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34
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36
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xx
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31
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41
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57
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67
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54
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49
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34
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57
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xx
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71
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61
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65
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79
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35
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73
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24
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37
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xx
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58
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48
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55
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22
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69
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44
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53
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76
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37
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37
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61
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47
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55
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33
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93
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64
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36
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54
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93
WALL-E
79
Iron Man
76
Shine a Light
73
Kung Fu Panda
71
Horton Hears a Who!
69
Redbelt
67
Forgetting Sarah Marshall
65
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
64
Wanted
62
Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, The
61
Stop Loss
61
Incredible Hulk, The
58
Mist, The
57
Forbidden Kingdom, The
57
Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay
55
Street Kings
55
Nim's Island
55
Baby Mama
54
You Don't Mess with the Zohan
54
Get Smart
53
Sex and the City: The Movie
49
Hancock
48
National Treasure: Book of Secrets
47
Strangers, The
44
Ruins, The
41
Drillbit Taylor
37
Made of Honor
37
Shutter
37
Speed Racer
36
College Road Trip
36
What Happens in Vegas...
35
Jumper
34
Happening, The
34
10,000 B.C.
33
Superhero Movie
31
Deception
24
Love Guru, The
22
Postal
xx
Hellboy II: The Golden Army
xx
Mamma Mia!
xx
Dark Knight, The
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.

83
Alexandra
80
Band's Visit, The
76
Beauty in Trouble
47
Bella
80
Bigger, Stronger, Faster*
59
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55
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60
Brick Lane
70
Caramel
49
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83
Chop Shop
83
Chris & Don. A Love Story
78
Counterfeiters, The
52
Diminished Capacity
64
Dreams with Sharp Teeth
73
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84
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52
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79
Encounters at the End of the World
62
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64
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51
Finding Amanda
57
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86
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63
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60
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45
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55
Glass: A Portrait of Philip in Twelve Parts
69
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74
Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson
63
Gunnin for that #1 Spot
68
Heartbeat Detector
34
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68
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55
Irina Palm
69
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60
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68
Kabluey
62
Kiss the Bride
63
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82
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38
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70
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64
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30
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33
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53
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75
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52
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52
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71
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84
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61
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69
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61
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83
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72
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51
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55
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29
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79
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71
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56
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51
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76
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66
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70
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62
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72
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81
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56
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xx
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71
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54
Tracey Fragments, The
70
Trumbo
72
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83
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56
Unknown Woman
86
Up the Yangtze
79
Visitor, The
62
Wackness, The
37
War, Inc.
64
Water Lilies
66
When Did You Last See Your Father?
55
Without the King
72
Woman on the Beach
64
XXY
67
Year My Parents Went on Vacation, The
75
Young@Heart
86
Up the Yangtze
86
Flight of the Red Balloon, The
84
My Winnipeg
84
Edge of Heaven, The
83
Chop Shop
83
Paranoid Park
83
Alexandra
83
U2 3D
83
Chris & Don. A Love Story
82
Last Mistress, The
81
Tell No One
80
Bigger, Stronger, Faster*
80
Band's Visit, The
79
Reprise
79
Encounters at the End of the World
79
Visitor, The
78
Counterfeiters, The
76
Beauty in Trouble
76
Shotgun Stories
75
Young@Heart
75
Mongol
74
Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson
73
Duchess of Langeais, The
72
Woman on the Beach
72
Priceless
72
Tuya's Marriage
72
Surfwise
71
To the Limit
71
My Brother Is an Only Child
71
Roman de gare
70
Standard Operating Procedure
70
Trumbo
70
Love Songs
70
Caramel
69
Go-Getter, The
69
Operation Filmmaker
69
Jellyfish
68
Kabluey
68
Heartbeat Detector
68
Honeydripper
67
Year My Parents Went on Vacation, The
66
Son of Rambow
66
When Did You Last See Your Father?
64
Married Life
64
Dreams with Sharp Teeth
64
XXY
64
Water Lilies
64
Fall, The
63
Foot Fist Way, The
63
Gunnin for that #1 Spot
63
Kit Kittredge: An American Girl
62
Wackness, The
62
Stuck
62
Expired
62
Kiss the Bride
61
OSS 117: Cairo - Nest of Spies
61
On the Rumba River
60
Fugitive Pieces
60
Brick Lane
60
Jihad for Love, A
59
Blind Mountain
57
Flawless
56
Unknown Woman
56
Then She Found Me
56
Sangre de mi sangre
55
Quid Pro Quo
55
Glass: A Portrait of Philip in Twelve Parts
55
Irina Palm
55
Bra Boys
55
Without the King
54
Tracey Fragments, The
53
Mister Lonely
52
Diminished Capacity
52
Elsa & Fred
52
Mother of Tears, The
52
My Blueberry Nights
51
Finding Amanda
51
Promotion, The
51
Savage Grace
49
Children of Huang Shi, The
47
Bella
45
Full Grown Men
38
Life Before Her Eyes, The
37
War, Inc.
34
Holding Trevor
33
Miss Conception
30
Meet Bill
29
Red Roses and Petrol
xx
Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
|
Devil and Daniel Johnston, The
Sony Pictures Classics
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.

91
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."

90
The Hollywood Reporter
Kirk Honeycutt
Whatever one's opinion of Johnston's art, this is documentary filmmaking at its finest.

88
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.

88
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.

88
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.

88
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.

83
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.

83
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.

83
Entertainment Weekly
Owen Gleiberman
A fascinating and lovingly crafted musical documentary that nevertheless misunderstands its own subject.

80
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.

80
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.

80
Village Voice
Jessica Winter
Jeff Feuerzeig's tremendous documentary runs on the motive force of intelligent fandom and radiates an ineffable grace.

80
Empire
Steve O'Hagan
Occasionally slides into a breathless fan tribute, but nonetheless an affectionate and candid portrait of a troubled artist.

78
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.

75
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.

75
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.

75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
Liam Lacey
An uncomfortably fascinating document of a man whose bipolar disorder and artistic ambitions are inextricably connected.

75
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.

75
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.

75
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.

75
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.

70
Film Threat
Daniel Wible
With this film, I believe that the strange and wonderful legend of Daniel Johnston will only continue to grow.

70
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.

70
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.

70
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.

70
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.

70
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.

63
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?

60
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.

50
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.
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