Make no mistake readers, this is the very first commentary ever recorded in the history of commentaries. Here are some of the first words ever spoken:

"Hello ladies and gentlemen, I'm Ronald Haver, and I'm here to do something which we feel is rather unique. I'm going to take you on a lecture tour of King Kong as you watch the film. The laserdisc technology offers us this opportunity and we feel it's rather unique - the ability to switch back and forth between the soundtrack and this lecture track..."

If you're a fan of King Kong, then this commentary is a must. I was very fortunate to obtain this Laserdisc before I sold my machine. I've listened to it on several occasions and gets better with each viewing.

This scene specific commentary is by the late film historian Ronald Haver. Ron covers every aspect of the film's production, covering the cast, production design, script and special effects. It is well paced and highly informative.

When Haver announces that this is to be an audio "lecture", you might wonder if this commentary is going be a little dry, but you'll be pleasantly surprised. It doesn't follow the freeform chat that we're accustomed to in commentaries now - instead it spends one third of the running time carefully detailing the antecedents of KONG and its creator (Merian C. Cooper). When the jungle drums start on the island and the crew leaves the ship, the commentary then switches gear and becomes scene-specific. There is a wealth of material to be found here, and Haver points out all kinds of things I never knew (or noticed) before - having interviewed a number of the people involved in KONG, he really has some insight into the production. As the first-ever home video audio commentary, it's fitting that the honour should be given to the classic larger-than-life KING KONG, and the bar was raised high from the outset. This was a time when commentaries were delivered by experts, historians, writers, critics, and enthusiasts who prepared the work and had a lot to say - it's a shame that many commentaries now appear to be 'obligatory extras' on DVDs that regularly feature a bunch of actors back-slapping each other and making jokes for an hour and a half.