[eco_bach]

The type and quality of the special features section on blurays varies incredibly.
As someone especially interested in cinematography I was wondering if anyone could recommend their picks for blu-rays with special features containing (in order of priority)


1) interviews with the director of photography

and or

2) interviews with the director

and or

3) behind the scenes, explanation of sfx

[NJScorpio]

It's not exclusive to the blu-rays, but I found the bonus features in the Alien Anthology very interesting. This is coming from a huge fan of the series, so keep that in mind. What was so interesting was how different directors approached the Alien universe, and creature design. It also showed the evolution of FX, going from puppets and minatures, to early CGI. The directors are all excellet, so it is great to hear about their differences in stuff such as lighting, and what themes they focused on in their films. Also, I found the parts about the musical scores more interesting than other film's bonus content.

All in all, there is a bigger focus on the evolution of the creature design, special effects, and cinematography than interviews directly with the directors. The impressions you get about them come from cast and crew interviews mostly.

[MrAngles]

I like the documentary-style features a lot more than individual interviews or short features. The Alien ones are my favorites as well. Along with those the documentaries on Prometheus and Blade Runner are great, Star Wars (Empire of Dreams in particular) and the appendices on the extended editions of the Lord of the Rings trilogy are very good. Some of my other favorites are The Harryhausen Chronicles with Leonard Nimoy on Jason and the Argonauts, The World of the Dark Crystal, The Ten Commandments - Making Miracles.