• Richard Linklater: A Scanner Darkly, 2006

  • Richard Linklater: A Scanner Darkly, 2006

  • Dorothy Wiley: Coffee, 1977

  • Richard Linklater: A Scanner Darkly, 2006

A Scanner Darkly

  • Introduction

    Erik Davis is a writer, scholar, journalist, and public speaker whose writings range from rock criticism to cultural analysis to esoteric explorations of California’s history.

featuring

Keanu Reeves, Robert Downey Jr., Winona Ryder, Rory Cochrane,

Richard Linklater’s 2006 adaptation of Philip K. Dick’s 1977 prescient neo-noir novel of a near-future (1994) Los Angeles still feels uncomfortably present. This scathing, frequently funny fable is a cop story infused with metaphysical questions about addiction, the nature of the mind and the self, and their deconstruction—embedded in a corporate surveillance thriller. By rotoscoping the live action—memorable performances by a great cast, including Keanu Reeves, Robert Downey Jr., and Winona Ryder—Linklater enhances the film’s uncanny, woozy quality. “They’re all taking dope, . . . and they’re all wonderful people. Then the terrible destruction of their brains begins” (Philip K. Dick).

Kate MacKay
FILM DETAILS 
Screenwriter
  • Richard Linklater
Based On
  • a novel by Philip K. Dick
Cinematographer
  • Shane F. Kelly
Print Info
  • Color
  • 35mm
  • 100 mins
Source
  • Park Circus
Preceded By

Coffee

Dorothy Wiley, United States, 1977

A “cosmic love letter to coffee” (Sarah Hotchkiss).

FILM DETAILS 
Print Info
  • Color
  • 16mm
  • Silent
  • 8 mins
source
  • BAMPFA
Additional Info
  • BAMPFA preservation print, preservation funded by National Film Preservation Foundation

Event Accessibility

If you have any questions about accessibility or need accommodations to attend this event, please contact us at bampfa@berkeley.edu or (510) 642-1412 (Wed–Sun, 11 AM–7 PM) as soon as you can. Advance notice helps us fulfill your request.

Learn more about accessibility services at BAMPFA.