Dazed and Confused -- What Makes This Movie Great? (Episode 118)
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- čas přidán 4. 08. 2021
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Its one of Tarantinos favorite movies. He calls it a hangout movie. Its something like Rio Bravo. There isnt much plot, but a lot of characters talking with each other. He loves coming back to it every few years. I watched it last year and was overwhelmed with its scope, but now I hope its going to be better on the rewatch now that I know much of Altmans filmography, of which I'm a big fan.
yes, the movie couldn't have been made without Altman.
It’s one of my all time favourites , the loose narrative allows you to get lost in the friendships and the lifestyle these kids are living , it really does feel like a hangout movie , I can quote the film from start to finish , it’s a classic and such a warm movie
This is the Best coming of age movie because the cinematography it's simple and beautiful, the characters are very natural and the Main theme is the uncertainty about the future and that one it's deeply philosophical because a lot of young people have experienced that at that age.
thank you.
One of my all time favorites, so easily rewatch-able.
excellent!
This is still mainly true to highschoolers today (i graduated in mid 2010s), especially the social interactions between the students. Only thing that i didnt really experience was all of the hazing especially the physical abuse.
for as long as the education system resembles a prison, this movie will be relevant.
Only thing different for me is the fact that we don’t drive around in cars and that we use phones to make arrangements not word of mouth. Also no licks
What makes this movie work for me is that growing up in the 2000s, ''Dazed'' and ''Confused'' was literally MY life. A kid who had no sense of direction or purpose and got taken advantage of ways that would drive an individual to the point of suicide........Dazed and Confused MADE me realize just how manipulative and cunning society can be if you dont have a sense of self or purpose. KNOWING what's organic or natural to you. Despite this film being set in the 70s, I feel as if it's more of a Millenium movie that KNEW what society has become and how far we still got to go in order for everyone to feel FREE. That's why this movie works for me. It KNEW that someone out there like me needed it.....
I was at SHSU in Huntsville, Texas from 1975 to 1979. Richard Linklater was at Huntsville High School during that time. I saw all of this going on . I used to go to the Emporium all the time and Firetower parties…..very realistic movie.
Watching this when I was 14 or so one of my other favorite things about this movie was that anxiety/excitement that was brought to me sort of seeing what to expect when transitioning from middle to high school … this soundtrack for the movie I feel like isn’t talked about enough such nice placements of songs to get you amped/excited and other feelings to feel accordingly to the scenes
I recall a story of Linkletter trying to get permission from Jimmy Page and Plant to play some of their music. The story goes, neither wanted their music to be relegated to nostalgia too soon. But wished him good luck with his "art." Being called an artist by Zepplin was cool enough. It's a seventies thing.
This is my dads favorite movie as he was in his mid 20s when it came out and it just reminded him so much of high school. and i first watched it when i was 14 with him and it never stuck with me, but now as someone in their early 20s (22) i re watched it with my girlfriend (i think we were 20)and we both loved it since it brought us back into those late nights as a high schooler, the stupid shit we did etc and she loved the aesthetic since she loves the 70s. we ended up just telling high school stories all night long and Tarantino got it 100% right, this is the perfect movie to watch like once a year with all your buddies, drink during the movie and then tell stupid stories from high school afterwards. it’s just an easy watch and it makes time fly
Absolutely LOVE this movie! We can only hope that there will be an 80’s version of Dazed and Confused in our future… ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Watch everybody wants some! It’s by Richard as well set at Texas state university in 1980
I was a freshman in 93, and after rewatching it for the first time in a long time the strength with which I relate to this movie now is really interesting. There's definitely more than meta the eye here.
I really loved your thoughts on this film that I've cherished for 30 plus years!! I love your observation about the themes of rebellion. Bicentennial, the team is the Rebels. Abe Lincoln on the wall with bloodshot eyes and in the Tony's weird dream, smashing a mailbox with the USA flag, painting the patriotic statues with Kiss faces. Refusing to submit to rule in the form of not signing the pledge. The movie does have some dark tones but also joyous, and fun moments. So many of those. Thanks again for sharing your well thought take on it.
thank you.
I graduated High School in’79. This movie is somewhat realistic, but over the top.
Not all the kids were stoners or bullies. There were jocks,natures, socials, nerds, dramas, bandies, and a variety of other groups. Some kids navigated between different groups.
School was very lackadaisical. You could “ditch” classes without consequence as long as you did the work and did well in tests.
People didn’t worry so much about College because it was easy to get into any State College. You needed better grades and SAT score to get into University system school. College was inexpensive. There wasn’t a great concern about tuition cost.
I don't think I ever classed this movie as "great" but it sure does give me PTSD. I lived it. I grew up in a small agricultural town in California (not Texas), and was a freshman in 1976, but all of my friends were seniors, so I hung with the older crowd. I knew EVERYBODY in this movie (and, thanks to social media, I still know many of them who also see this movie the way I did). I was sort of a hybrid of several characters. Yes, that was back in the days when hazing was a school sanctioned activity --- we even had a "slave day.". The clothes, the cars, the keg parties out in some remote location...everything just rang true. And I remember camping out overnight to get those Aerosmith tickets for the very same tour they are talking about (Anaheim Stadium). Not great, but definitely PTSD inducing. (I was never hazed --- I was bigger than most of the seniors. No one bothered me.)
I truly wish we got these authentic movies now days. Every movie you mentioned in the beginning is a absolute classic. And there are really just no movies now that do that. I can't recall a movie that I'm stoked to watch over and over like these. Even now it's so damn goooood
My all time favorite movie!
excellent!
Fantastic video! Just subscribed and I’m looking forward to seeing more of your content.
thank you very much. Welcome to the channel.
With eras especially movies that capture certain eras it’s interesting the year and how much they can differ even in the same decade. It’s commonly said that the “definitive parts” that people think of each decade came In the later half, because it had to catch up, ex. the 70s had mostly 60s quality up until 75-84, the culture is a few years behind the decade. I remember first time I watched this I loved it (I’m 23) and my dad couldn’t relate at all despite graduating in 1974, born in 56, but relates much more to American graffiti
I overall quite enjoyed this movie . In fact I don’t consider it to be that inherently different from highschool now .
Dazed and Confused is fantastic but so are so many of Linklater's other movies: Slacker, Boyhood and the Before Trilogy to name a few.
I am currently trying to figure out Waking Life. Such a strange experience because the dialogue is philosophical but the visual are so overpowering.
@@LearningaboutMovies I've been meaning to watch that one. Linklater used the same rotoscoping technology for his film A Scanner Darkly and I'm not so sure how I feel about it. I didn't really care for it. I've heard Waking Life is a great one as well though.
Watched it for the first time at age 22 tonight and I'm glad to say us "kids" still find it relatable as hell
Thank you for your interpretation of the film; it is very helpful. In fact, I'm from a foreign country, so it's an outsider's view...pardon also for my English. I think the best thing about Dazed, from a film history point of view, is the use of music; there's something of Eisenstein in that accuracy. Remembering how young Linklater was, it's more than amazing. (however, when I saw the film for the first time, I thought of Ballad Of The Sad Young Men) But if you read the movie with Pasolini, the rebellion is nothing more than bourgeois posturing. Even Floyd is a bystander in the violence and abuse, which is condoned by all but one of the acting characters. Since Linklater speaks of sadism in his script, that is also the only sex shown in the film. And that is what is really hard for a foreigner to understand: the violence, the lack of sex and the apolitical. But maybe that's why the film is so fascinating: what appears to be a comedy is actually a contribution to social analysis. And therefore the idea of the prison, in which all the actors are actually, is a key to understanding. And: Seen in this light, the film has something prophetic about it.
I think from Pasolini's POV, most movies are bourgeois posturing. Although speaking as one, the lifestyle ain't that bad; you should all come visit. Thanks for pushing beyond that somewhat though. It's funny how most if not all American school movies deal with " school as prison" to a degree. The American TV show, the longest running one, The Simpsons opened with Bart stuck writing on a chalkboard as a punishment after school.
I also think this movie is an ideal example of detailed realism being actually social analysis (as you say) in disguise.
@@LearningaboutMovies Thanks for the quick answer! Poor Pasolini, now he has to pay for my unclear English...
Graduated in 77 this movie was my High School Days
Hello Dr. Matthews, I just recently watched "Dazed and Confused" and throughly enjoyed it! Have you considered watching Linklater's spiritual sequel, "Everybody Wants Some," his take on youth and masculinity in the 1980s? If so, I would love to hear your thoughts on it, if you find it worthy of discussion and analysis on CZcams, of course! Keep up the great scholastic work!
What constitutes a movie becoming included into the Criterion collection?
I would love to ask them this question. Probably its a combo of money, rights, and curation.
Two things...
1: A movie they think is worth preserving and being remembered.
2: A movie they can get the distribution rights for and they know it will make them money.
Out of all the coming of age movies this one is the best in my view. Just no nudity or gratuitous sex scene great acting great sound track great script. Some people say it was over the top or exaggerated but my dad and uncle said it was exactly like that they had so much freedom back then. They grew up just out side the city of Houston. Yes all the kids got together for a party in a field kegs weed and everything just like the movie. After graduation a small group all went on a road trip to san Antonio to see Led Zeppelin not Aerosmith
I grew up in Houston, Texas, and this movie is very accurate of my high school experience even though I graduated in 1987. I remember the time period it is set in and had older siblings, but times hadn't changed all that much in my day.
@@dreamweaver1603 yeah i graduated in 99. I could just imagine being able to buy beer at 18 showing up to school high. We were divided though only certain cliques went to certain parties. End of year senior party you had the rich kids who went on summer vacation, the sport guys, the wanna be gangsters, band members hung out together. we were really divided it was bad and really sad. I heard they attempted to have a 10 year re-union and only 12 people out 250ish RSVP so it was canceled
@@mr.nmoney3554 that's sad. We all had our clicks but weren't so divided.
Sad to say but I was totally the Slader of my school 😂 had the pot leaf pics in my locker, got stoned all the time and especially at lunch, and definitely was known by EVERYONE as the dude you went to for bud. Ah those were the days
Even in the mid-2000s when I went to middle school the 8th grade boys used to chase the 6th grade boys if they were walking through a certain hallway
Please could you do a review of Linklater's Slacker? Its on youtube and maybe criterion has it.
I will consider it for sure. I should do something on Linklater as an innovator for sure.
Have you watched Scorsese’s “Silence” (2016) ? If so, please do a video on it one day 🙏🙏🙏🙏
yes, in fact I have thought about a video comparing the novel to the two films, or a video on the two films in comparison.
@@LearningaboutMovies OMG! I haven’t read the book yet but I need to. Would love to hear your thoughts.
I was a high school sophomore in 1976...this movie is so spot on I could be documentary. I was kind of a mash up of "Pink" Floyd and Tony...I was a pitcher on the varsity baseball team but started hanging out with the stoners my senior year and told my coach I did not want to play. Also, Tony though since I was kind of intellectual and got good grades. The guy in the video is also correct in that we did not think life had any meaning and high school was like prison. I didn't really come into age until I got to college in 1979 and the 80s were my decade (yeah the 70s sucked). I never counted myself as a boomer much like the director of the film who is one year older than me...this is a Gen X movie...maybe the best one outside of Breakfast Club
thank you
Texas in the 70's, I was there...............................
I grew up in Austin during this time. While this film is entertaining, it seems like an almost total fabrication of our school life. Back then, Austin was a small college town, and the principals/ teachers and police didn't let you get away with shit.
Classic Flick! 👍🏻🇺🇲
First view, first like. I really like your reviews.
thank you.
nice 😼
thanks.
i think Fast Times at Ridgemont High is better.
haven't seen that in over two decades. will need to reevaluate it eventually.
This is the only Linklater movie that I like.
reasonable.
This movie is great for so many reasons. But for me it’s the racial demographic. It’s completely accurate. Movies now show so many minorities as if there’s just as many. No hate but this is what real America looks like.
My father loves this movie (he was also 16 years old in 1976), but I've never cared for it. The humor isn't very funny to me (although the Matthew McConaughey scenes are iconic), and the dramatic moments strike me as not particularly insightful. The only Linklater movies I like are the first two Before movies (haven't seen the third), and I'm pretty sure I like those more for the chemistry between Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy than for any filmmaking aspects. I thought Boyhood was extremely overrated, and it confuses me when I see such high praise for it, many calling it one of the best films of the 21st century, when it has flat, uninspired cinematography, an aimless story, uninteresting characters that don't grow so much as they move on to the next stage of life, and in general just seems only half-thought-out. You may argue that his films are actually well-structured, but he has a loose and seemingly carefree approach to storytelling that doesn't appeal to me.
I think American Graffiti is George Lucas's only great film (THX 1138 and the Star Wars movies range from okay to good), and it's probably the biggest influence on this film, although they are different in a couple of ways. The most obvious one is how the focus is shifted between stories. In American Graffiti, there are four distinct narratives with minimal crossing of characters, and each one tells a vastly different story, with all of them contrasting well with each other as you switch from character to character. Dazed and Confused blends its stories, so you'll constantly see characters with their own story mixing with characters who have another story. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, and it can even make things dynamic, but I think American Graffiti works better because it's more of an anthology of short connected films edited together, which makes those sections more straightforward and unique. American Graffiti also takes place over a shorter amount of time--one night, as opposed to an entire day in Dazed and Confused--packing the story more tightly into that time, which gives you a sense of immediacy, as though you're there with those characters experiencing those moments with them, as opposed to Dazed and Confused, where you'll see a character in one scene, then you won't see them again until twenty minutes later, but it's been hours in the world of the movie, making it less engaging. Finally, I think the music in American Graffiti was better. I heard that Lucas and his co-writers listened to those songs while they were writing the script, and their presence in the film does a great job of setting the mood and making the film seem as though it's an authentic throwback to that era.
There was a much better ensemble film that came out in 1993, and it was directed by someone you mentioned in this video: Short Cuts, by Robert Altman. That film has even more characters--22--and more of a grand scope, exploring the entirety of Los Angeles. The characters are more diverse in age, class, and life experience, making an interesting contrast in the interactions they have with one another, and mapping how their lives intersect with one another is fascinating to explore. The film deftly switches from comedy to drama in a way that they seem to undercut each other, but to the benefit of the film, never getting too complacent in one tone. People always talk about Nashville and The Player being among Altman's greatest films, but I think that's his best.
outstanding as always. thank you.
You don’t have very good taste in movies because this is a classic