Dazed and Confused

[Carol Baynes]

As it's the end of term there's only one film you should be watching, and that's "Dazed and confused". I was raving on about it a while back. Saw it again recently and it's fab- a really cool cult film. It's from 1993, but set in 1976 in Texas on the last day of school term. The director was Richard Linklater, who went on to direct the brilliant "Before sunrise" and "After sunset".

Great quotes:

http://www.angelfire.com/hi/ludenbac...fusedquot.html


Slater:"All right, check you later!"
Don:"Slater, man, why you always such a dork, man?"
Slater:"What are you talking about?"
Don:"'Check you later! Check you later!'"
Slater:"Hey, man, get off my case, man!"
Don:"Chicks don't wanna here that sh*t!"



If you like 'Family Guy', you might remember the spoof of "Dazed and confused", where the seniors go around thrashing the Freshmen with bats, as part of their 'initiation' .....

It's a film that always puts me in a good mood, but also makes me feel rather bittersweet....I figured if I went back 17 years (which is when the film was set, from when it was made in '93), I'd be in 1990, which is when I'd finished school and started 'hanging out'. Odd that...

Anyone a fan?

[Dave Tudor]

I've only seen a bit of it, but it seemed pretty good. I imagine it's in the same mould as the later 'Almost Famous', which I absolutely love, and so I'm sure I'd like this film.

Besides, hasn't it got a character called Pink Floyd in it?

[Carol Baynes]

It does, yeah. He's quite a likable character actually, a nice guy who manages to be friends with all the different groups. Forgotten his first name. Was it Randall "Pink" Floyd?

I've always wondered if I'd like "American graffiti" (George Lucas' pre-"Star Wars" hit) as it sounds like it's in a similar mode, although set 14 years before "Dazed...".

[Alex]

I like it a lot, I'm a big fan of Richard Linklater, I caught Slacker completely by chance when it first came out and have always looked out for films by him.

There's just something effortlessly cool about Dazed and Confused, it's got to be said a lot of films have been influenced it but for me nothing's really bettered it. The cast are all great, especially the fantastically named Wiley Wiggins who seems to have disappeared lately which is a shame...

I think I prefer Linklater's Before Sunrise and Before Sunset just because they're so sweetly romantic (the first one especially) and lovely, but yeah. D&C is a damn good film...

Edit: I think American Graffiti's awful btw, but well, it's all a matter of taste, innit!

[Carol Baynes]

Edit: I think American Graffiti's awful btw, but well, it's all a matter of taste, innit!

It used to be one of the biggest money making films at one point. "Dazed and confused" only made $8m in comparison!

[Alex]

Well yeah, but that's often the case alas, so many good films make hardly anything and the crap ones make loads. I spose that goes for a lot of other things too though, like music, books, tv etc, etc, etc.