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I can still remember seeing Dazed and Confused for the first time. It was well after the movie was released and soon after it had attained cult status on home video. Although I have absolutely nothing in common with any of these characters (besides maybe the nerd who gets beat up at the end), this movie really touches a nerve. There's something about it that rings true to everybody.

The movie features an ensemble cast of young up-and-comers on the last day of school in 1976. We get the seniors who are out to initiate the next generation of high schoolers (aka that Grade 8 graduates). There's an ecclectic mix of stoners, jocks, nerds and then your regular average Joes. And we're introduced to their lives. There's the quarterback of the football team who's at odds with the coach over the company he keeps. There's his friends who are urging him to just go with the flow for the sake of the team. There's the stoners who are just looking for the next party where they can hit their bongs. There's the various people in the party crowd looking for their next keg of beer. There's the nerds who sit on the outside, criticizing everyone else while secretly wishing they were on the inside. And then there's the sophmore class who just want to make it into grade 9 without getting their asses kicked too hard.

If the movie itself isn't good enough then there's the cast - a virtual who's who of young actors and actresses. There's Jason London (whose twin brother Jeremy appeared in another cult classic - Mallrats). Ben Affleck. Matthew McConnaughey. Milla Jovovich. Joey Lauren Adams. Adam Goldberg, Cole Hauser. Nicky Katt. Parker Posey. And I'm sure there are some I'm missing. That's an all-star team if I ever saw one - and they were all pretty much unknown at the time.

If anything had to put a damper on this DVD it would be the special features. While the "Flashback Edition" title would suggest some sort of special release, instead we get nothing even remotely related to the movie, save some rough deleted scenes. No audio commentary. No retrospective featurettes. Blah. We do get a featurette titled "The Blunt Truth" (educational videos warning of the dangers of "partying") which, while mildly amusing, doesn't really do anything for the movie. Weak. We also get a couple of 1970s public service announcements including the infamous "crying Indian" spot (spoofed once upon a time on The Simpsons) but again, nothing really dealing with the movie. If this were truly a "Flashback Edition" we'd get flashbacks from the cast and crew. You can't put together an all-star team like that and then not have them come together years later to tell us about the experience! What a rip-off!

Special features aside, the movie is what makes this DVD worth owning. If you were around in the 70s - if you were around during any of the 70s retro days - if you were a fan of "That 70s Show" - if you were in high school, ever - this movie is for you. There's probably the odd person out there who thinks this movie is all about the drugs, but really, this movie speaks to a number of different generations about some of the greatest times of our lives - high school. American Grafitti. Fast Times at Ridgemont High. Dazed and Confused belongs right up there with those movies. Now I can only wonder when the definitive movie about high school in the 90s will be made.