Guardian readers 

Before Boyhood: five of Richard Linklater’s greatest films

Readers’ panel: from Dazed and Confused to School of Rock, readers to nominate the director’s best work to date
  
  

Before Sunrise
Julei Delpy and Ethen Hawke in Before Sunrise. Photograph: Columbia/Sportsphoto Ltd/Allstar Photograph: Columbia/Sportsphoto Ltd/Allstar

With Richard Linklater's latest film, Boyhood, winning glowing reviews from all corners, we asked Guardian readers to make a case for the favourite of the director's previous works. Here are a selection of the responses – but what would you nominate? Let us know your favourite Linklater film in the comment thread below.

Dazed and Confused

"Dazed and Confused is a fantastically dark portrayal of American rituals. The soundtrack and atmosphere of the time are fantastically reproduced, the characterisation really strong with a memorably sleazy turn by Matthew McConaughey." galanthus

"Its what I imagine the 70s were like, in America at least – and yet it's strangely timeless. And its reallyfunny, poignant and memorable." theDorkKnight

"The rich mix of characters and choice dialogue made D&C a party movie in my college days – and the soundtrack helped it all go with a swing. Aerosmith tickets, top priority of the summer…" StephanoBentos

A Scanner Darkly

"Of all PKD adaptations, A Scanner Darkly is the most faithful to the author's peculiar brand of ontological paranoia. Linklater's use of rotoscoping to turn live action into animation effectively conveys the characters' estrangement from their increasingly fractured reality. Reaves is quite good in it, but Downey Jr is a revelation." turingCop

"Totally unique and original, especially at the time. Amazing performances." fionaunderhill

"It's a film only Linklater could have made – the only adaptation of a Philip K Dick book that captures the feel of reading a PKD novel." ActualGraunReader

Before Sunrise

"An underrated gem when it first appeared, Before Sunrise is now rightly recognised as one of the great romantic films. The sequels are worthy of much praise, but can never repeat that feeling of a couple exploring their attraction to each other and falling in love. It takes a filmmaker of rare skill to capture that moment." Jez Overton

"It's allows me to believe in romance. There's something so authentic about their relationship. When I was younger I thought it was true love between the two characters – now, perhaps, it;d their 'naive' belief in love – which they kind of explore in Before Sunset." Ross Thomas Leeson

Before Midnight

"It encapsulates so many different aspects of love, relationships, and being human. The way Jesse and Celine interact, and the things they discuss, are so real. I was hooked when I saw Sunrise, then Sunset took it too another level, and this is both those films plus the 18 years experience since the first one." ID7408354

"It's hard to pick one of the Before movies (and actually I think Before Sunset and Before Midnight are inseparable in terms of quality) but I've gone for Before Midnight. All of them are so cleverly acted, scripted and directed. Before Sunset and Before Midnight particularly are incredibly powerful on an emotional level and I love the electricity and energy that is sort of just under the surface of the films which make them so thrilling to watch." Nightforday

School of Rock

"The role Jack Black was born for. Timeless, funny, touching and endlessly entertainingm it's one of those films that takes precedence over anything else I might be doing whenever it pops up on TV." Lixx11

"A film that, more than any other, instantly conjures up images from my childhood. Dewey Finn's rebellious, quasi-bohemian nature and his genuine passion for music made him an wonderfully endearing character. I'm gonna go watch it now…" Abdil94

"It does everything a good comedy should do, without pushing it too far or conforming to cliches – but at the same time, I wouldn't really call it a comedy. It's much more a good-natured film that just happens to have plenty of laugh-out loud moments in it. The whole cast does a great job and (best of all) they never ruined it with a sequel." Calum MacLeod

 

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