Blu-ray Review: Criterion Remaster of Richard Linklater’s ‘Slacker’

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CHICAGO – Richard Linklater’s “Slacker” is one of the most important films of the ’90s. Appearing at the 1991 Sundance Film Festival, this incredibly low-budget piece of work helped launch the indie film movement of the decade, teaching people that anyone could make a movie. Shot on 16MM for less than $25k, “Slacker” ushered in an era of DIY filmmaking. Kevin Smith has said that “Clerks” wouldn’t exist without it. And the ironic thing is that you can now watch one of the most influential low-budget films on the high-definition format of Blu-ray, courtesy of The Criterion Collection.

Rating: 4.0/5.0

The Criterion Blu-ray for “Slacker” not only includes a new, restored, high-definition transfer of the low-definition film but an amazing amount of special features, perhaps more than any on a Criterion Blu-ray this year. It features other works by Linklater, including “It’s Impossible to Learn to Plow by Reading Books” and “Woodshock,” alongside three audio commentary tracks with Linklater and members of his cast and crew. “Slacker” may have proved that anyone can make a movie but the Blu-ray release proves that no one but Criterion can treat that movie quite this well when it’s time to own it.

Slacker was released on Blu-ray on September 17, 2013
Photo credit: Courtesy of the Criterion Collection

Synopsis:
Slacker presents a day in the life of a loose-knit Austin, Texas, subculture populated by eccentric and overeducated young people. Shooting on 16 mm for a mere $23,000, writer-producer-director Richard Linklater and his crew of friends did away with any idea of the traditional plot, choosing instead to create a tapestry of over a hundred characters, each as compelling as the last. Slacker is a prescient look at an emerging generation of aggressive nonparticipants, and one of the key films of the American independent film movement of the 1990s.

Special Features:
o Three Audio Commentaries Featuring Linklater and Members Of The Cast And Crew
o It’s Impossible To Learn To Plow By Readying Books (1988), Linklater’s First Feature, With Commentary By The Director
o Woodshock (1985), a 16mm Short By Linklater and Daniel
o Casting Tapes Featuring Select “Auditions”
o Footage From The Slacker Tenth-Anniversary Reunion
o Early Film Treatment
o Home Movies
o Ten Minute Trailer For a 2005 Documentary About The Landmark Austin Cafe Les Amis
o Deleted Scenes And Alternate Takes
o Trailer
o Booklet Featuring Essays By Author And Filmmaker John Pierson and Sony Pictures Classics Copresident Michael Barker, Reviews By Critics Ron Rosenbaum and Chris Walters, Production Notes By Linklater, Introduction To It’s Impossible To Learn To Plow By Reading Books By Director Monte Hellman

By BRIAN TALLERICO Content Director HollywoodChicago.com brian@hollywoodchicago.com