Search - Donnie Darko - The Director's Cut (Two-Disc Special Edition) on DVD

The End of the World

Goatface Killah | 08/15/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Funny, sad, and mind-blowing, 'Donnie Darko' is, quite simply, an excellent movie. The plot is complex and engaging, with Jake Gyllenhaal as the protagonist, followed up by a cast that doesn't leave Jake holding up the movie.



Depending on what version of the film you see, the plot can be simple, or very hard to understand. I saw the original version on television and it was easy to comprehend. However, I had a lot of questions about little plot strings that weren't tied up. Just the other day I saw the director's cut. I spent the rest of the night explaining things to the people who watched it with me while simultaneously figuring it out myself.



But, let me explain first. In the original version of the movie the plot line goes like this. Donnie Darko is introduced as the protagonist. He smokes, sees a therapist, and is rude to his parents. Then comes the fateful night of October 2nd.



Donnie is asleep when he hears a voice that tells him to follow it. Donnie gets up and walks out of the house and onto a golf course where a human sized, demented bunny rabbit called Frank tells him the world will end in 28 days, 6 hours, 42 minutes, 12 seconds. At the same time as this encounter a jet engine falls through Donnie's room, which would have crushed him had he not gone out to the golf course. For the next 28 days Donnie goes on certain missions by the bidding of Frank, gets a girlfriend, and finds out about time travel. I wont tell the ending for the sake of preserving it.



In the director's cut there are a few differences. The beginning is the same. However, this time the end of the world mentioned by Frank really comes into play. It is explained (and this is explained only in the director's cut) that Donnie is in a tangent universe separate from the primary universe, and it will collapse after a few weeks, creating a black hole in the primary universe destroying all of existence.



Donnie goes through the same adventures with a few differences here and there from the original version with the same ending result, only it is much clearer why he does what he does.



I highly recommend this movie to those intelects who like to think about the plot, and to those who like dark comedy, and also to anyone and everyone, for this is truly not a film to be missed."

Expanded director's cut slightly different take on story

Wayne Klein | My Little Blue Window, USA | 02/16/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

""Donnie Darko: The Director's Cut" takes the audience down the rabbit hole on a long, strange trip that alternately becomes, surreal, comic, dramatic and just plain scary. Donnie (Jake Gyllenhaal) suffers from hallucinations and takes medication to help control his "visions". One night after taking his medication he has an encounter with a large, rancid, evil looking six foot tall rabbit who informs him that the world is going to end. "Frank" (as he calls his imaginary friend) takes him briefly into the future disappearing and reappearing throughout the film. Evidently only Donnie can stop it. The film moves from fantasy to reality with no clear indication as to whether or not Donnie's "visions" are real or if everything is in his imagination. Using a soundtrack made up of 80's staples ("Love Will Tear Us Apart" by Joy Division, "Head Over Heels" by Tears For Fears, "Never Tear Us Apart" by INXS among many other titles), director/writer Richard Kelly creates a bizarre satire of suburbia and surreal science fiction drama. Kelly's original version of the film featured some different songs and was shorter (and features new sequences and optical effects not in the 2001 release) but also seemed more open to interpretation. The allegorical references sprinkled throughout the film along with the bizarre dream sequences made the original film both fascinating and plain weird.



This new director's cut makes the film less opaque and adds an element of the "Twilight Zone" to Kelly's rich, original vision. The director's cut isn't necessarily a better film just different. Visually stunning and with an outstanding cast, inscrutable script "Donnie Darko" was just different enough to not score with audiences post-9/11. That's tragic as this totally original film makes an impression whether you're watching the original version or the director's cut of the film.



"Donnie Darko" lives up to its title with a number of unusually dark images. Fox has done an admirable job translating this film to DVD. Unfortunately, Director Kelly and DP Hunter went for a muted, gauzy look with soft blacks and muddy image reproduction. There's nothing we can do about and Fox has done the best with what they were given. I did notice occasional analog flaws pop up on the print but aside from that it looks pretty good despite the limitations placed on the film by Kelly and Hunter. I'm surprised that Fox didn't use the extended branching approach here that they did with the"Alien Quadrilogy" boxed set but that could be simply because the film has been reshuffled too much to do so. The 5.1 and 2.0 mixes sound solid although the sound is a bit murky towards the conclusion with some distortion on this edition of the film.



Fox wisely put all the extras on disc two of this set allowing the film to benefit from the extra disc space. We get a "Donnie Darko Production Diary" (with optional commentary by Director of Photography Steven Poster). . There's also a commentary track by Director of Photography Steven Poster in the Donnie Darko Production Diary which provides an interesting insider's perspective and lots of trivia about the production of the film. Featuring camcorder shot footage of the search for locations and behind-the-scenes footage of the production, it's an interesting glimpse into the process of pre-production. #1 Donnie Darko Fan is the result of an internet contest for the best short film about being a fan of this film. The winner's film is included and gives a glimpse into the odd world of fandom. We also get a storyboard to screen comparison for a key sequence from the film. They Made Me Do It features interviews with British fans of the film discussing what drew them to the film and how it changed their view of the world.



A fascinating commentary track by Director Kelly who discusses his film with fellow Director Kevin Smith ("Clerks"). It's, at turns, informative, philosophical and very involving. Does it answer the big questions about this film? Not exactly but it wasn't designed to do that either.





Kelly's original vision has been revised somewhat in this "Director's Edition" of Donnie Darko. The meaning of Kelly's film is still, ultimately, open to debate and while the film may be a bit less ambiguous than the first theatrical cut, its also got its fair share of great moments as well. The first disc comes with a terrific commentary track by Kelly and Director Kevin Smith. The second has all the extras including a documentary on the making of the movie, a glimpse at the fandom following this unusual cult film. We also get to see the film that won the contest for #1 Donnie Darko fan. While it's not something to crow about it is an interesting look at what levels the fans of this unusual and great little movie will go to. Be warned fans of the theatrical cut that this version runs longer, has different songs and may spoil some of your pet theories about the film's meaning.

"