Donnie Darko

Written and directed by first-timer Richard Kelly, Donnie Darko is an unsettling, very darkly funny bit of cerebral science fiction that plays like a comic book of a David Lynch film. Donnie (Jake Gyllenhaal), a neurotic--possibly psychotic--teenager whose mind is clouded by mood-stabilizing drugs, is haunted by demented visions of a giant, monstrous rabbit. Under the rabbit's malevolent influence he's compelled to acts of misanthropic, capricious vandalism (and worse), but when he tries to get a grip on what's happening, Donnie's delusions only grow more bizarre, including a portentous twist of temporal physics that turns his idiosyncratic world in on itself in ways that boggle the imagination. At times a little sloppy, with a few characters serving as transparent plot devices, this is a brilliant mind-bender nonetheless, with Gyllenhaal's corporeal performance completely absorbing and compellingly turbulent. Recommended. [Note: The DVD release boasts an impressive array of extras, including director and actor commentaries, 20 extended/deleted scenes, the "Mad World" music video, and more.] (R. Blackwelder)[DVD Review--January 25, 2005--Fox, 2 discs, 132 min., R, $26.98--Boasting roughly  21 minutes worth of different footage, 2001's Donnie Darko makes its second appearance on DVD in a two-disc “Director's Cut” of the cult classic--featuring segments from the film's Philosophy of Time Travel book. DVD extras include a great audio commentary track by writer-director Richard Kelly and Clerks director Kevin Smith, a 52-minute behind-the-scenes production diary with optional commentary by cinematographer Steven Poster, the irritating 27-minute featurette “They Made Me Do It Too: The Cult of Donnie Darko” examining the film's supposedly more-profound effect on UK viewers through interviews with fans and critics including Empire magazine editor Colin Kennedy and Heat magazine film editor Charles Gant, eight minutes of “Storyboard to Screen” comparisons, and the 13-minute mockumentary featurette “#1 Fan: A Darkomentary” (which has fooled a lot of people), featuring hilariously infatuated “Darrell Donaldson,” supposed winner of a summer 2004 film competition that details his Darko obsession--including self-drawn pictures of him and character “Gretchen,” a makeshift jet engine replica mobile, his stalking of actor James Duval (“Frank”), and eventually zealously kissing Kelly on the cheek. Bottom line: an excellent extras package for a cult favorite, especially among teens.][Blu-ray Review—Mar. 3, 2009—Fox, 2 discs, 134 min., R, $34.98—Making its first appearance on Blu-ray, 2001's Donnie Darko (The Director's Cut) sports a nice transfer with 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio. Blu-ray extras are identical to those on the previous standard DVD releases, including both the theatrical and director's cut, an audio commentary track by writer-director Richard Kelly and Clerks director Kevin Smith on the director's cut, two audio commentaries for the theatrical cut (one with Kelly and star Jake Gyllenhaal; the other with Kelly, producers Sean McKittrick and Nancy Juvonen, and costars Jena Malone, Drew Barrymore, Mary McDonnell, Katharine Ross, Beth Grant, Holmes Osborne, and James Duval), a 52-minute behind-the-scenes production diary with optional commentary by cinematographer Steven Poster, the 27-minute featurette “They Made Me Do It Too: The Cult of Donnie Darko” examining the film's supposedly more-profound effect on U.K. viewers (featuring interviews with fans and critics, including Empire magazine editor Colin Kennedy and Heat magazine film editor Charles Gant), eight minutes of “Storyboard to Screen” comparisons, and the 13-minute mockumentary featurette “#1 Fan: A Darkomentary” (which has fooled a lot of people), featuring “Darrell Donaldson”—supposed winner of a summer 2004 film competition—detailing his Darko obsession, and trailers. Bottom line: a contemporary cult favorite makes a solid debut on Blu-ray.][Blu-ray Review—Aug. 2, 2011—Fox, 4 discs, 113 min., R, $24.99—Making its second appearance on Blu-ray, 2001's Donnie Darko (10th Anniversary Edition) sports a nice transfer with DTS-HD 5.1 sound. Bonus features on this release combine extras from previous editions, including both the theatrical and director's cut, an audio commentary track by writer-director Richard Kelly and filmmaker Kevin Smith on the director's cut, two audio commentaries for the theatrical cut (one with Kelly and star Jake Gyllenhaal; the other with Kelly, producers Sean McKittrick and Nancy Juvonen, and costars Jena Malone, Drew Barrymore, Mary McDonnell, Katharine Ross, Beth Grant, Holmes Osborne, and James Duval), a behind-the-scenes production diary with optional commentary by cinematographer Steven Poster (53 min.), deleted and extended scenes (32 min.), “They Made Me Do It Too: The Cult of Donnie Darko” examining the film's effect on U.K. viewers and featuring interviews with fans and critics (28 min.), the mockumentary featurette “#1 Fan: A Darkomentary” fan featurette (14 min.), storyboard comparisons (8 min.), infomercials used in the film, text cast and crew bios, the “Mad World” music video by Gary Jules and Michael Andrews, a website gallery, an art gallery, excerpts from The Philosophy of Time Travel book, bonus DVD and digital copies of the film, and trailers. Bottom line: an excellent price for a features-loaded set, although those with the earlier Blu-ray release won't need to add this one.][Blu-ray/DVD Review—Apr. 18, 2017—Arrow, 4 discs, 133 min., R, Blu-ray/DVD Combo: $49.95—Making its latest appearance on DVD and Blu-ray, 2001's Donnie Darko features a great transfer and DTS-HD 5.1 master audio soundtracks on the Blu-ray release. Extras new to this release include a “Deus Ex Machine: The Philosophy of Donnie Darko” documentary (86 min.), archival interviews with cast and crew (14 min.), writer-director Richard Kelly's 1996 short “The Goodbye Place” (9 min.), a “They Made Me Do It” production featurette (5 min.), and “B-Roll Footage” (5 min.). Extras carried over from previous releases include both the theatrical and director's cuts, audio commentary by Kelly and filmmaker Kevin Smith on the director's cut, two audio commentaries for the theatrical cut (one by Kelly and star Jake Gyllenhaal; the other by Kelly, producers Sean McKittrick and Nancy Juvonen, and costars Jena Malone, Drew Barrymore, Mary McDonnell, Katharine Ross, Beth Grant, Holmes Osborne, and James Duval), a production diary (53 min.), deleted and extended scenes (32 min.), a “They Made Me Do It Too: The Cult of Donnie Darko” featurette with interviews of fans and critics (28 min.), the mockumentary “#1 Fan: A Darkomentary” (14 min.), storyboard comparisons (8 min.), “Cunning Visions” infomercials (6 min.), the “Mad World” music video by Gary Jules and Michael Andrews, an image gallery, and a collector's booklet. Bottom line: for the moment, this appears to be the definitive edition of this popular cult film.]