A Scanner Darkly (2006) (1 Viewer)

[Todd H]

Did this actually get released? I don't think I saw any commercials for it in my area. It must have slipped under the radar.

 

[Mike.B]

Yes, but it didn't do all that well, making only about $5.5 million in the US. I imagine this will definitely end up in the "cult film" category.

However, it is being released on DVD in just over a week, so be sure to check it out then.

 

[Todd H]

Thanks for the info. I was looking forward to seeing it but never saw any ads. I had just assumed it hadn't been released yet. I'll definitely check out the DVD.

 

[Mike Graham]

Glad this is finally out on DVD, it never made it to my local theater. It certainly did get some very mixed reviews.

 

[JoeStemme]

) Richard Linklater's animated take on Philip K. Dick's novel concerns a new brain altering drug called Substance D. The futuristic plot is somewhat similar to that of BLADE RUNNER in a way. A cop Bob Arktor (Keanu Reeves) is sent to uncover who is distributing the hallucinogen. Arktor begins to doubt his own reality as he falls under the hold of the narcotic. As with his prior WAKING LIFE, Linklater used a form of rotoscoping to create his look. Live action was shot and then laid some free form animation over it, giving it a natural 'hallucinatory' feel (this year's APOLLO 10 1/2 used a similar technique although it is less free flowing looking than his earlier two animated movies). It's an effective style which dovetails well with the narrative. Linklater got permission from the Dick estate and his screenplay captures the paranoia that the author brought to his autobiographical novel. In addition to Reeves, the cast includes Winona Ryder, Robert Downey Jr., Woody Harrelson and Rory Cochrane.

A SCANNER DARKLY is currently available to stream on Kanopy and for rental at all the usual outlets. It's on DVD and Blu Ray.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

) Richard Linklater's animated take on Philip K. Dick's novel concerns a new brain altering drug called Substance D. The futuristic plot is somewhat similar to that of BLADE RUNNER in a way. A cop Bob Arktor (Keanu Reeves) is sent to uncover who is distributing the hallucinogen. Arktor begins to doubt his own reality as he falls under the hold of the narcotic. As with his prior WAKING LIFE, Linklater used a form of rotoscoping to create his look. Live action was shot and then laid some free form animation over it, giving it a natural 'hallucinatory' feel (this year's APOLLO 10 1/2 used a similar technique although it is less free flowing looking than his earlier two animated movies). It's an effective style which dovetails well with the narrative. Linklater got permission from the Dick estate and his screenplay captures the paranoia that the author brought to his autobiographical novel. In addition to Reeves, the cast includes Winona Ryder, Robert Downey Jr., Woody Harrelson and Rory Cochrane.

A SCANNER DARKLY is currently available to stream on Kanopy and for rental at all the usual outlets. It's on DVD and Blu Ray.

Saw this in theaters way back when. Loved it and have the blu. One of my sort of humorous recollections of the film was before it came out (or right around when it did) I was at a friend's house and he had ordered Dominos pizza for the kids, or one of the chain pizza places, and the boxes were full color ads for this film. I kind of found that interesting marketing as this was not a picture kids or even most adults would like.