Donnie Darko: The Director's Cut [Blu-ray] by Richard Kelly, starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Jena Malone, Mary McDonnell, Holmes Osborne, Maggie Gyllenhaal: DVDNear.com

Donnie Darko: The Director's Cut [Blu-ray]

Donnie Darko: The Director's Cut [Blu-ray]
by Richard Kelly

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DVD Cover Information

Actor: Holmes Osborne, Jake Gyllenhaal, Jena Malone, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Mary McDonnell
Director: Richard Kelly
Brand: Fox
Writer: Richard Kelly
Producer: Aaron Ryder
Producer: Adam Fields
Producer: Casey La Scala
Producer: Christopher Ball
Producer: Drew Barrymore
Producer: Hunt Lowry
Blu-ray: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); English (Original Language); French (Original Language)
Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 2.35:1
Running Time: 113 minutes
Published: 2009-02-01
Blu-ray Release Date: 2009-02-10
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: 20th Century Fox

Movie Reviews of Donnie Darko: The Director's Cut [Blu-ray]

Movie Review: it's called a 'cult-classic' for a reason
Summary: 5 Stars

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"

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Summary of Donnie Darko: The Director's Cut [Blu-ray]

DONNIE DARKO - Blu-Ray Movie

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Donnie Darko: The Director's Cut [Blu-ray]