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Donnie Darko: The Director's Cut
Newmarket Film Group

Donnie Darko: The Director's Cut reviews


8.3

based on 15 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 74 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie

FILM:

MPAA RATING: R for language, some drug use and violence

Starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Jena Malone, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Mary McDonnell, Drew Barrymore, Noah Wyle, Patrick Swayze, and Katharine Ross

This Director's Cut from writer/director Richard Kelly features 20 minutes of never-before-seen footage.

GENRE(S):	Drama \| Fantasy \| Mystery \| Sci-fi
WRITTEN BY:	Richard Kelly
DIRECTED BY:	Richard Kelly
RELEASE DATE:	DVD: February 15, 2005 Theatrical: July 23, 2004
RUNNING TIME:	133 minutes, Color
ORIGIN:	USA

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

Village Voice Dennis Lim

Obsessives will be familiar with the "new" material (almost all available on the original DVD), which elaborates on the time-travel metaphysics and tightens the emotional screws. Donnie (Jake Gyllenhaal) shares one additional tender exchange with each family member

100

Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt

The director's cut of this 2001 cult fantasy is a deliriously subtle exploration of storytelling possibilities, and a deliciously wry teen-pic to boot. Brilliant.

100

Los Angeles Times Kevin Thomas

“Donnie Darko" was one of the best pictures released in 2001. Now that it has returned in a 20-minute longer--and richer -- director's cut, it seems sure to be ranked as one of the key American films of the decade.

100

Dallas Observer Gregory Weinkauf

In this bolder, longer new cut, characters are allowed to finish scenes previously left as DVD extras, effects are creepier, and the theories of "the Tangent Universe" are explored in greater depth. Friends and neighbors, this is a Great American Movie.

Washington Post Desson Thomson

Contains about 10 additional minutes and is as fabulous and enjoyable as ever. To be honest, I didn't even notice the new material, having not seen the original film since its 2001 release. I just saw a film that works beautifully and has held together well.

Washington Post Ann Hornaday

If Kelly felt it necessary to add the new material, that's all to the good. It just means there's more to love.

Chicago Tribune Robert K. Elder

With 20 additional minutes of screen time, the director's cut of Richard Kelly's genre-splicing "Donnie Darko" offers new viewers a second chance to discover his mind-bending masterwork.

Boston Globe Leighton Klein

The director's cut has been getting a much warmer critical reception than the original release, but not necessarily because it's significantly better.

Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman

The longer film makes Donnie's intentions clearer, explains the time-travel theme better and also leaves us in no doubt as to Frank's identity.

Empire Dan Jolin

If you're returning for more Donnie, you'll still have tears in your eyes come the sublime Mad World conclusion. If it's your first viewing, you should still be wowed by an astounding masterpiece. But this is undoubtedly the lesser of the two cuts, and since you have the choice, you should stick with version one.

Chicago Reader Lisa Alspector

This surreal, subversive teen drama tanked at the box office but has since become a cult favorite, prompting this new release with 20 minutes of additional footage.

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

The director's cut adds footage that enriches and extends the material but doesn't alter its tone. It adds footnotes that count down to a deadline, but without explaining the nature of the deadline or the usefulness of the countdown.

Portland Oregonian M. E. Russell

Longer cut's slapdash additions make a cool, ambiguous film more literal; original 2001 version is far better.

San Francisco Chronicle Walter Addiego

To members of the Darko cult, this may not be an improvement, but it could help this compelling and extremely moving film find the audience it deserves.

New York Daily News Elizabeth Weitzman

Immensely moving and strikingly original, Kelly's story of a brilliant, disturbed teen (Jake Gyllenhaal) drowning in the cultural morass of the 1980s now feels bloated.

The average user rating for this movie is 8.3 (out of 10) based on 74 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Oli K gave it an8:
This movie is the best cult movie ever made in my opinion. although, i think the original is MUCH better than the directors cut. the original is more mystical and unrevealing, hence it being more of a challenge to figure things out, which i like. so i would give the original 10/10, but the directors cut 8/10.

Frank S. gave it a10:
My favorite movie of all time. I saw it for the first time when I was 20 and it changed my life. I had never identified with a film character like this before, and doubt that I ever will. I think you owe it to yourself to experience this movie. Uniquely American and flawlessly executed.

Connor B. gave it a10:
This isn’t a classic "space opera" kind of science fiction. It's not epic, it's not about creating a lie to make it seem 100% real. It is a simple movie for Christ’s sake, the purpose is to be entertaining, not for you to learn something or feel smart, or even to admire for it's cinematography. If some people would just go into a movie looking to be entertained instead of looking to see every little "flaw" you might enjoy it (and life) more.

Felix Q. gave it a10:
Unparalled in every dimension. What Donnie Darko, both the original and the director's cut, has done that has served to make it such a cult phenomenon, is give the viewer a completely different world to live and think in. A world that's so wonderfully sculpted and detailed that one can reason and debate within the confines of a completely different world, with entirely new and different 'laws' and physics, and do so confidently because it is so complete and fleshed out it might have been real. It offers you the chance to be the expert in something else, and somewhere else to inhabit in your mind for however long you choose. I think it's this same element that helped with the success of Harry Potter and Friends- taking escapism a level further, and putting you almost literally into another dimension. It's not an easy movie to watch- repeat viewings are almost always called for, if not desired, and serve to make this more than just a story being told. What the director's cut offers, is a new perspective on certain elements of the story- pretty much giving you more insight into the director's own interpretation of it. Here technology plays a much more vital part, and in the commentary he reveals that there might be someone in the future who is manipulating the events, the tangent universe and even the secondary characters to help Donnie reach the conclusion needed for the world to continue. Granted, even the extra footage doesn't make this explicitly clear, but I think the commentary is actually more useful than just the additional footage on this one.

Thomad gave it a10:
For me it's the best movie I've seen. It's funny, interesting and it makes you think. It has small details to discover every time you see it again which keep the movie fresh.

Fisk gave it a10:
It's interesting. It's weird. It's funny. And it has a giant bunny rabbit. Awesome. Go and see it.

Smally gave it a10:
liked it alot both its inner perspective and outer spective views on reality and life, also the wake up part clearly was reference to the kundalini awakening, donnie suffers trauma then his kundalini wakes up, he also predicts his own death as a result of this sudden out pour of energy within the body.

Donnie Darko: The Director's Cut Newmarket Film Group

Donnie Darko: The Director's Cut
Newmarket Film Group