With his 1993 major studio debut, "Dazed & Confused," director Richard Linklater tried to go mainstream with the style he'd explored in his Gen-X defining indie hit "Slacker." Set on the last day of school in the summer of 1976, "Dazed" felt like it was happening in real time, with a huge cast of characters that kept bouncing off each other like the director was playing some human pinball game.

With its lack of a focused plot and its reliance on young unknowns in the cast, the studio hated "Dazed" and did not give it much of a push (it went straight to video in Japan), but it has since become a cult classic. Sure, "Dazed" had the stoner humor going for it, but Linklater cannily anticipated '70s retro before it was a thing, and his "unknowns" turned out to include Milla Jovovich, Ben Affleck, Parker Posey, Matthew McConaughey and more.

Beyond that, it was honest, showing how high school was both BFFs and horrible cliques, delicious first kisses and hellish hazing. Linklater didn't impose anyone's viewpoint so much as accept them all, painting the totality of the high school experience.