A Scanner Darkly (film)

A Scanner Darkly
Theatrical release poster
Directed byRichard Linklater
Screenplay byRichard Linklater
Based onA Scanner Darkly
by Philip K. Dick
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyShane F. Kelly
Edited bySandra Adair
Music byGraham Reynolds
Production
companies
Distributed byWarner Independent Pictures
Release dates
Running time
100 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$8.7 million[2]
Box office$7.7 million[3]

A Scanner Darkly is a 2006 American adult animated science fiction thriller film written and directed by Richard Linklater; it is based on the 1977 novel by Philip K. Dick. The film tells the story of identity and deception in a near-future dystopia constantly under intrusive high-tech police surveillance in the midst of a drug addiction epidemic.

The film was shot digitally and then animated using interpolated rotoscope, an animation technique in which animators trace over the original footage frame by frame, for use in live-action and animated films, giving the finished result a distinctive animated look. Principal photography began on May 17, 2004, and lasted six weeks.

The film features performances by Keanu Reeves, Robert Downey Jr., Woody Harrelson, and Winona Ryder. Steven Soderbergh and George Clooney are among the executive producers. A Scanner Darkly had a limited release on July 7, 2006, and then a wider release later that month by Warner Independent Pictures. The film was screened at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival and the 2006 Seattle International Film Festival, and was a finalist for the Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form in 2007. The film received generally positive reviews, with praise for its performances and animation, but performed poorly at the box office.

  1. ^ "A SCANNER DARKLY (15)". British Board of Film Classification. June 14, 2006. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved May 7, 2013.
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