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A Scanner Darkly

  • 2006
  • Tous publics
  • 1h 40m
IMDb RATING
7.0/10
116K
YOUR RATING
Keanu Reeves, Winona Ryder, Robert Downey Jr., and Woody Harrelson in A Scanner Darkly (2006)
Theatrical Trailer from Warner Independent Pictures
Play trailer1:59
2 Videos
96 Photos
AnimationComedyCrime

An undercover cop in a not-too-distant future becomes involved with a dangerous new drug and begins to lose his own identity as a result.An undercover cop in a not-too-distant future becomes involved with a dangerous new drug and begins to lose his own identity as a result.An undercover cop in a not-too-distant future becomes involved with a dangerous new drug and begins to lose his own identity as a result.

  • Director
    • Richard Linklater
  • Writers
    • Philip K. Dick
    • Richard Linklater
  • Stars
    • Keanu Reeves
    • Winona Ryder
    • Robert Downey Jr.
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    7.0/10
    116K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Richard Linklater
    • Writers
      • Philip K. Dick
      • Richard Linklater
    • Stars
      • Keanu Reeves
      • Winona Ryder
      • Robert Downey Jr.
    • 334User reviews
    • 224Critic reviews
    • 73Metascore
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 4 wins & 21 nominations

    Videos2

    A Scanner Darkly
    Trailer 1:59
    Watch A Scanner Darkly
    A Scanner Darkly
    Trailer 2:06
    Watch A Scanner Darkly

    Photos96

    Woody Harrelson in A Scanner Darkly (2006)
    Keanu Reeves in A Scanner Darkly (2006)
    Winona Ryder in A Scanner Darkly (2006)
    Keanu Reeves in A Scanner Darkly (2006)
    Keanu Reeves in A Scanner Darkly (2006)
    Robert Downey Jr. in A Scanner Darkly (2006)
    Keanu Reeves, Chamblee Ferguson, and Angela Rawna in A Scanner Darkly (2006)
    A Scanner Darkly (2006)
    Rory Cochrane in A Scanner Darkly (2006)
    Robert Downey Jr. and Woody Harrelson in A Scanner Darkly (2006)
    Winona Ryder in A Scanner Darkly (2006)
    Robert Downey Jr. in A Scanner Darkly (2006)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Keanu Reeves
    Keanu Reeves
    • Bob Arctor
    Winona Ryder
    Winona Ryder
    • Donna Hawthorne
    Robert Downey Jr.
    Robert Downey Jr.
    • James Barris
    Rory Cochrane
    Rory Cochrane
    • Charles Freck
    Mitch Baker
    Mitch Baker
    • Brown Bear Lodge Host
    Sean Allen
    • Additional Fred Scramble Suit Voice
    • (voice)
    Cliff Haby
    • Voice from Headquarters
    • (voice)
    Steven Chester Prince
    Steven Chester Prince
    • Cop
    Natasha Janina Valdez
    Natasha Janina Valdez
    • Waitress
    • (as Natasha Valdez)
    Mark Turner
    • Additional Hank Scramble Suit Voice
    • (voice)
    Woody Harrelson
    Woody Harrelson
    • Ernie Luckman
    Chamblee Ferguson
    Chamblee Ferguson
    • Medical Deputy #2
    Angela Rawna
    Angela Rawna
    • Medical Deputy #1
    Eliza Stevens
    Eliza Stevens
    • Arctor's Daughter #1
    Sarah Menchaca
    • Arctor's Daughter #2
    Melody Chase
    Melody Chase
    • Arctor's Wife
    Leif Anders
    Leif Anders
    • Freck Suicide Narrator
    • (voice)
    Turk Pipkin
    • Creature
    • Director
      • Richard Linklater
    • Writers
      • Philip K. Dick
      • Richard Linklater
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Robert Downey, Jr. wrote most of his lines down on post-it notes and scattered them around the set so he could read off them while filming a scene. The rotoscoping team simply animated over the notes to remove them from the film during post-production.
    • Goofs
      While showing the monitoring equipment, Hank tells Fred that he could be anyone from Arctor's circle of friends, including Barris. This made sense in the book, however, by this time in the movie Hank has already seen Fred alongside Barris, so he could not possibly think they are the same person.
    • Quotes

      Fred: [voiceover] What does a scanner see? Into the head? Down into the heart? Does it see into me? Into us? Clearly or darkly? I hope it sees clearly because I can't any longer see into myself. I see only murk. I hope for everyone's sake the scanners do better, because if the scanner sees only darkly the way I do, then I'm cursed and cursed again.

    • Crazy credits
      The "Phil" mentioned in the "in memoriam" list as having permanent pancreatic damage is Philip K. Dick himself.
    • Connections
      Featured in Siskel & Ebert & the Movies: Rocky Balboa/The Good German/Letters from Iwo Jima/The Pursuit of Happyness/Breaking and Entering/Home of the Brave (2006)
    • Soundtracks
      Fog
      Written by Thom Yorke (as Thomas Yorke), Phil Selway (as Philip Selway), Jonny Greenwood (as Jonathan Greenwood),

      Colin Greenwood and Ed O'Brien (as Edward O'Brien)

      Performed by Radiohead

      Courtesy of Capitol Records

      Under licence from EMI Film & Television Music

    User reviews334

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    It works here and there but doesn't hang together that well and fails to bring out the ideas and themes within the material
    In the near future a powerful new drug substance D is hooking users with every new hit. Losing the battle against the drug, the LAPD place an officer undercover as a substance D user. While the officer's identity is kept secret from his colleagues and superiors, he himself starts to lose touch with who he actually is meant to be. Becoming hooked on the drug himself and becoming friends with the people he is meant to be informing on, the officer starts to suffer a breakdown with memory and concentration loses combined with a loosening grip on reality.

    I had reasonably high hopes for this film but also the fear I have when anyone takes on material that some have called "unfilmable". Written at a time when his marriage had broken down and he himself was struggling with his drug use and split identities, Dick's material does offer much of interest as long as it can be delivered in such a way to be engaging and interesting. "Making sense" was not one of the qualities I really needed, which was just as well since narratively there isn't a lot to follow along with. Parts of it are funny, parts of it are trippy and parts of it are dramatic. However none of them really come together to produce anything of that much value. It is a shame that the ideas over identity, drugs and the morals of the war on drugs are not better played out. As it is I didn't think there was enough of interest and, with the narrative being so basic, what remained was surprisingly dull.

    The use of the rotoscoping was a smart move and also serves as an interesting hook for multiplex audience (and I include myself therein, so it is not a snobbish reference) that have perhaps not seen it before. Linklater produces some good effects this way and it is hard to think of another approach working as well within the context of the material as it does. Sadly this is not enough to carry the film along, although it will be enough to satisfy some sections of the audience. The cast do the best they can within this unsuccessful mix and most of them are individually good here and there. Reeves is a natural stoner but he doesn't convince with his breakdown and confusion that well; he isn't helped by the lack of focus in the script but he can't lift it regardless. Downey Jr is very funny and convincing and wards off the boredom when he is near. Harrelson tries to follow suit but with a dumber character he just falls flat. Cochrane is more enjoyable and the animation really aids his performance. Ryder is OK but she has too much of the narrative to carry and she cannot do it.

    Overall this is an OK film at best. It is sporadically interesting, funny and engaging however it cannot find any consistency of tone, pace or engagement. The material is good enough to throw up interesting ideas and themes but Linklater sadly doesn't manage to do much with them across the film. The use of animation over the film cells is really well crafted and works well to support the material – it is just a shame then that the awareness and control that Linklater in this area he seems to lack in others.
    helpful•18
    10
    • bob the moo
    • Aug 29, 2006

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    FAQ31

    • How long is A Scanner Darkly?Powered by Alexa
    • Who is Philip K. Dick?
    • What does the title "A Scanner Darkly" mean?
    • How was this movie filmed?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • September 13, 2006 (France)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Official site
      • Warner Bros (United States)
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Затьмарення
    • Filming locations
      • Austin, Texas, USA
    • Production companies
      • Warner Independent Pictures (WIP)
      • Thousand Words
      • Section Eight
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $8,700,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $5,501,616
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $391,672
      • Jul 9, 2006
    • Gross worldwide
      • $7,659,918
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 40 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • DTS
      • Dolby Digital
      • SDDS
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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