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TCFHE Press Release: Donnie Darko (Blu-ray)

post #1 of 21
12/16/08 at 10:52am
Thread Starter 
THIS IS NOT A HALLUCINATION

DONNIE DARKO

Hop Over To The Dark Side In High-Definition On
February 10 From Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment


CENTURY CITY, Calif. – Revisit the cult classic psychological thriller in stunning high definition when DONNIE DARKO debuts on Blu-ray February 10 from Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment. From Director Richard Kelly, this sensational and disturbing masterpiece defies genre boundaries and simple explanations. Starring Oscar®-nominee Jake Gyllenhaal (The Day After Tomorrow, Jarhead), DONNIE DARKO follows a delusional high school student who is visited by demonic rabbit with eerie visions of the past – and deadly predictions for the future.

Boasting powerful supporting performances by an all-star cast including Golden Globe®-nominee Maggie Gyllenhaal (The Dark Knight), Golden Globe®-nominee Drew Barrymore (He’s Just Not That Into You; Charlie’s Angels), Golden Globe®-nominee Jena Malone (Into The Wild, The Ruins), Daveigh Chase (“Big Love”), Golden Globe®-nominee Patrick Swayze (Ghost; Dirty Dancing) and Golden Globe®-nominee Noah Wyle (“ER”), DONNIE DARKO Blu-ray Disc includes two versions of the film: theatrical and director’s cut – featuring 20 minutes of additional footage – audio commentary with writer/director Richard Kelly and Jake Gyllenhaal and more. The DONNIE DARKO Blu-ray Disc will be available for the suggested retail price of $34.99 U.S./$37.99 Canada. Prebook is December 31, 2008.

DONNIE DARKO Synopsis
Donnie Darko is a disturbed adolescent from a dysfunctional upper middle class family who narrowly escapes death when a jet engine crashes in his bedroom. He has visions of a giant rabbit, Frank, who instructs him to make violent acts and informs him that the world will end in 28 days.

BD-Specific Special Features
The DONNIE DARKO Blu-ray Disc is presented in widescreen format (2.35:1 aspect ratio) on a 50GB dual-layer disc authored in BD-J with AVC (MPEG 4) compression with English 5.1 DTS HD Master Audio, Spanish/French 2.0 Audio plus English, French and Spanish subtitles. Bonus features include:

· Commentary with Writer/Director Richard Kelly and Jake Gyllenhaal (Theatrical Version)
· Commentary with Cast and Crew (Theatrical)
· Commentary with Writer/Director Richard Kelly and Kevin Smith (Director’s Cut)
· D-Box

Standard Definition Special Features
A second standard def disc is also included and presented with English Dolby Surround 2.0 and English Dolby Digital 5.1 in widescreen (aspect ratio 2.35:1). Bonus features include a Donnie Darko Production Diary with optional commentary by director of photography Steven Poster, “They Made Me Do It Too—The Cult Of Donnie Darko,” a storyboard to screen featurette, “#1 Fan: A Darkomentary” and the director’s cut theatrical trailer.


DONNIE DARKO BLU-RAY DISC
Street Date: February 10, 2009
Prebook Date: December 31, 2008
Suggested Retail Price: $34.99 U.S./$37.99 Canada
Total Run Time (Director’s Cut): 133 minutes
Total Run Time (Theatrical Cut) 113 minutes
Catalog #: 2253315
U.S. Rating: R
Canadian Rating: 14A
Closed Caption: Yes
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post #2 of 21
12/16/08 at 11:33am

Re: TCFHE Press Release: Donnie Darko (Blu-ray)

One of top 10 favorite films of all time. Will pick this up the day it comes out.

It's nice they are including both versions instead of selling 2 discs. However the theatrical version is the only way to watch this. I tried watching the director's cut once and could only get 30 minutes into it. The original version is perfect and there's really no reason to re-invent the wheel.
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post #3 of 21
12/16/08 at 12:19pm

Re: TCFHE Press Release: Donnie Darko (Blu-ray)

I'll be curious to read reviews of this. Richard Kelly stated in interviews in 2004 that he didn't have enough money to go back to the original negative for the director's cut, it was assembled from a D1 master (this is why both dvds look roughly the same - like crap). They're going to have to go back to the negative for this to be a quality release.
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post #4 of 21
12/16/08 at 3:58pm

Re: TCFHE Press Release: Donnie Darko (Blu-ray)

Very happy they are including the theatrical cut; I wouldn't be interested otherwise.
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post #5 of 21
12/16/08 at 4:06pm

Re: TCFHE Press Release: Donnie Darko (Blu-ray)

Quote:
Originally Posted by Mick Wright
I'll be curious to read reviews of this. Richard Kelly stated in interviews in 2004 that he didn't have enough money to go back to the original negative for the director's cut, it was assembled from a D1 master (this is why both dvds look roughly the same - like crap). They're going to have to go back to the negative for this to be a quality release.

Since the Director's Cut got a theatrical release, I don't see how this could possibly be true.

Vincent
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post #6 of 21
12/16/08 at 4:14pm

Re: TCFHE Press Release: Donnie Darko (Blu-ray)

I enjoy both versions of the film and am extremely pleased to see that both are included. Bravo!
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post #7 of 21
12/16/08 at 10:20pm

Re: TCFHE Press Release: Donnie Darko (Blu-ray)

Quote:
Originally Posted by Vincent_P
Since the Director's Cut got a theatrical release, I don't see how this could possibly be true.
I saw the Director's Cut theatrically. The prints were made from a video source. I was glad to see the movie, but VERY disappointed in the image quality.
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post #8 of 21
12/16/08 at 10:52pm

Re: TCFHE Press Release: Donnie Darko (Blu-ray)

This is VERY exciting!!

I haven't owned this in any form and said when it hit HD I'd pick it up. Guess it's time to pony up!!

Cannot wait.
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post #9 of 21
12/23/08 at 5:46pm

Re: TCFHE Press Release: Donnie Darko (Blu-ray)

Fox doesn't seem to start from scratch on their catalogue films. They use their existing HD masters for the BDs...I guess they figure they've already done the work in HD, so they should use it for HD release. The thing is, their catalogue doesn't hold up that well to the stuff they are doing today. I'm sure they use different equipment nowadays and different decisions are made. What could have been covered up on DVD is revealing on BD. So...some look good, others look not so good. What a shame their masters are so hit and miss...too bad they've used so much EE on many of them. I don't expect magic from Donnie Darko even though I'm waiting for this one. The DVD looks like hack...so, I'll be very surprised if the BD doesn't.

C'mon Fox. Surprise me. Restore some consumer faith.
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post #10 of 21
12/25/08 at 12:56pm
Thread Starter 

Re: TCFHE Press Release: Donnie Darko (Blu-ray)

Never saw this film.

Is it worth buying blindly on Blu?
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post #11 of 21
12/25/08 at 3:54pm

Re: TCFHE Press Release: Donnie Darko (Blu-ray)

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ronald Epstein
Never saw this film.

Is it worth buying blindly on Blu?
I'm not big on telling people to blind buy movies but I highly recommend renting it.
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post #12 of 21
12/25/08 at 8:25pm

Re: TCFHE Press Release: Donnie Darko (Blu-ray)

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ronald Epstein
Never saw this film.

Is it worth buying blindly on Blu?

Depends...you like wierd shit?
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post #13 of 21
12/25/08 at 8:32pm

Re: TCFHE Press Release: Donnie Darko (Blu-ray)

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ronald Epstein
Never saw this film.

Is it worth buying blindly on Blu?

I like the film very much, but unless I knew someone's taste in movies very well, I would not recommend purchasing it without having seen it.
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post #14 of 21
12/25/08 at 10:23pm

Re: TCFHE Press Release: Donnie Darko (Blu-ray)

Donnie Darko is an odd movie that strives for sci-fi / mind-bender greatness on an low-budget, indie scale. It doesn't fully succeed, but it makes an effort that I can respect. And it has what I consider to be an outstanding sonic moment -- Donnie in the bathroom with a knife, about 2/3 through.

I think it's fair to compare Donnie Darko to Moulin Rouge and Cloverfield insofar as they are movies that went for something bold and to which people have strongly divergent reactions. Maybe I'll throw Dark City in there as well, as an oddball, sci-fi movie that went for the brass ring, didn't quite get there, but left us with something worthwhile.
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post #15 of 21
12/26/08 at 5:51am

Re: TCFHE Press Release: Donnie Darko (Blu-ray)

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ronald Epstein
Never saw this film.

Is it worth buying blindly on Blu?

That's a tough call with this movie. Personally, I really like this film, but the theatrical cut's storyline can be quite difficult to follow. You very well may finish the film and say to yourself "what the hell happened?" I think that's part of the fun with this movie, though (similar to Mulholland Drive).

The director's cut is much easier to follow, but it takes away a lot of the fun, too.

This is one I would rent before buying.
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post #16 of 21
2/5/09 at 11:53am

Re: TCFHE Press Release: Donnie Darko (Blu-ray)

Donnie Darko - Blu-ray Jake Gyllenhaal Maggie Gyllenhaal

After seeing the screenshots on DVDBeaver, I'm INTENSELY disappointed in the video quality of this release.

There is no fine-grain detail, huge halos around objects, and even the edge of the frame is blurred! It looks like an upconverted DVD.

I'm hoping it's a screener copy that the reviewer received, because if that's the final product, count me out. Of course, I shall wait and see.
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post #17 of 21
2/5/09 at 12:57pm

Re: TCFHE Press Release: Donnie Darko (Blu-ray)

I actually think it has more to do with the film being shot anamorphically. It looks fine to me.
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post #18 of 21
2/5/09 at 2:17pm

Re: TCFHE Press Release: Donnie Darko (Blu-ray)

Quote:
Originally Posted by DavidS
Donnie Darko - Blu-ray Jake Gyllenhaal Maggie Gyllenhaal

After seeing the screenshots on DVDBeaver, I'm INTENSELY disappointed in the video quality of this release.

There is no fine-grain detail, huge halos around objects, and even the edge of the frame is blurred! It looks like an upconverted DVD...

Screenshot roll-over comparisons with the Blu-ray vs. the U.K. PAL DVD (Untitled Document , Untitled Document) disprove this. There's a definite notable increase in fine image detail on the Blu-ray caps compared to the DVD.

Vincent
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post #19 of 21
2/5/09 at 5:21pm

Re: TCFHE Press Release: Donnie Darko (Blu-ray)

Quote:
Originally Posted by Vincent_P
Screenshot roll-over comparisons with the Blu-ray vs. the U.K. PAL DVD (Untitled Document , Untitled Document) disprove this. There's a definite notable increase in fine image detail on the Blu-ray caps compared to the DVD.

Vincent

In looking at comparison 1 and comparison 2, it seems #1 has better detail and less halos than #2.

Like I said, I think I'll have to watch it to pass judgment, because as we all know, single-frame screen grabs are hit-and-miss. I'm still holding out hope that the images will look better than the screenshots though.
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post #20 of 21
2/12/09 at 9:20pm

Re: TCFHE Press Release: Donnie Darko (Blu-ray)

I bought this. I felt the transfer was very pleasant to watch with no distracting artifacts. It's not as though it appears anything artificial has been added to the video. It is a bit soft, and while I'm no expert on these matters it seems this is a result of the way the movie was filmed and processed rather than a transfer problem. I don't know for sure, though. Do we have any reasons to suggest the film could look better without adding edge enhancement or noise reduction (or both, eep)?

The sound however was absolutely phenomenal.

Edited to add: There Will Be Blood had similar "issues" with the film, but those were clearly intentional as I plainly remember them in the theatrical print (like bleeding edges, sort-of soft scenes, and that weird "blooming" on very bright-on-dark objects (in this case the white text on the black background)).
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post #21 of 21
2/13/09 at 11:05am

Re: TCFHE Press Release: Donnie Darko (Blu-ray)

Quote:
Originally Posted by Josh Pounds
I bought this. I felt the transfer was very pleasant to watch with no distracting artifacts. It's not as though it appears anything artificial has been added to the video. It is a bit soft, and while I'm no expert on these matters it seems this is a result of the way the movie was filmed and processed rather than a transfer problem. I don't know for sure, though. Do we have any reasons to suggest the film could look better without adding edge enhancement or noise reduction (or both, eep)?

The sound however was absolutely phenomenal.
I'll echo those sentiments. It definitely isn't demo material but as far as I can tell it is faithful to the source (shot entirely on high-speed film stock), on the theatrical version anyway. No complaints about the lossless audio either.

As far as I'm concerned the Blu-ray does exactly what it is supposed to do.
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Donnie Darko [Blu-ray]
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