Google Groups no longer supports new Usenet posts or subscriptions. Historical content remains viewable.

Dismiss

Waking Life DVD Review

0 views

Skip to first unread message

Writer R5

unread,

Apr 23, 2002, 10:32:20 PM4/23/02

Title: Waking Life

Region: One

Genre: Art Film

Stars: Wiley Wiggins, Ethan Hawke, Nicky Katt, Adam Goldberg, and Julie Delpy

Writers: Richard Linklater

Director: Richard Linklater

Feature length: 99 minutes

Extras: Audio Commentary By Writer and Director Richard Linklater, Art Director
Bob Sabiston, Producer Tommy Pallotta, Star and Animator Wiley Wiggins,
Animator’s Commentary, Text Commentary, Deleted Animated Scenes, Selected
Takes From The Live Action Version, Shorts By Bob Sabiston, Featurette,
Animated Software Tutorial, Theatrical Trailers

Languages: English Dolby Digital 5.1 and Spanish Dolby Stereo

Subtitles: English Captions and Closed Captions and French Subtitles

Packaging: Amaray Keep Case

Chapter Stops: 20

Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound and Stereo Sound

Year of Theatrical Release: 2001/DVD Release: 2002

Theatrical Distributor: Fox Searchlight Pictures

Home Video Distributor: Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment

MPAA Rating: R

Reviewer: Mark A. Rivera

“Waking Life” is an animated thesis using advanced rotoscoping and digital
technology to literally paint over the digitally videotaped image to compliment
the various philosophical and existential conversations discussing the nature
of consciousness. This is not the traditional filmed narrative and is not a
traditional animated film. Aspiring animators and those interested in something
more experimental and artistic will appreciate this film though it might take a
little getting used to because the film has a freaky jittery quality almost
illusionary or dreamlike.

Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment’s DVD edition of “Waking Life”
is top shelf. The image is presented in a reference quality anamorphic
widescreen (1.85:1) aspect ratio. The film was shot and edited completely on
digital video down to a final cut and then a team of twenty-five animators, who
also participated in a technical audio commentary track on this DVD, rotoscoped
the footage using various styles and this direct DVD transfer benefits from the
clarity of the source materials. A very good English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
Soundtrack mix manages to capture the dialogue and orchestral soundtrack quite
well through the 5.1 channels. A Spanish Language Stereo Soundtrack is also
included along with English Captions and Closed Captions and French Language
Subtitles encoded on to the dual layered DVD.

Writer and Director Richard Linklater, Art Director Bob Sabiston, Producer
Tommy Pallotta, Star and Animator Wiley Wiggins participate in a feature length
audio commentary track that is consistently screen specific and Linklater is
particularly a very articulate speaker on the track and does a great job
elaborating on his feelings behind the film and the motivations and
collectively all involved are very natural and comfortable behind the
microphone, which always makes it more enjoyable for the listener. There is
text commentary that can be activated while watching the film with the subtitle
button on the remote control. The text commentary points out the various
philosophical writers and so on mentioned including book recommendations,
websites, and so on. The only problem with the text commentary, particularly in
the beginning, is that the text often flies by faster than one can read
requiring one to freeze frame, which is not a problem except that I found in
reading the text unfreezing the frame, and then freezing again spoiled the
combined synchronistic effect the text commentary should have to enhance the
film. Freezing and unfreezing after awhile makes the text seem out of context
of the film and ultimately hurts the feature on the DVD rather than helps it.

Other extra features include a short behind-the-scenes (1.85:1) featurette that
runs a bit over 4-minutes and 19 deleted animated scenes that can be viewed
individually or collectively and equal 7 and a half minutes in total. There are
12-minutes of live action footage from the film before the animation and a
20-minute tutorial with Art Director Bob Sabiston as well his 3 and a half
minute short “Snack And Dinner” in a (1.33:1) aspect ratio as well as
nearly 3-minutes of animation passes.

Biographies as well as a (1.85:1) trailer for “Waking Life” and a (2.35:1)
trailer for the Goldie Hawn and Susan Sarandon comedy “The Banger Sisters”
wrap up the extra features on this DVD. The interactive menus are animated in
the same fashion of the film with animated transitions between the menus and
all are easy to navigate.

“Waking Life” is a great animated and quite literally an art film and well
worth checking out on DVD when it debuts on DVD-Video from Twentieth Century
Fox Home Entertainment on Tuesday, May 7, 2002.

0 new messages