Donnie Darko:Directors Cut (2004)

10/25/06

In his directors cut for the cult 2001 film Donnie Darko, Richard Kelly does some things right and some things wrong in comparison to the origanl. In additon to the expected additon of once deleted scenes, Kelly extends some cuts, adds some visual effects and selections from The Philosophy of Time Travel, and really plays with the sound, adding and enhancing audio effects, changing some music selections, and generally making things louder. In all I'd say the recut slightly hurts the first half of the film,(I was pissed off right out of the gate by a change in the opening musical selection), but enhances and sharpens the second half to considerable effect, lessening the confusion that some viewers complain about in the origanl version. I personally would recommend that the unintiated view the orignal verson first, to allow them to come up with their own conclusions about things, then view the directors cut for Kelly's prefferd explinations. But make sure to see at lest one version, Donnie Darko is destened to be one of the cinamatic treasures of the first decade of the 21st century.