Search - Slacker [Criterion Collection] on DVD

Content Advisory: Adult Situations, Profanity Movie Release: 1991 DVD Release: 09/14/2004 Format: DVD - Pan and Scan - Closed Captioned Edition: Dual Layered,Restored/Remastered,Special Collection Audio Tracks: English Subtitles: English SwapaDVD Credits: 2 Number of Discs: 2 Run Time: 1 hrs 40 mins Studio: Criterion Members Wishing: 32 Genres: Comedy, Ensemble Film

One of the key American independent films of the 1990s, Richard Linklater's feature debut is an audacious look at the twentysomething culture in the college town of Austin, Texas. Set over the course of a 24-hour period, the film is a collection of short, unconnected glimpses into the dropout subculture, touching base with a variety of musicians, students, street people and general eccentrics. While there's no real plot to speak of, Linklater's eye for nuance and gift for dialogue are superb, and the portrait he paints is so uncannily accurate that the term "slacker" was almost immediately co-opted as a media buzzword, one interchangeable with the similarly-overused "Generation X." Regardless, the film is an evocative reflection of a community and its culture and remains a definitive artifact of its time and place. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide

Richard Linklater - Should Have Stayed at the Bus Station
Mark James - Hit-and-run Son
Stella Weir - Stephanie from Dallas
John Slate - "Conspiracy A-Go-Go" Author
Louis Mackey - Old Anarchist

Richard Linklater's Slacker stands as one of the landmark American independent films of the '90s. Criterion has given the film its first DVD release, and the film comes with an embarrassment of riches. The film itself is presented in the original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.33:1. The English soundtrack is rendered in Dolby Digital Stereo. Three different commentary tracks are available for the film. They feature a variety of people who worked on the film both in front of and behind the camera. There are copious supplemental materials packed onto this two-disc set. Linklater enthusiasts will be most pleased with the inclusion of the director's little-seen first film, It's Impossible to Learn to Plow by Reading Books, with a commentary track by him. A ten-minute short made as sort of a first pass at the Slacker style, footage from an anniversary party held for the film's tenth birthday, a preview of a documentary about one of the cafes used as a location in the film, audition tapes, and an essay written by Linklater about the culture he was attempting to comment on in the movie all add depth to the viewer's understanding of the film. Still photos, home movies, trailers, deleted scenes, an early Linklater short, and the film's working script round, out this seemingly perfect DVD. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide