fbpx
Wikipedia

Dazed and Confused (film)

Dazed and Confused is a 1993 American coming-of-age comedy film written and directed by Richard Linklater. The film features a large ensemble cast of actors who would later become stars, including Jason London, Ben Affleck, Milla Jovovich, Cole Hauser, Parker Posey, Adam Goldberg, Matthew McConaughey, Nicky Katt, Joey Lauren Adams, and Rory Cochrane. The plot follows the exploits of several teenagers during the last day of school in 1976 Austin, Texas.

Dazed and Confused
Theatrical release poster
Directed byRichard Linklater
Written byRichard Linklater
Produced byRichard Linklater
Sean Daniel
James Jacks
CinematographyLee Daniel
Edited bySandra Adair
Production
companies
Distributed byGramercy Pictures
Release date
  • September 24, 1993 (1993-09-24)
Running time
102 minutes[2]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$6.9 million[3][4]
Box office$8 million[5]

Released on September 24, 1993 Dazed and Confused was a commercial disappointment at the box office, grossing less than $8 million in the United States. The film later found success on the home video market and has since become a cult classic. It ranked third on Entertainment Weekly magazine's list of the 50 Best High School Movies.[6] The magazine also ranked it 10th on its "Funniest Movies of the Past 25 Years" list.[7]

Plot Edit

It is May 28, 1976, the last day of school at Lee High School in Austin, Texas. The next year's group of seniors are preparing for the annual hazing of incoming freshmen. Randall "Pink" Floyd, the school's star football player, is asked to sign a pledge promising not to take drugs during the summer or do anything that would "jeopardize the goal of a championship season". When classes end, the incoming freshman boys are hunted down by the seniors and paddled. The incoming freshman girls are also hazed; they are rounded up in the school parking lot by senior girls, covered in mustard, ketchup, flour and raw eggs and forced to propose to senior boys.

As day fades to night, freshman Mitch Kramer escapes the initial hazing with his best friend Carl Burnett, but is later cornered after a baseball game and violently paddled. Fred O'Bannion, a senior participating in the hazing tradition for a second year after failing to graduate, delights in punishing Mitch. Pink gives the injured Mitch a ride home and offers to take him cruising with friends that night. Plans for the evening are ruined when Kevin Pickford's parents discover his intention to host a keg party. Elsewhere, the intellectual trio of Cynthia Dunn, Tony Olson, and Mike Newhouse decide to participate in the evening's festivities. Pink and his friend David Wooderson, a man in his early 20s who still socializes with high school students, pick up Mitch and head for the Emporium, a pool hall frequented by teenagers.

As the night progresses, students loiter around the Emporium, listen to rock music, cruise the neighborhood and frequent a local drive-through restaurant. Mitch is introduced to sophomore Julie Simms, with whom he shares a mutual attraction. While cruising again with Pink, Pickford and Don Dawson, Mitch drinks beer and smokes marijuana for the first time. After a game of mailbox baseball, a neighborhood resident brandishing a gun threatens to call the police. They barely escape after the resident fires at their car. After returning to the Emporium, Mitch runs into his middle school friends. They hatch a plan to exact revenge on O'Bannion. It culminates with them dumping paint on O'Bannion, who leaves in a fit of rage.

After the Emporium closes, an impromptu keg party is planned in a field under a moonlight tower. Cynthia, Tony, and Mike arrive at their first keg party, where Mike is threatened by tough guy Clint Bruno. Tony runs into freshman Sabrina Davis, whom he met earlier during the hazing and they begin hanging out together. Cynthia likes Wooderson and exchanges phone numbers with him. Mike, suffering from the humiliation of his confrontation with Clint, decides to make a stand by punching him; in return, he gets tackled by Clint and receives a beating from him. The fight is broken up by Pink and Wooderson. Football player Benny O'Donnell confronts Pink about his refusal to sign the pledge. Pink, the only player not to have signed, believes it violates his individuality and beliefs. Mitch leaves the keg party with Julie. They drive to a nearby hill overlooking town to make out. Tony gives Sabrina a ride home and they kiss goodnight.

As night turns to dawn, Pink, Wooderson, Don, Ron Slater and several other friends decide to smoke marijuana on the 50-yard line of the football field. The police arrive so they ditch the drugs. Recognizing Pink and Dawson, the police call Coach Conrad, his football coach. Conrad lectures Pink about hanging out with "losers" and insists that he sign the pledge. Pink says that he might play football, but he is not going to sign it. Pink leaves with his friends to Houston to obtain tickets to an Aerosmith concert. Mitch arrives home after sunrise to find his mother has waited up for him. She decides against punishment, but warns him about coming home late again. Mitch goes to his bedroom, puts on headphones, and listens to "Slow Ride" by Foghat, as Pink, Wooderson, Slater, and Simone Kerr travel down a highway to purchase their tickets.

Cast Edit

 
A selection of the film's cast. Clockwise from top left: Matthew McConaughey, Jason London, Cole Hauser, Milla Jovovich, Ben Affleck and Parker Posey

Production Edit

Development Edit

When asked in an interview what he wanted to do after Slacker, director Richard Linklater said "I want to make this teenage rock'n'roll spree. I knew I wanted the story to take place on one day in the spring of 1976, but at one point it was much more experimental. The whole movie took place in a car with the characters driving around listening to ZZ Top."[8] Lee Daniel, the director of photography, described the concept: "It would have been two shots—one of a guy putting in an eight-track of ZZ Top's Fandango! and one of two guys driving around talking. The film would be the length of the actual album, and you'd hear each track in the background as a source."[8] Eventually, Linklater decided to write a script "to represent different points of view", the first draft of which took a month to complete. Universal Studios fast tracked production of Linklater's script, jumping ahead of 30 other films which were in development at that time.[9]

Casting Edit

Casting searches were done in Austin, New York, and Los Angeles. Vince Vaughn was almost cast as the bully O'Bannion before Ben Affleck was chosen.[10] As Linklater put it, "Ben was smart and full of life. You don't cast the unappealing person, you cast the appealing person."[8] Other young actors considered for roles include Elizabeth Berkley, Mira Sorvino, Ashley Judd, Brendan Fraser, Jon Favreau, Ron Livingston and Claire Danes.[10][8] Casting director Don Phillips said, "We wanted Claire Danes for the girl, but she was too young. She couldn't leave school."[8] Renee Zellweger has a nonspeaking role in the film, but was originally considered for the part of Darla, which went to Parker Posey instead.[11] Linklater said, "Parker was just crazier."[10] Wiley Wiggins was the "big find" in Austin, according to Linklater, who described him as "a 15-year-old with all the bad habits of a grad student: smoking cigarettes, hanging out at coffee shops, my kind of guy."[9]

Some roles which were intended to be larger were reduced. The Kevin Pickford character, played by Shawn Andrews, was meant to be a larger role, but due to his behavior with other cast members, Pickford's screen time was cut in favor of Matthew McConaughey's character, Wooderson. Linklater recalled "There was another actor, [Shawn Andrews], who was kind of the opposite [of McConaughey]. He wasn't really getting along with everybody. I could tell the actors weren't responding to him."[8] Linklater had to break up a fight between Andrews and London at one point. On screen, the two characters barely speak to each other during the film.[11] Milla Jovovich, who played Michelle, Pickford's girlfriend, had her role reduced because, in Linklater's words, "it didn't really gel."[10]

McConaughey was not originally cast in the film, as the role of Wooderson was originally small and meant to be cast locally for budget purposes. He was a film student at the University of Texas in Austin and went out drinking with his girlfriend one night. They ended up at the Hyatt hotel bar since his friend was a bartender there and could get them a discount.[12] He approached casting director Phillips in the bar.[11] Phillips recalls, "The bartender says to him, 'See that guy down there? That's Don Phillips. He cast Sean Penn in Fast Times.' And Matthew goes, 'I'm gonna go down and talk to this guy.'" Phillips also recalls that Linklater didn't like McConaughey at first because he was "too handsome." Much of the Wooderson role was improvised or written on the spot, giving McConaughey more screen time.[8]

Reception Edit

Dazed and Confused was released on September 24, 1993, in 183 theaters, grossing $918,127 on its opening weekend. It went on to make $7.9 million in North America.[13]

The film received positive reviews from critics. On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, it has a 92% approval rating based on 62 reviews, with a weighted average score of 7.90/10. The website's critical consensus reads: "Featuring an excellent ensemble cast, a precise feel for the 1970s, and a killer soundtrack, Dazed and Confused is a funny, affectionate, and clear-eyed look at high school life."[14] Metacritic gives it a score of 80 out of 100 based on reviews from 19 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[15]

Film critic Roger Ebert awarded the film three stars out of four, praising the film as "art crossed with anthropology" with a "painful underside".[16] Janet Maslin of The New York Times wrote, "Dazed and Confused has an enjoyably playful spirit, one that amply compensates for its lack of structure".[17] Desson Howe of The Washington Post, wrote, "Dazed succeeds on its own terms and reflects American culture so well, it becomes part of it".[18] In her review for The Austin Chronicle, Marjorie Baumgarten gave particular praise to Matthew McConaughey's performance: "He is a character we're all too familiar with in the movies but McConaughey nails this guy without a hint of condescension or whimsy, claiming this character for all time as his own".[19]

Rolling Stone's Peter Travers gave the film four stars out of four, and praised Linklater as a "sly and formidable talent, bringing an anthropologist's eye to this spectacularly funny celebration of the rites of stupidity. His shitfaced American Graffiti is the ultimate party movie – loud, crude, socially irresponsible and totally irresistible".[20] In his review for Time, Richard Corliss wrote, "Linklater is surely no ham-fisted moralist, and his film has lots of attitude to shake a finger at. But it also has enough buoyant '70s music to shake anybody's tail feather, and a kind of easy jubilance of narrative and character".[21] Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly gave the film an "A" rating, and wrote, "Yet if Linklater captures the comic goofiness of the time, he also evokes its liberating spirit. The film finds its meaning in the subtle clash between the older, sadistic macho-jock ethos and the follow-your-impulse hedonism that was the lingering legacy of the '60s".[22]

Legacy Edit

Quentin Tarantino included it on his list of the 10 greatest films of all time in the 2002 Sight and Sound poll.[23] In 2003, Entertainment Weekly ranked the film #17 on its list of "The Top 50 Cult Films",[24] third on its list of the 50 Best High School Movies,[25] 10th on its "Funniest Movies of the Past 25 Years" list,[26] and ranked it #6 on its "The Cult 25: The Essential Left-Field Movie Hits Since '83" list.[27]

In October 2004, three of Linklater's former classmates from Huntsville High School, whose surnames are Wooderson, Slater, and Floyd, filed a defamation lawsuit against Linklater, claiming to be the basis for the similarly named characters on the film. The lawsuit was filed in New Mexico rather than Texas because New Mexico has a longer statute of limitations.[28] The suit was subsequently dismissed.[29]

In 2012, McConaughey reprised his role as Wooderson in the Butch Walker and The Black Widows music video "Synthesizers".[30] To celebrate the film's 20th anniversary in 2013, the film received the Star of Texas award from the Texas Film Hall of Fame. Linklater accepted the award after being introduced by Tarantino, who reiterated his appreciation of the film as his favorite of the 1990s. The event featured a reunion of several cast members including Joey Lauren Adams, Wiley Wiggins, Christin Hinojosa, Nicky Katt, Mona Lee, Catherine Avril Morris, Anthony Rapp, Marissa Ribisi, Michelle Burke Thomas, and Mark Vandermeulen. At the event, Linklater described his intent to create an inverse John Hughes film: "The drama is so low-key in [Dazed & Confused]. I don't remember teenage being that dramatic. I remember just trying to go with the flow, socialize, fit in and be cool. The stakes were really low. To get Aerosmith tickets or not? That's a big thing. It was really rare when the star-crossed lovers from the opposite side of the tracks and the girl gets pregnant and there's a car crash and somebody dies. That didn't really happen much. But riding around and trying to look for something to do with the music cranked up, now that happened a lot!"[31][32]

After Boyhood was released Linklater announced that his next film, Everybody Wants Some!!, would be a "spiritual sequel" to Dazed and Confused.[33] The newer film takes place at a Texas college in 1980.[33]

The line "alright, alright, alright" became a catchphrase for Matthew McConaughey.[34][35]

Rotten Tomatoes' editorial team credits the film for "putting Austin, Texas on the map."[36]

Home video Edit

MCA/Universal released Dazed and Confused on laserdisc in January 1994,[37] followed by a VHS release two months later.[38]

The film was released on HD DVD in 2006.[39] The Criterion Collection released a two-disc boxed-set edition of the film on June 6, 2006, in the U.S. and Canada. Features included an audio commentary by Richard Linklater, deleted scenes, the original trailer, the 50 minute "Making Dazed" documentary that aired on the American Movie Classics channel on September 18, 2005, on-set interviews, behind-the-scenes footage, cast auditions and footage from the ten-year anniversary celebration. Also included is a 72-page book featuring new essays by Kent Jones, Jim DeRogatis, and Chuck Klosterman as well as memories from the cast and crew, character profiles and a mini reproduction of the original film poster designed by Frank Kozik. Entertainment Weekly gave it an "A" rating and stated that it "grants this enduring cult classic the DVD treatment it deserves".[40]

Universal Studios released Dazed and Confused on Blu-ray in August 2011, in a 1080p/AVC MPEG-4 transfer, with a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack.[39]

The Blunt Truth is a four-minute and twenty second long 1970s anti-cannabis hoax educational film. It appeared as a bonus feature on 2004's Dazed and Confused: Flashback Party Edition.[41]

On February 21, 2023, The Criterion Collection re-released the film on 4K UHD Blu-ray. In their review, Svet Atanasov at Blu-ray.com states that "The 2022 restoration on the 4K Blu-ray disc was undertaken by the Criterion Collection from the 35mm original camera negative, scanned on a Lasergraphics Director film scanner. Based on the 2011 color transfer, this restoration was newly remastered in Dolby Vision HDR and approved by director Richard Linklater. The 2011 SDR restoration on the Blu-ray -- supervised by Linklater and director of photography Lee Daniel -- was undertaken by the Criterion Collection -- from a 35mm interpositive, scanned on a Spirit 4K DataCine. The original 5.1 surround soundtrack was remastered from the 35mm magnetic audio tracks".[citation needed]

Soundtrack Edit

The soundtrack for the film was released on September 28, 1993, by The Medicine Label, and they consist of hit songs (mostly rock) from the 1970s, the film's setting. The songs "Hurricane" by Bob Dylan, "Hey Baby" by Ted Nugent, and "Sweet Emotion" by Aerosmith were also included in the film, but not on the commercial soundtracks. "The Alien Song (For Those Who Listen)" by Milla Jovovich was briefly performed by Jovovich's character Michelle Burroughs, but was not included in the soundtrack either. Geffen Records attempted to get up-and-coming band Jackyl to do a cover of Grand Funk's "We're an American Band" to play over the end credits and be released as a single, but Linklater refused.[42]

Dazed and Confused
Soundtrack album by
Various Artists
ReleasedSeptember 28, 1993
Recorded1970s
GenreHard rock, blues rock, heavy metal, glam rock, Southern rock, funk, soft rock
Length56:56
LabelGiant/Medicine
Even More Dazed and Confused (1994)
No.TitleArtistLength
1."Free Ride"Edgar Winter Group3:08
2."No More Mr. Nice Guy"Alice Cooper3:07
3."Living in the USA"The Steve Miller Band4:05
4."Never Been Any Reason"Head East5:12
5."Why Can't We Be Friends?"War3:51
6."Summer Breeze"Seals and Crofts3:25
7."Right Place, Wrong Time"Dr. John2:54
8."Balinese"ZZ Top2:39
9."Lord Have Mercy On My Soul"Black Oak Arkansas6:14
10."I Just Want to Make Love to You"Foghat4:19
11."Show Me the Way"Peter Frampton4:41
12."Do You Feel Like We Do"Peter Frampton7:13
Total length:50:52

Certifications Edit

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[43] 3× Platinum 300,000^
United States (RIAA)[44] 2× Platinum 2,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Book Edit

In September 1993, St. Martin's Press published a 127-page, softcover book (ISBN 0-312-09466-3) inspired by Richard Linklater's screenplay. It was compiled by Linklater, Denise Montgomery, and others, and designed by Erik Josowitz. It was presented as a kind of yearbook, with character profiles, essays by characters, a timeline focusing on the years 1973 to 1977, and various 1970s pop culture charts and quizzes. It also featured dozens of black-and-white photos from the film.

References Edit

  1. ^ "Dazed and Confused (1993)". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. Retrieved 23 February 2021.
  2. ^ "Dazed and Confused". British Board of Film Classification. February 12, 1993. Retrieved June 24, 2012.
  3. ^ "Dazed and Confused - The Numbers". The Numbers. Retrieved September 19, 2013.
  4. ^ "Dazed and Confused (1993)". thisdistractedglobe.com. August 8, 2008. Retrieved September 19, 2013.
  5. ^ "Dazed and Confused". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
  6. ^ "50 Best High School Movies". Filmsite. 2006-09-15. Retrieved 2011-04-20.
  7. ^ "The Comedy 25: The Funniest Movies of the Past 25 Years | Movies". EW.com. Retrieved 2011-04-20.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g Spitz, Marc (December 26, 2013). "An Oral History of Dazed and Confused". Maxim. Retrieved May 7, 2017.
  9. ^ a b Hoad, Phil (2019-06-11). "Richard Linklater: How we made Dazed and Confused". The Guardian. Retrieved 2019-06-11.
  10. ^ a b c d Gorber, Jason (January 28, 2016). "'Dazed and Confused' at Sundance: 12 things we learned from Richard Linklater". Mashable. Retrieved May 7, 2016.
  11. ^ a b c Stern, Marlow (September 24, 2013). "'Dazed and Confused' 20th Anniversary: 20 Craziest Facts About the Cult Classic". The Daily Beast. Retrieved May 7, 2017.
  12. ^ Chaudhury, Nadia (November 23, 2015). "Matthew McConaughey Discovered at Hyatt Bar, Franchising Alamo Drafthouse, and More A.M. Intel". Retrieved September 24, 2022.
  13. ^ "Dazed and Confused". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2009-02-10.
  14. ^ "Dazed and Confused (1993)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved September 29, 2022.
  15. ^ "Dazed and Confused Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved July 11, 2022.
  16. ^ Ebert, Roger (September 24, 1993). "Dazed and Confused". RogerEbert.com. Ebert Digital LLC. Retrieved April 9, 2018.
  17. ^ Maslin, Janet (September 24, 1993). "Reviews/Film; Nervously Contemplating Life After High School". The New York Times. Retrieved April 9, 2018.
  18. ^ Howe, Desson (October 22, 1993). "Dazed and Confused". The Washington Post. Retrieved February 10, 2009.
  19. ^ Baumgarten, Marjorie (September 24, 1993). "Dazed and Confused". The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved April 9, 2018.
  20. ^ Travers, Peter (December 8, 2000). "Dazed and Confused". Rolling Stone. Retrieved April 9, 2018.
  21. ^ Corliss, Richard (October 11, 1993). "A Toke of Our Esteem". Time. from the original on October 28, 2010. Retrieved February 10, 2023.
  22. ^ Gleiberman, Owen (September 24, 1994). "Dazed and Confused: EW Review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved April 9, 2018.
  23. ^ Tarantino, Quentin. . Sight and Sound. Archived from the original on 2008-04-23. Retrieved 2009-04-21.
  24. ^ "The Top 50 Cult Films". Entertainment Weekly. May 23, 2003.
  25. ^ "50 Best High School Movies". Entertainment Weekly. 2008-07-31. Retrieved 2009-04-21.
  26. ^ "The Comedy 25: The Funniest Movies of the Past 25 Years". Entertainment Weekly. August 27, 2008. Retrieved 2008-08-27.[dead link]
  27. ^ . Entertainment Weekly. September 3, 2008. Archived from the original on 2008-09-03. Retrieved 2008-09-04.
  28. ^ Carlson, Peter (2004-12-08). "Bummer, Man Portrayed as Potheads In 'Dazed,' Trio Has A New Joint Venture: Suing the Filmmaker". The Washington Post. washingtonpost.com. Retrieved 2009-11-17.
  29. ^ Linklater, Richard. Director's commentary, Dazed and Confused, Criterion Collection DVD.
  30. ^ Hughes, Sarah Anne (January 23, 2012). "Matthew McConaughey reprises 'Dazed and Confused' role for music video". The Washington Post. from the original on May 6, 2014. Retrieved April 21, 2013.
  31. ^ Valby, Karen (March 8, 2013). "Quentin Tarantino pays tribute to 'Dazed and Confused' at the Texas Film Hall of Fame Awards". Entertainment Weekly. from the original on March 13, 2013. Retrieved April 21, 2013.
  32. ^ . Austin Film Society. 2013. Archived from the original on March 26, 2013. Retrieved April 21, 2013.
  33. ^ a b "Richard Linklater reveals follow-up to 'Boyhood'". NME. Retrieved August 5, 2013.
  34. ^ "How Matthew McConaughey Came Up With 'Alright, Alright, Alright'". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2014-12-02. Matthew McConaughey might as well trademark "alright, alright, alright," the catchphrase so closely associated with him ...
  35. ^ The Origin Of Matthew McConaughey's 'Alright, Alright, Alright' George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight on CBC 2014-03-03
  36. ^ "All Wes Anderson Movies Ranked". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2020-05-04.
  37. ^ "Expectations High". Billboard. January 15, 1994. Retrieved 2014-04-30. MCA/Universal bows the 1976 high school tale Dazed and Confused...
  38. ^ "Dazed and Confused VHS". familyvideo.com. Retrieved 2014-04-30.
  39. ^ a b Cohen, Steven (August 8, 2011). "Dazed and Confused". High-Def Digest. Retrieved 2014-04-30.
  40. ^ Labrecque, Jeff (June 2, 2006). "Dazed and Confused". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2009-04-21.
  41. ^ Chaney, Jen (November 2, 2004). "'Dazed' and disappointed". The Washington Post.
  42. ^ ""Dazed By Days" By Richard Linklater". Cinephilia & Beyond. 8 April 2015. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
  43. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Various Artists – Dazed and Confused - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack". Music Canada.
  44. ^ "American album certifications – Soundtrack – Dazed and Confused". Recording Industry Association of America.

External links Edit

dazed, confused, film, dazed, confused, 1993, american, coming, comedy, film, written, directed, richard, linklater, film, features, large, ensemble, cast, actors, would, later, become, stars, including, jason, london, affleck, milla, jovovich, cole, hauser, p. Dazed and Confused is a 1993 American coming of age comedy film written and directed by Richard Linklater The film features a large ensemble cast of actors who would later become stars including Jason London Ben Affleck Milla Jovovich Cole Hauser Parker Posey Adam Goldberg Matthew McConaughey Nicky Katt Joey Lauren Adams and Rory Cochrane The plot follows the exploits of several teenagers during the last day of school in 1976 Austin Texas Dazed and ConfusedTheatrical release posterDirected byRichard LinklaterWritten byRichard LinklaterProduced byRichard LinklaterSean DanielJames JacksCinematographyLee DanielEdited bySandra AdairProductioncompaniesAlphaville Detour Filmproduction 1 Distributed byGramercy PicturesRelease dateSeptember 24 1993 1993 09 24 Running time102 minutes 2 CountryUnited StatesLanguageEnglishBudget 6 9 million 3 4 Box office 8 million 5 Released on September 24 1993 Dazed and Confused was a commercial disappointment at the box office grossing less than 8 million in the United States The film later found success on the home video market and has since become a cult classic It ranked third on Entertainment Weekly magazine s list of the 50 Best High School Movies 6 The magazine also ranked it 10th on its Funniest Movies of the Past 25 Years list 7 Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Production 3 1 Development 3 2 Casting 4 Reception 5 Legacy 6 Home video 7 Soundtrack 7 1 Certifications 8 Book 9 References 10 External linksPlot EditIt is May 28 1976 the last day of school at Lee High School in Austin Texas The next year s group of seniors are preparing for the annual hazing of incoming freshmen Randall Pink Floyd the school s star football player is asked to sign a pledge promising not to take drugs during the summer or do anything that would jeopardize the goal of a championship season When classes end the incoming freshman boys are hunted down by the seniors and paddled The incoming freshman girls are also hazed they are rounded up in the school parking lot by senior girls covered in mustard ketchup flour and raw eggs and forced to propose to senior boys As day fades to night freshman Mitch Kramer escapes the initial hazing with his best friend Carl Burnett but is later cornered after a baseball game and violently paddled Fred O Bannion a senior participating in the hazing tradition for a second year after failing to graduate delights in punishing Mitch Pink gives the injured Mitch a ride home and offers to take him cruising with friends that night Plans for the evening are ruined when Kevin Pickford s parents discover his intention to host a keg party Elsewhere the intellectual trio of Cynthia Dunn Tony Olson and Mike Newhouse decide to participate in the evening s festivities Pink and his friend David Wooderson a man in his early 20s who still socializes with high school students pick up Mitch and head for the Emporium a pool hall frequented by teenagers As the night progresses students loiter around the Emporium listen to rock music cruise the neighborhood and frequent a local drive through restaurant Mitch is introduced to sophomore Julie Simms with whom he shares a mutual attraction While cruising again with Pink Pickford and Don Dawson Mitch drinks beer and smokes marijuana for the first time After a game of mailbox baseball a neighborhood resident brandishing a gun threatens to call the police They barely escape after the resident fires at their car After returning to the Emporium Mitch runs into his middle school friends They hatch a plan to exact revenge on O Bannion It culminates with them dumping paint on O Bannion who leaves in a fit of rage After the Emporium closes an impromptu keg party is planned in a field under a moonlight tower Cynthia Tony and Mike arrive at their first keg party where Mike is threatened by tough guy Clint Bruno Tony runs into freshman Sabrina Davis whom he met earlier during the hazing and they begin hanging out together Cynthia likes Wooderson and exchanges phone numbers with him Mike suffering from the humiliation of his confrontation with Clint decides to make a stand by punching him in return he gets tackled by Clint and receives a beating from him The fight is broken up by Pink and Wooderson Football player Benny O Donnell confronts Pink about his refusal to sign the pledge Pink the only player not to have signed believes it violates his individuality and beliefs Mitch leaves the keg party with Julie They drive to a nearby hill overlooking town to make out Tony gives Sabrina a ride home and they kiss goodnight As night turns to dawn Pink Wooderson Don Ron Slater and several other friends decide to smoke marijuana on the 50 yard line of the football field The police arrive so they ditch the drugs Recognizing Pink and Dawson the police call Coach Conrad his football coach Conrad lectures Pink about hanging out with losers and insists that he sign the pledge Pink says that he might play football but he is not going to sign it Pink leaves with his friends to Houston to obtain tickets to an Aerosmith concert Mitch arrives home after sunrise to find his mother has waited up for him She decides against punishment but warns him about coming home late again Mitch goes to his bedroom puts on headphones and listens to Slow Ride by Foghat as Pink Wooderson Slater and Simone Kerr travel down a highway to purchase their tickets Cast Edit nbsp A selection of the film s cast Clockwise from top left Matthew McConaughey Jason London Cole Hauser Milla Jovovich Ben Affleck and Parker PoseyJason London as Randall Pink Floyd Joey Lauren Adams as Simone Kerr Milla Jovovich as Michelle Burroughs Shawn Andrews as Kevin Pickford Rory Cochrane as Ron Slater Adam Goldberg as Mike Newhouse Anthony Rapp as Tony Olson Sasha Jenson as Don Dawson Marissa Ribisi as Cynthia Dunn Deena Martin as Shavonne Wright Michelle Burke as Jodi Kramer Cole Hauser as Benny O Donnell Christine Harnos as Kaye Faulkner Wiley Wiggins as Mitch Kramer Mark Vandermeulen as Tommy Houston Esteban Powell as Carl Burnett Jeremy Fox as Hirschfelder Ben Affleck as Fred O Bannion Jason O Smith as Melvin Spivey Christin Hinojosa as Sabrina Davis Parker Posey as Darla Marks Matthew McConaughey as David Wooderson Catherine Avril Morris as Julie Simms Nicky Katt as Clint Bruno Renee Zellweger as Nesi WhiteProduction EditDevelopment Edit When asked in an interview what he wanted to do after Slacker director Richard Linklater said I want to make this teenage rock n roll spree I knew I wanted the story to take place on one day in the spring of 1976 but at one point it was much more experimental The whole movie took place in a car with the characters driving around listening to ZZ Top 8 Lee Daniel the director of photography described the concept It would have been two shots one of a guy putting in an eight track of ZZ Top s Fandango and one of two guys driving around talking The film would be the length of the actual album and you d hear each track in the background as a source 8 Eventually Linklater decided to write a script to represent different points of view the first draft of which took a month to complete Universal Studios fast tracked production of Linklater s script jumping ahead of 30 other films which were in development at that time 9 Casting Edit Casting searches were done in Austin New York and Los Angeles Vince Vaughn was almost cast as the bully O Bannion before Ben Affleck was chosen 10 As Linklater put it Ben was smart and full of life You don t cast the unappealing person you cast the appealing person 8 Other young actors considered for roles include Elizabeth Berkley Mira Sorvino Ashley Judd Brendan Fraser Jon Favreau Ron Livingston and Claire Danes 10 8 Casting director Don Phillips said We wanted Claire Danes for the girl but she was too young She couldn t leave school 8 Renee Zellweger has a nonspeaking role in the film but was originally considered for the part of Darla which went to Parker Posey instead 11 Linklater said Parker was just crazier 10 Wiley Wiggins was the big find in Austin according to Linklater who described him as a 15 year old with all the bad habits of a grad student smoking cigarettes hanging out at coffee shops my kind of guy 9 Some roles which were intended to be larger were reduced The Kevin Pickford character played by Shawn Andrews was meant to be a larger role but due to his behavior with other cast members Pickford s screen time was cut in favor of Matthew McConaughey s character Wooderson Linklater recalled There was another actor Shawn Andrews who was kind of the opposite of McConaughey He wasn t really getting along with everybody I could tell the actors weren t responding to him 8 Linklater had to break up a fight between Andrews and London at one point On screen the two characters barely speak to each other during the film 11 Milla Jovovich who played Michelle Pickford s girlfriend had her role reduced because in Linklater s words it didn t really gel 10 McConaughey was not originally cast in the film as the role of Wooderson was originally small and meant to be cast locally for budget purposes He was a film student at the University of Texas in Austin and went out drinking with his girlfriend one night They ended up at the Hyatt hotel bar since his friend was a bartender there and could get them a discount 12 He approached casting director Phillips in the bar 11 Phillips recalls The bartender says to him See that guy down there That s Don Phillips He cast Sean Penn in Fast Times And Matthew goes I m gonna go down and talk to this guy Phillips also recalls that Linklater didn t like McConaughey at first because he was too handsome Much of the Wooderson role was improvised or written on the spot giving McConaughey more screen time 8 Reception EditDazed and Confused was released on September 24 1993 in 183 theaters grossing 918 127 on its opening weekend It went on to make 7 9 million in North America 13 The film received positive reviews from critics On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes it has a 92 approval rating based on 62 reviews with a weighted average score of 7 90 10 The website s critical consensus reads Featuring an excellent ensemble cast a precise feel for the 1970s and a killer soundtrack Dazed and Confused is a funny affectionate and clear eyed look at high school life 14 Metacritic gives it a score of 80 out of 100 based on reviews from 19 critics indicating generally favorable reviews 15 Film critic Roger Ebert awarded the film three stars out of four praising the film as art crossed with anthropology with a painful underside 16 Janet Maslin of The New York Times wrote Dazed and Confused has an enjoyably playful spirit one that amply compensates for its lack of structure 17 Desson Howe of The Washington Post wrote Dazed succeeds on its own terms and reflects American culture so well it becomes part of it 18 In her review for The Austin Chronicle Marjorie Baumgarten gave particular praise to Matthew McConaughey s performance He is a character we re all too familiar with in the movies but McConaughey nails this guy without a hint of condescension or whimsy claiming this character for all time as his own 19 Rolling Stone s Peter Travers gave the film four stars out of four and praised Linklater as a sly and formidable talent bringing an anthropologist s eye to this spectacularly funny celebration of the rites of stupidity His shitfaced American Graffiti is the ultimate party movie loud crude socially irresponsible and totally irresistible 20 In his review for Time Richard Corliss wrote Linklater is surely no ham fisted moralist and his film has lots of attitude to shake a finger at But it also has enough buoyant 70s music to shake anybody s tail feather and a kind of easy jubilance of narrative and character 21 Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly gave the film an A rating and wrote Yet if Linklater captures the comic goofiness of the time he also evokes its liberating spirit The film finds its meaning in the subtle clash between the older sadistic macho jock ethos and the follow your impulse hedonism that was the lingering legacy of the 60s 22 Legacy EditQuentin Tarantino included it on his list of the 10 greatest films of all time in the 2002 Sight and Sound poll 23 In 2003 Entertainment Weekly ranked the film 17 on its list of The Top 50 Cult Films 24 third on its list of the 50 Best High School Movies 25 10th on its Funniest Movies of the Past 25 Years list 26 and ranked it 6 on its The Cult 25 The Essential Left Field Movie Hits Since 83 list 27 In October 2004 three of Linklater s former classmates from Huntsville High School whose surnames are Wooderson Slater and Floyd filed a defamation lawsuit against Linklater claiming to be the basis for the similarly named characters on the film The lawsuit was filed in New Mexico rather than Texas because New Mexico has a longer statute of limitations 28 The suit was subsequently dismissed 29 In 2012 McConaughey reprised his role as Wooderson in the Butch Walker and The Black Widows music video Synthesizers 30 To celebrate the film s 20th anniversary in 2013 the film received the Star of Texas award from the Texas Film Hall of Fame Linklater accepted the award after being introduced by Tarantino who reiterated his appreciation of the film as his favorite of the 1990s The event featured a reunion of several cast members including Joey Lauren Adams Wiley Wiggins Christin Hinojosa Nicky Katt Mona Lee Catherine Avril Morris Anthony Rapp Marissa Ribisi Michelle Burke Thomas and Mark Vandermeulen At the event Linklater described his intent to create an inverse John Hughes film The drama is so low key in Dazed amp Confused I don t remember teenage being that dramatic I remember just trying to go with the flow socialize fit in and be cool The stakes were really low To get Aerosmith tickets or not That s a big thing It was really rare when the star crossed lovers from the opposite side of the tracks and the girl gets pregnant and there s a car crash and somebody dies That didn t really happen much But riding around and trying to look for something to do with the music cranked up now that happened a lot 31 32 After Boyhood was released Linklater announced that his next film Everybody Wants Some would be a spiritual sequel to Dazed and Confused 33 The newer film takes place at a Texas college in 1980 33 The line alright alright alright became a catchphrase for Matthew McConaughey 34 35 Rotten Tomatoes editorial team credits the film for putting Austin Texas on the map 36 Home video EditMCA Universal released Dazed and Confused on laserdisc in January 1994 37 followed by a VHS release two months later 38 The film was released on HD DVD in 2006 39 The Criterion Collection released a two disc boxed set edition of the film on June 6 2006 in the U S and Canada Features included an audio commentary by Richard Linklater deleted scenes the original trailer the 50 minute Making Dazed documentary that aired on the American Movie Classics channel on September 18 2005 on set interviews behind the scenes footage cast auditions and footage from the ten year anniversary celebration Also included is a 72 page book featuring new essays by Kent Jones Jim DeRogatis and Chuck Klosterman as well as memories from the cast and crew character profiles and a mini reproduction of the original film poster designed by Frank Kozik Entertainment Weekly gave it an A rating and stated that it grants this enduring cult classic the DVD treatment it deserves 40 Universal Studios released Dazed and Confused on Blu ray in August 2011 in a 1080p AVC MPEG 4 transfer with a DTS HD Master Audio 5 1 soundtrack 39 The Blunt Truth is a four minute and twenty second long 1970s anti cannabis hoax educational film It appeared as a bonus feature on 2004 s Dazed and Confused Flashback Party Edition 41 On February 21 2023 The Criterion Collection re released the film on 4K UHD Blu ray In their review Svet Atanasov at Blu ray com states that The 2022 restoration on the 4K Blu ray disc was undertaken by the Criterion Collection from the 35mm original camera negative scanned on a Lasergraphics Director film scanner Based on the 2011 color transfer this restoration was newly remastered in Dolby Vision HDR and approved by director Richard Linklater The 2011 SDR restoration on the Blu ray supervised by Linklater and director of photography Lee Daniel was undertaken by the Criterion Collection from a 35mm interpositive scanned on a Spirit 4K DataCine The original 5 1 surround soundtrack was remastered from the 35mm magnetic audio tracks citation needed Soundtrack EditThe soundtrack for the film was released on September 28 1993 by The Medicine Label and they consist of hit songs mostly rock from the 1970s the film s setting The songs Hurricane by Bob Dylan Hey Baby by Ted Nugent and Sweet Emotion by Aerosmith were also included in the film but not on the commercial soundtracks The Alien Song For Those Who Listen by Milla Jovovich was briefly performed by Jovovich s character Michelle Burroughs but was not included in the soundtrack either Geffen Records attempted to get up and coming band Jackyl to do a cover of Grand Funk s We re an American Band to play over the end credits and be released as a single but Linklater refused 42 Dazed and ConfusedSoundtrack album by Various ArtistsReleasedSeptember 28 1993Recorded1970sGenreHard rock blues rock heavy metal glam rock Southern rock funk soft rockLength56 56LabelGiant MedicineDazed and Confused 1993 No TitleArtistLength1 Rock and Roll Hoochie Koo Rick Derringer3 442 Slow Ride Single version Foghat3 583 School s Out Alice Cooper3 294 Jim Dandy Black Oak Arkansas2 425 Tush ZZ Top2 176 Love Hurts Nazareth3 537 Stranglehold Ted Nugent8 248 Cherry Bomb The Runaways2 199 Fox on the Run Sweet3 2610 Low Rider War3 1311 Tuesday s Gone Lynyrd Skynyrd7 3212 Highway Star Deep Purple6 0813 Rock and Roll All Nite Kiss2 5714 Paranoid Black Sabbath2 47Total length 56 56 Even More Dazed and Confused 1994 No TitleArtistLength1 Free Ride Edgar Winter Group3 082 No More Mr Nice Guy Alice Cooper3 073 Living in the USA The Steve Miller Band4 054 Never Been Any Reason Head East5 125 Why Can t We Be Friends War3 516 Summer Breeze Seals and Crofts3 257 Right Place Wrong Time Dr John2 548 Balinese ZZ Top2 399 Lord Have Mercy On My Soul Black Oak Arkansas6 1410 I Just Want to Make Love to You Foghat4 1911 Show Me the Way Peter Frampton4 4112 Do You Feel Like We Do Peter Frampton7 13Total length 50 52 Certifications Edit Region Certification Certified units salesCanada Music Canada 43 3 Platinum 300 000 United States RIAA 44 2 Platinum 2 000 000 Shipments figures based on certification alone Book EditIn September 1993 St Martin s Press published a 127 page softcover book ISBN 0 312 09466 3 inspired by Richard Linklater s screenplay It was compiled by Linklater Denise Montgomery and others and designed by Erik Josowitz It was presented as a kind of yearbook with character profiles essays by characters a timeline focusing on the years 1973 to 1977 and various 1970s pop culture charts and quizzes It also featured dozens of black and white photos from the film References Edit Dazed and Confused 1993 AFI Catalog of Feature Films Retrieved 23 February 2021 Dazed and Confused British Board of Film Classification February 12 1993 Retrieved June 24 2012 Dazed and Confused The Numbers The Numbers Retrieved September 19 2013 Dazed and Confused 1993 thisdistractedglobe com August 8 2008 Retrieved September 19 2013 Dazed and Confused Box Office Mojo Retrieved September 29 2020 50 Best High School Movies Filmsite 2006 09 15 Retrieved 2011 04 20 The Comedy 25 The Funniest Movies of the Past 25 Years Movies EW com Retrieved 2011 04 20 a b c d e f g Spitz Marc December 26 2013 An Oral History of Dazed and Confused Maxim Retrieved May 7 2017 a b Hoad Phil 2019 06 11 Richard Linklater How we made Dazed and Confused The Guardian Retrieved 2019 06 11 a b c d Gorber Jason January 28 2016 Dazed and Confused at Sundance 12 things we learned from Richard Linklater Mashable Retrieved May 7 2016 a b c Stern Marlow September 24 2013 Dazed and Confused 20th Anniversary 20 Craziest Facts About the Cult Classic The Daily Beast Retrieved May 7 2017 Chaudhury Nadia November 23 2015 Matthew McConaughey Discovered at Hyatt Bar Franchising Alamo Drafthouse and More A M Intel Retrieved September 24 2022 Dazed and Confused Box Office Mojo Retrieved 2009 02 10 Dazed and Confused 1993 Rotten Tomatoes Fandango Media Retrieved September 29 2022 Dazed and Confused Reviews Metacritic CBS Interactive Retrieved July 11 2022 Ebert Roger September 24 1993 Dazed and Confused RogerEbert com Ebert Digital LLC Retrieved April 9 2018 Maslin Janet September 24 1993 Reviews Film Nervously Contemplating Life After High School The New York Times Retrieved April 9 2018 Howe Desson October 22 1993 Dazed and Confused The Washington Post Retrieved February 10 2009 Baumgarten Marjorie September 24 1993 Dazed and Confused The Austin Chronicle Retrieved April 9 2018 Travers Peter December 8 2000 Dazed and Confused Rolling Stone Retrieved April 9 2018 Corliss Richard October 11 1993 A Toke of Our Esteem Time Archived from the original on October 28 2010 Retrieved February 10 2023 Gleiberman Owen September 24 1994 Dazed and Confused EW Review Entertainment Weekly Retrieved April 9 2018 Tarantino Quentin Sight and Sound Top Ten Poll 2002 Sight and Sound Archived from the original on 2008 04 23 Retrieved 2009 04 21 The Top 50 Cult Films Entertainment Weekly May 23 2003 50 Best High School Movies Entertainment Weekly 2008 07 31 Retrieved 2009 04 21 The Comedy 25 The Funniest Movies of the Past 25 Years Entertainment Weekly August 27 2008 Retrieved 2008 08 27 dead link The Cult 25 The Essential Left Field Movie Hits Since 83 list Entertainment Weekly September 3 2008 Archived from the original on 2008 09 03 Retrieved 2008 09 04 Carlson Peter 2004 12 08 Bummer Man Portrayed as Potheads In Dazed Trio Has A New Joint Venture Suing the Filmmaker The Washington Post washingtonpost com Retrieved 2009 11 17 Linklater Richard Director s commentary Dazed and Confused Criterion Collection DVD Hughes Sarah Anne January 23 2012 Matthew McConaughey reprises Dazed and Confused role for music video The Washington Post Archived from the original on May 6 2014 Retrieved April 21 2013 Valby Karen March 8 2013 Quentin Tarantino pays tribute to Dazed and Confused at the Texas Film Hall of Fame Awards Entertainment Weekly Archived from the original on March 13 2013 Retrieved April 21 2013 Dazed And Confused 20Th Anniversary Reunion Austin Film Society 2013 Archived from the original on March 26 2013 Retrieved April 21 2013 a b Richard Linklater reveals follow up to Boyhood NME Retrieved August 5 2013 How Matthew McConaughey Came Up With Alright Alright Alright Huffington Post Retrieved 2014 12 02 Matthew McConaughey might as well trademark alright alright alright the catchphrase so closely associated with him The Origin Of Matthew McConaughey s Alright Alright Alright George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight on CBC 2014 03 03 All Wes Anderson Movies Ranked Rotten Tomatoes Retrieved 2020 05 04 Expectations High Billboard January 15 1994 Retrieved 2014 04 30 MCA Universal bows the 1976 high school tale Dazed and Confused Dazed and Confused VHS familyvideo com Retrieved 2014 04 30 a b Cohen Steven August 8 2011 Dazed and Confused High Def Digest Retrieved 2014 04 30 Labrecque Jeff June 2 2006 Dazed and Confused Entertainment Weekly Retrieved 2009 04 21 Chaney Jen November 2 2004 Dazed and disappointed The Washington Post Dazed By Days By Richard Linklater Cinephilia amp Beyond 8 April 2015 Retrieved September 29 2020 Canadian album certifications Various Artists Dazed and Confused Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Music Canada American album certifications Soundtrack Dazed and Confused Recording Industry Association of America External links Edit nbsp Wikiquote has quotations related to Dazed and Confused Dazed and Confused at IMDb Dazed and Confused at the TCM Movie Database Dazed and Confused at AllMovie Dazed and Confused at Box Office Mojo Dazed and Confused Dream On an essay by Kent Jones at the Criterion Collection Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Dazed and Confused film amp oldid 1173219694, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

article

, read, download, free, free download, mp3, video, mp4, 3gp, jpg, jpeg, gif, png, picture, music, song, movie, book, game, games.