Donnie Darko: Director's Cut
  One of my three favorite movies is being released on DVD tomorrow. Donnie Darko: Director's Cut is a sadly beautiful film about a borderline-schizophrenic teenager who sees visions of a six-foot tall demonic rabbit. A genre-bending film if ever there were one, Darko is equal parts science fiction, teen comedy, superhero romance, family drama, mystery, horror, 80s retro and scathing satire. It's also a quirky tale of educational failure, teen angst, deux ex machina, apocalyptic woe and salvation. The Director's Cut version adds 20 minutes back into the film, giving it both more nuance and complexity. Plus it stars Jena Malone, Jake and Maggie Gyllenhaal, Drew Barrymore, Noah Wyle and Patrick Swayze. Incidentally, Darko director Richard Kelly also has a new film coming out called Southland Tales. I expect it to be just as amazing. |
posted by Wasp Jerky at 11:00 PM
Comments on "Donnie Darko: Director's Cut"
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Unknown said ... (2/17/2005 08:25:00 AM) :
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Wasp Jerky said ... (2/17/2005 06:21:00 PM) :
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Wasp Jerky said ... (3/01/2005 06:26:00 PM) :
post a commentI've not seen this movie, but it sounds like it could me a modern update or remake of a movie called _Harvey_ with Jimmy Stewart. Stewart's character is a young man who sees a giant rabbit following him around. No specific mental illness is mentioned (it is a pretty old film), but it deals gently with mental illness issues.
Just a thought.
Grace and peace,
Kevin
Oooh. Another Kevin. Very cool.
Actually, no, Donnie Darko is not a remake of Harvey. But I'm a big fan of Jimmy Stewart and have seen Harvey a couple of times.
Richard Kelly, the writer/director of DD, seems is really big on allusion. DD is filled with references to 80s movies. So I wouldn't be surprised at all to learn that he was playing off of Harvey. Darko is about a high school student who sees visions of a giant rabbit. The rabbit tells him that the world will end in 28 days. So he decides to save the world. It sounds a little goofy, but it's not.
Yeah, Donnie Darko is in my top three. I like Magnolia and Requiem for a Dream a bit better. But it's definitely a close call.