IMDb > Donnie Darko (2001)
Donnie Darko
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Donnie Darko (2001) More at IMDbPro »

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Donnie Darko (2001) -- Director's Cut
Donnie Darko (2001) -- A troubled teenager is plagued by visions of a large bunny rabbit that manipulates him to commit a series of crimes, after narrowly escaping a bizarre accident.
Donnie Darko (2001) -- ZuGuide.com - Trailer (Flash)
Donnie Darko (2001) -- Trailerfan.com - Trailer (Flash)
Donnie Darko (2001) -- Sinematurk - Trailer (Flash)

Overview

User Rating:
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 1% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Richard Kelly
Writer:
Richard Kelly (written by)
Contact:
View company contact information for Donnie Darko on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
30 January 2002 (France) more
Tagline:
Life is one long insane trip. Some people just have better directions. more
Plot:
A troubled teenager is plagued by visions of a large bunny rabbit that manipulates him to commit a series of crimes, after narrowly escaping a bizarre accident. full summary | full synopsis
Plot Keywords:
more
Awards:
11 wins & 10 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(444 articles)
Movie Reviews: “The Box”
 (From Studio Briefing - Film News. 8 November 2009, 5:21 AM, PST)

The Box
 (From Scorecard Review. 7 November 2009, 7:34 PM, PST)

User Comments:
Not as impressive as the original more (1918 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)
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Additional Details

Also Known As:
Donnie Darko: The Director's Cut (USA) (director's cut)
Donnie Darko (Canada: French title) (France) [fr]
Донни Дарко (Russia) [ru]
Donnie Darko (Brazil) [pt]
Donnie Darko (Spain) [es]
Donnie Darko (Greece) (DVD title) [el]
Donnie Darko - Fürchte die Dunkelheit (Germany) [de]
Donnie Darko - Karanlik yolculuk (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
more
MPAA:
Rated R for language, some drug use and violence.; Rated R for language, some underage drug and alcohol use, and violence. (director's cut)
Runtime:
113 min | 133 min (director's cut)
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Color:
Color
Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Dolby Digital
Company:
Pandora Cinema more

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
The black-and-white poster in Donnie's room, of an eye reflecting a skull, is a reproduction of an etching by the artist M.C. Escher. more
Goofs:
Continuity: During the Life Line activity in Mrs. Farmer's class, the Asian girl Cherita answers her question card by placing an "X" on the chalkboard. When Donnie is called next the "X" that Cherita placed on the board is barely visible, like it had been half-erased. more
Quotes:
[first lines]
Elizabeth: I'm voting for Dukakis.
more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in "Degrassi: The Next Generation: Bark at the Moon (#4.13)" (2004) more
Soundtrack:
Never Tear Us Apart more

FAQ

How did Donnie get to Carpathian Ridge, at the beginning of the film?
What part does Cherita Chen play in the film? Why does Donnie put on Cherita's ear muffs?
What happened to Gretchen's mother at the end of the film?
more
263 out of 412 people found the following comment useful.
Not as impressive as the original, 21 September 2004
9/10
Author: FilmOtaku (ssampon@hotmail.com) from Milwaukee, WI

*This is a review of the Directors Cut*

I've already reviewed the originally released cut of 'Donnie Darko' so I am not going to review the film again. Instead, I'll comment on the differences between the two versions; unfortunately most of the differences took away from the original film, which I think is truly excellent.

I traveled two hours round-trip with several friends to see the Directors Cut since it was not playing in Milwaukee at the time, and while I am glad that I saw it, I feel that the original is the superior version. There were many superfluous scenes in the new cut which did not add to the film; rather I almost felt that they made the pacing falter a bit. For example, the new scene between Donnie's parents in the café – a completely unnecessary scene which did not add anything relevant to the story. There were a handful of scenes like this, as well as some added dialogue that indeed added to the development of some characters, (Drew Barrymore's character, the teacher 'Karen' was enhanced a bit) for some it just seemed silly (One of Donnie's bus stop friends telling Cherita that he 'hopes she gets molested' turned him from just being an incidental character into being an incidental character who is a jackass.)

Another major difference between the two films was the addition of several special effects to the new cut. There were a lot of dream-like sequences (the file cabinets floating among the clouds ala Rene Magritte) and all of the stuff focusing on Donnie's eyeball, computer-ish codes, etc, that just did not work in my opinion. Also, some of the most subtle changes, soundtrack for example, were disarming. The opening song was 'The Killing Moon' by Echo and the Bunnymen in the original, which provided a great backdrop in the introduction to Donnie, his environment and his family. Kelly used 'Never Tear Us Apart' by INXS in his directors cut. Certainly, a good song, but after using a perfect song originally, it is hard to get used to an inferior replacement.

Which is how I sum up my feelings about Kelly's directors cut in general? Why mess with (near) perfection? 'Donnie Darko' is a fantastic film that was so thought-provoking it made some people run the other way. Only those who were interested in something beyond the ordinary stayed to ponder and theorize its meaning, and still are to this day. Kelly's new cut does not enhance the film, rather, it made it plodding and a little dumbed-down – two adjectives I never thought I would ascribe to this film. See the directors cut to play 'spot the new stuff', but stick with the original.

--Shel

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