Review of Donnie Darko (budget)

Introduction

Surely you must have heard of this by now? The story of Donnie Darko, his high school, a 6 foot rabbit called Frank, the end of the world and a jet engine through the roof of a house. Richard Kelly (both writer and director of the film) seems to have etched himself a niche in cinema history with this cult hit.

I don`t really need to go into more detail. If you`ve not caught it yet, then there`s enough up there to give you a taste of the film. If you know the film, then you`ll know that further description is not necessary!

This disc is a bit naughty in my eyes, as it is a budget re-release which features the film only. The previous region 2 release was stuffed to the gills with extras, and you`ll have to work hard to find a copy now that it`s been deleted.

Video

A very good 2.35:1 anamorphic transfer which does the film complete justice. Everything looks excellent, with very high levels of detail, a perfect set of colours and great lighting levels. Everything looks clean and crisp and the print is largely undamaged by dust and dirt.

Some weird and wonderful effects complement the weird and wonderful story.

Audio

Just a DD5.1 soundtrack (lacking the stereo option from the original disc). Not a problem for me, but if it presents a problem to your system then you might not be best pleased. The soundtrack is pretty good and is used to good effect throughout the film. The ambient effects are the first thing you notice (wildlife) but as you move through the film there are more opportunities for good sound work, be they Frank talking to Donnie, or a jet engine falling from the sky.

An interesting choice of 1980s tracks pepper the soundtrack, including the cover of Mad World which made it to Christmas number 1 over here in 2003.

Features

No extras whatsoever. Gone from the original release are featurettes, out-takes, interviews, promos, galleries, trailers, commentaries, deleted scenes, videos, infomercials and more.

Grrr. I like extras you see!

Conclusion

So much has been written about this film by so many. I could start ranting on about this, that and the other, but I`m not going to be drawn into all that. If you want to read in depth dissections of every minute detail of the plot, then by all means take a trip around the web. Personally, I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of this film, the performances of all involved and the overall look and feel, which is interestingly enhanced by those 1980s classics squeezed onto the soundtrack.

The film has many elements to it, from Ferris Bueller to The X Files via a quick trip to Twin Peaks. There`s even some Tarantino style dialogue wedged into a scene or two. It all adds up to an interesting and entertaining film.

As for the disc itself, the sound and vision are very good, but it`s a shame that all the extras have gone. If you don`t care about extras, then this disc is a bargain just waiting for you. But if you think that the extras can really round off a film (and I think they really do in this case), then you might want to hunt for the deleted region 2 version.

A highly recommended film, and I`m only marking it down due to the removal of the extras.