Product Description

Drew Barrymore, Jake Gyllenhaal, Patrick Swayze, Jena Malone, Mary McDonnell October 1988 and small town USA is about to witness the end of the world. It's home to Donnie Darko, a brilliant but troubled teenager, plagued by terrifying visions which he alone knows the meaning of. With his class mate and soul mate Gretchen and a mysterious ex teacher, nicknamed Grandma Death, he must unravel the strange occurrences affecting his school, his home and his life before a horrifying spectre known only as "Frank" leads Donnie to the edge of his sanity. Special Features 5.1 Sound Chapter/Scene Selection Interactive Menu

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #16716 in DVD
• Released on: 2004-02-02
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: PAL, Colour, DTS Surround Sound
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 111 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Donnie Darko is a thought-provoking, touching and distinctive offering from relative newcomer, Richard Kelly (II). It's 1988 in small-town America and Donnie, a disturbed teenager on medication and undergoing psychoanalysis for his blackouts and personality disorders, is being visited by a being in a rabbit suit whom he calls Frank. It's this anti-Harvey that saves Donnie from being crushed to death when an airplane engine falls from the sky onto his house. This is the beginning of their escalating relationship, which, as Donnie follows Frank's instructions, becomes increasingly violent and destructive. Added to this is Frank's warning of the impending apocalypse and Donnie's realisation that he can manipulate time, leading to a startling denouement where nearly everything becomes clear.

"Nearly everything", because Donnie Darko is a darkly comic, surreal journey in which themes of space, time and morality are interwoven with a classic coming-of-age story of a teenage boy's struggle to understand the world around him. The film leaves the viewer with more questions than it answers, but then that's part of its charm. Performances are superb: Jake Gyllenhaal underplays the mixed-up kid role superbly and Donnie's episodes of angst positively erupt out of the screen. There are also some starry cameos from Mary McDonnell as Donnie's long-suffering mother, Patrick Swayze as Jim Cunningham, the personal-development guru with a terrible secret, and Noah Wyle and Drew Barrymore as Donnie's progressive teachers. Undoubtedly too abstruse for some tastes, Donnie Darko's balance of outstanding performances with intelligent dialogue and a highly inventive story will reward those looking for something more highbrow than the average teenage romp. --Kristen Bowditch

Synopsis
Writer-director Richard Kelly's bold debut film is a social satire, a dark comedy, a science fiction time-travelling fantasy, and a suburban nightmare about an extremely intelligent, depressive, self-destructive, narcoleptic, gun-toting, sex-crazed, teenaged arsonist: Donnie Darko (Jake Gyllenhaal). DONNIE DARKO is not your typical teen comedy. But, like GHOST WORLD and RUSHMORE, it uses the trappings of the teen comedy as the entry point for a subversive and trenchant (and also wonderfully entertaining) look at American life. The difference between those films and DONNIE DARKO is that Donnie is an unlikely hero who just might save the world.
It's October 1988, in the Virginia suburb of Middlesex. When Frank, a grotesque giant bunny (possibly imaginary), leads Donnie out of his house minutes before a plane smashes through his roof, he not only saves Donnie's life but also warns Donnie that the world is about to end. Over the next few weeks, Donnie falls in love with Gretchen (Jena Malone) and tries to figure out what his life means. Kelly's film perfectly captures the unease that is quietly scratching under the surface of suburban late 1980s life. Gyllenhaal leads an exceptional cast, bringing Kelly's twisted but humane vision to life. An exceptional performance is given by Mary McDonnell (PASSION FISH) as Donnie's mother.

Jonathan Ross, Film 2002
"Strange, different, beautiful and compelling – like David Lynch crossed with John Hughes. The most refreshing and original movie I’ve seen in years…"

Customer Reviews

I Think We�ve All Seen Bonanza!!! *****
Donnie Darko is a very difficult movie to characterise and assign to one or even two genres, which is also part of its appeal and fascination. It opens with the title character (Jake Gyllenhall) waking in his pyjamas, with his bike lying next to him, on a highway overlooking his hometown of Middlesex, set in an idyllic tree covered valley. Straightening up he looks out toward the rising sun on the horizon and with a knowing smile he re-mounts his bicycle and makes his way back home to the tune of Echo and The Bunnymen's 'The Killing Moon' in what is an excellent opening sequence. Right from these first few frames it was obvious that I was about to witness something very original and it had me hooked.

Donnie Darko is inspired (I would guess) by the weird combination of Philip K Dick, Wes Anderson, JD Salinger and the classic James Stewart movie 'Harvey'. It announces the arrival of two great new talents in Writer/Director Richard Kelly and the young actor Jake Gyllenhall, in what is a hugely original, ingenious and entertaining movie. Set in 1988, around Halloween time, this movie has the conventional leafy-suburbia-plus-high-school setting, which alludes to the horror genre of Carrie and Halloween but it is no horror movie. It also has specific elements that suggest that it's a psychodrama about a young man with schizophrenia but this is not 'A Beautiful Mind'. It also ponders the possibility of time travel but this is not science fiction. Stranger still, Donnie Darko is unusual in that (unlike most retro 1980's pictures such as The Wedding Singer) it actually has a very cool soundtrack drawn from the period of my youth, which includes contributions from the likes of Echo and The Bunnymen, Tears For Fears and Joy Division.

So, what is Donnie Darko about? Well, without giving up too much of the plot, Donnie is continuously visited by a 6 foot tall rabbit named Frank, which unlike the Pooka in the classic 'Harvey' is both visible to the audience and strangely satanic. Frank tells Donnie that the world is going to end in 28 days six hours and forty two minutes but not to worry as everything is going to be all right. Guided by Frank he narrowly misses being killed when an engine from a 747 crashes through his house whilst he is lying sleeping on a local golf course and the plot thickens when it becomes apparent that the aviation authority has no record of any aircraft losing an engine. Donnie is of course undergoing therapy with a local shrink and hypnotherapist played by Katherine Ross (The Graduate, Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid) and the suggestion is of course that Donnie is hallucinating, for as his sister says "he hasn't been taking his pills". One of Donnie's recurring visions suggests that he can see the future before it happens and so he becomes obsessed with the possibility of time travel and a book written by a retired teacher, who is now a scary old recluse, 'The Philosophy of Time Travel'. There are also many other sub-plots including Donnie being inspired by his English teacher (Drew Barrymore) and Graham Greene's short story 'The Destructors' into some playful vandalism. In addition to this Donnie's subversive thoughts and actions begin to undermine the stability of the local community that is strangely gripped by a slimy fundamentalist guru played by Patrick Swayze.

Much of this movie is darkly comic and there are some great scenes including a conversation between Donnie and his therapist, where she asks him what he thinks about at school. Like most teenage boys he inevitably replies "having s*x" before proceeding to unbutton his trousers about to m*sturbate. There is also a scene where at a PTA meeting Donnie's mother challenges the local bigot by asking "Do you even know who Graham Greene is?" she confidently and proudly replies "Oh please! I think we've all seen Bonanza".

Personally I loved this movie but whether or not you enjoy this movie probably depends upon how far left of centre you like your movies. If you are not a fan of independent cinema or movies by the likes of Wes Anderson and David Lynch then you probably wont like this. However there is much to recommend in Donnie Darko, not least the cast, which includes, Noah Wyle (ER), Mary McDonnell (Dances With Wolves), Maggie Gyllenhaal (Confessions of A Dangerous Mind) and the previously mentioned Patrick Swayze, Drew Barrymore and Katherine Ross. Jake Gyllenhaal's exquisite comic timing and laidback personality endows Donnie's existence with a dreamlike quality at odds with his teen angst and the suburban paranoia of his surroundings. Meanwhile writer/director Richard Kelly creates a wonderful sense of tension and keeps you guessing throughout the movie that even after the final titles have rolled you are still left to mull over what you have just witnessed.

Whilst critics may argue that Donnie Darko fails as a psychological study and/or horror movie, you cant help but feel they are missing the point, as it deliberately avoids easy classification to a specific genre and instead concentrates on being intelligent, ingenious and highly original. Closing appropriately to a cover version of the old Tears For Fears song 'Mad World' and the lyrics "the dreams on which I'm dying are the best I've ever had", neatly ties up the previous two hours and what was for me a very satisfactory cinematic experience. Destined for cult status this undoubtedly deserves five stars!

one of the best
there are many great qualities about this film, but the one that stands out is the impact it has on you. it stops and makes you think and grips you all the way through. the plot is intricate and exciting and the characters well built. and when it comes to the end of the film i guarentee you, you will spend at least the next day trying to figure out what it means... and the beauty of it is you will never understand if fully. one other thing to mention is the soundtrack featuring great tracks form the church, jooy division and gary jules. a must see.

Your new favourite Independent Cult Movie!
I heard about this movie through word of mouth, which is always a good thing, but definitely a great thing when it comes from several dierent places. Relatives, friends, internet message boards and forums all seemed to be asking "Haven't you watched Donnie Darko yet?". I didn't see any major advertising on this film, no hype, just people I knew asking me that damned annoying question. So I had to see it.

My reaction? Stunned pretty much sums it up.

There has been enough written in other reviews about giant bunnies, apocalyptic prophecies and time travel, so I won't offer a synopsis. However, I felt that it was definitely one of these films where the journey is just as fascinating as the destination. Not as common an occurrence in movies as people might think...

The film itself has something amazing to offer in just about every single scene. From well-placed philosophical soundbites to inexplicable and mysterious plot developments. Nothing is formulaic, and everything is geared to keep the viewer's attention. There are also several neat touches that really show the film's subtle humour, some obvious, some more subtle. To those who have watched it, how many of you made the connection with the opening music to the film ("Killing Moon" by Echo & the Bunnymen), to "Frank", in his own way, a Bunnyman? There's many more to discover in the film.

Donnie Darko mixes some of the best ideas from other "independent" films (Heathers, Virgin Suicides, Mulholland Drive) and adds some ideas of its own. It has a fairly unique atmosphere to it, and although some may not appreciate the ending, the film still has a strong sense of completion to it.

It was, all in all a pretty elating experience watching it. At least now, if someone asks me if I've seen Donnie Darko, I don't feel left out of a loop.