Slacker [1991] (REGION 1) (NTSC)

Customer Reviews:

Unique.......2008-03-04

After watching Slacker and reading the 1 star review I feel compelled to put the record straight.

First off - Slacker is a walk through life at real time. All it represents is the banality of how ordinary we all are. There is no slick plot, no punchline and no point - just like us.

Second off - if you are looking for Hollywood here, you are looking in the wrong place, go and watch exciting unreal alternatives of action and consequence, such as Crash (the recent one). This is a simple film, with porn-quality acting and tape quality so expect no more.

Third - It is unique. An engaging and enjoyable, light hearted film that the open minded, non-glitz, no thrills film-goer should love.

Plain and simple. Just like us.

Its old... lengthy and really really boring.......2007-07-27

I bought this off of the back of Richard Linklaters other films.
Before Sunrise
Before Sunset
A Waking life
A Scanner Darkly
Plus I was told it was part of the inspiration behind the movie Clerks

This, was not on the same level.
I had reasonably high expectations that I might have found a gem of a movie, based on the other reviews here. Trust me, its not, it is most definately not.
Hey hey, a Madonna Pap Smear! heh... other then that one moment of a mild chuckle which, due to some poor acting and comedic timing, sucks a big one any way, its lengthy and dull, and lengthy, did I mention lengthy.

I watched this with my mate when I got it, afterwards I apologized.
I'm really struggling to think of any benefit in buying this movie...
There is none, its sudo intellectual but all of the arguments are the kind that you've probably had a million times and in greater depth.
Its the obvious things like "What if every time you make a choice it spawns a new reality" :o
At one point a guy walks into a book shop and bothers a woman about a JFK book for about ten minutes, theres no joke, just random babbling for about ten minutes, by the end of which the woman is sick to death of the guy and you are to. Then theres some guys fixing a car, then some guy robbing a house before going for a walk and having a low level sudo intellecual conversation with the guy he was supposed to be robbing...

Then theres more talking... then some more... then theres some more people.
Non of it tallies up, theres no gags and it doesn't press you to think or offer you any greater insight into life or, its just a waste of time please, please, please, please, please, please
DO NOT put yourself through this god awful movie.

I'm guessing the other reviews are false positives, theres no way that many people from England could possibly find this movie funny or worth watching on any level, it really is just that bad.

The visual equivalent to Generation X.......2004-03-04

The DVD appearance of this turn of the decade classic comes just as Writer/Director, Richard Linklater, is finding his feet again with films such as Waking Life and Tape, the former taking much of its philosophical source material from this Houston, Texas based paeon to dropping out. It's an excellent reminder of just how massively popular culture changed in the 90s. Replacing 80s spectacularism with a new sense of insularity, which was enhanced infinitely by the constraints of a tiny budget, Slacker spends five or so minutes each in the company of Houston's Idler community. The characters we encounter are all, in some way, pretty messed up. There's a car thief, an anarchist professor whose dreams of governmental meltdown have caused a minor identity crisis, there's a guy who obsessively collects TVs and leaves them on continually, a bitter 40-something returning from the funeral of his cruel stepfather whose grave he plans to go back and dance on. The monologue by the sci-fi conspiracy theorist is, in particular, a frighteningly funny view of a world gone mad leading to individual insanity.

It could all seem pretty heavy when you also consider Linklater's ethereal approach. The Omnipotent camera floats throughout the city during the course of 24-hours (condensed to a neat 90 or so minutes), picking the most revealing and darkly amusing conversations of the individuals it passes. Once you've had a flavour of one character, it moves on giving us a Scroogesque view of a world that we were already aware of but had never really looked at in a particular context.

What elevates the film above the maudlin, though, is a reassuring ability to laugh at itself. To say, 'look how much we've messed ourselves up - isn't it ridiculous?' The fact that Linklater himself plays the first character we meet makes us realise that he's with us all the way. He's one of them - one of us. The slackers.

Appearing roughly around the same time as Douglas Coupland's literary equivalent, Generation X, Slacker didn't necessarily pave the way for a more aware world. Rather, it highlighted the apathy of the aware - something seemingly impenetrable from the powers that be. How could they get to us if we didn't care what they did enough to do anything about it but yack? Since then, such apathy or slackerism has been given the corporate gloss and the 'alternative' has now been so grossly commodified that the masses are able to write off films like Slacker as 'cool' in the most base, aesthetic sense. The layers of irony are so dense they become confusing.

It's reassuring to know that people like Richard Linklater - not quite as big a Slacker as the rest of us - care enough to continue telling it like it is. Now click the button, buy the DVD you don't really need without leaving the house and see if there's some takeaway left in the fridge while you wait for it to arrive.

Full On Idle.......2000-03-29

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.

Strangers die everyday.......2000-03-24

With documentary-like realism, experimental art film structure, and a title that became a '90s buzz word, Richard Linklater's brilliant study of the life of idlers has acquired cult status. Eschewing the typical film syntax, he follows a string of characters through a 24-hour period in Austin, Texas, using basically the same camera angle and lens for the length of the movie (with the exception of a brief segment shot in pixlevision). The dialogue acts almost as a monologue, with each scene linked together by one character 'passing the baton' to the next. The cast was made up of crew members and locals (Linklater plays the opening character), and an improvisational overtone provides for many memorable moments (the video backpacker, the JFK buff, and of course the infamous Madonna pap smear). Austin band Ed Hall are seen playing live in a club, and Louis Mackey, Professor of philosophy at University of Texas, has a great role as an old anarchist. After this, Linklater started directing more linear, mass audience-friendly films ("Dazed & Confused," "Before Sunrise," and "SubUrbia") but still kept the stories within a 24-hour time frame. An excellent companion book (including the full movie script) was published in 1992.

Average customer rating:
Surfing Vol 3 [2007]
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Manufacturer: Boulevard Entertaiment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000QUEI8E
Release Date: 2007-07-30

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