Donnie Darko (Imagine Ent) (2001) |
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General | Extras | ||
Category | Science Fiction |
Main Menu Introduction Menu Animation & Audio Scene Selection Anim & Audio Audio Commentary-Richard Kelly (Writer/Director) & Jake Gyllenhaal Audio Commentary Theatrical Trailer TV Spots-5 Filmographies-Cast & Crew Music Video-Mad World Filmographies-Crew-Donnie Darko Website Gallery Notes-The Soundtrack Liner Notes Featurette-CV; Infomercials +/- comm, His Name Is Frank, Book Covers Gallery-Production Stills; Concept Art Gallery-The Philosophy Of Time Travel |
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Rating | |||
Year Of Production | 2001 | ||
Running Time | 108:33 (Case: 113) | ||
RSDL / Flipper | RSDL (63:29) | Cast & Crew | |
Start Up | Menu | ||
Region Coding | 4 | Directed By | Richard Kelly |
Studio
Distributor |
Imagine Entertainment |
Starring |
Jake Gyllenhaal Jena Malone Drew Barrymore James Duval Beth Grant Maggie Gyllenhaal Holmes Osborne Katharine Ross Patrick Swayze Noah Wyle |
Case | Amaray-Transparent-Secure Clip | ||
RPI | $29.95 | Music | Michael Andrews |
Video | Audio | ||
Pan & Scan/Full Frame | None |
English Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s) English Dolby Digital 2.0 (224Kb/s) English Audio Commentary Dolby Digital 2.0 (224Kb/s) English Audio Commentary Dolby Digital 2.0 (224Kb/s) |
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Widescreen Aspect Ratio | 2.35:1 | ||
16x9 Enhancement |
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Video Format | 576i (PAL) | ||
Original Aspect Ratio | 2.35:1 | Miscellaneous | |
Jacket Pictures | Yes | ||
Subtitles | English for the Hearing Impaired | Smoking | Yes |
Annoying Product Placement | No | ||
Action In or After Credits | No |
Donnie Darko is a film about a high school student who has visions of a rabbit that predicts the end of the world.
Donnie Darko (Jake Gyllenhaal) is a high school student who suffers from a sleeping disorder and is seeing a psychologist in relation to his emotional problems. One evening Donnie has a vision where a large rabbit, named Frank, tells him that the world will end in 28 days, 6 hours, 42 minutes and 12 seconds. That same evening a jet engine from an unknown plane falls through the roof of Donnie's house and lands in his bedroom. As the deadline approaches, Donnie continues to have visions of Frank and he instructs him to perform various acts of destruction. Slowly Donnie begins to piece together what he must do and why he is having these visions.
This stunning feature debut by writer/director Richard Kelly was shot in only twenty-eight days and has excellent performances by all the cast members. The script is intelligently written, is worthy of multiple viewings and is open to various interpretations. Many people feel that this was definitely one of the best films released last year and if you are looking for a film with more to offer than your standard simplistic Hollywood plot line then Donnie Darko definitely deserves your attention.
The high quality video transfer is presented at an aspect ratio of 2.35:1 and it is 16x9 enhanced.
The transfer is always consistently sharp and high levels of detail may be seen throughout. No low-level noise was detected at any time during the transfer. During the numerous dark scenes, excellent levels of shadow detail are displayed.
The transfer displays a natural colour palette throughout and it is always vibrant and well saturated.
No MPEG artefacts were detected at any time during the transfer.
Some very minor aliasing artefacts may be seen during the transfer with examples visible at 12:34 and 93:47. Both of these aliasing artefacts are extremely minor and are never disruptive.
A number of small film artefacts may be seen during the transfer. Some examples of these artefacts may be seen at 0:52, 2:04, 6:46, 9:29 and 11:19. All of these artefacts are very minor and are only minimally distracting.
A small amount of movement in the frame may be seen at 1:40 and 13:47 but this is most likely due to the original source material and not a fault of telecine wobble. This small amount of movement is never disturbing.
A single set of yellow English for the Hearing Impaired subtitles is provided for the transfer. I extensively sampled the stream and found it to be consistently accurate.
The layer change occurs at 63:29 at the start of Chapter 16 during a scene change and it is not disruptive.
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The dialogue is clear and easy to understand at all times. No dropouts or problems with audio sync were detected at any time during the transfer.
The original score by Michael Andrews makes its presence felt throughout the feature and this always works well with the on-screen action. This score is also complemented by the inclusion of various pop tracks from the late 1980s.
The surround and LFE channels are used extensively throughout the surround mix to create an enveloping soundfield.
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The animated menu is presented at either 1.78:1 or 1.33:1 depending upon player setup. A very short video transition between the main menu and the movie is not flagged as 16x9 enhanced as it should be but this is not distracting.
This feature length scene specific audio commentary by writer/director Richard Kelly and lead actor Jake Gyllenhaal discusses their work on this film. This interesting commentary discusses the origins of the project, casting, cut scenes, their interpretation of the storyline and points out numerous small items that may have been overlooked by most viewers.
This feature length scene specific audio commentary features cast and crewmembers Richard Kelly, Sean McKittrick, Drew Barrymore, Jena Malone, Beth Grant, Mary McDonnell, Holmes Osborne, Katharine Ross, and James Duval. During the commentary the group discuss the relationships between the characters, their influences, rehearsals, improvisations, why they became involved with the project and their views on hypnosis. It is clear from their interactions on this commentary that the cast and crewmembers all enjoyed their work on the film.
This theatrical trailer is presented with a Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack at an aspect ratio of 2.35:1 that is not 16x9 enhanced.
This is a collection of television advertisements presented with a Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack at an aspect ratio of 2.35:1 and not 16x9 enhanced.
This collection of twenty deleted and extended scenes is presented at an aspect ratio of 2.35:1 and not 16x9 enhanced. Two Dolby Digital 224kbps 2.0 soundtracks are provided with either the original audio or an audio commentary by writer/director Richard Kelly. The following scenes are provided:
Selected filmographies are provided for the following actors: Jake Gyllenhaal, Jena Malone, Drew Barrymore, James Duval, Beth Grant, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Holmes Osborne, Katharine Ross, Patrick Swayze and Noah Wyle. Short biographies are provided for the following crew members: Richard Kelly, Sean McKittrick, Nancy Juvonen, Steven Poster, Alexander Hammond, April Ferry, Eric Strand, Sam Bauer and Michael Andrews.
This music video by Gary Jules is presented with a Dolby Digital 224kbps 2.0 soundtrack and at an aspect ratio of 2.35:1, not 16x9 enhanced.
This is a collection of 40 pages taken from the film's official website. Unfortunately, this content is quite hard to read but it will inspire you to visit the official site.
A three-page collection of liner notes from the film's CD soundtrack release.
This is a collection of infomercials for the Jim Cunningham Cunning Visions motivational program. These infomercials are presented at an aspect ratio of 1.33:1 with a choice between the original audio and a comedic commentary by Cunning Visions CEO Linda Connie and infomercial director Fabian Van Patten.
This is an eight-page slideshow featuring the character Frank from the Cunning Visions motivational program.
A single page shows two covers of motivational books by Jim Cunningham.
Forty-eight Production Stills and twenty-seven Concept Art images are provided.
This is a twelve page collection of pages from the book The Philosophy Of Time Travel. Unfortunately, these pages are quite difficult to read and would have been better presented as DVD-ROM content as a higher resolution PDF file.
NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.
The Region 4 version of this disc misses out on;
The Region 1 version of this disc misses out on;
The UK Region 2 version of this disc misses out on;
The R2 UK release of this disc contains a number of additional extras. These include a short featurette and gallery featuring UK artworks inspired by the film, a series of short interview segments with cast and crew members, a series of various scenes on set and a plain text version of 'The Philosophy of Time Travel' book gallery in addition to the graphical version found on the local release. While the R2 release excludes the excellent 'Mad World' music video and the additional features reportedly provide little significant information my slight preference would still be for the UK R2 release.
Donnie Darko is a highly enjoyable film that will engage viewers who are in the mood for a complex and intelligent film.
The video transfer presented on this disc is of excellent quality with no notable artefacts present at any time.
The audio mixes provided are both of excellent quality and always works well with the on-screen action.
The extensive collection of extras provides a wealth of information that will be appreciated by all viewers.
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Review Equipment | |
DVD | Toshiba 2109, using S-Video output |
Display | Sony KP-E41SN11. Calibrated with Video Essentials. |
Audio Decoder | Built in to amplifier/receiver. Calibrated with Video Essentials. |
Amplification | Front left/right: ME75b; Center: DA50ES; rear left/right: DA50ES; subwoofer: NAD 2600 (Bridged) |
Speakers | Front left/right: VAF DC-X; Center: VAF DC-6; rear left/right: VAF DC-7; subwoofer: Custom NHT-1259 |