Donnie Darko (Special Edition) [Blu-ray]

First of all, buy this ORIGINAL 2001 release version DVD. Forget the director's cut - it's okay, but not what you'd expect. The director's cut suffers from what Jack White (of the seminal music band, "The White Stripes") meant when he said, "Art is knowing WHEN to stop." The director's cut simply doesn't, and you'll see why too if (as I did) you make the mistake of shelling out the extra green to acquire it. Take my advice: Don't. Stick with the original. You won't be disappointed. Okay, why do I call this bizarre, brilliant flick "the story of my life." Well, because on October 20, 1988 (to be exact), I had an experience MUCH like Donnie's, REALLY and TRULY, only in my case I tried to commit suicide. So when I saw "Donnie Darko," my first reaction was, "oh my god, HOW did the director know?" (about my life at that precise moment in my, much like Donnie's, "emotional problems"-riddled history?). So ... overcoming the intial "shock/epiphany" of seeing my own life played back for me in panoramic technicolor, I curled up, frightened but fascinated, beneath a snuggle blanket and watched further, transfixed by one of the most subtly original, germane, cohesive stories to reach celluloid actualization since "Dawn of the Dead" or, much more recently, "Identity" (with John Cusack); and I quickly became, not only a believer in time travel, but a living survivor of it (UNLIKE Donnie, but forgive me for (possibly) giving away TOO much here). This story HAS to be experienced; and perhaps YOU, Constant Viewer, like I do, remember where YOU were - and what YOU were doing/feeling/going through - way back in October of 1988. Whatever it was, I bet it was something you'll never forget. Like this film - you'll never forget it; and, lessee ... I'm on about my, er ... 12th or 13th viewing of it now (the ORIGINAL, NOT the director's "clutter"). I put "Donnie Darko" in my Top 5 movies of all time. For originality, for story, for great, natural, completely successful "suspension of disbelief" acting; for being, at once - a tragicomedy, a WILDLY-WEIRD (this is the understatement of the new millennium) dramedy, a fired-up, mind-frying sci/fi thriller, a uniquely-tender-hearted horror yarn, and WAY beyond, My Friends: "Donnie" is a philosophical brain burster much in the same neogenre/league-of-its-own film-making; for counterparts in creative "playfulness" behind the motion-picture camera, I can only recommend the following "warmup" exercises: see "Pi," "Primer," "Adaptation," "Happiness," "Prince of Darkness," "Being John Malkovich" and "Martin" (a little-remembered but unforgettable piece by George A. Romero, who has a brilliant little cameo in this pic as a "happy marshmallow man-child" of a Catholic priest). You'll get the idea FAST, of what you're in for with Donnie. An all-star cast will blow you away and lends immense credulity to this quirkified, whacked-out, indie knockout punch; you'll be reeling when you see here: Mary McDonnell, Noah Wiley, Patrick Swayze, Drew Barrymore! Watching Drew play the part of a high-school English teacher is definitely worth "the price of emotion" enough (interestingly, if NOT for Barrymore's bankroll (she's the executive producer of Darko's "reel world," in REAL life); fact: "Darko" probably never would have lit up our darkened screens at all, without Barrymore's vision and deep enough pockets to realize such - Thank You, Thank You, Thank You, Drew!). And getting Swayze to play the role of a pedophile HAD to have been a "challenge," er ... to say the LEAST! Swayze HAD to have been "a total sport" about what he was asked to portray; like the way John Malkovich was concerning HIS OWN "journey through the looking portal." But enough said. Darken your own personal viewing room now. Slide "Donnie" into your DVD player. And "take the trip," safely and securely (yet be warned - your MIND and SPIRIT may NEVER be the same afterwards), as I have, and am living proof of, the reality, horror, and (as Kelly intended, and successfully realized), the HEALING benefits, not unlike "It's a Wonderful Life," but only MUCH DARKER implications of, "time travel." Hurry though. As Kelly remonstrates cinematically, "time is precious." Indeed. And, Frankly speaking (pun intended), time's running out.

Wonderful movie, Wonderful edition. Very happy to add this gem to my collection.

Some films are impossible to categorize. Donnie Darko can be seen as horror, science fiction, drama or social satire but in truth it is just art. This is the sort of entertainment that is best experienced in a relaxed state of half dreaming. The plot defies analysis and the bizarre situations that arise are strangely suited to the audience's mood. After my first viewing, I didn't know what I had seen but I knew I liked it. In fact, it took several sessions to reach a solid hypothesis as to the narrative cause and effect. Jake Gyllenhaal plays the title character, a troubling but not troubled young man who lives in a different world to the rest of us. His average family offers him all the support they can but even Donnie's psychiatrist struggles to understand his situation. The prescription of antischizophrenic drugs seems to do little to blunt his visions, nor do they stop his nocturnal missions. I particularly like the way the soundtrack was gently used to separate the normal from the abnormal. The film's mournful version of "Mad World", (originally made famous by Tears for Fears), was one of the musical highlights. One of Donnie's most interesting qualities is that he has no fear of the common-place terrors that exist for the rest of us. He tells his teachers where to shove it, asks the beautiful Gretchen to go steady after only a day, speaks out against the school's guest brain-washer and even copes calmly with murderous bullies. He is however, afraid that the world will end in 28 days and is concerned about dying alone, but then who isn't. The story is interwoven with several mysteries, only some of which are even partially explained in the film. One of the most important of these occurs while Donnie is out one night on the local golf-course, talking to a six foot rabbit named Frank. I don't know if this is an allusion to the James Stewart film, "Harvey," but it is certainly not played for laughs, as Frank is quite sinister. Sometime during this meeting Donnie's bedroom is demolished by a falling jet engine. No one knows where it came from and no airline claims their lost property, but one thing is certain, if Donnie hadn't been AWOL, he'd be very dead. Life quickly resumes. The family's notoriety fades and school life once again regains its position of central torment in Donnie's life. His beautiful and sensitive English teacher, along with his grounded and caring science teacher, (Barrymore & Wylie), fail to offset the damage done by the stressed and misguided gym teacher, Kitty Farmer. She is a disciple of Jim Cunningham, (Swayze), a motivational speaker who reaks of charm and paternalistic love; so much so that Donnie, and the audience, just can't buy into his simple solutions. The film's cast is huge but of an impressive quality, for an ostensibly independent production. All the major characters seemed to go beyond what is expected and create three dimensional beings with quirks, fears and emotions that are subtly alluded to. I particularly enjoyed Gyllenhaal's performance as Donnie. When he is in the sway of one of his visions, the cast of his eye is more disturbing than any million dollar special effect. Beth Grant, playing the Gym teacher, is also outstanding. Her new-age zealotry is the perfect representation of what is truly dangerous in our politically correct society. Along with a great cast, the script is amazing. Not just in its creativity but that it ever managed to get funding. Chock full of unlikely theories, small but convoluted set pieces and thought provoking dialogue, it made the film entertaining, even after several viewings. Small touches bring Donnie's world home to us; like the discussion of the sexual mores of Smurfs, Ms Pomeroy forcing the new girl to sit next to the guy she likes best and an old lady suffering a life-threatening obsession with checking her perpetually empty mailbox. In the end though, it is the greater plot devices that twist our minds like some drug induced mobius loop. Is Donnie some sort of psychotic super-hero? Did everyone remember an alternative future, at the end? Were Grandma Death's theories on time-travel true? If you like pat answers in your entertainment, then you'll be frustrated with Donnie Darko. If however, like me, you like to solve puzzles, you may be prepared to dive into the depths of Donnie's world. Come on in; the water's dark.

This movie is a t-bone crash of youth and the world around them, it is amazing.

A philosophical examination of life and choice.

"Donnie Darko" is already one of the certifiable cult classics of the 2000s, joining perhaps "The Royal Tenenbaums" and "Requiem for a Dream" who already achieve such status in still a young decade. What sets this film apart from the others, however, is its sheer unclassifiable ness: family drama, horror, science fiction and humor are all mixed in this cinematic stew where "Pretty in Pink"-meets-"Slaughterhouse-Five"-meets-"Catcher in the Rye." The outcome is a highly original film that dives into fundamental questions of life itself, all of which makes great entertainment. Set in the tightly-clinched sphincter of late-1980s Reagan America, we meet East Coast Catholic high schooler Donnie Darko (Jake Gyllenhaal), a troubled teen with emotional problems that worry his concerned and supportive family. Donnie's world isn't in good shape either: Dukakis is losing badly to George Bush; his fellow high schoolers and friends are brash and racist; his education filled with meaningless fear-and-love emotional studies. The neatly trimmed lawns, big homes and fine green trees of his hometown of Middlesex, Virginia disguise the brewing trouble that is lurking all around. Donnie unexpectedly begins to sleep walk at night, leaving his house to wake up in the morning on hillside roads and golf courses. During one such walk, a disjointed voice lures him out of the house and onto a golf course, where Donnie discovers a guy in a demonic bunny suit named Frank telling him that the world will end in twenty-eight days. This sparks a chain of events that not only puzzle Donnie, but virtually everyone around him, calumniating in a hallucinatory finale where the audience is asked to question what it means to be alive and ultimately what it means to be alone in a complicated and sometimes frightening universe. With a strong cast that includes Patrick Swayze as an ultra-conservative emotional speaker, Noah Wyle and Drew Barrymore as Donnie's progressive English and science teachers, Maggie Gyllenhaal (Jake's real-life sister) as Donnie's `80s-brat sister, and the always great Mary McDonnell as Donnie's confused but loving mother, "Donnie Darko" has a great depth of actors which brings these colorful characters to life. The also fabulous soundtrack includes a slew of `80s favorites, like Echo and the Bunnymen, Tears for Fears, the Church, and Joy Division. Its most talked about song, "Mad World" an excellent remake of the Tears for Fears classic by Gary Jules, is absolutely haunting when played near the film`s conclusion. Attesting to its power, it went to number one in the UK in December 2003, nearly two years after being released. In all, "Donnie Darko" is a great movie to watch on Friday or Saturday night with all the lights turned off, and possibly a cup of coffee once it's ended to talk about it. Like a good wine, "Donnie Darko" has become more popular since its subdued release in 2001, and with time, has only gotten better.

This is not a review of the movie, but rather of the DVD. If you are getting this DVD because you think you might enjoy the movie you will, and if you saw the movie but aren't sure about spending some money on the DVD, well, you should. If you liked the movie, you'll definitely want to get this DVD and the extras that it offers. Basically, if you took the time to look into this DVD and read this review I think are someone who should buy the DVD. However, the extras aren't all they are cracked up to be as is often the case in DVDs and I want everyone out there to know what to expect. There are 20 deleted or extended included in this DVD, but each on has to be played separately (no 'Play All' feature) and you must select commentary on/off for each one of them. This is not the best arrangement for a deleted/extended scenes section. The actual content of this section is pretty decent with most of the scenes having the possibility of really having added something to the story and most could've made the film had the director not had to cut the film down to 2 hours from the original rough cut of about 2 and half hours it originally had. There are two commentaries on the DVD, one with the Richard Kelly (writer/director) and Jake Gyllenhaal (Donnie) and another with Richard Kelly, two producers (Nancy Juvonen and Sean McKittrick) and several cast members: Holmes Osborne (Eddie, Donnie's Dad), Mary McDonnell (Rose, Donnie's Mom), Jimmy Duval (Frank), Beth Grant (Kitty Farmer, Donnie's Health Teacher), Drew Barrymore (Karen Pomeroy, Donnie's English Teacher), Katharine Ross (Dr. Thurman, Donnie's Therapist), and Jena Malone (Gretchen, Donnie's Girlfriend). First, the sound quality of the commentaries is below what one has to come to expect on commentaries. You can hear the commentary track fine, but the track of the movie itself is all but silent during the time in which the cast or crew is speaking, almost shut off which is a turn to many people (but you can put on closed caption, although that can often distract you from the commentary if you are reading it), and it is back to full regular volume when their is no active commentary. My only complaint on the second commentary is that Drew Barrymore often `hogs' the commentary and was way to close to the microphone (which only accented her shrill voice on this commentary) during the recording of the commentary, she tried to hard to be `deep' in her comments way too often and it gets annoying at times. Many of the tidbits and insights provided in both tracks are interesting and above par with many other movie commentaries, but by no means exceptional. It is fun listening to what Kelly and the others have to say and then watching the movie looking for these things on your own, but don't only watch the film looking for hints that the director left for the audience and nothing else; this takes away too much from the film, so don't do that. The theatrical trailer is above average and can be appreciated by both those that have already seen the film and those than haven't. The several TV spots, all 30 seconds or less, are largely repetitious. The cast & crew information section is above average listing all of the actors' other films through late 2002 (most DVDs list only some films and are not current beyond the movie on the DVD). There is a total of nine crew bios (as opposed to a simple list of past work) including Richard Kelly, Sean McKittrick, Nancy Juvonen, Steve Poster (director of photography), Alexander Hammond (production designer), April Ferry (costume designer), Eric Strand (editor), Sam Bauer (editor), and Michael Andrews (composer). The `Mad World' music video is OUTSTANDING, and I have seen it many, many times already. It is quite addicting, and even if I close my eyes and just listen to it, it is still great. The `Website Gallery' is very hard to see and is not anything special and does not add anything to the DVD. What is shown is really a sampling of what the website has to offer, which is somewhat hard to navigate but during the cast and crew commentary they give you the three passwords for levels one, two and three if you listen closely. The `Soundtrack' feature provides interesting linear notes, but is not an isolated soundtrack of the movie (which is really the score of the movie with the lone exception the `Mad World' Tears for Fears songs covered so eerily by Gary Jules for the movie). The `Cunning Visions' section features the infomercials from in the movie with optional directors commentary). There is also a `His Name is Frank' section that is a fun little feature of several place cards that are designed like those featured in the Cunning Visions `exercise' in Donnie's health class and shown during Jim Cunningham's assembly. You can also look at the book covers used for Jim Cunningham's two books feature as background material during his assembly at the school. `The Philosophy of Time Travel' book feature is disappointing showing only several pages (including the appendices featured in the film) and all the pages are hard to see. The `Art Gallery section' is neat with a bunch of artwork that inspired works in the film and some of which was used directly in the film. The production stills are plentiful and interesting. The `Scene Selection' feature is as good as any other DVD with moving images as opposed to stills to mark each chapter, and there are a total of 28; good for a 2 hour movie. Overall, I enjoyed this DVD especially the `Mad World' music video and the two commentaries as I personally enjoy the opportunity to see the entire movie a different way when I can and the commentary tracks give me this opportunity.

Ordered for my husband. He loves it.

Titolo Originale: Donnie Darko Regia DI/Diretto DA: Richard Kelly Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Drew Barrymore, Noah Wyle, Patrick Swayze, Seth Rogen, Jena Malone Paese-Anno/Nazionalità: USA/Stati Uniti D'America, 2001 Audio: DTS Genere: Drammatico/Sperimentale Durata: 130 Minuti Circa Distribuzione: Guglielmo Marchetti (Moviemax Media Group Italy SRL) Visto Censura: FILM PER TUTTI Giudizio Finale/Voto Complessivo Al Film: 5/5 DONNIE DARKO è Un Film Misterioso, Quanto Assolutamente Magico ed Affascinante. Davvero Intenso, Toccante e Profondo: Il Vero Cinema Che ti Scuote L'Anima con il suo Infinito Mistero. Apparentemente, Un Film ''Cronoligicamente Slacciato'' Ma che alla fine contiene dentro di sè dei Messaggi davvero profondi. STUPENDO. Formato Video BD/Blu-Ray Disc: 3/5 DONNIE DARKO Viene Trasferito da Moviemax Media Group In un BD-50/AVC-1080p (1080p VC-1). Trasferimento che presenta però parecchi problemi Sin Dall'Inizio: Piatto, Opaco, Sbiadito e Non Particolarmente Brillante. Riconosco Assolutamente Che DONNIE DARKO Sia un Film A Basso Budget (4.000.000 $) Non Lancio mai critiche a caso (Lungi da Me, Non Mi Permetterei Mai) Ma la Moviemax doveva mettere un pò più di Impegno nella Masterizzazione del BD. Esperimento Riuscito A Metà, Ma C'è Ancora troppa carne al fuoco: Su Questo Aspetto, C'è Ancora Molto da Lavorare. Lingue-Audio/Sottotitoli: 5/5 Moviemax Media Group Presenta il BD di DONNIE DARKO In Due Tracce: Italiano DTS Multi 5.1, Italian Lpcm 2/0 48k. Tutte e Due le Tracce sono Equilibrate e Sistemate al Punto Giusto: Non Troppo Forte, Ma Nemmeno Troppo Debole. Su Questo, Un Applauso Alla Moviemax. Contenuti Extra: 5/5 Ce N'è Per Tutti, Quanti Ne Volete. In Abbondanza. C'è Anche Bisogno che li Elenchi ? Commenti Audio, Interviste, Photogallery, Red Band Trailer, Official Video ''Mad World''....... MERAVIGLIOSO! Grande Moviemax ! Voto Complessivo All'Edizione: 5/5 Nonostante L'Evidente Qualità Video/BD Altamente Disastrata, Consiglio L'Edizione. Nonostante gli Evidenti difetti, DONNIE DARKO è Un Film Fantastico che non deve Assolutamente mancare alla vostra collezione !

Long movie

星４つの理由。ドニー・ダーコ UMDビデオの仕様。日本の某携帯ゲーム機で再生可能 でした。音声は英語2.0ステレオ、字幕は無し、となっております。画面は16:9。 例えば、夜ベッドで眠っている時に、空から飛行機のエンジンが墜ちて来て、自分が 死んでしまったとしたら、それは運命？、それとも自分自身で決めた選択の結果？、 と色々と、考えさせられる映画だと思いました。 主人公のドニー・ダーコ、転校生のグレッチェン・ロス、その他の登場人物、そして 銀色のウサギ・・・。謎の多いストーリーだと思います。個人的には、学生時代に、 綺麗な転校生が来たら、恋しちゃうよね、と思ったりもしました！？。 ラストは、賛否両論あると思いましたが、ドニー・ダーコが幸せそうな笑顔でベッド で寝ている姿のシーンは、印象に残りました。挿入歌『マッドワールド』も雰囲気が あり、良かったですね。読んでいただき、ありがとうございます。

Daughter loves this movie. Arrived in perfect condition.

This is by far one of may favorite films of all time its just so wonderfully different from anything else I've ever seen. Donnie Darko (2001,Richard Kelly) is set in America during a election time for Michael S. Dukakis vs Bush. How ever that isn't really what the films about even though its mentioned a couple of times, the film is about Donnie Darko (Jake gyllenhall) a troubled boy with mental issues despite him being very bright for his age. Donnie is sleep walking and is constantly coming across a strange character called Frank dressed in giant bunny costume. Frank makes Donnie do things in his sleep such as arson and destruction of property. Donnie is disturbed by what he's dreaming about and has therapy for his dreams hoping they'll stop with the help of some medication he's prescribed. As things begin to get out of hand Donnie becomes more and more obsessed with the idea of time travel which throws yet another possibility for Donnie's strange habits into the mix of what is already a confusing story. The film has moments of awe as well as sadness and deals with issues such as the meaning of life, the belief in god and the existence of parallel universes/ time travel (I know there not the same thing but share similar characteristics).The moral issues and philosaphys this film takes into account may boggle your mind but this film is so unique and strange it's something of impressive step in the right direction for entrepreneurs in the film industry ,e.g. "Being John Malcavitch" a unique story and a film no one even wanted to make but when it was created it grossed millions and a cult fan base. This Film deserves as much credit , and yet sadly won't but at least has fans and is worth the purchase for the price Amazons charging. It has a sequel which I haven't seen, neither do I want to, it really doesn't look like a proper sequel and isn't worth watching when this film raps up loose ends and stands well enough on its own. Closing point: i was slightly disappointed with this copy seeing as there is a final cut which has a more detailed explanation of what's going on as well as some extra footage, so if you're going to buy any buy the director's cut its worth it.