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Devil and Daniel Johnston, The
Sony Pictures Classics


9.3

based on 33 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 10 votes
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MUSIC:

MPAA RATING: PG-13 for thematic elements, drug content, and language including a sexual reference

Starring Louis Black, Bill Johnston, Daniel Johnston, Mabel Johnston, and Jeff Tartakov

The Devil and Daniel Johnston is a stunning portrait of a musical and artistic genius who nearly slipped away. Daniel Johnston, a manic-depressive genius singer/songwriter/artist, is revealed in this portrait of madness, creativity and love. (Sony Pictures Classics)

GENRE(S):	Documentary
WRITTEN BY:	Jeff Feuerzeig
DIRECTED BY:	Jeff Feuerzeig
RELEASE DATE:	DVD: September 19, 2006 Theatrical: March 31, 2006
RUNNING TIME:	110 minutes, B/W / Color
ORIGIN:	USA

Director's Award (Documentary), 2005 Sundance Film Festival

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

100

New York Daily News Elizabeth Weitzman

Feuerzeig's film - everything a good documentary should be - is a story of family, friendship, art and fame, as seen through the prisms of exceptional beauty and deepest pain.

100

San Francisco Chronicle Joel Selvin

A one-of-a-kind cinematic experience. This musician may not be a genius along the lines of Brain Wilson, as Feuerzeig claims, but Johnston has a knack for revealing innermost thoughts in an offhand way that is eerie and uncanny.

100

Baltimore Sun Michael Sragow

The offhand wit and casual self-revelation of Johnston's best words draw you deeper into the mysteries of his character. Feuerzeig is a music-lover to his bones.

The Onion (A.V. Club) Noel Murray

By the time Feuerzeig gets to his final shot--an artful portrait of Johnston's parents, with their son looming over them like a curse--he's emerged with the most harrowing and aesthetically keen portrait of madness and artistic inspiration since "Crumb."

The Hollywood Reporter Kirk Honeycutt

Whatever one's opinion of Johnston's art, this is documentary filmmaking at its finest.

Rolling Stone Peter Travers

No wonder Kurt Cobain was a fan. But it's the way Feuerzeig walks with him on the line between creativity and madness that digs this haunting and hypnotic film into your memory.

TV Guide Ken Fox

The casual listener is easily put off, but by the end of the film, even a newcomer can see the magic that made fans of Kurt Cobain and Sonic Youth and led the estimable Yo La Tengo, Pearl Jam and Wilco to cover Johnston's remarkable body of work.

Chicago Tribune Allison Benedikt

With humor, honesty and awe, Feuerzeig's portrait may love Daniel Johnston, but it won't give his parents much hope.

Philadelphia Inquirer Dan DeLuca

There are frightening moments, as when he attacks an elderly woman he thinks is possessed by devils. And revelatory, heartbreaking ones, which can make you think that maybe he is a genius, after all.

Portland Oregonian Shawn Levy

You wouldn't want to be Daniel Johnston, or even know him too well. But see this film and you won't forget him.

Christian Science Monitor Peter Rainer

Chronicles the eerie and oddly inspiring story of Johnston's ongoing battles to survive - both as artist and human being.

Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman

A fascinating and lovingly crafted musical documentary that nevertheless misunderstands its own subject.

The New York Times Lawrence Van Gelder

Jeff Feuerzeig, who won the best-director award at the 2005 Sundance festival, cobbles together a moving portrait of the artist as his own ghost, using a wealth of material provided by Mr. Johnston, from home movies to audiocassette diaries to dozens of original, and often heartbreakingly beautiful, songs.

LA Weekly Greg Burk

Some of his mystical encounters are just too spooky and amazing to reveal here, and Feuerzeig (director of previous documentaries on Jon Hendricks and Half Japanese) weaves them into the story with excellent timing and a psychedelic eye, aided by editor Tyler Hubby and cinematographer Fortunato Procopio.

Village Voice Jessica Winter

Jeff Feuerzeig's tremendous documentary runs on the motive force of intelligent fandom and radiates an ineffable grace.

Empire Steve O'Hagan

Occasionally slides into a breathless fan tribute, but nonetheless an affectionate and candid portrait of a troubled artist.

Austin Chronicle Raoul Hernandez

At the end of the day, Johnston's childlike stream of unrequited love landed him on MTV, Atlantic Records, and now a feature-length theatrical recounting of his life. Take that, Satan.

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

Watching the movie, I was reminded of the documentary "Crumb"...There is a line that sometimes runs between genius and madness, sometimes encircles them.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer Bill White

With more sympathy for Johnston's suffering and less reveling in the fruits of his madness, The Devil and Daniel Johnston could have been a great film instead of a disturbing one.

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Liam Lacey

An uncomfortably fascinating document of a man whose bipolar disorder and artistic ambitions are inextricably connected.

Miami Herald Rene Rodriguez

Feuerzeig presents an unyieldingly sympathetic but always fascinating portrait of an artist whose mental illness became inseparable from his art, with one often fueling the other.

New York Post V.A. Musetto

You don't have to be a fan of Daniel Johnston, an underground artist and singer-songwriter whose manic-depression has kept him from realizing his full potential, to appreciate director Jeff Feuerzeig's documentary.

Boston Globe Ty Burr

Jeff Feuerzeig's film is as good a portrait of the artist as a beloved basket case as you'll see, but it's kept from greatness by the questions it refuses to ask itself.

Premiere Glenn Kenny

One thing not open to question is that the real heroes of this movie are Johnston's family, particularly his aging parents, who for all their heartbreak are palpably full of love and forbearance for their disturbed and, yes, talented boy.

Film Threat Daniel Wible

With this film, I believe that the strange and wonderful legend of Daniel Johnston will only continue to grow.

New York Magazine David Edelstein

Surprisingly diverting as a case study: not only of a talented misfit sublimating like mad to keep his loneliness from consuming him but also of a fringe artistic community (which includes the makers of this film) that rallies to give him the reinforcement he craves.

Salon.com Stephanie Zacharek

As its title suggests, the picture is something of a ballad, an ode to an elusive character who's both quintessentially human and so outlandish he almost seems unreal.

Chicago Reader J.R. Jones

Johnston's childish, repetitive tunes prove that he's no Brian Wilson (or even Roky Erickson), which makes you wonder whether Feuerzeig is examining the singer's exploitation or participating in it.

Dallas Observer Melissa Levine

In many ways, The Devil and Daniel Johnston is a beautiful work, a painstakingly crafted portrait of a talented self-saboteur--a man consistently done in by a vicious mental illness. But it's not as compelling as one would hope.

Washington Post Desson Thomson

Devil leads us into that dark, uncharted valley where evil, genius, divine inspiration, insanity -- and other unfathomable mysteries -- commingle. It also examines the hyperbolic industry of instant celebrity and ultimately shows us the complex algebraic equation that is Daniel Johnston's life.

Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman

Feuerzeig leaves a lot of territory unexplored. Why did people overlook his suffering and bizarre behavior for so long? Were they cold-hearted profiteers, onlookers enjoying a freak show or honestly ignorant of his troubles? Are there links between Johnston's creativity and madness?

Variety Dennis Harvey

Picture is particularly well-crafted, managing to avoid the ambulance-chasing tenor that might easily have turned this into a voyeuristic freakshow.

Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan

A performer of formidable self-absorption, Johnston has inspired a film with the same trait, and the results are about what you might expect.

The average user rating for this movie is 9.3 (out of 10) based on 10 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Chad S. gave it an8:
To the uninitiated, the lucky ones whose lives weren't destroyed by music snobbery, watch Stephen Frears' "High Fidelity" to understand indie fandom. It'll help you better deal with the guy who thinks that Daniel Johnston is better than Brian Wilson. He's not. Johnston is an acquired taste(you have to understand the aesthetics of indie-rock). His music is for people who thinks Jonathan Richman doesn't keep it real enough. "The Devil and Daniel Johnston", however, along with Jonathan Caouette's "Tarnation", is another stunning example of how the proliferation of home-movie cameras during the eighties produced a treasure trove of archival footage. Without it, you don't have a movie, because the subject matter wouldn't be interesting enough. If you're befuddled by the accolades thrown Johnston's way, think of how radical the Sex Pistols sounded next to Fleetwood Mac. Johnston doesn't play punk rock, but he captures that do-it-yourself spirit, which used to be the ethos of alternative music before "Teen Spirit" commodified amateurism. To the uninitiated, "The Devil and Daniel Johnston" will seem like an inside joke, or worse, a black comedy like Hal Ashby's "Being There".

Paul J. gave it a5:
The Devil and Daniel Johnston is a well enough done film, and benefits greatly from archival film from various sources, but ultimately is somewhat difficult to appreciate if you are not a manic music fan of some sort. You certainly do feel sorry for Daniel Johnston, his has been a rough life, and I give the filmmakers credit there, for this could easily degenerated into a "this guy was nuts" sort of thing. And if you get the DVD, whatch the extras, as parts of his obsessions are more fully explained. But ultimately, for the non-manic non-Dylan type music non-fan, the film gets a little tedious, so I don't regret watching it, but it was really not the best film of the year. Daniel Johnston has done some amazing things over the years, and you certainly get a good feel for what he's been through, and maybe just at the end appreciate the progress in treatment as you can see him clear up some (hopefully not at the loss of his art), but still a bit of a slog at times.

Will gave it a10:
This movie is a good as a documentary can get. I'm also pleased to see how the movie shows LSD and Psychiatric Drugs messed up Daniel Johnston a lot worse than he was before he took that stuff. It's important for people to become more conscious to the dangers of these things.< P>

Jay K. gave it a10:
A great movie about an incredible genious. This is the best documentary I have ever seen, and the director won Best Director at Sundance for this. Daniel Johnston has changed the way I think about music.

Walt gave it a10:
As a music junkie that has a bunch of his albums, I had an inkling of the crazy genius that is Daniel Johnston, but I wanted to find out more. This wonderful documentary exposes the lighter side and vastly darker side of Daniel Johnston. It is exceptionally well paced (except for the last 5 or 10 minutes that drag a bit), and very informative. Daniel Johnston is exposed through personal audio and video footage he and others took of him, pieces of his live performances, and interviews with his parents, friends, family and other musicians that know him. This is a wonderful and scary look at this cult music figure. The movie lays it all out there for you to see just who Daniel Johnston is. I drove 3 1/2 hours to NYC, and 3 1/2 hours back just to see this movie, and it was well worth the trip.

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Devil and Daniel Johnston, The Sony Pictures Classics

Devil and Daniel Johnston, The
Sony Pictures Classics