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

I love Donnie Darko and I'm happy to include it my DVD collection.
The music is great and the songs are amazing. I haven't viewed any special featuers yet, but I'm going to soon!
Frank the Bunny is scary!

The original theatrical release is a modern masterpiece. This is the movie that introduced Jake Gyllenhaal and his sister to the world (playing a brother and sister onscreen), as well as revived the career of Patrick Swayze (or it should have, in my opinion). Swayze may not have gotten any work from this movie but the Gyllenhaals sure did!

It's not possible to really describe this movie, except to say that it is a bizarre teen movie that involves a time-traveling man in a bunny suit. It's like John Hughes on PCP. If that sounds at all intriguing, you will certainly be pleasantly surprised at how it plays out on the screen.

The original theatrical release (available on DVD as the Donnie Darko (Widescreen Edition)) was a masterpiece. The "director's cut" may be the director's vision, but the added effects, INXS soundtrack, and "book excerpts" do not add anything to the film except for running time. The director wanted to clarify some of the points in the film to strengthen its sci-fi aspects--and, in doing so, ruined many viewers' interpretations of the original film. One case in point is the anti-psychotic pills that Donnie is on: In the original film, it's up to the viewer to decide if everything is part of a drug reaction (just one explanation that fans offered), but in the "director's cut" the director adds a line from the psychiatrist saying that the pills are "placebo" pills. Also, the sci-fi time travel theories are given additional room to breathe, and come off as hokey rather than mysterious. Some things are best left unsaid.

Original Release: ***** (five stars)
Director's Cut: *** (three stars)

i rated this a 3 because the quality and packaging was good but the movie was lame, very boring.

It is hard to describe the plot of 'Donnie Darko' without making the movie seem repellant. 'Donnie Darko' is purposely ambivalent, and the causality of bizarre events is intriguing from the very start. The journal development is a retro trip in itself. Using footage of the Dukakis and Bush (I) debates before the 1988 election, the movie authenticates its setting of a high school near the end of the eighties. How they manage to mix nostalgia with an eerie tale and dark manifestations is a mystery, but they pull it off. Uniquely enigmatic with the memories they elicit, the movie has the effect of being a 'Twilight Zone' manifestation of 'Romy and Michelle's High School Reunion.' (Aptly, the soundtrack draws from "Tears for Fears" instead of "Bow Wow Wow".)

Now about the story. Our titled tortured protagonist (Jake Gyllenhaal in another talented role) is undergoing psychiatric care complete with medication. The first hint we have that things aren't going well is when an ominous voice summons Donnie out of bed to meet him somewhere in the dark. What we discover there on a golf green is a six-foot rabbit, who, if his processed voice weren't so menacing, could only be dismissed with chuckles. (One can only describe the creature as a rabid or demonic 'Harvey'.) And, indeed, our best evidence of a demonic presence is when Donnie asks him later, "Why do you wear that stupid bunny suit?" To which the voice quickly replies, "Why are you wearing that stupid human suit?") Here he announces to the disturbed adolescent that the world is going to end in approximately a month--Halloween 1988--to be exact. After that we get varying degrees of maladjustment with some foreboding events. Upon his return home he discovers he narrowly escaped death when an airplane part fell through his bedroom, leveling much of the house. A grateful Donnie will do anything for "Frank," who saved him from the debacle. From there a series of inexplicable events take place that leave one glued to the screen with magnetic interest.

'Donnie Darko' is a mysterious and disturbing alternative movie. Some of the draw comes with the acting. Keeping it real is no short order. The scenes of hypnosis are mesmerizing with Dr. Therman (played with expert delicacy by Katherine Ross) who tries to uncover Donnie's pathology. But it isn't that easy. In the meanwhile, Donnie, himself, seeks a teacher at his private school and an elderly woman down the road who has written a book about time travel. Dabbling with penetrating thoughts about predestination and the occult, Donnie's predicament is fascinating. Drew Barrymore, whose mere presence could singularly bring flashbacks of the eighties, is the producer and plays lively English teacher, Karen Pomeroy, a character who provides a pivotal place for social commentary. (Besides a mysterious mood piece, some satire is accessible.) On the staff is stalwart moral zealot, Mrs. Farmer, who is almost painted in clown white during her ignorant tirades. There's also preacher-like motivational speaker, Jim Cunningham (Patrick Swayze who makes his character creepy enough) who has a few skeletons in his own closet.

'Donnie Darko' deserves accolades for being so original. With effective performances that include the delicious novelty of having Donnie's sister played by real-life sister Maggie Gyllenhaal, the elements speak for themselves. Nevertheless, the overall effect is not as satisying as the creativity, and the story leaves some gaping holes that, while like real life, are unsettling nonetheless. 'Donnie Darko' will fill a black hole for teenagers who will relate to some of Donnie's difficulties that beg for meaning. (Recommended for a different sort of movie adventure.)

Well, I was not expecting this when I watched it! It's amazing. It's not actually horrific, there's little blood and almost no violence. This movie is something amazing, something a little creepy and sweet that gets into you and makes you bawl like a baby... ok, makes me bawl like a baby, but hey, I was really tired, ok? It's complicated adn strange and surreal and beautiful and follows an inevetable chain to the end. You really have to pay attention and think - it's not gonna let you space out for a couple hours or miss bits and coast along. But it's easy to pay attention, it's so beautiful.

So - one of my favorite movies.