DVD Film School
By Peter John Ross

What a world we live in today, originating with the laserdisc, supplemental material with a movie has become a standard as DVD's made their way into virtually every home. Filmmakers have benefit greatly from this, especially for the astute observers. Not a lot of us can afford film school, but I can help you make a curriculum from your own DVD collection and from discs available from the public library for free. A lot can be learned form DVDs in the form of commentary tracks, documentaries, as well as the obvious just viewing the movie for it's own value.

You can create your own “curriculum” from many of your favorite movies on DVD. If there are commentary tracks and extras, they usually contain a lot of valued information on how something was done. Not everything have techie, scary guys on how they did the special FX.

Commentary tracks have some of the best lessons to learn from. For example, Rob Reiner & Cameron Crowe commentaries are almost exclusively on performance and nothing on camera, and others are too much about camera tricks they neglect to say anything about actors in the movie. And there's an all-new category of commentary tracks for people like Tim Burton who don't talk for 20 minutes at a time and teach us nothing.

My Best DVD commentary Track (for filmmakers)


ROAD TO PERDITION with director Sam Mendes. This isn't even one of my favorite movies, but it's by far my number 1 commentary track. Sam Mendes understands and has the perfect balance between actor's performance & directing the camera. A lot of commentaries are too skewed towards one & not the other.

STAR TREK II: THE WRATH OF KHAN with director and uncredited writer Nicholas Meyer. It features the essence of storytelling from a formerly young up & coming director looking back after years of experience.

TRUE ROMANCE with Quentin Tarantino writer's commentary track.
A great story of how the kid from a video store worked several angles to become the "Quentin" that we know as a pop culture icon. More sedate than usual, and at his most endearing, Tarantino’s storytelling is at it’s best with the commentary. Also an explanation of why he does his stories non-linearly is priceless.

THE USUAL SUSPECTS from Bryan Singer director, & writer Christopher McQuarrie discuss the beginnings of the story and again, the balance between story and acting plus the great cinematography of this movie.

SILENCE OF THE LAMBS (criterion collection edition) from director Jonathan Demme, Jodie Foster, and Anthony Hopkins. Not available on the "special edition" disc widely available, the commentary track has many insights into the actor's process and the director anecdotes, and trivia make for interesting examination of a landmark film.

SLACKER (criterion collection DVD) - the "crew" commentary with Rick Linklater, & Lee Daniel has many cost saving tips and other seeds that can grow in the minds of many young filmmakers.

CHASING AMY (criterion collection DVD/Laserdisc) - Although it's the usual comedy & antics of a large group of buddies, in between the jibes mocking Ben Affleck's movie Phantoms, there are some insights into the creative process of Kevin Smith. A few, and it's selective but the few nuggets of info are worth the banter.

LORD OF THE RINGS (all 3 movies from the 4 disc special edition DVD sets) - all 4 commentaries on all 3 movies can mine many great ideas and information on filmmaking in general. That's over 40 hours of viewing/listening right there.

FIREFLY: THE COMPLETE TV SERIES - disc four, the last episode commentary by Joss Whedon. By his own admission, creator, wrier director producer Joss Whedon does a somewhat less trivial commentary and tries to describe the origin of the concepts behind the ideas for an episode of phenomenal television. Getting philosophical and still maintaining his wit and humor, Joss' revelations and gratitude to everyone around him make this commentary special.

EL MARIACHI (all DVD version & originated on Laserdisc) when the opening words of the commentary tell you it's more like "how to make a movie for $7,000 or less", how bad can it be? It has a lot of great information delivered as you watch the inexpensive action movie.

The BMW Films series "THE HIRE" has all 8 films made for the web, plus their commentary tracks. Hearing insights from directors John Frankenheimer, War Kong Wai, Ang Lee, Tony Scott, Joe Carnahan, Guy Ritchie, and more make this a riveting and educational tool on telling stories in the short form. Not many will have $1million per 6 minute short, but the style and motives are priceless if you can learn to adapt the knowledge to match your budget.

THIS IS SPINAL TAP (criterion version DVD and Laserdisc long out of print) - the commentary track by the three lead actors Harry Shearer, Michael McKean, and Christopher Guest is very very different than the one on the commonly available "Special Edition DVD". On the Special Edition, they do a commentary as the characters. On the hard to find Criterion version, they do a commentary as actors, writers, and filmmakers. Lesson learned? It really boggled my mind to learn they never set foot out of Los Angeles County to make the movie. The power of suggestion of putting a title that says "Atlanta, Georgia" whilst showing a hotel can really effect perception in the viewers mind.

My Favorite DVD EXTRA's
Documentaries & Extras offer up a lot of fluff and sometimes some of the best reality of the film business. Here are the most educational in my humble opinion…


EL MARIACHI DVD (all editions)
TEN-MINUTE FILM SCHOOL from Robert Rodriguez is one of the most common denominators between new filmmakers in this, funnily enough 13 minute DVD extra. It's not as obvious why this is inspirational. After you've made several DV movies, and done 200 hours of editing, you can start to understand how genius Robert's shooting& editorial style was and what he's really demonstrating.

JAWS 25th anniversary DVD (actually the 20th anniversary Laserdisc set transferred to DVD) in the documentary "On Location" features one segment where Steven Spielberg describes how he wanted to do the Kinter boys death scene on the beach, he wanted to do it in one shot, and it wasn't possible with 180 degrees. Spielberg's solution is genius and ever filmmaker should see why he is a master filmmaker at age 29.

ENGLISH PATIENT (Miramax Collector's Edition) - MASTER CLASSES EDITING with Anthony Minghella. A lot of DVD’s have deleted scenes, so rarely are they accompanied with such a great explanation as to why & how they get left on the cutting room floor. Sadly, the great Walter Murch, academy award winning editor of English Patient, sadly gets missed in this session.

PULP FICTION (Miramax Collector's Edition & Criterion laserdisc) EXTRA, Quentin Tarantino on the Charlie Rose show. At the zenith of the Quentin era, his history, perspectives, and ideals get put through the passionate mouth of Quentin unfiltered.

FROM DUSK TILL DAWN (Miramax Collector's Edition), there are two extra's worthy note... the entire feature film documentary "FULL TILT BOOGIE" on an extra disc, and one snippet from the "Hollywood Goes to Hell" featurette where Quentin's mom describes his beginnings, and Robert Rodriguez' family recounting his early years.

CLERKS X: TENTH ANNIVERSARY - The "SNOWBALL EFFECT" documentary is a fine example, and an exhilarating story on how a schmoe not unlike us gets catapulted to stardom & a career in film. It's a great manual on the selling of an independent film.

SAVING PRIVATE RYAN (original DVD release) - On the documentary "Into the Breach", Spielberg's father recounts with additional stories from the man himself several stories (including priceless clips) of his first super 8 and 16mm forays into war movies. Lesson Learned? At age 13, Spielberg was a better director & innovative filmmaker than 99% of the DV camcorder jockey's out there. Some people just have filmmaking in their blood and can be Mozart at birth; others have to work at it.

DIE HARD (2 disc edition) - On disc two there is a great supplemental on EDITING 2 scenes from the raw footage and also a cool 3 minute clip on "to letterbox or not to letterbox" which should be required viewing for anyone who needs to convince the idiots who think they get "less" picture with the black bars

AMERICAN MOVIE - The movie itself needs to be viewed by anyone who thinks his or her idea for a movie is so good it needs to be made. Mark Borchardt is a tragic hero. This is the guy we're all terrified to be. Lesson Learned? Whether we want to admit it or not, every filmmaker of any genre could very easily be perceived as wacked as him, but not all of us are as passionate.

THE GODFATHER COLLECTION (disc 4, the BONUS MATERIAL), the HBO documentary "A Look Inside the Godfather Family" is the antithesis of AMERICAN MOVIE. It's the same type of story except of a successful filmmaker with tons o' vision & talent. I don't think too many people can think that Francis Ford Coppola is not passionate. Unlike Mark Borchardt, though it's pretty clear he can get his vision on a movie screen and it exceeds expectations... whenever he doesn't cast Sofia Coppola in a leading role. Also the value of rehearsals and quality of script differ from Mark Borchardt. Lessons learned? Rehearsals and passion and teamwork and emotion and Al Pacino combined can make a good movie or two. Seriously, it's about someone's passion & vision utilized in a collaborative environment can synergize a masterpiece. Tack on the business end of things & it's too rich to be passed up. For most filmmakers, we want to land somewhere in between Francis Ford Coppola and Mark Borchard.

Walt Disney's FANTASIA, uncut version from boxed set DVD. The documentary and the commentary track, pieced together from archived radio & television interviews, demonstrate a lot of creativity and the innovative thoughts behind one of the 20th centuries greatest cinematic genius', long before it got raped by Michael Eisner for a few bucks at a theme park. How he conceived and executed so many radical ideas from nothing staggers the mind.

THE SHINING (from Kubrick Collection) - The documentary, on set material from Vivian Kubrick shows a very real, not pretty at all look at Stanley Kubrick & his really evil directorial style. For all of us who hailed Kubrick as a genius needs to see what he could be like on set. Lesson Learned? I think you can get a good movie without resorting to this kind of anger and violence. In many ways this is great to see because unless your last name is "Kubrick", you will probably never get to treat people like this and ever make a movie again.

STAR WARS EPISODE I THE PHANTOME MENACE - On the topic of deleted scenes, the documentary preceding the deleted scenes section features Walter Murch, Francis Ford Coppola, and Phillip Kaufman explaining how & why scenes get deleted. The priceless story of Walter Murch excising a moment from film "Julia" and the director saying that the scene being cut from the film was the very scene that got him to do the project to begin with. Lesson Learned? Say what you like about the movie, all of the documentaries and behind the scenes on this DVD draw a pretty clear blueprint on how to tackle an epic in the new world of CGI, blue/green screen, and special effects.

THX1138 (2 disc version) - 2nd Disc the "Legacy of Filmmakers" doc on the early foundations of American Zoetrope is relevant to filmmaking not only for it's historical significance as it is the warning of being frivolous with money & opportunities as Francis Ford Coppola was, compared to the frugal nature of George Lucas. Then seeing the original short film "Electric Labyrinth: THX 1138 4EB" has many redeeming qualities.

HIDDEN FORTRESS Criterion edition DVD - George Lucas' interview on the disc is indicative of ALL the 1970's filmmaking rebels and the influence Akira Kurasawa had on them.

BRAM STOKER's DRACULA (special edition laserdisc) the Featurette showcases the lengthy rehearsal process. Everyone was there from Anthony Hopkins to Keanu to Gary Oldman and how everyone worked long before cameras rolled. Again, the vision of the cast & crew living at the Coppola house & having dinner together makes me seek that sense of surrogate family (IE teamwork) that at least makes the work feel less like work & more like fun. Lesson learned? Rehearsals are important as is bonding between cast & crew.

LORD OF THE RINGS: FELLOWSHIP OF THE RINGS Special Edition, on disc four of this impressive set the recounting of many stories of the fun of shooting the movie made this seem like the ultimate love fest of respect and antics. Lesson learned? Have fun and create an environment where people want to be there by allowing participation in the creative process and also mutual respect for every aspect of making a film.

SUPERMAN (special edition) - One word... "Verisimilitude". Watch the documentary on the disc & you'll understand. I refuse to say more.

ALIEN QUADRILOGY (as well as original Laserdisc sets) - the interview with Ridley Scott on why he deleted the "cocoon" scene in the original Alien, and James Cameron's idea to make an army of Aliens editorial by re-using the same alien suits make this another great catch for people making do with what they got and making the tough choices for reasons of "pacing".

1941 (collector's edition DVD and laserdisc set). The documentary features a very extensive history of the writing of the screenplay by Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale, and their involvement with John Milius. Lesson learned? Being a USC film school grad used to be quite an "in" to Hollywood via alumni. Read between the lines - When you get famous, never forget to help someone out who needs it. Francis Ford Coppola took in John Milius who took in Robert Zemeckis who took in Peter Jackson.


Some of the movies listed are big budget Hollywood movies, so learn to adapt some of the information to your own style & even budget. A lot of the information is creative in nature, or even business related and can benefit the savvy filmmaker that can infer relevant info for them.

If your favorite movies have extras or commentary tracks, listen and learn. Take something from the creation of the movies you love. Knowing a bit about how a movie was made possible gets you closer to figuring out how to make your own visions. Deductive reasoning is the key. Adapt & overcome any obstacle.

Sonnyboo,

I have to repeat what I've said in another forum-you are a great benefactor and you have a great site. You are an asset to whatever boards you visit. Wonderful list and I, too, miss the series Firefly.

thanks.

Anyone got other DVD commentaries & extra's to contribute as educational for filmmakers? I'm always on the hunt for new material.

Peter, great article and thread concept. I am comiling a list of my favs right now ... but before I post that, I wanted to post about Peter Jackson's Video Web Diaries for King Kong (http://www.kongisking.net/kong2005/proddiary/). They're sure to be aprt of the DVD one day.

Poke

wow what a great list. I have seen alot of the material you mentioned and I will check out the stuff I haven't.


Would like to add Orsen Wells "Citizen Kane"

"There are two commentaries: one from Peter Bogdanovich (a friend of Welles) and one from critic Roger Ebert that's required listening for anyone who cares about film"-from Netflix

Roger Eberts commentary is fast paced and packed full of very interesting information, technical and historical. I don't particulary recall Brogdanvich's commentary though I may have returned it without listening.

Dawn of the Dead (2003 version) has got a decent featurette in the extras talking about the exploding head stuff.

The 'Extras' dvd from the new box set of Star Wars episodes 4-6 is a good view.

Thats all I can think of at the moment.. haven't had much time for watching with commentary tracks as of late.. and the bump to the noggin over the weekend seems to have pushed some of my memory into a hole. :( (or maybe it just fell out of the new hole in my head?)

For educational purposes, some DVDs I would recommend are:

THE MATRIX - The bonus features are great and though there's no director's commentary there is a thing where you can press a button when an icon comes to the screen and see more behind the scenes stuff about that particular scene.

DONNIE DARKO - I really enjoyed the director's commentary and learned a few things about what the director intended, good flick too if you haven't seen it already.

DANCES WITH WOLVES - though the commentary was recorded long after the film was made Kevin Costner was able to get right back into it and tell some fantastic stories about the production.

UNDERWORLD - I liked to hear the director's views on CG animation verses puppets and FX make-up the behind the scenes videos are very informative as well.

For fun I recommend:

THE SCORPION KING - As silly and campy as the movie is, the Rock's commentary is that much more funny to listen to. Here is an example on an entertainer who doesn't take himself too seriously. He had me laughing out loud. He does a commentary on Walking Tall that is fun to listen to also.

PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN - The commentary with Keira Knightly and Jack Davenport are very funny, they obviously had a good time working together.

THE GOONIES - you even get video so you can see all your favorite kid actors all grown up. Sean Austin has to leave in the middle and then the other actors start ragging on him, it's great.

Honorable mentions for COMMENTARY TRACK -

RUSHMORE (criterion collection DVD) for Wes Anderson on his second movie features many great cinematic advice.



GOOD WILL HUNTING with Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, and Gus Van Zandt carry on about the experience working on this academy award winning "indie" film.



GLADIATOR with Ridley Scott let's go a lot of epic filmmaking nuggets



MADE with the "action commentary" by Jon Favreau and Vince Vaughn and Peter Billingsley aka Ralphy from "A Christmas Story" where they use the same technology from football games to literally point out things on screen. MADE was an indie film shot in New York and features a lot of Soprano's cameos but also has some indie film techniques.



YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN/BLAZING SADDLES DVD’s with commentary track from Mel Brooks let loose some comedy genius and methods of old from a guy who's been funnier longer than most indie filmmaker's grandparents have been fornicating.



SEVEN SAMURAI, Criterion Collection DVD, whose commentary has the sole distinction of being done by a film critic as opposed to a filmmaker, one of the cinema’s greatest films ever made teaches a lot about the genius of Kurasawa from a unique, outsiders perspective.



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Now there are several DVD's that are in their entirety DVD Film Schools...

VISIONS OF LIGHT - on cinematography through the history of film to 1993.

Cinematographer's STYLE - A newer version, but without examples from the movies they talk about, but incredible interviews.

THE CUTTING EDGE: ART OF MOVIE EDITING - Wow, this is my all time favorite DVD regarding filmmaking. Interviews with some of the best directors and their editors on the artform of editing.

TALES FROM THE SCRIPT - A brand new DVD that interviews screenwriters, many of them Oscar winners.

And the ACADEMY has put out a series of DVD's, only 3 of which have made it out yet.

EDITING with 24 - The Emmy winning editing team for 24 goes over the process of editing on a TV series.

CINEMATOGRAPHY with LOST - The LOST camera team explains what each team member does and what they are responsible for.

PROPS with ER - The ER prop and set dressing team go over their specialties.

I'll add the commentary from KEEPING THE FAITH. Lots of nuggets from the mouths of first time director/writers Edward Norton and Stuart Blumberg.

Thanks for sharing these Sonny, I hadn't seen this thread when I started a similar one asking for folks recommendations. Looks like you already did the legwork. Nice one!

The Criterion Collection's, The Last Temptation of Christ, on both the LD and DVD. An absolute jewel. If Scorsese et al don't inspire you, then I don't know who or what will! You won't hear much about the technical end of things, but you will hear a lot about the careful thought, passion, and effort that went into getting their labor of love made. I love it.

Awesome thread!

I don't have anything to add... YET!

I've only started watching special features recently so I will share when I come across something cool.

Actually, I watched the Crank High Voltage extras last night and there was a few interesting parts in the 2 part making of featurette about the cameras they used, 2 x canon XH A1 for the main part and a whole bunch (like 30) canon HF 1. Interesting little rig they made up for around 8 of the HF 1's to create some interesting shots.

:yes:

Also i found King Kong | Peter Jackson's Production Diary to be a very cool DVD. I recommend it since it answers some cool big budget production FAQs.

DO THE RIGHT THING- has a slew of bonus features, including: commentary with Spike Lee, Joie Lee, the DP Ernest Dickerson, and the production designer Wynn Thomas; interview with the editor; press conference footage from Cannes; behind the scenes footage; and two documentaries- one is on making the film, the other is about the impact the film had over the last 20 years. All the bonus features were very interesting, showing a young Spike Lee who wanted to make a powerful film on the way he saw race relations at the time. A must-have for any aspiring filmmaker's collection.

Also i found King Kong | Peter Jackson's Production Diary to be a very cool DVD. I recommend it since it answers some cool big budget production FAQs.

God yes. They start off as hokey skits, but pretty soon delve into how to work a 35mm panavision camera, what CLEAR THE GATE means, and how the film is processed and telecine. THe workflow and all this wonderfully educational material comes out on the 3-4 DVD's (if you include the continuation of post production diaries released with the movie itself as a bonus disc).


DO THE RIGHT THING- has a slew of bonus features

I love the book SPIKE LEE'S GOTTA HAVE IT that is his journal from the entire process of making and selling the film, although he doesn't count John Pierson's contributions very well, his book SPIKE MIKE SLACKERS AND DYKES covers that end pretty well too.

I picked up Jaws and watched the "making of doco" yesterday. It was great, and that solution Spielberg came up with to solve one shot/180 degree issue is great, also little things he says and his insights are really interesting.

The Coraline US Release blu-ray had some interesting stuff on stop motion animation and seeing how that movie was made is pretty amazing, the DVD edition comes with the blu-ray and it did not have these features so unless the DVD is a 2 disc release you might have to get the blu-ray if you want to see this

Also I've head these are great, but haven't watched them yet as I'm still looking for them:

Forrest Gump Sapphire edition blu-ray (maybe on DVD version also, i'm unsure)
- Greenbow Diary
construction of various shots, interview clips with the cast and crew discussing the scenes being filmed.

- The Art of Screenplay Adaptation
Translating novel to screen, the difficulty of the special effects, the many drafts of the screenplay, and more.

Daybreakers Blu-ray (again, may be on the DVD version as well)
This has a 2 hour long making of documentary that is apprently a must see for budding filmmakers as it covers everything because it was the directors debute they covered absolutely everything!

Lord of the rings trilogy boxset
This one was recommended to me by a film school student, apparently there is a ver comprehensive making of amongst there somewhere, it wouldn't be too hard to find.


This is a great thread and I will be adding to it when I find something worth while

Back in 1981, when Raiders of the Lost Ark was first released, I recorded a documentary off PBS called Great Movie Stunts: Raiders of the Lost Ark. I must have watched that tape 2 dozen times, at least. One of the best BTS docs I've ever seen...if you can find it.

Also, check out Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse, a feature-length documentary about the making of Apocalypse Now. For those wondering on other threads why film directing is so difficult, this movie will answer your question.

Lord of the rings trilogy boxset
This one was recommended to me by a film school student, apparently there is a ver comprehensive making of amongst there somewhere, it wouldn't be too hard to find.



The original 2 disc DVD sets of the THEATRICAL CUTS (and this includes the BLU RAYS that just came out) have little or nothing to offer but fluff PR pieces.

The SPECIAL EDITION 4 DVD sets have 6-7 hours of documentaries on how they made the movies from start to finish ... PER MOVIE, so almost 20 hours of documentaries on every minute detail with interviews from the cast and crew, even the lowliest production assistants if they have something interesting to say. And we haven't even mentioned that there are 4 commentary tracks on each movie too. 1 from writers/director, 1 from cast, 1 from production crew, and 1 from the FX and sound crews.

Then the LORD OF THE RINGS special edition 2 disc sets had the Theatrical and Extended Cuts on a 2 sided disc, plus a bonus disc of a 90 minute documentary for each movie. These are the documentaries commissioned by Peter Jackson himself and they are entirely "fly on the wall" perspective, watching the movies being made and no sit down interviews at all, just an occasional person talking to the camera. Also an amazing contrast to the sit down interviews, very star oriented versions from the other set.

Much like the aforementioned FRIGHTENERS documentary and the KING KONG PRODUCTION DIARIES, I also recommend these as a great way of seeing what a collaboration filmmaking is. How many people are involved in creative decisions for what you see on screen. It's very empowering to see what Executive Producers do, producers, department heads, etc.

I know he's not the best filmmaker, but Ed Burns really goes into detail on how to make films on a certain budget. He'll talk about things like how to shoot without getting a permit, how to shoot certain scenes if you have a limited budget, etc.

James Paszko, Publisher, www.FilmSlateMagazine.com

I know he's not the best filmmaker, but Ed Burns really goes into detail on how to make films on a certain budget. He'll talk about things like how to shoot without getting a permit, how to shoot certain scenes if you have a limited budget, etc.

James Paszko, Publisher, www.FilmSlateMagazine.com


The commentary track on BROTHERS McMULLEN is great, which he shot for $25,000 and it's important to note that he worked for ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT and had connections in New York, but he still really did a great 16mm feature.

For a special emphasis on the ART DEPARTMENTS (pre pro, pre-vis, set design, props,set dressing, etc.) with Guy Hendrix Dyas see the extras disc on SUPERMAN RETURNS. It's a nearly 4 hour documentary on the making of this movie, but Guy Dyas steals the show as the production designed on the film and what his role is.

great stuff as always boo....

Great list of films, it'll be my first stop when I look for movies to rent from Zip.ca, thanks for sharing :)

Forrest Gump Sapphire edition blu-ray (maybe on DVD version also, i'm unsure)
- Greenbow Diary
construction of various shots, interview clips with the cast and crew discussing the scenes being filmed.

- The Art of Screenplay Adaptation
Translating novel to screen, the difficulty of the special effects, the many drafts of the screenplay, and more.

Finally got around to watching the special features on the Forrest GUmp BD. The BD actually has more special features than the DVD. Th art of screenplay adaption was quite interesting, I had no idea how many re-writes are done! Also there is a 45 minute discussion/interview with director, actors and writers which is interesting.

Daybreakers Blu-ray (again, may be on the DVD version as well)
This has a 2 hour long making of documentary that is apprently a must see for budding filmmakers as it covers everything because it was the directors debute they covered absolutely everything!

Watched this too, the 2 hour long making of documentary is not on the DVD. It's OK but I didn't feel like it taught me anything other than hoow much work goes into making a movie. Still glad I watched it, Getting so see my city on the big screen is weird...

Children of the corn blu-ray (pretty sure BD only)
There is an interesting piece "HArvesting horror" on with director Fritz Kiersch that I found actually really good. He gives away some good tips and insight and what they did with linda hamilton and the dead kid on he road was quite amussing and a really good idea to get a natural reaction! The audio commentary seemed to be quite good also but I didnt have time to listen to the whole thing (only about 10 minutes of it)

Funny enough, the special edition BluRay of "Elf" has over 10
Hours of quality extras. One in particular, (I think it's called) "Film School For Kids" interviews EVERYONE on set and they spend a couple of minutes talking about their job description and what exactly a boom operator or art director or whatever does on set. Extremely informative. When I'm working with new people I actually try to get them to watch it so they know what's going on on the shooting day.

Edit:
I typed this on my phone and found some horrible typos, hopefully now all fixed :)

I don't know if it qualifies as "DVD Film School", cuz realistically, I don't see many of us ever employing these techniques, but the making-of documentary on the "Avatar Extended Collector's Edition" is pretty sweet. It's one thing to read about everything they did with motion-capture, but it's entirely something else to see it in action, and I thought it was really interesting.

There is a whole series of helpful cool documentary DVD's on filmmaking from STARZ INSIDE.

THE ART OF ACTION - on the history of martial arts in film hosted by Samuel L. Jackson

FANTASTIC FLESH - a documentary on make up FX with interviews from the top guys in the field