Donnie Darko [Blu-ray]
Studio: Tcfhe Release Date: 02/10/2009 Run time: 246 minutes Rating: RThis unclassifiable but stunningly original film obliterates the walls between teen comedy, science fiction, family drama, horror, and cultural satire–and remains wildly entertaining throughout. Jake Gyllenhaal (October Sky) stars as Donnie, a borderline-schizophrenic adolescent for whom there is no difference between the signs and wonders of reality (a plane crash that devastates his house) and hallucination (a man-sized, reptilian rabbit who talks to him). Obsessed with the science of time travel and acutely aware of the world around him, Donnie is isolated by his powers of analysis and the apocalyptic visions that no one else seems to share. The debut feature of writer-director Richard Kelly, Donnie Darko is a shattering, hypnotic work that sets its own terms and gambles–rightfully so, as it turns out–that a viewer will stay aboard for the full ride. –Tom Keogh
User Ratings and Reviews
5 Stars A wonderful, rewatchable, mind-bender
I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this movie, being a bit skeptical given the general description. There is a bit of Memento in this, but not quite as twisty. Jake G. does a great job, as does the supporting cast. The screenplay was very tightly written, with few (any?) inconsistencies or plot holes that I could identify. In the end, everything ties together very nicely.
5 Stars My favorite movie of all time.
Certainly this film isn’t for everyone. If you are the type to like the popular, big production Hollywood films like Titanic, Independence Day, Armageddon, or anything of the sort… then this film may be too abstract and unpredictable for you.
It is a dark and ominous movie, but probably doesn’t qualify for being classified as a Horror film. It’s more of a psychological thriller. If you are in your late 20’s to mid 30’s (if you grew up in the 80’s), you should appreciate much of the 80’s themes and music. I highly recommend this film to anyone in that age group who is able to handle a more complex, deep, and symbolic story. This is not the movie for someone who likes cliches.
5 Stars My fovorite movie . . .portable!
Donnie Darko is my favorite movie of all time, no other movie could deliver the interesting characters, complex plot, or intriguing storyline as Donnie Darko does. Not only that, but the acting is superb, especially Jake Gyllenhaal as Donnie, he portrays a deeply disturbed character who has visions of the end of the world told to him by a six foot bunny rabbit named Frank. (Note that it really isn’t a bunny rabbit, it’s just a man in a freaky rabbit costume).
This movie has humor, romance, intrigue, mystery and ingenuity. I dare anyone who has not seen this movie to go out and rent it or buy it. Watch it at least twice (the first time may leave you completely confused), and try and say that you don’t love this movie. I have yet to meet someone who said they don’t like Donnie Darko.
The movie aside the UMD is incredibly well packaged, aside from the movie itself it also includes the theatrical trailer, complete audio commentary with the writer/director Richard Kelly and Jake Gyllenhaal, extended and deleted scenes with audio commentary for those that wish to hear it, and a Mad World music video. (By the way, a lot of people, myself included, got absolutely addicted to the song Mad World by Gary Jules. Richard Kelly could not have picked a better song to end the movie with.)
The picture quality is great (but then again what isn’t off of the PSP’s excellent LCD screen?) The only issue I have with the movie (and it’s not really the movie itself, but the PSP’s design) is that the movie is a little hard to hear sometimes, even with the volume turned all the way up. But like I said, it’s not really the UMD, it’s the speakers that come with the PSP, they’re not exactly the best known to man. This is an easy fix though, as long as you have some headsets or some of the aftermarket speaker systems for the PSP you’re good to go.
Overall great movie and great deal for the UMD. Highly recommended for fans of the movie (and anyone who hasn’t seen the movie yet.) I mean, who wouldn’t want to have the best movie ever made in your pocket?
4 Stars Warning to UK buyers
Watch out! Amazon have labelled this as Region-Free. It’s not, it’s Region A on Blu. Useless…
4 Stars Both versions of exceptional film presented with an unexceptional Blu-ray transfer-4 stars for the film/3 stars for transfer
A bizarre, stunningly original film that shows clear influence from writer Philip K. Dick and his surreal novels/short stories and film directors like David Lynch/David Cronenberg, “Donnie Darko” even sounds like a Phil Dick novel title. The plot concerns a giant rabbit in a bizarre twist of the film “Harvey” that tells teenage Donnie that his mission is to save the world and how he has the ability to manipulate space and time. A quirky mixture of cultural satire and science fiction, “Donnie Darko” may be an acquired taste but if you have a taste for the off-beat, then you’ll love the film.
My focus here is on the Blu-ray presentation of the film and while it looks better than the two previous DVD releases of the film, the Blu-ray is not a huge leap up. I’ve been underwhelmed by many of Fox’s recent Blu-ray catalog releases and this one isn’t an exception. While images are a bit clearer here they still appear flat and the darker scenes aren’t rendered with as much detail as one would expect from a Blu-ray.
The major advantage of this Blu-ray is that it features both the “Director’s Cut” and original theatrical cuts of the film which feature some different songs and with the former running about 20 minutes longer with a more lucid, involving story than the latter. All of the extras have been ported over from the two DVDs in high def so that’s good news for fans. If, however, you already have this on DVD in both versions I’d suggest waiting to buy this on Blu-ray since the image quality while better isn’t a huge leap (unlike some other catalog titles). I suspect that this was rush released using older high definition transfers because of the direct-to-video sequel that Fox is releasing in March. Fox should have spend as much time on new, pristine high def transfers for this rather than rely on older elements because it clearly shows in the presentation here.
While this is a terrific film, I can’t suggest taking the plunge if you already have the first two movies on DVD. While this looks slightly better than the previous version and features all the extras from BOTH the theatrical and “Director’s Cut” of the movie, you might do well to spend your money on something that you don’t already have on home video.
Five stars for the movie–3 stars for the transfer and 4 stars for the extras.
Filed under: Blue Ray Movie Reviews