Peterson is abrillinat director and here he has alot to say. A facination discription of what went into making such an challenging film.

Jurgen Prochnow is a charismatic speaker and he has a great sense of humor. His comments really added a lot to what Petersen had to say. What I found most interesting is how Spielberg borrowed their U-96 submarine so he could use it in his production of Raiders of the Lost Ark. This was a fun commentary to listen to.

This commentary was disapointing for me. While I agree Peterson is a brillinat director and Prochnow has a great sense of humor, this was essentially an impromptu yack-fest. There may have been some nuggets in those 209-minutes, but I didn't hear much more than "this was a tough shot" and "look how we improvised that.." Yack, yack, yack. Granted, I am not a film maker, but I found the DVD liner notes detailing the restoration process fascinating.

After reading budc25's review above I was prepared to be disappointed by the commentary, but it was actually quite good. Wolfgang Petersen is joined by actor Jürgen Prochnow and the director's cut producer Ortwin Freyermuth. Their comments sometimes sure seem adrift and random, with the three of them talking at the same time or suddenly changing subject to come back to it later, but it is quite interesting and informative, and actually it even expands upon the great liner notes mentioned by the above reviewer. For example, the DVD leaflet mentions that before Petersen took over the movie, some attempts have been made by the studio to make it with American directors and stars. I've always been curious about who those directors would be; Petersen says that first it was John Sturges with Robert Redford in the leading role, and after that Don Siegel and Paul Newman.