Donnie Darko dvdVery interesting storyc
Added 11/16/2009
Very interesting story concept. However, as with many movies of this nature, the scenes are dark and some of the detail cannot be made out. Also, the music in vital conversation scenes is so loud that the voices cannot be heard to understand what the actors are saying.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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it's called a 'cult-classic' for a reason
Added 11/8/2009
9.4 THE FILM ITSELF
9.1 VISUALS
9.5 SOUND
10 PACKAGING
8.3 EXTRAS
I've seen Donnie Darko well over 25 times. It took me a long time to understand it. And to be honest, I didn't really understand it until I listened to the director's commentary. It helped alot. But without ruining anything, I'll simply say that the story follows a young man named Donnie Darko who learns about time travel and that if he doesn't fix what's wrong, the world will end in a little over 28 days. The film captures emotions beautifully, from heartache, to longing, to love to secrets to being mentally unstable to superhero powers. It's alot to take in for one sitting, but Donnie Darko has mastered the art of unique, dialogue driven story telling. This is a film with very little action and runs off of dialogue and characterization.
Is it a must see? I believe so. No other movie has the atmosphere and feel like Donnie Darko. Does it have someone in a demented bunny suit? Yeah. But does the movie get all fudged up and super crazy hectic? Nope. It holds itself together, and everyone should enjoy this film at least once.
VISUALS 9.1
I love the look of the film. It's always dark and kind of grainy, but it fits the look well. And the "time lines" that come out of characters look fantastic. And for as small of a budget as this film has, it looks amazing. Nothing you'll write home about probably, but I found little to be unhappy with.
SOUND 9.5
I should've probably given this a 10. Great song selections, great eerie calming background music... it's all just great and really adds another leayer of greatness to a stunningly original sci-fi movie.
PACKAGING 10
I love the cover, I love the main menu, I love how the selections change. It's simple, but I love it all.
EXTRAS 8.3
This blu-ray comes with a bonus disc that is found in the DVD version of the "Collector's Edition / Director's Cut" that came out a few years ago. And the bonus disc is literally the exact same DVD, and it is just a DVD. But that's not a problem for me.
Three commentaries are here and all are really impressive. The best being Richard Kelly (writer / director) spending time with Kevin Smith (of Dogma / Mallrats fame) as they discuss alot of aspects of the film. The other two are Kelly and Gyllenhaal and the last is most of the cast with Kelly. All offer some great insight into a small, cult-like film that has a huge following.
"The Cult of Donnie Darko" and "#1 Fan: A Darkomentary" are kind of the same and capture the psychotic love affair some people have with the film. Interesting bonus feature, but nothing that makes you appreciate it. And the documentary by the #1 fan is almost really disturbingly creepy in seeing how much that guy loves the film.
"Storyboard to Screen" is exactly what it sounds like and the theatrical trailer is here, but it's for the Director's Cut of the film.
And it should be noted that the Kelly and Smith commentary is on the Director's Cut, which is 21 minutes longer than the theatrical, original release, and the other two commentaries are on the regular cut. Nothing majorly different in the versions, Director's Cut just tries to make more sense for people like me who couldn't understand what was happening all the time.
IN CLOSING
Donnie Darko instantly became a cult phenomenon and when I first watched it I was amazed and yet highly confused. After numerous viewings little has changed, but I still love this film a whole lot. Snd the blu-ray version looks sharp, has great music and all the bonus features from the DVD version. So if you own the DVD, no reason to double-dip. If you're on the fence but really like owning blu-rays, then I would suggest the blu-ray version.
BLURAY SCORE
9.6/10 "INCREDIBLE"
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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Fascinating and Entertaining
Added 10/31/2009
I first saw this movie on Bravo back when they weren't running reality shows all night long, and after seeing it a few times just kept wanting to watch it even more. Getting the DVD has revealed alot...and also opened up a whole other world if you will. I'm not one to understand what Universe the film is in at any given moment, or try to decipher how time travel works. I can only fathom that the movie is smart, bratty, and for the most part brutally honest about high school life (or whatever Middlesex is), Jr. High etc...and the variety of students you would encounter.
Donnie is the independent one, who is smart enough to challange the norm, and stand up for what he believes...I think I understand why intelligent people are so angry and sometimes misunderstood, they see the world for what it is, they understand what is really going on around them, and they are really angry about it. Those of us who aren't intelligent to understand how we are being screwed, are just left in the dark, and it's up to Donnie Darko to save us all.
Very good film holds your attention, with some comedic moments, from whimsical to some off color comments that like I said are kids being kids, not always polite, and the music..the music makes this film all the more enjoyable. Good to hear some more alternative sounds, even the music choices are smart and are a major factor in the atmosphere of the movie. An amazing film to watch , even if you are not able to understand it like me, the whole concept...at least makes you want to understand it little by little, even if you are distracted by great characters in interesting situations throughout this time.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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Cult favorite is a hit-and-miss affair
Added 10/10/2009
DONNIE DARKO
(USA - 2001)
Aspect ratio: 2.39:1 (Panavision)
Theatrical soundtrack: Dolby Digital
A lonely high school student (Jake Gyllenhaal) is beset by visions which portend either a mental breakdown or the End of the World...
Richard Kelly's debut film aims for cult status at every level but fails to fly off the screen. Though a fine actor, Gyllenhaal is basically miscast, and Kelly's style is too laidback to make much of an impact. Cult favorite James Duval (a regular in Gregg Araki's outrageous movies) makes a cameo appearance as the object of Gyllenhaal's strange 'visions'. Fine use of the wide Panavision frame.
A re-edited director's cut was subsequently released on home video.
0 out of 2 people found this helpful.
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Cult Classic
Added 10/6/2009
Donnie Darko is one of those movies that is impossible to classify. It is not for everyone that is for sure. But if you are a fan of film you will enjoy it. My advice if you have not seen the film is to see it. My review can not do it justice and it is hard to describle. It bears repeat viewing and will really cause you to think unlike so many generic cookie cutter movies out now.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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Donnie Darko dvdVery interesting storyc
Added 11/16/2009
Very interesting story concept. However, as with many movies of this nature, the scenes are dark and some of the detail cannot be made out. Also, the music in vital conversation scenes is so loud that the voices cannot be heard to understand what the actors are saying.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
it's called a 'cult-classic' for a reason
Added 11/8/2009
9.4 THE FILM ITSELF
9.1 VISUALS
9.5 SOUND
10 PACKAGING
8.3 EXTRAS
I've seen Donnie Darko well over 25 times. It took me a long time to understand it. And to be honest, I didn't really understand it until I listened to the director's commentary. It helped alot. But without ruining anything, I'll simply say that the story follows a young man named Donnie Darko who learns about time travel and that if he doesn't fix what's wrong, the world will end in a little over 28 days. The film captures emotions beautifully, from heartache, to longing, to love to secrets to being mentally unstable to superhero powers. It's alot to take in for one sitting, but Donnie Darko has mastered the art of unique, dialogue driven story telling. This is a film with very little action and runs off of dialogue and characterization.
Is it a must see? I believe so. No other movie has the atmosphere and feel like Donnie Darko. Does it have someone in a demented bunny suit? Yeah. But does the movie get all fudged up and super crazy hectic? Nope. It holds itself together, and everyone should enjoy this film at least once.
VISUALS 9.1
I love the look of the film. It's always dark and kind of grainy, but it fits the look well. And the "time lines" that come out of characters look fantastic. And for as small of a budget as this film has, it looks amazing. Nothing you'll write home about probably, but I found little to be unhappy with.
SOUND 9.5
I should've probably given this a 10. Great song selections, great eerie calming background music... it's all just great and really adds another leayer of greatness to a stunningly original sci-fi movie.
PACKAGING 10
I love the cover, I love the main menu, I love how the selections change. It's simple, but I love it all.
EXTRAS 8.3
This blu-ray comes with a bonus disc that is found in the DVD version of the "Collector's Edition / Director's Cut" that came out a few years ago. And the bonus disc is literally the exact same DVD, and it is just a DVD. But that's not a problem for me.
Three commentaries are here and all are really impressive. The best being Richard Kelly (writer / director) spending time with Kevin Smith (of Dogma / Mallrats fame) as they discuss alot of aspects of the film. The other two are Kelly and Gyllenhaal and the last is most of the cast with Kelly. All offer some great insight into a small, cult-like film that has a huge following.
"The Cult of Donnie Darko" and "#1 Fan: A Darkomentary" are kind of the same and capture the psychotic love affair some people have with the film. Interesting bonus feature, but nothing that makes you appreciate it. And the documentary by the #1 fan is almost really disturbingly creepy in seeing how much that guy loves the film.
"Storyboard to Screen" is exactly what it sounds like and the theatrical trailer is here, but it's for the Director's Cut of the film.
And it should be noted that the Kelly and Smith commentary is on the Director's Cut, which is 21 minutes longer than the theatrical, original release, and the other two commentaries are on the regular cut. Nothing majorly different in the versions, Director's Cut just tries to make more sense for people like me who couldn't understand what was happening all the time.
IN CLOSING
Donnie Darko instantly became a cult phenomenon and when I first watched it I was amazed and yet highly confused. After numerous viewings little has changed, but I still love this film a whole lot. Snd the blu-ray version looks sharp, has great music and all the bonus features from the DVD version. So if you own the DVD, no reason to double-dip. If you're on the fence but really like owning blu-rays, then I would suggest the blu-ray version.
BLURAY SCORE
9.6/10 "INCREDIBLE"
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
|
Fascinating and Entertaining
Added 10/31/2009
I first saw this movie on Bravo back when they weren't running reality shows all night long, and after seeing it a few times just kept wanting to watch it even more. Getting the DVD has revealed alot...and also opened up a whole other world if you will. I'm not one to understand what Universe the film is in at any given moment, or try to decipher how time travel works. I can only fathom that the movie is smart, bratty, and for the most part brutally honest about high school life (or whatever Middlesex is), Jr. High etc...and the variety of students you would encounter.
Donnie is the independent one, who is smart enough to challange the norm, and stand up for what he believes...I think I understand why intelligent people are so angry and sometimes misunderstood, they see the world for what it is, they understand what is really going on around them, and they are really angry about it. Those of us who aren't intelligent to understand how we are being screwed, are just left in the dark, and it's up to Donnie Darko to save us all.
Very good film holds your attention, with some comedic moments, from whimsical to some off color comments that like I said are kids being kids, not always polite, and the music..the music makes this film all the more enjoyable. Good to hear some more alternative sounds, even the music choices are smart and are a major factor in the atmosphere of the movie. An amazing film to watch , even if you are not able to understand it like me, the whole concept...at least makes you want to understand it little by little, even if you are distracted by great characters in interesting situations throughout this time.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
