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Yes, thank you. I just wanted to be clear I was aware of the distinction when raising the quesiton.

Well I think I put my foot in it and should have left the discussion to those with experience as curators, projectionists, or even those here with better memories or understanding of what kind of prints they'd seen. I've seen films screened in Academy ratio as far back as the early '90s but many of these were in arthouse venues, or various pillarboxed films. Sorry if some of my viewing memories from back then are faulty, or obliterated completely.

And I do realize that films will be typically shown in widescreen even if the director prefers Academy, and then for the DVD can reflect the director's preference (some of Van Sant's more recent work, several documentaries I know of, and Slacker for example). I guess re: Slacker it'd be less problematic to say Academy is the preferred ratio rather than the "OAR," as I had said.

Well, I saw Slacker in 1.37 the couple of times I saw it on original release. First was at a festival; second at an arthouse. In terms of festival screenings, 1.37 was a completely standard ratio, even in the 90s. Lots of 16mm independent documentaries (which were ultimately destined for TV) were Academy, and Slacker probably had more to do with that tradition than with Hollywood.

Did it actually make it to multiplexes on original release, or was it a hit on the arthouse circuit?

I think German television bought it as well...they may have even been the first, enabling Linklater to finish "Slacker."

So the 1.33 AR is entirely reasonable, as it seems this film had as much a life on television as in the theaters.

I wonder if it is possible too that the film was hard matted to a flat 1.85 frame, with black columns on either side, so theaters equipped only for widescreen could show it in the proper AR.

The '90s reissue of Gone With the Wind had the Academy image pillarboxed within a 'Scope frame, which seems like a better compromise since it uses the full vertical resolution of the frame instead of windowboxing. I kinda doubt this was done for Slacker, though.

And to expand a bit on what zedz said, Slacker was made with little expectation of getting theatrical play outside of festivals and its own little circle in Austin. There was a vague hope that it might make its budget back through TV sales (and Brianruns is correct--the first sale was to WDR in West Germany) and by selling tapes through Film Threat and similar magazines.

This was really cute: someone has animated excerpts from Richard Linklater's commentary track on It's Impossible To Learn To Plow By Reading Books!

An arcane question, but does anyone happen to know which cast member was a clerk at Vulcan Video in Austin, circa 2001? I remember returning the VHS there (after seeing it the first time) and the guy I handed it to made a big deal about it. I figured he was just a fan, until his coworker clued me in that he’d been in it.

I’m pretty mediocre at faces, even whiteout a quarter century’s space, but on the off-chance someone knows who that would have been, I’d love to know.