On June 13
The Criterion Collection is going to release a belated anniversary edition of the second greatest movie of all time,
Dazed & Confused. The bowlful of extras include a feature length audio commentary by director Richard Linklater, a 50-minute documentary on the making of the film, footage from the tenth anniversary party, on set interviews and behind the scenes footage, deleted scenes, and auditions. I guess it’s too much to hope for the fabled four-hour first cut, but being a two disc set I would hope there will be a lot of deleted scenes. I also hope the auditions will include well known faces that didn't get cast (Matt Damon) or were cut out of the movie (Renee Zellweger, who can be briefly seen in the back of a pick up truck at the keg party). Dazed & Confused shares a lot in common with
American Graffiti (the greatest movie of all time), in that it has little in the way of plot, rather it follows a group of friends over the course of a day just being themselves. Also, like Graffiti, when viewed years later, it is amazing to see how many of the actors went on to be big stars, most noticeably Ben Affleck, who is almost unrecognizable playing the asshole we all hated in high school. Other famous faces include Matthew McConaughey (Sahara), Jason London (Out Cold), Wiley Wiggins (Waking Life), Adam Goldberg (The Hebrew Hammer), Anthony Rapp (A Beautiful Mind), Nicky Katt (Sin City), Rorey Cochran (CSI), Parker Posey (Party Girl), Joey Lauren Adams (Chasing Amy), Milla Jovovich (The Fifth Element), Michelle Burke (Coneheads), and Cole Hauser (ER) and , Marissa Ribisi, (sister of Giovanni Ribisi and wife to Beck Hansen). Trivia: Goldberg, Katt, and the Ribisis (and Steve Zahn who starred with Giovani in Richard Linklater's other great film,
SubUrbia) all appeared on the TV show
Friends.
Finally, here is a
link to Wiley Wiggins' very own blog.
