A strange commentary in how unguarded and revealing it is, but these qualities also make it worth listening to. Blake Edwards explains at the outset that he hasn't seen this film since it came out in 1962, and he will sometimes stop talking and just watch and listen to it for a while, after which he usually apologizes for his lapse into silence. He also touches on some deeply personal matters, some of which are prompted by the film's topic of alcoholism. He admits to being a recovered alcoholic himself and recounts discussions of drinking with Jack Lemmon while they were making the film. He talks about his friend Lee Remick, last seeing her in the hospital about a month before her death at age 55, and how her suffering pushed him closer to atheism. There's technical things, too. He mentions aspects of the editing (when cuts had to come in the greenhouse scene for the camera to follow Jack Lemmon) and acting (especially the straight-jacket scene with Lemmon), even saying that in everyday life Jack Lemmon had something of an exaggerated quality to his demeanor and implying that he (Edwards) had tried to get him (Lemmon) to tone that down. He seems a bit disappointed still that Gregory Peck won an Oscar over Jack Lemmon when the movie came out. Oddly, Edwards doesn't say anything about Jack Klugman, who has a supporting role in the movie, but he does comment briefly about Charles Bickford, Henry Mancini, and the writer JP Miller. In a way the personal nature of his remarks makes you wonder how many people really listen to the commentaries on DVDs and that whether the people who produced and distributed this disc might have reconsidered releasing it if they thought that many mainstream (as opposed to connoisseur) viewers would actually hear it.

This is an opportunity to listen to a great director. Edwards is not so keen to doing a commentary and there are a lot of gaps in the track. He hasn’t seen the movie since its release in 1962 and he is sometimes just watching it.

But if he talks it is always interesting. Lemmon brought Edwards into the project. He talks a lot about the acting and the working relationship with Remick and Lemmon (not a single word about Jack Klugman). The track is not very technical. Edward’s own experiences with alcohol and the behavior of alcoholics are a big point in that commentary. This is very touching.

There are stories about a different ending. Also the decision shooting in black and white is mentioned. He talks about working with Henry Mancini. Good is the part he talks about the impression that he is a comedy director. He is very proud of the film.

This track is good. 7 out of 10.