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Super (2010)


Commentaries on this disc:

Commentary 1: Director James Gunn and actor Rainn Wilson Rating:8.7/10 (3 votes) [graph]Login to vote or review
Reviewed by iwantmytvm on November 14th, 2020:Find all reviews by iwantmytvm
Gunn and Wilson provide a conversational and full track with no lulls. They are pleased to have succeeded in making this film which was never going to appeal to all audiences. Gunn had developed the script over the course of many years, with a false start to production along the way. When his ex-wife suggested Wilson to Gunn as the lead, and Wilson came on board, the stars finally aligned and long gestating project came to fruition. The addition of Liv Tyler helped secure financing, even if it was ultimately a low budget film.

They shot mostly in Shreveport, LA, and just briefly in L.A. and with a very fast pace. Gunn feels that films shot in L.A. has a distinct warmer look as opposed to the grey obtained from a shoot in Vancouver. Filming in the U.S. as opposed to Australia or Canada made it possible for Gunn to cast or work with his friends and frequent collaborators. Having friends on the set offered comforting stress relief in the worst moments. Gunn admits that the constant shifting tones of the film rendered the project a difficult concept to pitch. In spite of the frenetic nature of the film and the shoot, he had detailed storyboards. Wilson was determined not to emulate his tv show character for this role, and they feel he succeeds.

They talk about how the film evolved, some cuts and deletions and some of the notes and feedback they received from test screenings. They feel that the animation, visual effects and stunts are generally successful but to mention candidly where certain elemnets could have been improved. The music was also heavily considered and Gunn credits Liv Tyler and the association of her father and Aerosmith to one of the bands to obtain clearance for one of the songs. Another frequent collaborator, Tyler Bates, scored the film, and Gunn worked closely with Bates to realize his intentions.
Reviewed by grimjack on January 23rd, 2021:Find all reviews by grimjack
The previous reviewer did a great job of breaking down a lot of what is heard. It is a very good commentary, touching mostly on what is on the screen, with just a few lengthy side trips when the director starts talking about the score. No great moments of enlightenment to make me appreciate the film a lot more, but worth a listen, to get an idea of how hard it was to make, how committed the makers were, and how they absolutely understood how unusual the genre was, and how few average moviegoers would get or enjoy the film.