Donnie Darko (2-Disc Standard Special Edition) [4K Ultra HD]

This is not a review of the movie, but rather of the DVD. If you are getting this DVD because you think you might enjoy the movie you will, and if you saw the movie but aren't sure about spending some money on the DVD, well, you should. If you liked the movie, you'll definitely want to get this DVD and the extras that it offers. Basically, if you took the time to look into this DVD and read this review I think are someone who should buy the DVD. However, the extras aren't all they are cracked up to be as is often the case in DVDs and I want everyone out there to know what to expect.There are 20 deleted or extended included in this DVD, but each on has to be played separately (no 'Play All' feature) and you must select commentary on/off for each one of them. This is not the best arrangement for a deleted/extended scenes section. The actual content of this section is pretty decent with most of the scenes having the possibility of really having added something to the story and most could've made the film had the director not had to cut the film down to 2 hours from the original rough cut of about 2 and half hours it originally had.There are two commentaries on the DVD, one with the Richard Kelly (writer/director) and Jake Gyllenhaal (Donnie) and another with Richard Kelly, two producers (Nancy Juvonen and Sean McKittrick) and several cast members: Holmes Osborne (Eddie, Donnie's Dad), Mary McDonnell (Rose, Donnie's Mom), Jimmy Duval (Frank), Beth Grant (Kitty Farmer, Donnie's Health Teacher), Drew Barrymore (Karen Pomeroy, Donnie's English Teacher), Katharine Ross (Dr. Thurman, Donnie's Therapist), and Jena Malone (Gretchen, Donnie's Girlfriend). First, the sound quality of the commentaries is below what one has to come to expect on commentaries. You can hear the commentary track fine, but the track of the movie itself is all but silent during the time in which the cast or crew is speaking, almost shut off which is a turn to many people (but you can put on closed caption, although that can often distract you from the commentary if you are reading it), and it is back to full regular volume when their is no active commentary. My only complaint on the second commentary is that Drew Barrymore often `hogs' the commentary and was way to close to the microphone (which only accented her shrill voice on this commentary) during the recording of the commentary, she tried to hard to be `deep' in her comments way too often and it gets annoying at times. Many of the tidbits and insights provided in both tracks are interesting and above par with many other movie commentaries, but by no means exceptional. It is fun listening to what Kelly and the others have to say and then watching the movie looking for these things on your own, but don't only watch the film looking for hints that the director left for the audience and nothing else; this takes away too much from the film, so don't do that.The theatrical trailer is above average and can be appreciated by both those that have already seen the film and those than haven't. The several TV spots, all 30 seconds or less, are largely repetitious.The cast & crew information section is above average listing all of the actors' other films through late 2002 (most DVDs list only some films and are not current beyond the movie on the DVD). There is a total of nine crew bios (as opposed to a simple list of past work) including Richard Kelly, Sean McKittrick, Nancy Juvonen, Steve Poster (director of photography), Alexander Hammond (production designer), April Ferry (costume designer), Eric Strand (editor), Sam Bauer (editor), and Michael Andrews (composer).The `Mad World' music video is OUTSTANDING, and I have seen it many, many times already. It is quite addicting, and even if I close my eyes and just listen to it, it is still great.The `Website Gallery' is very hard to see and is not anything special and does not add anything to the DVD. What is shown is really a sampling of what the website has to offer, which is somewhat hard to navigate but during the cast and crew commentary they give you the three passwords for levels one, two and three if you listen closely.The `Soundtrack' feature provides interesting linear notes, but is not an isolated soundtrack of the movie (which is really the score of the movie with the lone exception the `Mad World' Tears for Fears songs covered so eerily by Gary Jules for the movie).The `Cunning Visions' section features the infomercials from in the movie with optional directors commentary). There is also a `His Name is Frank' section that is a fun little feature of several place cards that are designed like those featured in the Cunning Visions `exercise' in Donnie's health class and shown during Jim Cunningham's assembly. You can also look at the book covers used for Jim Cunningham's two books feature as background material during his assembly at the school.`The Philosophy of Time Travel' book feature is disappointing showing only several pages (including the appendices featured in the film) and all the pages are hard to see.The `Art Gallery section' is neat with a bunch of artwork that inspired works in the film and some of which was used directly in the film. The production stills are plentiful and interesting.The `Scene Selection' feature is as good as any other DVD with moving images as opposed to stills to mark each chapter, and there are a total of 28; good for a 2 hour movie.Overall, I enjoyed this DVD especially the `Mad World' music video and the two commentaries as I personally enjoy the opportunity to see the entire movie a different way when I can and the commentary tracks give me this opportunity.

Donnie Darko is a very difficult movie to characterise and assign to one or even two genres, which is also part of its appeal and fascination. It opens with the title character (Jake Gyllenhall) waking in his pyjamas, with his bike lying next to him, on a highway overlooking his hometown of Middlesex, set in an idyllic tree covered valley. Straightening up he looks out toward the rising sun on the horizon and with a knowing smile he re-mounts his bicycle and makes his way back home to the tune of Echo and The Bunnymen�s �The Killing Moon� in what is an excellent opening sequence. Right from these first few frames it was obvious that I was about to witness something very original and it had me hooked.Donnie Darko is inspired (I would guess) by the weird combination of Philip K Dick, Wes Anderson, JD Salinger and the classic James Stewart movie �Harvey�. It announces the arrival of two great new talents in Writer/Director Richard Kelly and the young actor Jake Gyllenhall, in what is a hugely original, ingenious and entertaining movie. Set in 1988, around Halloween time, this movie has the conventional leafy-suburbia-plus-high-school setting, which alludes to the horror genre of Carrie and Halloween but it is no horror movie. It also has specific elements that suggest that it�s a psychodrama about a young man with schizophrenia but this is not �A Beautiful Mind�. It also ponders the possibility of time travel but this is not science fiction. Stranger still, Donnie Darko is unusual in that (unlike most retro 1980�s pictures such as The Wedding Singer) it actually has a very cool soundtrack drawn from the period of my youth, which includes contributions from the likes of Echo and The Bunnymen, Tears For Fears and Joy Division.So, what is Donnie Darko about? Well, without giving up too much of the plot, Donnie is continuously visited by a 6 foot tall rabbit named Frank, which unlike the Pooka in the classic �Harvey� is both visible to the audience and strangely satanic. Frank tells Donnie that the world is going to end in 28 days six hours and forty two minutes but not to worry as everything is going to be all right. Guided by Frank he narrowly misses being killed when an engine from a 747 crashes through his house whilst he is lying sleeping on a local golf course and the plot thickens when it becomes apparent that the aviation authority has no record of any aircraft losing an engine. Donnie is of course undergoing therapy with a local shrink and hypnotherapist played by Katherine Ross (The Graduate, Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid) and the suggestion is of course that Donnie is hallucinating, for as his sister says �he hasn�t been taking his pills�. One of Donnie�s recurring visions suggests that he can see the future before it happens and so he becomes obsessed with the possibility of time travel and a book written by a retired teacher, who is now a scary old recluse, �The Philosophy of Time Travel�. There are also many other sub-plots including Donnie being inspired by his English teacher (Drew Barrymore) and Graham Greene�s short story �The Destructors� into some playful vandalism. In addition to this Donnie�s subversive thoughts and actions begin to undermine the stability of the local community that is strangely gripped by a slimy fundamentalist guru played by Patrick Swayze.Much of this movie is darkly comic and there are some great scenes including a conversation between Donnie and his therapist, where she asks him what he thinks about at school. Like most teenage boys he inevitably replies �having s*x� before proceeding to unbutton his trousers about to m*sturbate. There is also a scene where at a PTA meeting Donnie�s mother challenges the local bigot by asking "Do you even know who Graham Greene is?" she confidently and proudly replies "Oh please! I think we've all seen Bonanza".Personally I loved this movie but whether or not you enjoy this movie probably depends upon how far left of centre you like your movies. If you are not a fan of independent cinema or movies by the likes of Wes Anderson and David Lynch then you probably wont like this. However there is much to recommend in Donnie Darko, not least the cast, which includes, Noah Wyle (ER), Mary McDonnell (Dances With Wolves), Maggie Gyllenhaal (Confessions of A Dangerous Mind) and the previously mentioned Patrick Swayze, Drew Barrymore and Katherine Ross. Jake Gyllenhaal�s exquisite comic timing and laidback personality endows Donnie's existence with a dreamlike quality at odds with his teen angst and the suburban paranoia of his surroundings. Meanwhile writer/director Richard Kelly creates a wonderful sense of tension and keeps you guessing throughout the movie that even after the final titles have rolled you are still left to mull over what you have just witnessed.Whilst critics may argue that Donnie Darko fails as a psychological study and/or horror movie, you cant help but feel they are missing the point, as it deliberately avoids easy classification to a specific genre and instead concentrates on being intelligent, ingenious and highly original. Closing appropriately to a cover version of the old Tears For Fears song �Mad World� and the lyrics �the dreams on which I�m dying are the best I�ve ever had�, neatly ties up the previous two hours and what was for me a very satisfactory cinematic experience. Destined for cult status this undoubtedly deserves five stars!