Before the Thunder:
So yeah, the original premise they were going with? A guy dates a girl on a bet, the girl finds out about the bet, gets angry, and he realizes he really loves her and tries to win her back. So obviously they diverged from that a little bit along the way. Ben Stiller and Co. explain how here.

The Hot LZ: +
Authenticity is important! They decided to do most of the action sequences the old-fashioned way, with giant drums of propane instead of CGI to make it look more like Apocalypse Now. Long story short: you get to see a bunch of bitchin' explosions.

Blowing Shit Up:
It's not just a clever name -- there are even more explosions here, but this is more a profile of their insane stunt coordinator who may or may not have been the inspiration for Danny McBride's character (read: he definitely was). The explosions are awesome, of course, but my favorite part was a montage of the guy testing bullet squibs on himself over and over, seemingly just for giggles. He's my idol.

Designing the Thunder:
Kind of a buzzkill after watching 1600 gallons of propane ignite, but it's interesting if you care about intricate set dressings. In this, the production designer Jeff Mann also discusses choosing shooting locations, all the deforestation they committed in order to build their many sets, and everyone involved comments on how gross and muddy Hawaii is, like they're Evangeline Lilly on the bad stuff. There is a really cool Napalm bar you get to see, though.

The Cast of Tropic Thunder:
The actors explain who their characters are based on and what their motivations are and whatnot, but funnier than that because it's Ben Stiller, Danny McBride, Robert Downey Jr. and Jack Black. Also, in order to avoid confusion, the safeword for "cut" when Ben Stiller was acting in a scene and wanted to stop (he also directed the film, in case you forgot) was, "Cut. I'm serious. For real. Fuckin' stop." Every single time. For real. For fuckin' real.

Rain of Madness:
You probably saw this floating around the interwebs this summer, but this is the hilarious mockumentary about the making of the fake Tropic Thunder being made within the real Tropic Thunder. (I know, confusing, I'm sorry.) Seriously, this thing is so funny I can't even do it justice. Writer Justin Theroux plays German documentarian Jan Jürgen, who uses his making-of to make pretentious and sweeping comments about the darkness of human nature and the violence of Americans. He's also an idiot, and Theroux plays him perfectly. You also get to see a bunch of amazing bonus footage of Robert Downey Jr. as his Tropic Thunder character, and a jab at Ben Stiller and Jack Black's failed but awesome '90s series Heat Silver and Jack -- another one worth checking out online, if you've got the time.

Dispatches from the Edge of Madness:
These are fake outtakes from Jan Jürgen's documentary, and they're all pretty great, particularly one in which Lazarus (Robert Downey Jr.) is mourning the loss of his mother, who died that morning, but no one can decipher whether it was the character's mother who had died, or Lazarus's real mother. Dead moms and method acting -- a comedy match made in heaven.

Deleted and Extended Scenes:
There aren't that many of these, and as it is with most deleted scenes, it is obvious why these were cut or trimmed. There are helpful intros by Stiller and the film's editor though, so it's nice they took the time.

Alternate Ending:
Originally they had Matthew McConaughey's agent character be captured by the heroin camp and tortured for eternity at the end of the film, which Stiller and Theroux thought would play because "Who cares about agents?!" Test audiences felt differently, surprisingly, and the ending was changed.

Makeup Test with Tom Cruise:
This will... probably make you uncomfortable. Tom Cruise was never supposed to dance at all in the original script, let alone do hip-hop, but when he showed up to do his makeup test he just started awkwardly dancing to Ludacris and refused to stop, which Stiller thought was hilarious and wrote it in. This is that test footage, and yeah. Tom Cruise is insane now. Shock.

MTV Movie Awards Sketch:
RDJ hits Jack Black in the balls with a hammer repeatedly! Oh, so viral!

Full Mags:
These are basically really long (seven or eight minute) takes of the actors improvising. Jack Black tied to a tree is the best.

Rehearsals:
These don't have sound for some reason, but they do have stars!

Commentaries:
There are two tracks, one with the filmmakers, which includes Ben Stiller, screenwriter Justin Theroux and a bunch of other technical folk, and one with the cast, which includes Ben Stiller, Jack Black and Robert Downey Jr. They're both really funny and interesting, but I'd be remiss if I didn't lament the lack of Danny McBride and Jay Baruchel on the cast track. But seriously, these extras are no joke, so I don't have much else to complain about.

Buy It Now.