"When I was in film school, laser discs were all the rage,” local film critic and historian Tony Strauss says. “They had these things called commentaries on them, and I thought they were the coolest things ever.”
It might sound like Strauss is reminiscing about an outdated mode of movie watching, especially in the modern streaming era, when seemingly every film is available online at the click of a button, but he’s actively involved in the still-thriving world of home video.
When boutique labels put out meticulously restored editions of vintage films or carefully curated releases of newer independent movies, they often include copious bonus materials designed to appeal to cinephiles and collectors who want more than just a convenient way to watch a favorite movie. This is where Strauss and fellow Las Vegas-based film scholars Heather Wixson and Stephanie Crawford come in. They’ve worked on commentaries, retrospective documentaries, audio essays, liner notes, and other special features for DVD, Blu-ray, and 4K movie releases ranging from cult obscurities such as Zombie Rampage and Hide and Go Shriek to mainstream hits such as Orphan and Rounders.
Wixson also has fond memories of her early format of choice. “When I went away to college my freshman year, I put my bed on cinder blocks so I had room to stick all of my VHS tapes under my bed,” she says. For her, the curiosity about film history began at an early age, after watching the 1984 horror compilation Terror in the Aisles. “I was only like 8 years old, but I was obsessed, and I wanted to know more,” she recalls. “I rented (Dario Argento’s Suspiria) with my best friend, and she never forgave me for it.”
“I got really ill when I was a teenager, and that’s when I started diving deeper into movies, and listening to commentaries and reading books about filmmaking,” says Crawford, who co-hosted The Screamcast and is a regular contributor to numerous other movie podcasts. Wixson has published two volumes of her Monsters, Makeup & Effects book series, and a third is on the way this year. Strauss is the editor of cult-film magazine Weng’s Chop, which is returning after a five-year hiatus. That kind of dedication to and immersion in film history informs every element of their work on home-video special features, especially sitting down to talk for 90 minutes or more on a commentary track.
“Panic, panic, panic,” Crawford jokes about her commentary preparation process. “I tend to watch the movie a lot of times.” She takes general notes and goes on “a wing and a prayer after that,” while Strauss calls himself “very nerdy and academic about it. I like to have extensive notes on stuff to talk about, never leave gaps in the commentary, and always provide as much information as I can for people who are nerdy like me.” Wixson takes a mixed approach: “For the longer ones, I will give myself an outline now. But for the most part, I’ve always been more of an off-the-cuff person.”
Whatever the strategy, the three approach each movie with respect and enthusiasm, knowing that their audience is often the most devoted fans. “Even if it’s a vampire movie shot in somebody’s garage, I like to treat as if it were a Criterion release,” Strauss says. Wixson, who collaborates with her editor husband, Brian J. Smith, on detailed documentary featurettes, stresses the importance of understanding potential viewers. “I don’t want to waste anybody’s time and just give them two hours for the sake of giving them two hours,” she says. “But certain fan bases, you know that they’re going to want to know every little intricacy.”
All three are longtime special features fans themselves. Strauss cites the early laser disc commentaries of directors Martin Scorsese on Taxi Driver and Danny DeVito on The War of the Roses as favorites, and Wixson admires the exhaustive 2010 Nightmare on Elm Street franchise documentary Never Sleep Again. Crawford remembers listening to Roger Ebert’s highly influential commentary on Citizen Kane. “It’s almost like getting a new film from the same source material,” she says.
Ideally, that’s what Strauss, Wixson, and Crawford provide as well. Strauss has taken the most pride in working alongside Italian film historian Eugenio Ercolani on 1987’s The Belly of an Architect, from his all-time favorite filmmaker Peter Greenaway. “That was one of those gigs where I would’ve paid them for it, honestly,” he says. Wixson’s favorite project was Michael Dougherty’s 2007 horror anthology Trick ’r Treat: “That’s like the mothership calling me home.” Crawford recently recorded a commentary track for George Romero’s zombie landmark Night of the Living Dead as part of a package of documentaries, shorts, and classics that she describes as “a Halloween party on a disc.”
Strauss is currently overseeing a pair of box sets of Hong Kong martial-arts films, Wixson is working with renowned horror studio Hammer Films, and Crawford has projects on tap from groundbreaking boutique label Severin Films. They’re all optimistic about the state of physical media, which is experiencing resurgent popularity, particularly from younger consumers who didn’t grow up with VHS or laser discs.
“You hear for years that physical media is dead, and you’re a weirdo for having all these movies at home,” Crawford says. “And then, suddenly, it’s cool again.”
