Cheap Slacker - Criterion Collection (DVD) (Richard Linklater) (Richard Linklater) Price

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Customer Reviews of Slacker - Criterion Collection

The definitive movie of the 90's.
This movie did for the 90's what FLASHDANCE did for the 80's: It defined the particular decade in which it debuted and set the tone for the decade's mindset. FLASHDANCE perfectly epitomized life in the 80's with its flamboyant music and clothes and over-the-top attitudes. SLACKER does that for the 90's as well: Its title became THE major buzzword of the decade, and it underscored the lassitude and apathy of the downtrodden, nascent Generation X. If you watch this movie in hopes of enjoying the zest of young people burning the midnight oil and achieving grand ambitions, you'll be disappointed. What we see is the characters' world and how they react -- or don't react -- to what goes on -- or doesn't go on -- in it.

The camera pans from one slacker to another; when we are finished with that character's story, we never see him or her again. Each slacker is cleverly and subtly linked to the other without an obvious seam in the transition of the narrative -- or lack thereof. This lack of narrative may come as an annoyance to some, but understand that that's the beauty of this film, and I find it very refreshing. They're everyday people with lackluster lives, and very similar to all of us.

The lack of pretension in this film, I think, really set the stage for the monumental 90's grunge/alternative music movement. That style of music, like this movie, wasn't mainstream and insisted it not be. This film was a hint of things to come.

My favorite characters: the hitchhiker awaiting his true call (ALL his dialogue is quotable, and he has THE attitude about life), the old anarchist (a sweet guy if you can overlook his rampant desire to blow up the texas legislature building), and the post-modern paul revere (a young man with too much time on his hands!). You'll need patience to sit through this movie, but if you can cultivate it, you won't be disappointed.

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Full On Idle
When the film "Slacker" opened in 1991, it wasn't long before its director, Richard Linklater, found himself in the spotlight, fielding questions about the generation portrayed in his movie. This enlightening companion book was published a year later and not only addresses some of the media hype surrounding the film, but includes a wealth of additional information, insights, and trivia for fans. There's a brief section on Texas' slacker past, a bit on why Austin was the perfect backdrop for the film, and Linklater describes the ideas that led up to its creation. An early 'roadmap' of the script lays out the basic action of each scene, followed by the full transcription of the final film (which is very handy for quoting the dialogue). There's also actor profiles, providing over 70 entertaining bios of each of the folks who appeared in the movie, as well as a section of notes from the crew. The pages often recall the feel of a fanzine, filled with numerous photos, stills, clip art, and flyers from Austin rock shows and film festivals. The sidebars are peppered with Linklater's diary entries, chronicling the "Slacker" project from the beginning brainstorming stages to the eventual screenings and publicity. All in all, this is a fantastic book for both aspiring directors and devotees of the cult film.

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Finally on DVD, and a double-disc Criterion no less!
Linklater's brilliant debut done in one continuous shot. You've never seen anything quite like it. If you loved Waking Life, then here's the more organic live people version.

Oh, how I miss the early 90's, and they were captured here so well. The look, the feel, the fatalism. He successfully captured a moment in time (the 70's) again with Dazed & Confused, another double-disc set coming soon.