{"id":15015,"date":"2017-05-08T13:33:07","date_gmt":"2017-05-08T20:33:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/?p=15015"},"modified":"2017-06-15T12:31:57","modified_gmt":"2017-06-15T19:31:57","slug":"review-donniedarko-bd","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/2017\/05\/review-donniedarko-bd\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: Donnie Darko BD + Screen Caps"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Not going out on a limb to say that Donnie Darko<\/em><\/strong> is a transformative kind of movie, one that even so many years later still holds up so well and features tremendous performances from most involved.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Donnie Darko<\/span>
\n(2001)<\/span>
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Genre(s): <\/strong>Drama, Sci-Fi, Fantasy<\/span>
\nArrow Video | R \u2013 113 min. \/ 133 min. \u2013 $49.95 | April 18, 2017<\/span><\/p>\n

Date Published:<\/strong> 05\/08\/2017 | Author:<\/strong> The Movieman<\/span><\/p>\n

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MOVIE INFO:
\n<\/u>Directed by: <\/strong>Richard Kelly<\/span>
\n Writer(s): <\/strong>Richard Kelly (written by)<\/span>
\n Cast: <\/strong>Jake Gyllenhaal, Jena Malone, Drew Barrymore, Mary McDonnell, Katharine Ross, Patrick Swayze, Noah Wyle, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Daveigh Chase, Holmes Osborne, Seth Rogen, James Duval<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
DISC INFO:
\n<\/u>Features: <\/strong>3 Audio Commentaries, Featurettes, Short Film, Music Video, Trailer<\/span>
\nDigital Copy: <\/strong>No<\/span>
\nFormats Included: <\/strong>Blu-ray, DVD<\/span>
\nNumber of Discs: <\/strong>4<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Audio: <\/strong>English (DTS-HD MA 5.1)<\/span>
\nVideo: <\/strong>1080p\/Widescreen 2.40<\/span>
\nSubtitles: <\/strong>English<\/span>
\nDisc Sizes: <\/strong>44.6 GB (Theatrical), 44.8 GB (Director\u2019s Cut)<\/span>
\nCodec: <\/strong>MPEG-4 AVC<\/span>
\nRegion(s): <\/strong>A<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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THE MOVIE \u2014 4.25\/5<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
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Over the course of the 16 years since its release, Donnie Darko<\/em><\/strong> has only cultivated a larger cult following. The film never really wildly impressed me when I saw it several years back and I don\u2019t recall being overly enthused over the \u201cDirector\u2019s Cut\u201d but seeing this again the other day, I found it thoroughly engaging from the 1980s time period, music and highly regarded cast.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Plot: <\/strong>The story focuses on awkward teenager Donnie Darko (JAKE GYLLENHAAL) who has a seemingly idyllic All-American family: dad Eddie (HOLMES OSBORNE), mom Rose (MARY MCDONNELL), older sister Elizabeth (MAGGIE GYLLENHAAL) and younger sister Samantha (DAVEIGH CHASE). Donnie has infinity for sleepwalking as well as has an imaginary friend named Frank (JAMES DUVAL) who dresses up like a demonic rabbit.<\/span><\/p>\n

During one of his sleepwalks, a jet engine mysteriously falls from the sky hitting his bedroom. Surviving the event, Donnie is a bit of a star at his high school where you have an eclectic myriad of characters from the overly religious gym instructor (BETH GRANT), a dedicated English teacher (DREW BARRYMORE who also produced), her boyfriend and science teacher (NOAH WHYLE) and various classmates. He also attracts the attention of new girl in school Gretchen Ross (JENA MALONE). Amongst these characters, there\u2019s also local celebrity and motivational speaker, Jim Cunningham (PATRICK SWAYZE).<\/span><\/p>\n

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Donnie begins seeing some unusual things like weird clear worm sprouting out of people\u2019s chests outlaying their path in life; starts investigating the possibilities of time travel; both ideas coming from the mind of a former teacher now town kook. It\u2019s rather difficult to explain what happens (and why) but needless to say, it is mind-twisting.<\/span><\/p>\n

First, the cast is first class. Jake Gyllenhaal displays some amazing talent in carrying what could be a too dark or too weird character that he\u2019s not all that likeable but instead you\u2019re right along in his path (so to speak); Mary McDonnell, who probably was deserving of a Supporting Actress notice, was superb as a genuinely concerned mother; in a stroke of brilliance, Maggie Gyllenhaal portrays the typical snotty older sister; and Jena Malone probably has her best role in her career though she might be better remembered for what she did in 2016\u2019s Neon Demon<\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\n

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But probably the most notable performance comes from the late Patrick Swayze who absolutely plays against character as a sleezy\/creepy motivational speaker with a dark secret that\u2019s only exposed during one of Donnie\u2019s extracurricular excursions. Though as I said McDonnell deserved recognition, so did Swayze in a quite brief role but made the bigger impression compared with the other supporting roles.<\/span><\/p>\n

Written and directed by Richard Kelly, Donnie Darko<\/em><\/strong> was a homerun for the then young filmmaker and since he hasn\u2019t really returned to form from poor showings that included The Box<\/em> and Southland Tales<\/em>, the latter I could give a little more credit being at least unique even if it might\u2019ve been Donnie Darko<\/em>-lite.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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SPECIAL FEATURES \u2013 5.0\/5<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
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This 4-disc release (2 BDs, 2 DVDs) comes housed in a sturdy slip case. The Theatrical Version and Director\u2019s Cut are each contained in their own fold out case. Also inside is an 89-page book with essays and production photos, fold-out poster and concept art cards.<\/span><\/p>\n

Theatrical Cut Disc:
\nAudio Commentaries:<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n