Dazed and Confused: Flashback Edition

Universal, $19.99

With nine deleted scenes totaling 15 minutes, the Dazed and Confused: Flashback Edition is – to quote Matthew McConaughey’s immortal Zen master high school graduate/stoner Wooderson (natch) – a lot cooler than the film’s no seeds-‘n’-stems DVD debut. The slipcase concealing Frank Kozik’s original yearbook poster art is perfect, and while no one cares less about all-new 5.1 surround sound than yours truly, Austin cinemaverick Richard Linklater’s double-barrel soundtrack of Seventies rock & roll hootchie-koo takes to the upgrade like a Bic to a ballad. War’s “Why Can’t We Be Friends?” and Alice Cooper’s “No More Mr. Nice Guy” attain an almost Scorsesian gravitas in their cinematic use. Course, it’d be a lot cooler still if this acknowledged classic about the last day of high school 1976 had gotten the deluxe Criterion treatment that Linklater’s indie landmark Slacker received this summer. Where, for instance, is footage from last year’s (Jim) dandy Dazed and Confused 10th anniversary reunion at Walter E. Long Lake? Not that unseen footage confirming what an asshole Benny (Cole Hauser) is, or the revelation that all those high school babes talked a better game than their scorecards warranted, isn’t welcome. And would you believe that O’Bannion (Ben Affleck) made it to the beer bash after being painted?! “You couldn’t handle that shit on strong acid, man.”

This article appears in December 10 • 2004.

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San Francisco native Raoul Hernandez crossed the border into Texas on July 2, 1992, and began writing about music for the Chronicle that fall, debuting with an album review of Keith Richards’ Main Offender. By virtue of local show previews – first “Recommendeds,” now calendar picks – his writing’s appeared in almost every issue since 1993.