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Waking Life gave me the impression, first time round, that I hadn’t got the first idea of what what was going on.
It’s a movie from a director who, by all accounts, is far from conventional and this is apparent in two of his others I’ve seen – one of which I enjoyed (Dazed and Confused) and one of which I didn’t (Slacker).
Wiley Wiggins is a young man, apparently dreaming and ‘floating’ around the town, dropping in on random characters who offer up their own reflections on life – all different, so it’s a lot to take in. The people Wiley comes across include a philosophy professor, a man who keeps changing shape, one who rambles on about free will and whether man has free will or whether life is pre-determined (reminds me of a Simpsons episode!), a man in jail talking about how he’d murder those who captured him, a man who talks a short while as he pours petrol into a can before turning it on himself and striking a match and a scene in which Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy reprise their roles from the director’s Before Sunrise, a film I hadn’t seen at the time of watching this originally, but have since caught up with and it’s also superb.
(click on the image for the full-size version)
Waking Life is rather a mind-bender because it’s not just a case of filming people. They’re all animated. And not just drawn as standard, but done in a number of different styles, mainly either painted or cell-shaded. The way the various elements of the background shift about independently of one another is also something to get used to.
Some of what you hear in this film you can identify with, whereas others you won’t. There’s also things to learn, as Wiley can’t figure out whether he’s still dreaming after he wakes up, or if he’s really awake. The light switch man tells him to try flicking a switch in a dream: if you can manage it and the light levels don’t change, then you’re dreaming. Once realised, try to seize upon it and then you can control your own dreams and change the destiny within.
This is a film worth watching if you can get into it, but this takes 20-25 minutes to get with the flow. We must all have had a dream within a dream at some point, but how do you know when you’ve woken up?
Shortly after I reviewed the DVD in 2003, I had a dream that I was walking to work, and remembered that this film told me to check whether you’re in a dream by looking at your watch (which I never wear in real life – same as Wiley Wiggins, himself). I looked at my watch, and the hands were all over the place so that confirmed I was dreaming. I looked back at the path I’d walked along and a fence had since been constructed over it. I thought, “Yep, I’m dreaming!”
Today, after I watching the film on Blu-ray, I went out for a walk and couldn’t get the theme tune out of my head (not least because a segment plays incessantly over the menus) and I happened to pass that very same area of land (I do live near there, by the way, I hadn’t teleported!). I realised that my dream had meshed different sections of the area together so it wasn’t exactly as it appears in reality. I probably realised that back in the day, too, but had since forgotten and was reminded of it having just watched the film again.
I love the movie a lot more second time round, including the way they do the transitions between the scenes, as one element fades out and a new one comes in.
Go to page 2 for a look at the presentation and extras.
(click on the image for the full-size version)
The film is presented in the original 1.85 widescreen ratio and in 1080p high definition. It’s pin-sharp and you feel you could just walk into the paintings yourself. If you saw Robin Williams’ critically-attacked-yet-rather-engaging What Dreams May Come, the lush looks are similar.
The audio is presented in DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio and has no problems, but doesn’t make much, if any, use of split-surrounds so don’t get too concerned if you only get to see this in Dolby Surround.
Taken from the Collector’s booklet about the video and audio transfer:
- “Waking Life is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1 with original 5.1 audio. The High Definition master for this release was created and provided by 20th Century Fox via Hollywood Classics.
The Trees, God’s Little Monkey, Project Incognito, Snack and Drink, Figures of Speech, Grasshopper and The Even More Fun Trip were supplied by Bob Sabiston.”
(click on the image for the full-size version)
The extras on this disc feature a large number of which also featured on the original Region 1 DVD, but the UK Region 2 DVD had none whatsoever. I think the only thing missing from the former is a Sundance Channel special about the film. I can’t find that online which is a shame as I’d have embedded it here. It might not also have the short animation, “Wiley Wiggins Test”, but the “Color Test” short animation also includes Wiley Wiggins so it might be referring to that. Either way, there’s so much extra stuff here that it’s like having several films on one disc.
The full set of extras are:
- Bob Sabiston Short Films: While the Region 1 DVD had a couple of these, here we get nine, so there’s a lot of exclusives, here: The Trees (1991, 0:34), God’s Little Monkey (1994, 2:06), Project Incognito (1997, 20:26), Color Test (2:48), Snack and Drink (1999, 3:44) – a great example of the buildings moving about independently in the background, Figures of Speech (1999, 30:46), Grasshopper (2003, 14:30), Ryan’s Capitol Tour (2006, 6:33) and The Even More Fun Trip (2007, 22:36), the latter of which features a rollercoaster and other rides. Woah, that is scary!
Snack and Drink featured on the Region 1 release and I think should’ve been included in the film, especially the guy who mixes his (soft) drinks, but all of these are worth checking out; Project Incognito looks like the equivalent of the Region 1 DVD’s selections from Linklater’s audition tapes yet set to animation, while Ryan’s Capitol Tour features the aforementioned lad from Snack and Drink and is a deleted live action scene, but obviously not from the same DVD, unless Linklater has access to a TARDIS…
- The Making of Waking Life (4:24): A brief made-for-TV featurette mixing clips from the film with chat from the cast and crew.
- Animation Tutorial (20:23): Bob Sabiston gives a fascinating insight into the software he uses for the film, the rotoscoping process making it a lot easier to do what he needed it to do.
- Deleted and Alternate Scenes (7:32): This is mostly same scenes by different animators or deleted portions of scenes, plus a few completely new scenes.
- Pre-animation footage (12:01): This is the segment billed on the Region 1 DVD as a ‘Greatest Hits’ from the live action version.
- Theatrical trailer (1:59): In the original 1.85:1 ratio.
- Trivia Track: An alternate feature-length rack that plays along with the film, providing a guest to the speakers and ideas that appear in the film.
- Collector’s booklet: A 40-page booklet featuring new writing on the film by critic David Jenkins, full credits for all of Bob Sabiston’s short films, information about them from Arrow Films’ own Anthony Nield, plus plenty of stills from the film.
- Reversible sleeve: Featuring both the original artwork and newly-commissioned artwork from Maarko Phntm.
- Audio commentaries: There’s two, here. One from Richard Linklater, Bob Sabiston, Wiley Wiggins and producer Tommy Pallotta. The other features 25 animators from the movie: Bob Sabiston, Jennifer Drummond, Holly Louise Fisher, Mike Layne, Dan Gillotte, Penny Van Horn, Mary Varn, Nathan Jensen, John Paul, Randy Cole, Katy O’Connor, Jason Archer, Pat Falconer, Constance Wood, Rahab El Ewaly, Katie Salen, Chris Minley, Paul Beck, Jean Caffeine, Susan Sabiston, John Bruch, Patrick Thornton, Divya Srinivasan, Rosie Q Weaver and Travis Lindquist.
Subtitles are optional and in English, the main menu features clips from the film set to the downbeat main theme, and there’s the bog-standard 12 chapters (the 2003 DVD had 20, but then, I wouldn’t trade those extra 8 chapters for all of the above extras 😉 )
Waking Life is out now on Blu-ray/DVD Double Pack Limited Edition, and at the time of posting this, this release is just a mere £12.99 from Amazon, so at that price I would entice you to snap their hand off! But, thankfully, you cannot cause injury to another human being by buying a great-priced Blu-ray/DVD package over the internet, so make your purchase and say “thankyou” as you do so. They will hear you. I promise that. (I don’t, really). Also, check out the full-size cover by clicking on the packshot.
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FILM PICTURE QUALITY SOUND QUALITY EXTRAS |
9 10 8 10 |
| OVERALL | 9 |
Detailed specs:
Cert: 
Running time: 101 minutes
Year: 2002
Distributor: Arrow Films
Released: March 14th 2016
Chapters: 12
Cat.no: FCD1213
Picture: 1080p High Definition
Sound: DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio
Languages: Japanese
Subtitles: English
Widescreen: 1.85:1 (35mm)
Disc Format: BD50
Director: Richard Linklater
Producers: Tommy Pallotta, Jonah Smith, Anne Walker-McBay and Palmer West
Screenplay: Richard Linklater
Music: Glover Gill and Tosca Tango Orchestra
Cast:
Main character: Wiley Wiggins
Young Boy Playing Paper Game: Trevor Jack Brooks
Young Girl Playing Paper Game: Lorelei Linklater
Accordion Player: Glover Gill
Violin Player: Lara Hicks
Viola Player: Ames Asbell
Viola Player: Leigh Mahoney
Cello Player: Sara Nelson
Piano Player: Jeanine Attaway
Bass Player: Erik Grostic
Boat Car Guy: Bill Wise
Philosophy Professor: Robert C Solomon
Herself: Kim Krizan
Shape-Shifting Man: Eamonn Healy
Burning Man: JC Shakespeare
Jesse: Ethan Hawke
Celine: Julie Delpy
Angry Man in Jail: Charles Gunning
Himself: David Sosa
Man in Car with P.A.: Alex Jones
Himself: Otto Hofmann
Himself: Aklilu Gebrewold
Coffee Shop Chatter: Carol Dawson
Coffee Shop Chatter: Lisa Moore
Chimpanzee: Steve Fitch
Himself: Louis Mackey
Man Writing a Novel at the Bar: Alex Nixon
Woman Talking to the Novel Writer: Violet Nichols
Man Talking to the Bartender: Steven Prince
Bartender: Ken Webster
Woman on TV: Mary McBay
Man on TV: Kregg A Foote
Man with the Long Hair: Jason T Hodge
Himself: Guy Forsyth
Guy Talking about Turning the Light on in Dreams: John Christensen
Himself: Caveh Zahedi
Man Talking to Caveh: David Jewell
One of Four Men: Adam Goldberg
One of Four Men: Nicky Katt
One of Four Men: E Jason Liebrecht
One of Four Men: Brent Green
Man on the Lamppost: RC Whittaker
Mr. Debord: Hymie Samuelson
Man on the Train: David Martinez
Young Disappearing Guy: Ryan Power
Soap Opera Woman: Tiana Hux
Himself: Speed Levitch
Goatee Man: Steve Brudniak
Friendly Girl: Marta Banda
Interviewed on television: Steven Soderbergh
Old Man: Charles Murdock
Quiet Woman at Restaurant: Mona Lee
Older Artist in the Park: Edith Mannix
Old Woman Sitting for a Portrait: Bess Cox
Kierkegaard Disciple: Louis Black
Pinball Playing Man/Man on Back of Boat: Richard Linklater
Goth Girl: Kierstin Cunnington (uncredited)
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.
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