Richard Linklater's adaptation of Philip K. Dick's classic novel is a challenging, mind-bending experience that cautions about the dangers of excessive drug use as well as the government's capacity to abuse and manipulate power. Using the same interpolated rotoscoping technique that Linklater employed in 2001's WAKING LIFE, the film is an animated, trippy descent into one man's unraveling mind. Set in the not-too-distant future where a new drug, substance D, has created an epidemic, A SCANNER DARKLY charts the mental unraveling of Bob Arctor (Keanu Reeves). Arctor is an undercover cop who has been assigned to track a group of individuals who include the druggily verbose Barris (Robert Downey Jr.), the hyper-intense Luckman (Woody Harrelson), the ultra-paranoid Freck (Rory Cochrane), and the beautiful Donna (Winona Ryder). As the film unfolds and Arctor finds himself abusing substance D in order to maintain his façade, his mind begins to spin out of control, to the point where he doesn't know what's real and what isn't. Eventually, the truth comes out, leaving Arctor even more numbed. Linklater's surprisingly faithful adaptation of Dick's novel blends humor, drama, and Bob Sabiston's striking animation to deliver a thought-provoking film that will leave viewers as dazed as the film's protagonist.
DVD Featues:
Region 1
Amaray Case
Widescreen - 1.85
Audio:
Dolby Digital Surround Sound 5.1 - English
Subtitles - English, French, Spanish - Optional
Closed Captioned - English - Optional
Additional Release Material:
Trailers - 1. Theatrical Trailer
Commentaries - 1. Keanu Reeves - Star, Richard Linklater - Writer/Director, Tommy Pallotta - Producer, Jonathan Lethem - Author, Isa Dick Hackett - Philip K. Dick's Daughter
Featurettes - 1. "One Summer in Austin: The Story of Filming A SCANNER DARKLY"
2. "The Weight of the Line: Animation Tales"
Costume Designer
Kari Perkins: Costume Designer, DAZED AND CONFUSED (1993)
Director of Animation
Bob Sabiston: Animation, I AM A SEX ADDICT (2006)
Director of Photography
Shane F. Kelly: Director of Photography, CATCHING OUT (2003)
Executive Producer
George Clooney: American actor/director
Executive Producer
Steven Soderbergh: Director/Screenwriter, TRAFFIC (2000)
Production Designer
Bruce Curtis: Production Designer, A SCANNER DARKLY (2006)
Source Writer
Philip K. Dick: American Science Fiction Author
Additional Music/Songs
Radiohead:
Review 1:
4 stars out of 4 -- "One doesn't leave the movie with a mind blown by visual bedazzlement but with a soul shattered by the profound sense of tragedy Linklater and company so beautifully put across."
Source: Premiere
p.72 07/01/2006
Review 2:
4 stars out of 5 -- "Linklater's skewed sensibilities interlock lovingly with Dick's paranoid sci-fry..."
Source: Total Film
p.39 09/01/2006
Review 3:
4 stars out of 4 -- "[O]ne of cinema's funniest, most frightening, and ultimately most moving meditations on the chemically altered life."
Source: Uncut
p.116 09/01/2006
Review 4:
Ranked #12 in Film Comment's "20 Best Films Of 2006."
Source: Film Comment
p.36 01/01/2007
Review 5:
"[T]his feature-length hallucination of a flick pulsates with enticing contradictions and wayward logic."
Source: Sight and Sound
p.68 09/01/2006
Review 6:
3 stars out of 5 -- "Embedded in the visionary headtrip of A SCANNER DARKLY is a hotly political call to arms."
Source: Rolling Stone
p.125 07/13/2006
Review 7:
3.5 stars out of 5 -- "[T]he animation is at once startlingly realistic and surreal, conveying the story's heightened atmosphere of paranoia."
Source: Box Office
p.60 07/01/2006
Review 8:
"Mr. Linklater uses the animation technique called rotoscoping to translate Mr. Dick's worldview, mostly to fine expressive effect."
Source: New York Times
p.E10 07/07/2006