Dazed and Confused: Criterion Collection

Criterion/Image, two discs, color, 102 min. plus supplements, Dolby Digital and DTS, widescreen, Street: June 6, $39.95; First Run: L, Sept. 1993, $8 mil.

Though the latest edition of this early '90s wastoid cult classic is packed with a Criterion-worthy bevy of video extras—a new 50-minute featurette ("a decade in the making" according to the liner notes), 25 minutes of deleted scenes and 40 minutes of auditions and rehearsals—we think the packaging and enclosed booklet are the coolest parts. Overseen by Criterion's Sarah Habibi and Marc English, the two-disc set's colorful, sturdy box (which, in grand stoner fashion, opens on the left side instead of the usual right) is accentuated with a dozen peekaboo holes that reveal shots of cast members on the gatefold inner sheath, which is itself annointed with pics of pipes and marijuana seeds. The 70-page booklet is filled with goodies, including two fine essays on the film and its enduring popularity, a collection of director Richard Linklater's pre-production notes to cast and crew ("We are setting out to find what we aren't expecting," the director ponders in one) and, most enjoyably, reprints of several articles and profiles from when the film was released. Kudos to whoever decided to include these in a glossy booklet and not as on-screen text pages—it makes sense in a '70s sort of way. There's also a newly recorded commentary by Linklater, which offers a lot of easy-going fun. The track's best moment is near the beginning, in which Linklater acknowledges his arrival in Hollywood by pointing out that his use of Aerosmith's "Sweet Emotion" during Dazed's opening scene cost $100,000, completely eclipsing the entire budget of his previous film, 1991's Slacker.