A Scanner Darkly

[Wonderboy]

Check out the trailer (http://www.apple.com/trailers/warner_independent_pictures/ascannerdarkly/). Looks very interesting, like a cel-shaded video game.

[Son of Bomber]

This is easily in my 2006 top 5 most aniticipated list. Looks unfeasibly cool. Richard Linklater has always been an interesting director, and even though the plot sounds like some seriously well-trodden ground, I'm sure this will be one to remember. I'll probably be eating those words come autumn, but screw it, anticipation rules.

[brockman1988]

Richard Linklater? Check.
Philip K. Dick story? Check.
The underrated Keanu Reeves? Check.
On top of all this, it's got Linklater's patented shading animation thing? I'm so in.

I've been waiting for this for quite a while, actually.

[Zero the Hero]

Looks odd. I liked the Beatles reference though, I'll probably see it.

[Jolly Bengali]

Read a Wired article about how it had a lot of production problems... but I dug Waking Life a lot and this has a real story, and I love Philip K. Dick, so I'm there opening night.

My biggest gripe, from the trailer (which I've seen before today, just haven't brought up) is that the animation is a bit too lifelike, which can make some shots look awkward.

[Red Right]

Quite a bit of bump, but it's out now. I'm going to see it tonight. I'm pretty excited.

[Ihaveblink]

Looks cool, might check it out.

[conor.]

"wait...there are two hemispheres inside me?"

aside from some of reeves bad acting it looks like a decent story and visually amazing, reminds me of the game XIII, i really like how the characters look like the actors who voice them

[Alpha]

I'm seeing it this weekend. I can't wait.

[blueguy]

Only one theater in my area is playing it, and I don't feel like going there. I'll wait until it's in wider release so I can go see it at a good theater.

[Dead Nigga Storage]

despite reeves and my utter disdain for this pseudo-pretentious-animation style, i'm still interested. will wait to see if it plays at my theater for free. if not, i'll pay to see it somewhere else in a few weeks.

[billi vanilli]

ugh. for a seemingly anti-drug movie, there sure were a lot of stoners in the theatre where i saw it. i probably didn't "get" it but i don't care. i did not like the movie. about half as good as waking life.

animation was cool, but didn't really add anything to the experience imo. the acting was all fine, the animation was interesting, but the plot just seemed to drag. suffers from an intensely lacking second act. but if you do drugs or are into animation, i'd recommend it. TO POOP ON

[sweetmercifulcrap]

The underrated Keanu Reeves? Check.


Is this a joke? How is the worst actor in the history of cinema underrated?

[Gatorgod]

I'll wait till it gets booted down from the first run theatres to the Dollar only cinema My biggest gripe, from the trailer is that the animation is a bit too lifelike, which can make some shots look awkward. I agree. Our collection of Ralph Bakshi's work shows him using way to much Rotoscoping (the Cell shading of its day) as time goes on instead of actual hand drawn animation. (Lord of the Rings, Fire & Ice, American Pop) It just dont feel right. :-/

[Run CMB]

I just got out of this one and I was pretty impressed. The animation did get pretty annoying. They way everything was in motion gave me a headache, as did Keanu Reeves. No, Rotoscoping doesn't help his acting. The real star is Robert Downey Jr. Otherwise I'd say it's a pretty well told story.

Is this a joke? How is the worst actor in the history of cinema underrated?
Please, you're being modest.

[Cogito, Ergo Sum]

I bet it's amazing when high.

[Kamerica]

I don't know, Paul Walker is pretty bad too.

[Isaac]

Looks very interesting, like a cel-shaded video game.

It's called "rotoscoping." It's been around since the early 20th Century. The Fleischer brothers (Out of the Inkwell/Betty Boop/Popeye/the Superman cartoons) invented the technique.

Cel shading (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cel-shaded_animation) is a type of non-photorealistic rendering designed to make computer graphics appear to be hand-drawn. Rotoscoping (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rotoscope) is the process of animating over live-action footage.

Our collection of Ralph Bakshi's work shows him using way to much Rotoscoping (the Cell shading of its day) as time goes on instead of actual hand drawn animation. (Lord of the Rings, Fire & Ice, American Pop) It just dont feel right. :-/

Ralph Bakshi's use of rotoscoping is brilliant. Too much? No way!! In fact, he used less rotoscoping in his movies than Rick Linklatter uses in A Scanner Darkly (which, like Waking Life, is entirely rotoscoped). And it IS actual animation. Rotoscoping is great, with the right filmmakers, and Bakshi sure made great use of the technique. The roto in "Lord of the Rings," "Wizards," and "American Pop" is totally awesome. 8-)

Also: rotoscoping and cel shading have ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO DO WITH EACH OTHER. Completely different processes, with completely different desired effects.

[Gatorgod]

Ralph Bakshi's use of rotoscoping is brilliant. Too much? No way!! In fact, he used less rotoscoping in his movies than Rick Linklatter uses in A Scanner Darkly (which, like Waking Life, is entirely rotoscoped). And it IS actual animation. Rotoscoping is great, with the right filmmakers, and Bakshi sure made great use of the technique. The roto in "Lord of the Rings," "Wizards," and "American Pop" is totally awesome. 8-)
Thanks for the Roto response! I had always just quickly dismissed rotoscoping as a lazy/easy way to animate, as apposed to the labours of sketching out every movement by hand, clean up, back flipping to recheck proper motion, then adding color. But your post will make me go back and give it all a closer look so I can hopefully get the same kick out of it as you do. When It comes down to it, I really do like all types of animation.

One thing I heard Bakshi say about Rotoscoping, that he liked it over normal hand drawn animation cause it gave him more freedom as a director to choose from a variety of different takes & scenes.

[Red Right]

From DVDActive (http://www.dvdactive.com/news/releases/a-scanner-darkly.html):
Warner has announced the Richard Linklater directed A Scanner Darkly which stars Keanu Reeves, Robert Downey Jr, Rory Cochrane, Woody Harrelson, and Winona Ryder. The disc will be available to own from the 19th December, and should set you back around $27.95. The film itself will be presented in anamorphic widescreen, along with an English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround track. Extras will include an audio commentary by Keanu Reaves, director Richard Linklater, producer Tommy Pallotta, author Jonathan Lethem and Phillip K. Dick's daughter Isa Dick Hackett, a One Summer in Austin: The Story of Filming A Scanner Darkly documentary, a Weight of the Line: Animation Tales featurette, and the trailer.
http://img172.imageshack.us/img172/3734/scannerdarklyr1artpic1le5.jpg
http://img172.imageshack.us/img172/1218/scannerdarklyr1artpic2cl6.jpg
http://img172.imageshack.us/img172/7681/scannerdarklyr1artpic3ze5.jpg

[Eddie]

sweet cover art

[Alpha]

I may buy this. It was a pretty good movie and I'm a huge animation geek. It depends on how much money I have to blow in the future.

[Jolly Bengali]

Fucking incredible cover art, yeah. It's playing for free here Sunday, if I see a reason to rewatch it a third time I'll pick up the DVD.

[nathaniel]

no idea why lethem, one of my favorite authors, is on commentary but i am buying it now because of it