I only bought the directers cut because it changed the opening song from Echo and the Bunnymen to INXS for the theatrical release. I like the Bunnymen better. Still one of my favorite movies, regardless of cut

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!

I saw the film when it came out back in 2001 and I remember it being a little different. I hate it when they change the original versions (G.Lucas) cause this one was just perfect (like the original Star Wars). How many versions are there?? Is it just me? have I shifted dimensions? That said, I think it is an amazing and inspiring work of fantasy, science fiction, high school drama. Just the right dose of 80s nostalgia with a great soundtrack. It's intriguing. All the visual details are very well layered and form a multi dimensional puzzle. Very well cast, acting, editing, cinematography, etc You can watch it many times. Wish the filmmaker made more movies like this...

Donnie Darko (2001) is writer and director Richard Kelly's original vision of a coming of age story, a psychological drama, a horror story, and a science fiction fantasy film all cut into one demented masterpiece and the only notable film from Kelly. The pacing is a bit slower, but it builds into a crescendo of madness and creative choices that thrill you always. I like Donnie Darko more each time I watch it.

Kelly's writing captures the naturally vulgar and blunt dialogue of teenagers accurately, while critiquing the careful misunderstanding rhetoric of adults and parents alike. The story is completely original and in its own lane as you have never watched a film like Donnie Darko. It takes the dangerous unpredictability of a troubled teenage boy's mind with the unraveling insanity of a imaginary friend taking the shape of a rabbit named Frank. Donnie Darko is dark, disturbing, and a lot of fun.

Jake Gyllenhaal is convincing as a troubled teen named Donnie Darko. His duality of the charming intellectual dreaming of the purpose of his life and the nature of science is intriguing, while Gyllenhaal plays the schizophrenic sociopath with a sympathetic creepiness.

Donnie Darko features an endless slew of young talent that would burst onto the movie scene after 2001. Jena Malone is hypnotic as the empathetic emo girlfriend to Donnie named Gretchen. Malone is excellent at portraying a sadness underneath her cool exterior. She is clearly a gifted young actress. Maggie Gyllenhaal even acts alongside her brother Jake with a cool playful persona that leads into neat emotional conveyance in her few memorable scenes.

Even Seth Rogen appears as a vicious bully with no conscious as Donnie Darko was his debut feature film as an actor.

I really like the adult cast in Donnie Darko. Drew Barrymore gives one of her greatest performances in Donnie Darko, certainly her most memorable for me. Her caring and progressive teacher is oddly sexual and thoughtful. She represents Donnie's budding intellect and sexuality well, especially since one of Barrymore's first scenes introduced his girlfriend due to the teacher's sudden command to sit next to the boy you think is the cutest.

Noah Wyle's encouraging and cautious science teacher is really interesting. He plays the smart guy convincingly, but also warns Donnie about the path he is walking down, even calling out his contradictions. I liked Patrick Swayze's sleazy self help motivator as he plays the con artist so well. It's a nice turn of character for the normally heroic Swayze.

Lastly, the parents are so much fun in Donnie Darko. Holmes Osborne is hilarious as the absent minded father. His sincerity is astounding and endearing. Likewise, the very real suburban motherly portrayal from Mary McDonnell is excellent. She is tender with Donnie, while feeling cold to the spiteful neighbors and other parents. She gives a splendid performance as a mother tired of conservative parents and disturbed children, but nurturing with the most genuine care a mother could give.

Overall, not all the ideas work in Donnie Darko. The finale is shocking and impressive, while also not making much sense other than thematically. The mechanics of the time travel is neither here nor there, but it is still entertaining. The special effects look dated, but also sometimes remain remarkable on their own merits. The bunny outfit is horrifying much like Donnie Darko as a whole. I think despite any flaws Donnie Darko has as a film, many of the scenes and sequences within this film have remained with me forever. Donnie Darko is a striking feature of great ambition and experimental tendencies that appeal to the most forbidden desires. Donnie Darko may well be a masterpiece if not for a few awkward moments of timing and pacing.

Donnie Darko is one my favorite movies and I owned the standard DVD edition, and then the special edition with Director's cut and also the Blu-ray edition with both versions (Theatrical/Director's cut). I watched the movie countless times since its release 20 years ago. Time flies (as told us by the ending lines of Head Over Heals).

I think this is a very good 4K scan of the movie. It's definitely the best that the movie has ever looked (and I think it will be the best the movie will ever look, unless Criterion gets the copyrights and does some magic but I honestly think Arrow Video did a fantastic job). The movie is not crystal clear as some other blu-ray/4K movies but I think this is simply due to the way the movie was shot. The grains are just inherent artifacts of the movie and cannot be cleaned up (and neither should they be). So yes, there is grain but it's just natural and doesn't ruin the visual. I think Arrow Video made the right decision; while keeping the grain, they just enhanced the colors so they look much better (with HDR technology). I don't have any complaints about the video quality. I also appreciate the fact that Arrow Video treated both versions (theatrical and director's cut) to 4K UHD.

As for audio, I am not sure why they didn't add Dolby Atmos. Maybe it's not possible to create/add dolby atmos audio to old some movies? I know some old movies released with dolby atmos so I am not sure why they didn't do with Donnie Darko. With the ominous sounds of thunder, the stormy skies, jet engine falling on top of the house, dolby atmos could really enhance the aural experience.

The product comes in a nice, sturdy box, a 2-side poster (I will add the picture soon), and a 100 page hard-cover booklet with info, articles, interviews about the film, and photos from the movie. One thing I noticed that in the opening of the booklet, there is a section for the cast and Jena Malone's name is conspiciously missing from the cast. They listed the name of the actor who portrays the oblique "police man" character but the name of the actress who portrays Gretchen Ross, an important character in the movie is not listed in the cast. I thought that was weird. On other thing is the discs have no identifying info on them, both disc say "A film by Richard Kelly - Donnie Darko" but it doesn't say which one is Theatrical release and which is Director's cut. It doesn't also say disc 1. or disc 2. They were properly placed in the case but if you take them out and don't them back in the same order, you won't know which disc is the theatrical version and which disc is director's cut.

I fell asleep on this film a few years ago when I started it too late the night before it was due back at the video store. It's not what I expected of a so-called "cult" film, or even a sci-fi or troubled-teenager genre flick. Now, having some more time and patience, I gave this Director's Cut the careful attention it deserves, and the rewards are considerable. The 26-year-old Kelly shoots movies like a pro if not an art movie director. None of the "shock editing" that we've become so accustomed and desensitized to. Instead, he favors long takes, slow pacing, and some of the most fluid camera movement in recent memory. Moreover, he has a true artist's eye for shot composition, using the 2.5:1 anamorphic lens to maximum aesthetic and narrative effect in practically every frame.

All the same, I've just ordered the earlier, shorter version to see if some of the apparent flaws I noticed in the Director's Cut are lessened. For one, some of the scenes are overly formulaic and obvious--both in the scripting and filming. The hypocritical, self-righteous characters are played quite loudly, bordering on flat caricature. Moreover, Kelly pulls gratuitous tricks like mocking them with "fast action" shooting (whereas the youthful romantic hero and heroine, of course, are shot in slow motion). Drew Barrymore seems to occupy unnecessary screen time toward the end of the film, tilting this POV film to her situation rather than Darko's. Also, all the time-travel nonsense, which I understand has been exaggerated in both this version and on a Johnny Darko website, could be reduced to the betterment of the film, imo. Still, the script is light years ahead of juvenilia time-wasters like Dazed and Confused (unless you're a teenager).

Although Kelly talks about the film as Reagan-era social satire (an easy target, since the 80s were a rerun of the repressive 1950s), the movie is less about an historical period than about other movies: in fact, it's a collection of mirrors reflecting other movies. Several shots of Darko recall Norman Bates, when we learn about his dual identity at the end of Psycho. Darko's alter ego, Frank, recalls Jeffrey Beaumont's dark twin, Frank (Dennis Hopper), in Lynch's Blue Velvet. The playing off of psychological vs. chronological time, challenging the viewer to decide which temporal dimension he is currently viewing, reprises Lynne's remarkable film, "Jacob's Ladder." And the time-travel theme owes less to "Back to the Future" than "serious" science fiction movies like "12 Monkeys" and the 30-minute influential French film classic by Chris Marker: "La Jetee."

But most strikingly, the film echoes the central theme of Burgess/Kubrick's "Clockwork Orange," where Alex and his Droogs talk Nadsat and commit rape and violence to assert their free choice and humanity in a world that threatens to "condition" them, transforming them into deterministic machines. Two key moments in Darko: the intercut chapter with the quote, "The Manipulated Living will do anything to save themselves from oblivion," and Darko's conversation with his science teacher, who explains to him that if he were able to know his future, he would have a choice to accept or avoid it, which means that destiny would come to an end.

This is a film that celebrates choice--not just its characters' but the viewers'. Moviegoers need not subject themselves to mindless surrogate experiences in virtual reality, pretending that loneliness and fear are more imagined than real. The attentive viewer is likely to feel that the disturbed teen protagonist has made some significant choices which, however risky or even deadly, have prepared him to face the difficult circumstances of life that none of us can control.

Finally, this is a director who definitely knows Catcher in the Rye, infusing his main character with so much of Holden's spirit (obsession with sex and death, impatience with phoniness and pretense, adoption of grandiose thinking and a savior complex) that Donny Darko becomes the "everychild" in each of us, more recognizable than we may be inclined to admit.

First of all, buy this ORIGINAL 2001 release version DVD. Forget the director's cut - it's okay, but not what you'd expect. The director's cut suffers from what Jack White (of the seminal music band, "The White Stripes") meant when he said, "Art is knowing WHEN to stop." The director's cut simply doesn't, and you'll see why too if (as I did) you make the mistake of shelling out the extra green to acquire it. Take my advice: Don't.

Stick with the original. You won't be disappointed.

Okay, why do I call this bizarre, brilliant flick "the story of my life." Well, because on October 20, 1988 (to be exact), I had an experience MUCH like Donnie's, REALLY and TRULY, only in my case I tried to commit suicide. So when I saw "Donnie Darko," my first reaction was, "oh my god, HOW did the director know?" (about my life at that precise moment in my, much like Donnie's, "emotional problems"-riddled history?). So ... overcoming the intial "shock/epiphany" of seeing my own life played back for me in panoramic technicolor, I curled up, frightened but fascinated, beneath a snuggle blanket and watched further, transfixed by one of the most subtly original, germane, cohesive stories to reach celluloid actualization since "Dawn of the Dead" or, much more recently, "Identity" (with John Cusack); and I quickly became, not only a believer in time travel, but a living survivor of it (UNLIKE Donnie, but forgive me for (possibly) giving away TOO much here). This story HAS to be experienced; and perhaps YOU, Constant Viewer, like I do, remember where YOU were - and what YOU were doing/feeling/going through - way back in October of 1988. Whatever it was, I bet it was something you'll never forget.

Like this film - you'll never forget it; and, lessee ... I'm on about my, er ... 12th or 13th viewing of it now (the ORIGINAL, NOT the director's "clutter"). I put "Donnie Darko" in my Top 5 movies of all time. For originality, for story, for great, natural, completely successful "suspension of disbelief" acting; for being, at once - a tragicomedy, a WILDLY-WEIRD (this is the understatement of the new millennium) dramedy, a fired-up, mind-frying sci/fi thriller, a uniquely-tender-hearted horror yarn, and WAY beyond, My Friends: "Donnie" is a philosophical brain burster much in the same neogenre/league-of-its-own film-making; for counterparts in creative "playfulness" behind the motion-picture camera, I can only recommend the following "warmup" exercises: see "Pi," "Primer," "Adaptation," "Happiness," "Prince of Darkness," "Being John Malkovich" and "Martin" (a little-remembered but unforgettable piece by George A. Romero, who has a brilliant little cameo in this pic as a "happy marshmallow man-child" of a Catholic priest). You'll get the idea FAST, of what you're in for with Donnie.

An all-star cast will blow you away and lends immense credulity to this quirkified, whacked-out, indie knockout punch; you'll be reeling when you see here: Mary McDonnell, Noah Wiley, Patrick Swayze, Drew Barrymore! Watching Drew play the part of a high-school English teacher is definitely worth "the price of emotion" enough (interestingly, if NOT for Barrymore's bankroll (she's the executive producer of Darko's "reel world," in REAL life); fact: "Darko" probably never would have lit up our darkened screens at all, without Barrymore's vision and deep enough pockets to realize such - Thank You, Thank You, Thank You, Drew!). And getting Swayze to play the role of a pedophile HAD to have been a "challenge," er ... to say the LEAST! Swayze HAD to have been "a total sport" about what he was asked to portray; like the way John Malkovich was concerning HIS OWN "journey through the looking portal."

But enough said. Darken your own personal viewing room now. Slide "Donnie" into your DVD player. And "take the trip," safely and securely (yet be warned - your MIND and SPIRIT may NEVER be the same afterwards), as I have, and am living proof of, the reality, horror, and (as Kelly intended, and successfully realized), the HEALING benefits, not unlike "It's a Wonderful Life," but only MUCH DARKER implications of, "time travel." Hurry though. As Kelly remonstrates cinematically, "time is precious." Indeed. And, Frankly speaking (pun intended), time's running out.