BBFC to certify all audio commentaries

[JamesM]

From the BBFC website (Audio commentaries)

"The BBFC has recently received legal advice on the issue of audio commentaries. Our advice is that audio commentaries will almost always constitute new video works and consequently require classification.

The only exceptions are audio descriptive tracks which involve very simple and short descriptions of the action on screen (eg for the visually impaired)."

Well I do not think the statement neccesarily stands up. It assumes all new video works require classification when that is not necessarily the case.

To submit a commentary for a 100 minute feature film costs £800 or more. I have had a hard enough time trying to persuade DVD companies in the UK to allow me to produce commentaries for them for £800 in total so this additional cost is going to see a negative effect on the production of audio commentaries by smaller DVD companies like Digital Classics.

[JamesM]

I have just emailed the BBFC to tell them their statement is incorrect.

[julian_craster]

I have mixed feelings about audio commentaries....

Unless they are very well prepared in advance they often add little value, especially if the speaker's memory is faulty (and the age of the speaker can present problems) or they just recite a few platitudes....

[batman]

Originally Posted by julian_craster I have mixed feelings about audio commentaries.... Unless they are very well prepared in advance they often add little value, especially if the speaker's memory is faulty (and the age of the speaker can present problems) or they just recite a few platitudes....

I feel much the same about them and, to be honest, very rarely listen to them.

Bats.

[julian_craster]

Indeed....the worst DVD commentaries have a 'rambling Sid Rumpo' (Beyond Our Ken) character about them, with the director unable to recall the name of famous character players, and saying the first thing that comes into their head, whether it is factually correct or not !

[Sam Webster]

Originally Posted by julian_craster Indeed....the worst DVD commentaries have a 'rambling Sid Rumpo' (Beyond Our Ken) character about them, with the director unable to recall the name of famous character players, and saying the first thing that comes into their head, whether it is factually correct or not !

Can't remember one that has been any use or even slightly interesting.

Why bother? Just look it up on Google.

[Mr Cosmo]

By coincidence I was listening to 2 very different audio commentaries over the last couple of days. The audio track on FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE (and all the Bond films) is very well put together, taking relevant extracts from different people and placing them at the most relevant part of the film and making it quite interesting.

I also listened to Sydney J Furie doing THE YOUNG ONES and ended up shouting at the TV - he got so many things wrong like "Didn't George Martin produce Cliff Richard?" "Norrie Paramor write all the Shadows hits..." (He didn't write any of them). In fact on this DVD and on the audio for WONDERFUL LIFE he spends lots of time talking about THE LEATHER BOYS.

Re the censorship debate - if you have someone like Samuel L Jackson or Eddie Murphy commentating then I can see why they would want to put a warning on there. Not sure why people find it necessary to swear all the time.

Good luck with your fight on this James.

[Dave Rattigan]

I have found some really good commentaries. Well-researched and well-prepared commentaries by scholars and experts tend to be worthwhile (eg on the Universal horror movies - excellent).

I've found several that I really love by directors; usually they're commentaries that give me some new insight into the director and how he feels about his characters. Mike Leigh's All or Nothing, for example - that really helped me appreciate Leigh in a new light.

I agree, however, there are a lot of commentaries that are a waste of time because they're so ill-prepared, and full of mumbling - often inacurrate mumbling, at that. An example is Freddie Francis's commentary on Dr Terror's House of Horrors. He could hardly remember a thing about the film! Luckily, it was paired with another commentary by an Amicus maven (whose name escapes me - Alan something?) that was full of interesting and informative trivia.

[JamesM]

Well, they have yet to correct the original statement, which any fool can see does not stand up.

the BBFC used to advise people that, if a commentary contained language that would be expected to raise the certificate of the underlying film, were it to appear in that, it would also need classification. This again bears no relation to reality. Language dictates what classification a title should receive, it does NOT dictate whether a film should be classified or not. These are two completely different issues.

I sent an email to the BBFC regarding this but have not received a written reply yet. It looks as though I shall have to put my request (which shall become a demand) in a posted letter, and present it in the same manner I would have to present it were I seeking a judicial review and taking the necessary steps.

It is really simple, the original statement claims that all new video works require classification when this is clearly NOT the case. For example, new video works such as sports videos, music videos and documentaries do not require classification.

I did speak to someone separately and they did say they were considering altering the statement. they were forced to admit that what I had said was technically true. I guess nobody likes being a member of a public body, issuing a public statement and then having a member of public point out that their statement is entirely flawed. Someone obviously does not like their abilities being questioned and has no sense of obligation to public duty. Perhaps they are psychopathic in nature and are unwilling to accept criticism of their work and will not consider adjusting their statement, no matter how much their original statement flies in the face of reality. If that is what has happened, I am going to do my utmost to ensure that heads will roll.

I have been looking to become an employee five years now. As I have mentioned before, I essentially can not find employment because the only options open to me, to apply for advertised positions, are highly unlikely to be fruitful as I have been self employed for too long and can not provide a relevant employers reference. It really winds me up when I am forced to encounter people who are in employment who are completely incompetent in their job.

I am of the impression that the incompetence starts in the HR departments.

This is how an office of BBC Worldwide ended up being staffed in of people completely unaware that a project they were working on, a DVD release of the film Scrooge (1951), was a copyrighted piece of work, making their proposed activity illegal. Anyone with a basic comprehension of copyright law would have known this. Their HR department managed to staff the office with incompetents. It was due to my vigilance that I manged to save BBC Worldwide thousands of pounds by alerting the relevant people about the proposed illegal activity. Of course, BBC Worldwide would never consider employing me because their HR department would be very unlikely to be able to look beyond my lack of previous employment. I have not had an employer since 1993. Everything I have done since then has been self employed and accounted for by myself.

I have decided that in 2008, any person I encounter who shows fundamental incompetence, I am going to see to it that their incompetence is known. This includes policemen who I inform of a crime ring I uncover but then sit and let go and go on to rob people of thousands of pounds (I supplied the police a list of hijacked but dormant eBay accounts that were about to be used in a scheme by a criminal gang to rob people of tens of thousands of pounds. I distinctly told the policeman that I was NOT speculating and that this crime was going to occur with certainty two days beyond the date of my warning, the time when the first auctions were closing. Needless to say, the police made no attempt to prevent the crime taking place, despite the clear evidence I gave to them that it was going to happen).

If I do not have a speedy response to my letter to the BBFC, legal action shall be swiftly taken. I have got plenty of time on my hands so I might as well do something with it.

Happy Xmas