursor back to 0:00 on the commentary, and then clicking both the remote "play" button and the mouse button on the pause/play button at the same time.
It's not a perfect synch. He talks about events before they happen, after they happen, sometimes things which entirely aren't happening. But it's a close enough synch (and the commentary ends right as the end credits begin) that I'm sure I got it correct.
posted by hippybear at 5:35 PM on August 4, 2012
Or, follow the instructions here, which state: "Start the commentary on the first frame of the SW logo right after the "in a galaxy far far away.." title." Which I accomplished by pausing my DVD as soon as I saw the SW logo appear, stepping backwards frame by frame until it disappeared, hitting forward once, clicking my mouse to start the commentary loading, hitting pause when it started, moving the tracking cursor back to 0:00 on the commentary, and then clicking both the remote "play" button and the mouse button on the pause/play button at the same time.
It's not a perfect synch. He talks about events before they happen, after they happen, sometimes things which entirely aren't happening. But it's a close enough synch (and the commentary ends right as the end credits begin) that I'm sure I got it correct.
posted by hippybear at 5:35 PM on August 4, 2012
Speaking of which is he doing this commentary to the original cut or the special edition?
posted by anazgnos at 5:36 PM on August 4, 2012
posted by anazgnos at 5:36 PM on August 4, 2012
The joy of having a kid who is a Princess Leia fanatic.
Documentary evidence
posted by Artw at 5:38 PM on August 4, 2012 [3 favorites]
Documentary evidence
posted by Artw at 5:38 PM on August 4, 2012 [3 favorites]
anazgnos: "This is a commentary track to play along with Star Wars Episode 4 A New Hope. This should play along the 2004 DVD release special edition version. It may also work with the Blu Ray version too."
posted by hippybear at 5:38 PM on August 4, 2012
posted by hippybear at 5:38 PM on August 4, 2012
He spends quite a bit of time talking about Special Edition stuff and talking about whether it works or not in context of the film.
posted by hippybear at 5:39 PM on August 4, 2012
posted by hippybear at 5:39 PM on August 4, 2012
Dodgy CG Jabba exists soley because they had footage of a Scotsman repeating pretty much the same lines as Greedo, so probably not.
posted by Artw at 5:43 PM on August 4, 2012
posted by Artw at 5:43 PM on August 4, 2012
Also it's a pretty lame gangster that lets Han Solo get away with walking on his tail.
posted by Artw at 5:46 PM on August 4, 2012 [2 favorites]
posted by Artw at 5:46 PM on August 4, 2012 [2 favorites]
Ah -- the instructions weren't on the linked page in the OP, but on another page that's almost identical in layout when you click through the title.
posted by chimaera at 5:48 PM on August 4, 2012
posted by chimaera at 5:48 PM on August 4, 2012
You're raising her right, Artw.
posted by egypturnash at 6:47 PM on August 4, 2012
posted by egypturnash at 6:47 PM on August 4, 2012
Many have seen the Binks. But what is her opinion of it?
posted by hippybear at 7:25 PM on August 4, 2012
posted by hippybear at 7:25 PM on August 4, 2012
I couldn't seem to stream it from the page, because the BandCamp embedded player wasn't actually loading, leaving an empty "a" element for the "Play" button. For those who are having similar issues streaming the commentary (i.e. the "Play" button doesn't do anything) you can load the SWF that does the streaming direct from BandCamp at http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer.swf/size=venti/album=2116810143/
I am not a fan of Plinkett's persona because of the rape, kidnapping, murder etc that get used as "jokes," but the grasp of film theory and criticism that the RLM people have shines through, like a small diamond inside a pizza roll that is inside a big turd.
posted by subbes at 7:45 PM on August 4, 2012
I am not a fan of Plinkett's persona because of the rape, kidnapping, murder etc that get used as "jokes," but the grasp of film theory and criticism that the RLM people have shines through, like a small diamond inside a pizza roll that is inside a big turd.
posted by subbes at 7:45 PM on August 4, 2012
Many have seen the Binks. But what is her opinion of it?
She thinks it is funny. All is lost.
* disclaimer: only in Clone Wars form, where he is given far less space to be obnoxious.
posted by Artw at 7:50 PM on August 4, 2012
She thinks it is funny. All is lost.
* disclaimer: only in Clone Wars form, where he is given far less space to be obnoxious.
posted by Artw at 7:50 PM on August 4, 2012
Clone Wars is non-canon [ed: says me], and therefore she's allowed to find him funny in that context.
posted by hippybear at 7:52 PM on August 4, 2012
posted by hippybear at 7:52 PM on August 4, 2012
If you don't have Star Wars on DVD, I recommend syncing this up to Star Wars Uncut, the frame-by-frame crowd-sourced remake.
posted by EmGeeJay at 8:21 PM on August 4, 2012 [3 favorites]
posted by EmGeeJay at 8:21 PM on August 4, 2012 [3 favorites]
Ha! That's hilarious. I should have tried that. Maybe I will in a week or so.
(I burned copies of Star Wars Uncut for all my co-workers for the 35th Anniversary of Star Wars last month. They were nonplussed, but I was amused.)
posted by hippybear at 8:24 PM on August 4, 2012 [1 favorite]
(I burned copies of Star Wars Uncut for all my co-workers for the 35th Anniversary of Star Wars last month. They were nonplussed, but I was amused.)
posted by hippybear at 8:24 PM on August 4, 2012 [1 favorite]
*month before last. these months, they turn over so quickly
posted by hippybear at 8:28 PM on August 4, 2012
posted by hippybear at 8:28 PM on August 4, 2012
When he's talking about how there are no railings on the Death Star to keep people from falling into the numerous bottomless pits on the station there is a shot that shows the Death Star does in fact feature safety railing (outside the elevators as our heroes make their way to Detention Block AA-23).
posted by mediated self at 9:34 PM on August 4, 2012
posted by mediated self at 9:34 PM on August 4, 2012
(stream for free or buy to download)
Or save the 110mb .mp3 straight out of Safari's Activity window.
(You like me because I'm a scoundrel. There aren't enough scoundrels in your life.)
posted by obiwanwasabi at 1:49 AM on August 5, 2012 [3 favorites]
Or save the 110mb .mp3 straight out of Safari's Activity window.
(You like me because I'm a scoundrel. There aren't enough scoundrels in your life.)
posted by obiwanwasabi at 1:49 AM on August 5, 2012 [3 favorites]
And that's why they took Activity Monitor out of the most recent release of Safari! It's a RLM plot.
posted by subbes at 7:32 AM on August 5, 2012
posted by subbes at 7:32 AM on August 5, 2012
Wait, what? No they didn't. I'm completely up to date on my Safari, and Activity is still a choice under the Window Menu, and it works just like it always has (double-click any single element to download that element).
posted by hippybear at 8:10 AM on August 5, 2012
posted by hippybear at 8:10 AM on August 5, 2012
Ah, I see. I've not upgraded OSes yet, so my Safari is up to date, as far as is available to me at my current OS level.
Okay, I'm happy with that for the time being. Sorry for all you who upgraded and lost this feature.
posted by hippybear at 10:19 AM on August 5, 2012
Okay, I'm happy with that for the time being. Sorry for all you who upgraded and lost this feature.
posted by hippybear at 10:19 AM on August 5, 2012
Ah, more pandering to those whose LDS (Lucas Derangement Syndrome) outstrips their critical thinking.
posted by mgrichmond at 7:05 PM on August 5, 2012
posted by mgrichmond at 7:05 PM on August 5, 2012
See also film critic hulk and his annoying habit of just speaking like puny Banner in ALL CAPS and not speaking in proper Hulk speak....
Film Critic Hulk is particularly silly since in comic books, all the characters speak in ALL CAPS.
posted by straight at 12:52 PM on August 6, 2012
Film Critic Hulk is particularly silly since in comic books, all the characters speak in ALL CAPS.
posted by straight at 12:52 PM on August 6, 2012
Ah, more pandering to those whose LDS (Lucas Derangement Syndrome) outstrips their critical thinking.
There's a hell of a lot of critical thinking going on in that commentary. It's not fanboy material. It's well-stated cogent analysis of the movie, where it works, where it doesn't, what plot holes are evident, how it fits into the overall cycle of Star Was films, both as a stand-alone project and as the seed for an expanded series...
If anything, it's entirely not what you suppose it to be.
posted by hippybear at 6:22 PM on August 7, 2012
There's a hell of a lot of critical thinking going on in that commentary. It's not fanboy material. It's well-stated cogent analysis of the movie, where it works, where it doesn't, what plot holes are evident, how it fits into the overall cycle of Star Was films, both as a stand-alone project and as the seed for an expanded series...
If anything, it's entirely not what you suppose it to be.
posted by hippybear at 6:22 PM on August 7, 2012
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This is for the DVD release of the film from 2004. The special edition version. You know the one with the terrible photoshopped cover that most people seem to own.
posted by ODiV at 12:37 PM on August 4, 2012