Dazed and Confused (1993)
91%RT Audience Score: 90%
Awards & Nominations: 1 win & 4 nominations
Featuring an excellent ensemble cast, a precise feel for the 1970s, and a killer soundtrack, Dazed and Confused is a funny, affectionate, and clear-eyed look at high school life.
Dazed and Confused” is a classic coming-of-age film that takes you back to the 1970s, where high schoolers were just trying to figure out their place in the world. With a cast of wonderfully drawn and completely credible characters, this movie captures the essence of teenage life in a way that’s both scary and giddily amusing. It’s a nostalgia film that will make you wanna dance and remind you that it’s never going to be this good again. So sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride down memory lane with “Dazed and Confused.
Production Company(ies)
Distributor
Universal Pictures, Gramercy Pictures
Release Type
Streaming, Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Bedichek Middle School – 6800 Bill Hughes Road, Austin, Texas, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for pervasive, continuous teen drug and alcohol use and very strong language
Year of Release
1993
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby SR
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Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
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Runtime:1h 43m
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Sep 10, 1993 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Jun 30, 1998
Genre(s)
Drama
Keyword(s)
starring Jason London, Wiley Wiggins, Sasha Jenson, Rory Cochrane, Milla Jovovich, Marissa Ribisi, Ben Affleck, directed by Richard Linklater, written by Richard Linklater, produced by Richard Linklater, Sean Daniel, James Jacks, drama, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Ben Thompson, Patricia Bibby, Variety Staff, Richard Corliss, Steve Beard, Tom Charity, Sean Axmaker, Tom Meek, Brent McKnight, Patrick McDonald, Fico Cangiano, Bedatri D Choudhury, MPAA rating R, high school, coming-of-age, 1970s, ensemble cast, soundtrack, Austin, Texas, pool hall, keg party, football player, championship game, hazing, sadistic bully, freshmen, seniors, Distributor Universal Pictures, Gramercy Pictures, Surround, Stereo
Worldwide gross: $7,993,039
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $16,603,582
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,781
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 1,810,641
US/Canada gross: $7,993,039
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $16,603,582
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,466
US/Canada opening weekend: $918,127
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $1,907,184
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,211
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $6,900,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $14,333,061
Production budget ranking: 1,531
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $7,718,353
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): -$5,447,832
ROI to date (est.): -25%
ROI ranking: 1,531
Wiley Wiggins – Mitch Kramer
Sasha Jenson – Don Dawson
Rory Cochrane – Ron Slater
Milla Jovovich – Michelle Burroughs
Marissa Ribisi – Cynthia Dunn
Ben Affleck – Fred O’Bannion
Matthew McConaughey – David Wooderson
Joey Lauren Adams – Simone Kerr
Shawn Andrews – Kevin Pickford
Anthony Rapp – Tony Olson
Adam Goldberg – Mike Newhouse
Cole Hauser – Benny O’Donnell
Deena Martin – Shavonne Wright
Christine Harnos – Kaye Faulkner
Parker Posey – Darla Marks
Esteban Powell – Carl Burnett
Jeremy Fox – Clint Bruno
Renee Zellweger – Nesi White
David Blackwell – Mike’s Dad
Richard Linklater – History Teacher
Mark Vandermeulen – Mr. Payne
Bobby Slayton – Football Coach
Catherine Avril Morris – Mrs. Stroud
Kim Krizan – Ms. Stroud
Karen Sillas – Girl in Blue Pickup Truck
Michelle Burke – Jodi Kramer
Christin Hinojosa – Sabrina Davis
Quinn Wilson – Sabrina’s Friend
Angela Rawna – Girl in Blue Pickup Truck
Christine Harnos – Kaye Faulkner
Renee Zellweger – Nesi White
David Blackwell – Mike’s Dad
Richard Linklater – History Teacher
Mark Vandermeulen – Mr. Payne
Bobby Slayton – Football Coach
Catherine Avril Morris – Mrs. Stroud
Kim Krizan – Ms. Stroud
Karen Sillas – Girl in Blue Pickup Truck
Michelle Burke – Jodi Kramer
Christin Hinojosa – Sabrina Davis
Quinn Wilson – Sabrina’s Friend
Angela Rawna – Girl in Blue Pickup Truck
Show all Cast & Crew
Director(s)
Richard Linklater
Writer(s)
Richard Linklater
Producer(s)
Richard Linklater, Sean Daniel, James Jacks
Film Festivals
Sundance
Awards & Nominations
1 win & 4 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (61) | Top Critics (15) | Fresh (56) | Rotten (5)
Few of these people are going anywhere, but they are not going anywhere with style and dignity.
February 6, 2020
Ben Thompson
Sight & Sound
TOP CRITIC
Very little actually happens but – like life – it’s not always the events that define a time but the characters in it. And ”Dazed and Confused” is bursting with wonderfully drawn and completely credible characters.
June 12, 2018
Patricia Bibby
Associated Press
TOP CRITIC
The teenage wasteland, 1976-style, of Dazed and Confused is smack-dab between The Brady Bunch and Children of the Damned , and it’s a scary, if sometimes giddily amusing, place to visit.
August 8, 2011
Variety Staff
Variety
TOP CRITIC
Bet it makes you wanna dance.
August 8, 2011
Richard Corliss
TIME Magazine
TOP CRITIC
Despite some gags which use the benefit of hindsight too much for their own good, this is a smart piece of filmmaking which suggests Linklater is already one of the more formidable talents of the 90s.
July 13, 2011 | Rating: 4/5
Steve Beard
Empire Magazine
TOP CRITIC
Seriously funny, and shorn of any hint of nostalgia or wish-fulfilment, this is pretty much where it’s at.
August 16, 2007
Tom Charity
Time Out
TOP CRITIC
Richard Linklaters cinematic flashback… captures a rich pageant of high-school life, circa 1976, in a mere 100 minutes, leaning on nostalgia without wallowing in it.
March 19, 2022
Sean Axmaker
Stream on Demand
The magnum opus of Linklater’s Austin films, but in this slice of life it’s high schoolers moving up and moving on.
August 21, 2020 | Rating: 3.5/4
Tom Meek
Cambridge Day
It’s never going to be this good again.
July 7, 2020 | Rating: A
Brent McKnight
The Last Thing I See
Totally authentic. Every time you watch this film, you’re taken back to the 1970s daze of high school. The ’70s kids AMERICAN GRAFFITI.
May 1, 2020 | Rating: 5/5
Patrick McDonald
HollywoodChicago.com
Richard Linklater manages to entertain with a film that’s really about nothing, yet truly works as a snapshot of a certain moment in time. [Full review in Spanish]
April 13, 2020 | Rating: 3.5/5
Fico Cangiano
CineXpress Podcast
It is a nostalgia film and a coming-of-age film. In some ways, it is every Bildungsroman and in some ways, it is like no other.
January 17, 2019
Bedatri D. Choudhury
MUBI…
Plot
It’s the last day of school at a high school in a small town in Texas in 1976. The upperclassmen are hazing the incoming freshmen, and everyone is trying to get stoned, drunk, or laid, even the football players that signed a pledge not to.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Matthew McConaughey’s small but dynamic role as the older guy who refuses to grow up and move on is scene-stealing in Dazed and Confused.
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