I feel that an audio commentary is 'worth listening to' if it is as entertaining as the film itself - or close to it, anyway - and you generally achieve this when a commentary has more than one person involved (especially if one or more of these people is an actor).

Yes, Oliver Stone can tell you how he shot 'Wall Street', but it's dry, dry stuff because he's all on his lonesome. Try 'Fight Club' or 'Pitch Black' - the director and two principal cast members on both of these make for good fun, as well as answering technical questions that the film may have raised.

Invariably, you'll find a director will have a highly subjective view of their film, sometimes coloured by the critical opinion it received. Doug Lyman spends much of his time on the 'Mr & Mrs Smith' commentary explaining the many difficulties they had during production, no doubt a result of it's poor reviews.

The most frustrating commentaries are the ones that line up fantastic comedic talent, and then have them record their sessions separately. I ask you, what is the point on having John Cleese, Eric Idle and Michael Palin commenting on 'Holy Grail' if they're not watching the same movie at the same time?

Ultimately, I find the best commentaries are the ones that show me just how rewarding the collaborative process can be. If there are 2 to 7 people in a room, talking about the fun they had and the hardships they endured, and obviously coming out of it with a solid product and all the better as friends for it, then I am truly inspired.

So with that in mind, try these on for size (television programs included here as well):

- Fight Club
- Evil Dead 1 & 2; Army Of Darkness
- Confessions Of A Dangerous Mind
- Goodnight And Good Luck
- Out Of Sight
- Big Trouble In Little China
- The Thing
- Robocop
- Star Trek II: Wrath Of Khan
- Batman: The Movie (1966)
- Catch 22
- Pitch Black
- Spaced
- Futurama
- The Incredibles
- The Shield
- Rescue Me
- Life On Mars

The television commentaries are especially informative re challenges of shooting for tv (time, budget etc). Remember to watch the entire series of tv show before watching any episodes with the commentaries (lest you be spoiled).