Miss Piggy’s Compelling Commentary

Director Frank Oz, who first came to fame as the voice and operator of Miss Piggy, supplies an absolutely fascinating audio commentary on Universal’s collector’s edition DVD of the Steve Martin-Eddie Murphy comedy “Bowfinger” ($27).

The film finds Martin, who wrote the script, playing a down-and-out Hollywood producer named Bowfinger who surrounds himself with an oddball assortment of performers and crew members. When he can’t even get a meeting with the No. 1 action star (Murphy) for his next production, Bowfinger decides to film it anyway, shooting footage of the star without the actor’s knowledge.

The digital version of “Bowfinger” includes a wide-screen edition of the film, trailers, some very funny outtakes and several deleted scenes that are quite entertaining but definitely would have slowed down the pace of the film.

Oz, the director of “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels” and “In & Out,” supplies more information in the first five minutes of his audio track than some directors do in an entire commentary. He’s an absolute wizard at explaining his approach to filmmaking.

Oz points out that he initially began the opening title sequence with a helicopter shot flying over the rich areas of Los Angeles, finally ending at Bowfinger’s dumpy bungalow in Hollywood. But it didn’t work in the previews. So Oz and Martin got together and tried to write a new title sequence. They decided they wanted to show Bowfinger alone in his bungalow reading a script. The sequence also gave them the opportunity to introduce several other characters when Bowfinger calls each one about the script.

Oz had the title sequence designers with him during the shoot so they could frame the shots in order to accommodate the titles.

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MGM’s DVD of its summer romantic hit “The Thomas Crown Affair” ($20), starring Pierce Brosnan and Rene Russo, gets the job done. The disc includes the option of either full-screen or wide-screen versions, the theatrical trailer, a very clever animated menu and director John McTiernan’s audio commentary.

McTiernan is a bit too low-key and off the cuff, but he does talk about Brosnan’s amazing physicality and how he changes his walk and stance with each part. In fact, the actor realized he was walking too much like James Bond for his role here as a sophisticated New York millionaire. So he asked McTiernan for another take and immediately came up with what the director calls an American stride.

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There are several new and vintage movies in release on video this week.

Bob Einstein may not be as well known as his auteur brother Albert Brooks, but the comic writer-actor did create the memorable character of Super Dave, the clumsiest stunt man in history. Einstein’s Showtime series starring Super Dave was a cult hit during the ‘80s and early ‘90s. But “Super Dave” (MGM) the movie is a bit of an endurance trial.

This low-budget comedy was originally made for theatrical release. But after languishing on the shelf at MGM, it’s making its big premiere at a video store near you. There are inspired Super Dave stunts and a funny running joke involving mimes, but “Super Dave” wears out its welcome fast.

“From Dusk Till Dawn 3: The Hangman’s Daughter” (Dimension) is definitely a guy flick. Executive produced by Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez, the third in the vampire series is filled with naked vampire babes in a bordello and lots of blood and guts. Directed by P.J. Pesce, “From Dusk to Dawn” is an Old West version of the vampire nightclub introduced in the 1996 theatrical hit. Stars Michael Parks, Marco Leonardi, Rebecca Gayheart and Sonia Braga all deserve better.

New from Universal are two vintage African American-themed movies ($15 each): “The Lost Man” and “That Man Bolt.”

“The Lost Man,” a 1969 urban thriller, is an uneven remake of the 1947 British classic “Odd Man Out.” Though stars Sidney Poitier, Joanna Shimkus, Paul Winfield and Al Freeman Jr. are saddled with some inane, awkward dialogue, their performances are strong. Poitier and Shimkus, who later married, met while making this film and they definitely have a sweet, natural chemistry on screen. Quincy Jones penned the score.

“That Man Bolt,” from 1973, is a slight, goofy, tongue-in-cheek action-thriller starring former football great Fred Williamson as Jefferson Bolt, a sexy hero with very tight pants who gets more than he bargained for when he agrees to carry $1 million from Hong Kong to Mexico City. Teresa Graves also stars.