Search - Waking Life on DVD

MPAA Rating: R Content Advisory: Mild Violence, Not For Children, Adult Language Movie Release: 2001 DVD Release: 05/07/2002 Format: DVD - Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV Audio Tracks: English, Spanish Subtitles: English, French SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 1 hrs 40 mins Studio: 20th Century Fox Members Wishing: 5 Genres: Avant-garde / Experimental, Ensemble Film

Richard Linklater returned to the semi-improvised approach and philosophical themes of his debut feature Slacker while embracing a new and groundbreaking visual technology in his sixth feature film, Waking Life. Linklater and cameraman Tommy Pallotta shot the film on location in Austin, TX, using digital video equipment. Linklater and digital animator Bob Sabiston then used newly developed computer software to transform the images through a process called "interpolated rotoscoping"; the result merges the naturalism of live action with a stylized look that resembles a cartoon or a painting in motion. Waking Life's flexible, non-narrative approach follows a young man (Wiley Wiggins) who arrives in Austin and hitches a ride with a stranger, who engages him in a conversation about rarely considered facets of existentialism. As the visitor drifts through the city, he encounters a variety of people and finds himself absorbing their views on art, philosophy, society, and numerous other issues of contemporary life. Linklater's cast is dotted with well-known actors (Ethan Hawke, Julie Delpy, Adam Goldberg, Nicky Katt) and pop-culture notables (filmmaker Steven Soderbergh, Martin Scorsese associate Steven Prince, comic Louis Black), alongside a large number of relatively little-known players. Waking Life received its world premiere at the 2001 Sundance Film Festival; Linklater's next film, Tape, was also screened at the same festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Wiley Wiggins

Life and animation come together in director Richard Linklater's groundbreaking Waking Life. Fox's work on this 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer is excellent. Sporting vivid colors and solid black levels, this animated tour de force is nearly reference quality with only the slightest amount of edge enhancement in a few key scenes. The audio is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround in English as well as Dolby 2.0 Stereo in Spanish. The Dolby 5.1 soundtrack is very subtle and effective without being overwhelming. Directional effects are utilized in both the front and rear speakers for maximum effects. Overall both the audio and video portions of this disc are very well done. No subtitles are available on this disc. The extra features on this disc are more than plentiful, starting with three commentary tracks, one by various filmmakers, another by what seems to be a dozen animators, and a third in text written by Linklater. Taken as a whole, all three of these commentary tracks provide the viewer with crucial information on the production of the film, the animation, and how the story came to be. A 20-minute tutorial by Bob Sabiston offers the viewer a walk though on the animation software used in the film. "Snack and Drink" and "First Pass: Bob and Rick's Animation Test" are quick shorts on the animation techniques utilized in the film. Finally there is a very short four-minute featurette on the making of the film, an "Animation Scrap Heap," which is a collection of clips that represent alternate versions, tests, and deleted scenes, a 12-minute montage, biographies, and a theatrical trailer for the film and the Goldie Hawn/Susan Sarandon movie,The Banger Sisters. ~ Patrick Naugle, All Movie Guide