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I was intrigued when I discovered that A Scanner Darkly was to be released, another film based on the mind-bending work of Philip K. Dick (previous films included Minority Report, Total Recall, Blade Runner).  But what I found impressed me as less Philip K. Dick and more as Hunter S. Thompson.  It was an indication of my ignorance.  The supplements would put me straight.

This is a tale rooted in the science fiction concepts of what might be possible in the not too distant future.  There are scramble suits that change the voice and continuously change the appearance of the wearer to hide identity.  Surveillance technology has been refined to a remarkable degree, allowing the authorities to observe and listen and, if need be, record the daily activities of any citizen.  Among the population, a full twenty percent are addicted.  The drug that poses the greatest threat is substance-D.  The exposition explains that there are only two kinds of people: those that have not tried it and addicts.  The drug induces a break from reality, causing delusions, hallucinations, and paranoia. 

The film has a stellar cast and a look that couldn’t be more appropriate to its underlying themes.  Those familiar with director Linklater's Rotoscoped Waking Life will recognize the animation technique.

Bob Arctor (Keanu Reeves) is a narcotics officer deep undercover.  To maintain his cover, he had to take substance-D and is now quite addicted.  As he discusses his performance with his superior, Hank, he claims to be working his way up the food chain to a kingpin responsible for much of the distribution.  In fact, he seems to have devolved into just another addict who hangs around with his brain-addled friends: James Barris (Robert Downey Jr.); Ernie Luckman (Woody Harrelson); and Donna (Winona Ryder).  Barris’ friend Charles Freck (Rory Cochrane) also makes an appearance from time to time.  And in fact, he opens the movie.

We’re thrust within Freck’s delusions, that he’s overrun with bizarre insects that seem to inhabit his hair.  No amount of washing can purge his scalp of the hoard of bugs.  It’s a disorienting beginning to a disorienting film.  The plot is minimal, and we don’t fully understand why Arctor is being put through drug- induced mental tortures until the end of the third act.  But long before we reach the object of the movie, we’re subjected to interminable, incoherent ramblings and utterly peculiar exchanges and fights among the principal characters.  Luckman is especially volatile.  Barris is more under control, but even odder in his mannerisms and speech.  Donna is no less strange, craving affection but without physical intimacy.

Despite the technology, the police seem helpless to combat the growing problem of substance-D.  Only an organization called New Path holds out the hope of rehabilitating the addicted and society.  The film has a few delicious twists that are, alas, seen coming from some distance.  As the closing credits rolled, I was left with very mixed feelings.  I found the immersion into the drug soaked behaviors dramatically effective but annoying.  The irrationalities of the characters, their playing out of involuntary behaviors, the utter futility of their addictions, all tended to wear me down.  I knew I was watching a skillfully constructed entertainment, but I was not entertained.

The Video: How Does The Disc Look?

The film’s 1.85:1 theatrical aspect ratio has been expanded to fill the entire 1.78:1 anamorphic frame.  I am impressed by the cleanliness of the transfer, with virtually no mosquito noise or halos to mar the images.  As you would expect for a Rotoscoped film, small object detail and finely grained textures are limited by the animation, but what is present is represented well.  Perhaps the lack of extreme detail and textures allowed lower compression and yielded a transfer with fewer MPEG-2 artifacts.  Video dynamic range is fine.  Shadow detail, such as it is, is also fine.  Colors are nicely saturated and exhibit no chroma noise.  The visuals are surrealistic, imparting a suggestion of the delusional and hallucinogenic state of the substance-D abusers; I think the DVD captures that effect very well.

The Audio: How Does The Disc Sound?

The Dolby Digital 5.1 track is front-centric.  The surrounds are used more for atmospherics than for discrete sounds and pans.  The sound effects merely serve the onscreen action.  Exceptional bass is not present, nor is it required for the plot.  The all-important dialog is recorded crisply and cleanly.  The slightly off-kilter orchestral score by Graham Reynolds seems to be no less disorienting; there are no themes to be hummed.  The score’s sound is fine, with a reasonable soundstage.

The audio is supported by subtitles in English, French, and Spanish.  You’ll also find English Closed Captions.

Supplements: What Goodies Are There?

The disc opens with DVD trailers (3:23) for The Wicker Man, Final Destination 3, The Promise, and Rest Stop.  They may be skipped.

We begin with a feature-length commentary by writer/director Richard Linklater, Keanu Reeves, producer Tommy Pallotta, author Jonathan Lethem, and Philip K. Dick’s daughter, Isa Hackett Dick.  It’s here that I learned the most about the author and his life.  Much time is spent discussing the history of the era in which the novel was written, the late ‘70s.  The issues of political intrigue, surveillance by the government, and the rampant paranoia of the surveilled are covered at length.  Too much time is spent discussing the motivations of the actors, but at least it’s frequently done in the context of differences between the film and the novel.  Paranoia and drug culture are discussed.  But the most interesting aspects for me were Isa’s relating anecdotes and stories concerning her father.  I cannot avoid commenting that quite a bit of the filmmakers’ comments are vague and rambling, disconnected and metaphorical . . . I was somewhat reminded of the dialog in the feature film.

The One Summer in Austin: The Story of Filming A Scanner Darkly (26:23) featurette makes the connection between the abuses of the Nixon Whitehouse and the liberties taken by the current administration.  Dick is seen in a 1977 interview in which he explains his growing paranoia caused by being targeted as a writer who grew up in the Berkeley counterculture.  That paranoia inspired some of the concepts in A Scanner Darkly.  His attractive daughter, Isa Dick Hackett, offers her perspectives.  From there, we hear from the actors as they describe their impressions of the script and the director.  Things then start devolving into the fluff that describes the nature of the characters and the plot.  Much of the content is saved with behind the scenes live footage that was later Rotoscoped.  And there are a few gems to be found.  For example, I had no idea that Winona Ryder’s godfather was Timothy Leary and that her dad knew Dick.  Nor was I aware that Dick had his own addictions that may have shortened his life; he died at the age of 54.

The Weight of the Line: Animation Tales (20:45) featurette delves into the animation techniques that give the film its unique look.  For example, the faces don’t have gradients; the color variations are abrupt, like seen with severe video coring.  The featurette is less technical than I would have liked, but it does give us a look at the work from the point of view of the artists.  We first meet the animators and they give us a rough idea of the computer-assisted animation tools they used to Rotoscope the entire film.  The animation postproduction effort took eighteen months and exceeded the budgeted 350 man-hours per minute of film.  It was a huge effort.  Ample time was invested in determining rules to apply to each character to satisfy the director and achieve consistency.  It’s an interesting short that gives due credit to the people who made such a significant contribution.

The last extra is the film’s theatrical trailer (1:59), presented in anamorphic video.

Exclusive DVD-ROM Features: What happens when you pop the disc into your PC?

None are included on this disc.