This is certainly one of my favorite films, so when I was finally treated to a commentary track for it, I ended up quite disappointed. These two film historians simply drabble on through some of the best sequences, and obviously miss the humor and sarcasm in which some of the sequences are held. They compare to many of the other Italian directors of the time, and have very little to say on the technical side. I found the commentary frustrating not only in that it did not share anything close to my interpretation, but I found theirs to be too deep-reading for things that should have been read almost on the surface. Finally, their interpretation of the ending (that it is more depressing than anything else) is quite ridiculous, in my opinion. That's not to say there is no sense of loss of youth here, but their tone implies more than that.

They talk about the notion of community that the film examines and how it disperses by the film’s end. They also discuss, in detail, how Amarcord represents masculinity and femininity and how women are always in the service of the men. They speak very knowledgeably about Fellini and his thematic preoccupations as they thoroughly analyze this film.

These guys obviously know what they are talking about. No question, they come prepared and focused to the task of commenting. But as a lot of criterion commentaries it is very dry, and not really my style. It’s probably more for film students and Fellini intellectuals. I want to like it, and the fact that I only give it a seven score is because I’m not that into this kind of track, but they do deserve a good grade. 7/10

I loved this film, and I am agreeing 100% with the first review. I'm copying and pasting some of the points made, because I could not say them any better. These two film historians simply drabble on through some of the best sequences, and obviously miss the humor and sarcasm in which some of the sequences are held. I found the commentary frustrating not only in that it did not share anything close to my interpretation, but I found theirs to be too deep-reading for things that should have been read almost on the surface. I did think their points about how women are depicted was interesting, but they should have picked commentators who actually enjoyed this wonderful film.