Review of Dazed And Confused

Introduction

Dazed And Confused takes a hysterical, nostalgic cross-clique look at high school social development. On the last day of school in May 1976, students at a suburban Texas high school wait, lackadaisically, for classes to end. The restless almost-seniors - an eclectic group of stone-heads, fraternal jocks, and snobby sorority girls - can`t wait to haze the incoming freshman, an annual event as harrowing for freshman boys as it is humiliating for girls. Amidst this teenage wasteland of drugs, partying, and rock and roll is football star Pink (Jason London), who saves scrawny pre-frosh Mitch (Wiley Wiggins) from being paddled to oblivion by upper-classmates. But Pink has his own battles: he`s struggling over the head coach`s demand that football players sign a pledge to abstain from sex and all psychoactive substances. When a wild end-of-the-year party is cancelled, the students end up congregating at a beer-blast in the back woods, organized by aging hang-about Wooderson (Matthew McConaughey).

Video

The video is presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen and is of above average quality - the image is free from grain and dirt, offering a reasonably sharp image with good detail.

The movie is set in the seventies, and the visuals include some fantastic clothes, along with plenty of period vehicles and products, giving the movie a very authentic feel.

Audio

The soundtrack is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1, and, like the video, is of above average quality. One of the highlights of the movie is the excellent soundtrack, which I own on CD, having been a fan of the movie for many years.

The sound primarily focuses on the three front channels, with clear dialogue and well reproduced effects. The aforementioned music also sounds good, but would have been even better with an aggressive 5.1 mix which took full advantage of the format.

Features

The only extra on offer is the trailer, accessed through the well animated and easy to navigate menu system.

Conclusion

Dazed and Confused is regarded as one of the best "teenage angst" movies ever made, and I agree totally. I`ve seen the film a number of times and it stands up well to repeat viewing.

The excellent cast, story and soundtrack make the film continually entertaining - there is plenty of humour in the script, and plenty of memorable scenes during the movie. In fact, the film flows so well, that as ever I was sorry that it ended so soon. As entertaining as the recent crop of "gross-out" teen movies are, this is a "proper" movie that doesn`t need sexual gags to succeed, and as a result is a far more satisfying experience.

Highly recommended.