8.1 | / 10 |
Users | 4.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.5 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
The adventures of high school and junior high students on the last day of school in May 1976.
Starring: Jason London, Joey Lauren Adams, Milla Jovovich, Shawn Andrews, Rory CochraneDrama | 100% |
Coming of age | 40% |
Period | 32% |
Comedy | 21% |
Video codec: HEVC / H.265
Video resolution: 4K (2160p)
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (2 BDs)
4K Ultra HD
Region A (locked)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 4.5 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
Richard Linklater's "Dazed and Confused" (1993) arrives on 4K Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the disc include the film's original theatrical trailer; character interviews filmed during the first week of rehearsals; cast and director interviews; behind-the-scenes footage; a gallery of audition clips; documentary film by Kahane Corn; large gallery of deleted scenes; and audio commentary by director Richard Linklater. The disc also arrives with an illustrated booklet featuring essays by Kent Jones, Jim DeRogatis, and Chuck Klosterman; memories of the film from the cast and crew; character profiles; and the original film poster by Frank Kozik. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main features. Region-Free.
Troublemakers
Criterion's release of Dazed and Confused is a 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray combo pack. The 4K Blu-ray release is Region-Free. The Blu-ray release is Region-A "locked".
UPDATE: I have received a market copy of the 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray release. The new 4K makeover of Dazed and Confused is only made available on 4K Blu-ray. The Blu-ray disc has the old 1080p presentation of the film.
The following text appears inside the booklet that is provided with this release:
"The 2022 restoration on the 4K Blu-ray disc was undertaken by the Criterion Collection from the 35mm original camera negative, scanned on a Lasergraphics Director film scanner. Based on the 2011 color transfer, this restoration was newly remastered in Dolby Vision HDR and approved by director Richard Linklater. The 2011 SDR restoration on the Blu-ray -- supervised by Linklater and director of photography Lee Daniel -- was undertaken by the Criterion Collection -- from a 35mm interpositive, scanned on a Spirit 4K DataCine. The original 5.1 surround soundtrack was remastered from the 35mm magnetic audio tracks.
Transfer supervisors: Lee Kline, Richard Linklater.
Colorist: Lee Kline; Joe Gawler/Technicolor, New York.
4K scanning: Roundabout Entertainment."
Please note that all of the screencaptures that appear with this article are taken from the 4K Blu-ray and are downscaled to 1080p. Therefore, they do not accurately reflect the quality of the 4K content on the 4K Blu-ray disc, including its actual color values.
The film has been fully remastered in 4K under the supervision of Richard Linklater and cinematographer Lee Daniel. The 4K makeover can be seen with HDR or Dolby Vision. I viewed the entire film with Dolby Vision.
Criterion release Dazed and Confused on Blu-ray in 2011. You can see our listing and review of this release here. Earlier today, I spent a lot of time comparing the Blu-ray release to the new 4K Blu-ray release. (I do not currently have a copy of the new Blu-ray release. I only have a 4K Blu-ray disc). Here are my impressions:
First, the entire film looks notably healthier -- the daylight footage, the indoor footage, and the nighttime footage. The difference is very obvious and very easy to appreciate. Detail is outstanding, with close-ups, in particular, looking flat-out gorgeous, though there are plenty of wider panoramic/group shots that look great as well. Once again, even on a smaller screen the difference is very obvious. Clarity is substantially improved as well, though I think that most viewers will be immediately impressed with the superior depth of the visuals because the jump in quality there is most substantial. Highlights are better managed now, so in backgrounds, a lot of nuances look great. I wonder how they look in 1080p, not in native 4K, and without the Dolby Vision grade, but my guess is that the improvements will still be very easy to recognize and appreciate. Why? Because the overall quality of the 4K makeover is excellent and the Dolby Vision grade is not aggressive. There are no traces of problematic digital tinkering. Image stability is outstanding.
I spent a lot of time comparing the color grade on the new 4K makeover with the one from the previous Blu-ray release. I went back and forth between multiple sections of the film. The color grade on the new 4K makeover is slightly warmer. What does slightly mean exactly? On my system, with Dolby Vision enabled, some reds and blues look a tad warmer, plus the prominent yellow and browns are even more prominent now. My impression is that this slight shift does not alter the color temperature of the film, or at least not in a way that produces odd new visual contrasts. I think that some reds should be redder, but elsewhere I like the lush yellows and browns a lot. In a few areas, I felt that the blues could have been better saturated, but they are not missing. They are still there and making their presence felt. Also, I do not believe that the previous Blu-ray release captures the native temperature of all nuances as well as it should. So, the new 4K makeover has some minor inconsistencies but offers the most convincing presentation of the film to date. However, as always, you will have to form your own opinion once you pick up this release.
There is only one audio track on this Blu-ray disc: English DTS--HD Master Audio 5.1. For the record, Criterion have provided optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature.
I did not encounter any technical anomalies to report in our review. While viewing the film, I thought that clarity, sharpness, depth, and balance were excellent. However, I wonder whether this film would have benefited from one of these new Dolby Atmos tracks that are being prepared for various 4K Blu-ray releases.
4K BLU-RAY DISC
Richard Linklater's Dazed and Confused is a charming and occasionally hilarious little film that deserves to be liked. I don't believe it has the substance many of its fans claim it does, but it has a terrific period atmosphere that makes a lot of people feel nostalgic. In other words, I understand why it is loved. This upcoming 4K Blu-ray release introduces a brand new 4K makeover of Dazed and Confused. I think that it is very good, but I expect some fans of the film to disagree with my take on it. The new 4K makeover was supervised and approved by Linklater and cinematographer Lee Daniel. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
1993
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