Interesting bits from Yates’ commentary

I don’t mean to over-contribute to this board, but I find the Criterion DVD very interesting. When I bought it on Amazon, I thought it was pricey, but it really does come with genuine extras.
One is commentary from director Peter Yates. He obviously made these remarks shortly before he died, and the film was no longer that fresh in his memory after more than thirty years. Nevertheless, he has interesting things to say.
One thing he mentions is that, for added reality, they had an FBI advisor to make sure that Foley and company were acting as feds really would. But was really interesting was, he said they also had a mob guy advising them on the hoods’ behavior. According to Yates, the underworld advisor was instrumental in describing the manner in which a hit would be carried out by the Boston mob.
I had originally thought the shots of the Bruins-Blackhawks hockey game were probably stock footage from the NHL. But nope, Yates and his crew really went to the Boston Garden and photographed the game, including that shot of the immortal Bobby Orr.
Yates also said he had been troubled by a concern that I remember having myself when I first saw the film—namely, that the movie would motivate real-life bank robbers to emulate the methods used in the movie. However, apparently that hasn’t been the case (even though the bank used to film the first robbery really was eventually robbed, as has been noted on this board). I think one reason real-life criminals don’t emulate the method used in the fiim—hijacking bank managers while their families are held hostage—is just too complicated, too tricky to plan and coordinate. I imagine that most real-life thugs want keep it simple—threaten a teller, grab some cash and run.
Well, there’s more Yates has to say, of course, but some of you with the Criterion DVD may have things from it you’d also like to share.