HTF BD REVIEW: Donnie Darko - Theatrical & Director's Cut

Blu-ray Disc Review

DONNIE DARKO Distributed by: 20th Century Fox Film Year: 2001 Theatrical Film Length: 113 minutes Director’s Cut Length: 134 minutes Genre: Drama/Thriller/Sci-Fi Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Colour/B&W: Colour BD Specifications: Resolution: 1080/24p Video Codec: AVC @ 18MBPS Disc Size: BD-50 Audio: English DTS 5.1 HD Master Audio French Dolby Surround (Theatrical Only) Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, French (Director’s Cut Only) Film Rating: Unrated

Re: HTF BD REVIEW: Donnie Darko - Theatrical & Director's Cut

Nice review!

I agree with the PQ rating; it doesn't blow you away but it's faithful to the source. It is worth mentioning, though, that the Director's Cut was sourced from a different master than the Theatrical Cut, and there apparently is some EE on it.

I didn't even see this movie until the BD was released, and I must say it was my best ever blind-buy.

Re: HTF BD REVIEW: Donnie Darko - Theatrical & Director's Cut

Thanks for the review, Michael. I replaced my SD-DVD copies of both cuts of the film with this BD, and was delighted with the presentation. However, I have not watched the director's cut from this set. I, too, prefer the theatrical cut.

Re: HTF BD REVIEW: Donnie Darko - Theatrical & Director's Cut

This is spot on!
The theatrical cut is one of those rare happy accidents brought about by necessity and limitation and is all the better for it.

Re: HTF BD REVIEW: Donnie Darko - Theatrical & Director's Cut

Thanks for the review, Michael - Excellent film and a superb soundtrack and score (I love that ambient, slow moving music by Micheal Andrews). I have just ordered from Amazon. Loved the unusual story of your introduction to the film, too - quite peculiar

Re: HTF BD REVIEW: Donnie Darko - Theatrical & Director's Cut

Thanks for the review. Been meaning to pick this up.

This is one of my all time favorite films. It is great.

The director's cut, however, needs to be buried. A couple of years ago, I started watching it (after having seen the original 3 times) and I stopped 20 minutes into it. It's terrible. What was he thinking? I'll never go back and finish watching it. It really ruins the charm of the original.

Re: HTF BD REVIEW: Donnie Darko - Theatrical & Director's Cut

Allow me to resurrect this thread.

I bought this title on Blu-ray last week mainly because it was
one of those films I heard a lot about and never had the opportunity
to see.

So, all I have to say after watching it yesterday is....

I don't get it.

The film was certainly intriguing enough to keep my interest for
two hours (I watched the theatrical cut). However, as the story
became more complex I was hoping that the final few minutes would
make it all sensible. Unfortunately, the final 10 minutes of the film
made it all the more complicated.

While I understand this film has garnered a cult following of sorts,
I certainly would not recommend it.

Re: HTF BD REVIEW: Donnie Darko - Theatrical & Director's Cut

That was part of what gave the movie lasting appeal to me; I was wracking my brains for a couple of days trying to figure out how everything fit together. Even now I just have a general idea of it, and just sort of trust that the movie is following its own internal logic. Oddly enough I turned off the commentary after about ten minutes because I was hearing too much, and I didn't want it to lose its mystique. It's definitely one of those films that benefits from repeat viewings. And it's also definitely not for everyone.