Has anyone else listened to the commentary track for the Coen Brother's first film, Blood Simple. I had listened to parts of it before and I had forgotten about it until recently. I just pulled it out today and was reminded of the brilliant commentary for it.
So, my question to everyone is who is Kenneth Loring? Why is Kenneth Loring? What is Kenneth Loring? Is he some other Coen 'in-joke' like Roderick Jaynes or the 'true story' card at the beginning of Fargo? What is Forever Young films and why is it preserving Blood Simple? I know it is a joke but is there any meaning behind it (like they knew someone named Kenneth Loring in school or something)? Are the Coen's mocking all us who see 'feature length audio commentary' or 'Director's Cut' and shit ourselves and have to purchase? Who played Kenneth Loring?
Okay, I'll stop asking questions. It's just very intriguing to me how the Coens play with people like that. It kind of reminds me of Andy Kaufman going on Friday's and no one knowing what the hell he was doing but he had it all planned out or even his character of Tony Clifton.
I don't know the answers to your questions, but it is without doubt one of the best commentary tracks I've ever heard. I love those Coen Brothers!
For more of the same, check out the dust jacket bios in Ethan Coen's books. They're wonderful.
Cool, thanks.
I'm glad I'm not the only one who has had the pleasure of Mr. Loring's wisdom.
Definitely the best commentary track ever. Yeah, the whole thing is a joke. It's a mock commentary track.
i remember when i bought the dvd and first watched it and that guy said "we took out all the boring parts..." i was thinking to myself "what the fuck is this?"
They actually did take out all the boring parts. lol. They re-editted the version that appears on DVD to make it 'tighter.'
this is probably really really old news, and has been posted by macguffin elsewhere. but since its not here, and i just read it i'm going to post it here...
"Kenneth Loring" from Forever Young films is actually played by Jim Piddock who is perhaps best known for his role as Fred Willard's co-commentator in Best Of Show. Everything he said in the track was scripted by Joel and Ethan which explains a lot.
Such a hilarious commentary.
The movie being really dark and suspenseful makes the commentary that much funnier.
I loved it when Dan Hedaya he gets kicked in the nuts, and Ken Loring stops what he's saying and goes "Oh my..."
Also... best CGI fly I've ever seen.
till that track, i thought i was the only guy who brought up bulgaria
such a odd place, you seldom here about it, no bloody wars like those damn dirty serbs
and they were not quite as pro american and patriotic as the albanians
the bulgarians they just kinda exsist and so far they dont bother the world as far as i know
fucking hilarious...I didn't know it was a joke beforehand.
I kinda knew when he said they shot the first scene with the actors hanging upside down...and alot of hairgel :)
I love this.
In audiorevolution.com's review of the dvd, either the reviewer didn't actually listen to the commentary, or (gasp) didn't realize that the commentary was a joke:
http://www.audiorevolution.com/dvd/revs/bloodsimple.shtml
Here's an excerpt from their DVD review:
The print has been meticulously cleaned up for DVD – indeed, if the viewer goes to the main menu and selects "Play" (as opposed to just pressing the "Play" key on the remote), there's a little video introduction from Forever Young Film Preservation. The DVD also figures a sort of Filmmaking 101-style audio commentary from Forever Young's Kenneth Loring.
Must listen to that track asap. I've had the dvd for a year and have yet to get around to it.
I discovered Mr Loring last week, when I had the chance to watch Blood Simple for the first time on a big screen... I first thought it was serious, but the way it is filmed, how he stops reading to talk to the camera, and "boring bits" part...
Almost better than the movie itself ! (wait a minute, is that man kidding or what ?) :?
I gotta go get this DVD, I can't wait to hear this track. If it is Fred Willards co-commentator, that means he also the guy who told Danny Glover he couldn't move to south africa because he was blick!!
Keep Well,
dan
Quote from: themodernage02this is probably really really old news, and has been posted by macguffin elsewhere. but since its not here, and i just read it i'm going to post it here...
"Kenneth Loring" from Forever Young films is actually played by Jim Piddock who is perhaps best known for his role as Fred Willard's co-commentator in Best Of Show. Everything he said in the track was scripted by Joel and Ethan which explains a lot.
I know you wroite that post like 2 years ago, but you wouldn't happen to have a referrence for the above information would you? I tried finding some info about the commentary once and came up empty-handed.
That's interesting about Jim Piddock...I think his role opposite Fred Willard in
Best in Show is highly underrated, not only because he kept a straight face long enough to give some usable takes but also because his responses to Willard's insanity is so right on target. His really is an improvisation of subtlty.
Quote from: audiorevolution.com's DVD review of Blood Simple
The DVD also figures a sort of Filmmaking 101-style audio commentary from Forever Young's Kenneth Loring.
I guess they listened to the first minute or so. Surely they didn't get the the part about the actors being strapped in upside down and buy it completely.
the guy who commited suicide because of the cgi thing (or the fly thing, i dont remember) was the funniest part for me
The intro baffled me at first. Being the Coen's first indie release, I thought 'okay. This is pretty lame, but maybe some validity to it?' And yes, the soundtrack has been restored to include The 4 Tops 'It's The Same Old Song' which wowed me when I first saw the movie umpteen years ago. I was so pissed on later TV showings and my VHS copy that the song was changed (I guess the bros. didn't get adequate licensing rights?) But it's when I started listening to the commentary, I got sucked in. It makes sense at first - the characters are on a set, fake rain, and the oncoming lights had to be timed just right for the titles. But then he goes on to say that due to elements and realism, the lights had to be filmed in reverse, the actors had to mouth their dialogue backwards, and for replay to be accurate when ran forward, the actors were actually suspended upside down with a generous amount of mousse in their hair to hold it down. A brilliant performance by both under such arduous circumstances. After studying Kubrick, Clouzout, Scorcese, and such - this was the MOST outlandish thing I ever heard! And then I started to laugh...
It really turns the movie into a Monty Python bit when one listens to the commentary. Like night and day to watch 'as is' then with commentary. An excellent movie still either way. ;)