The first Boyhood trailer for director Richard Linklater’s wonderfully ambitious drama came online a few days ago, but it was subsequently pulled down.  The trailer is now officially online, and instead of simply updating that article, we figured we’d go ahead and bring it to your attention again because the movie is just that good.  The story follows the life of Mason (newcomer Ellar Coltrane) from the age of 6 to 18, and Linklater shot the film over the span of 12 years with the same cast, crafting a wholly unique moviegoing experience that allows audiences to literally grow up with Mason.  I caught the film at Sundance and it’s an astounding accomplishment that also proves to be highly emotional, poignant, and affecting.  It still stands as the best thing I’ve seen in 2014 so far, and it’s gonna be incredibly difficult to knock it out of that top spot.  As for this first trailer, it does an excellent job of conveying the tone of the pic without giving away any major plot points.

Hit the jump to watch the official Boyhood trailer (now free of Access Hollywood’s atrocious editing), and click here to read Matt’s review.  Also starring Ethan Hawke and Patricia Arquette, the film opens in limited release on July 11th.

Click over to Apple to watch the Boyhood trailer in HD.

Here’s the official synopsis for Boyhood:

Filmed over 12 years with the same cast, Richard Linklater's BOYHOOD is a groundbreaking story of growing up as seen through the eyes of a child named Mason (a breakthrough performance by Ellar Coltrane), who literally grows up on screen before our eyes. Starring Ethan Hawke and Patricia Arquette as Mason's parents and newcomer Lorelei Linklater as his sister Samantha, BOYHOOD charts the rocky terrain of childhood like no other film has before. Snapshots of adolescence from road trips and family dinners to birthdays and graduations and all the moments in between become transcendent, set to a soundtrack spanning the years from Coldplay's Yellow to Arcade Fire's Deep Blue. BOYHOOD is both a nostalgic time capsule of the recent past and an ode to growing up and parenting. It's impossible to watch Mason and his family without thinking about our own journey.