Dazed and Confused is a film that reflects comedy as well as drama which released in the year 1993. The movie is written and directed by Richard Linklater. A number of future stars that include Cole Hauser, Ben Affleck, Anthony Rapp, Joey Lauren Adams, Parker Posey and Milla Jovovich featured in the large ensemble cast of the movie. At the U.S box office the movie took in no more than 8 million dollars.
It has achieved cult film status in the recent years. In the list of the twelve greatest films, Quentin Tarantino included this film for voting in Sight and Sound in the year 2002. On the list of Entertainment Weekly of the 50 Best High School Movies the movie ranked third. Led Zeppelin song of the same name is where the name Dazed and Confused is derived from.
Members of the band were approached by the director of the movie for the permission to use in the movie some of the songs. Robert Plant refused, however Jimmy Page agreed for the same. The budget of the movie was 2 million dollars. The movie Dazed and Confused was distributed by Universal Pictures and the duration was 103 minutes. The movie released on September 3, 1993.
On May 28, 1976 the film Dazed and Confused takes place which is the last day of school at Lee High School in Austin, Texas. Where on one hand the schools star football player is asked to sign a pledge for school promising not to take drugs, on the other hand the seniors are preparing for the annual hazing of incoming freshmen by building paddles and buying cooking supplies.
The whole story revolves around these freshmen and the seniors. Angst ridden teenagers bristling at authority, anomie and coming of age stories are the overarching themes of the movie. Across the major characters of the film these themes are played out in various ways. The release of the film Dazed and Confused coincided with the rising popularity of grunge music which is quite notable.
Contrasts and comparisons were offered by the film between slacker culture in the late 70s culture and early 90s culture. It was not one of the most talked about or prominent films of the year it was released though. Not only was that, but not many of the critics bothered to review the movie. On the most famous websites for review not more than 42 reviews have been reported in the years since the film Dazed and Confused released.
However, over the years the film has received the status of a cult classic with only one negative review about it. Three out of four stars were rated by Roger Ebert. Dazed and Confused was praised as art crossed with anthropology with a very painful underside.
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