The people involved here are usually both very funny and very informative. Not this time. Perhaps It's been too long but they don't seem to be too involved in this film.

I love to watch DVDs while I work, and I often have commentaries on. There is one part that is pretty X-Rated here so i have to avoid playing this one. It's pretty good, lots of good stories about movie-making on the cheap, and how things often went awry, cast (aka family) problems and surprises. I recommend it, but not with young kids around.

The Original DVD is very Disappointing. Half the movie is silence. There are some interesting stories, but they sound like they don't want to be there.
The additional commentary on the "Don't Call Me Shirley" Edition is an improvement.

I loved the Jim Abrahams/Zucker Bros. commentaries on the "Naked Gun" movies, so I almost bought the DVD strictly to listen to this commentary. First of all, they keep struggling to come up with topics throughout the commentary. It was pretty funny, however, when they were discussing some topic and the scene popped up where the topless woman appears on screen. All of them suddenly lost their train of thought. Plus, they talk about the film like it was some amateur student project they made in high school. I know they were working with a small budget, but they did their best with that small budget. For example, they were talking about that scene where Leslie Nielsen's nose grows like Pinocchio as he keeps lying to the passengers. They keep poking fun at the scene, saying how obvious it is that they were using a broomstick to simulate Nielsen's nose. So what? The effect still looks better than Charlie Sheen's CGI erection in the recent "Scary Movie 4" (proof that a bigger budget only helps ruin a film). If you're a fan of this film, like I am, you'll probably be quite disappointed. The filmmakers seem highly pessimistic of "Airplane," considering it's one of the funniest comedies of all time!

Just to clear up any confusion - the commentary on the newer 'Don't Call Me Shirley' edition is identical to this commentary, there is, however, on the newer edition a branching long haul 'version' which includes interviews with the Zuckers, Abrahams and Davison (they repeat much of what is in their commentary) plus actors Robert Hays, Peter Graves, Leslie Nielsen, Lorna Patterson, David Leisure, Nicholas Pryor, Lee Bryant, Rossie Harris and special effects man Jack Frazier that are all 'timed' to the scenes so it is a commentary of sorts. I normally don't like comedy commentaries but this one is better than average simply because they actually talk about the production of the film such as issues with the studio rather than just describe the action and name drop their relatives (although they do this as well!). But even in their words, their comments become less and less interesting as the film progresses and is saved by the long haul interviews plus Davison's clearly scripted factoids.

When the three collaborators on this film get together in one room, it is fun to hear their chemistry as they make up gags on the spot during the commentary recording. It is evident that they worked together well in making what I think is one of the funniest movies ever made. I was very entertained to hear the reunion of the directors talk about their first big hit.

This track is funny. They talk about the problems to finance the movie. Good parts are the development of the script, the casting, the movie references, the cameos and the reception of the movies in different towns.

They have a good time watching this classic together. 8 out of 10.

It's kind of funny that the commentary works exactly like the movie, in that the movie seems to run out of ideas around 3/4 of the way in as well. They actually refer to this aspect of the film which I found surprising in its honesty.

I watched the movie for the first time in more than 10 years with my kids. They howled with laughter at it for 60 min and then fell silent for the last 25 minutes and one of them even fell asleep. The Zuckers do almost the same thing in the commentary because throughout most of it they're using the scenes as prompts for conversation. That's fine and it is fairly entertaining and informative.

It was interesting to learn which scenes were improvised and which ideas for scenes weren't used at all. Also they mention who they'd originally wanted for the cast. David Letterman being considered for the lead was a shocker and his screen test which is on youtube, while not terrible made me realize his 'desk job' was a better choice.

The commentary is well worth a listen but I'd recommend the 'Don't call me Shirley' edition for the added features and interviews. A good buy if you love this film like I do.