Donnie Darko (Fox Blu-ray)

 

Picture: B+     Sound: B+     Extras: B     Film: B+

 

 

There are few films that we have discussed as much as Donnie Darko on this site, we have had extensive coverage of the film on DVD, you can read about the first edition of the film released on DVD here, and you can also read about the imported version of the film released on DVD and how it compares to the directors cut of the film here.  Needless to say the film is a brilliant piece of work that shocked many viewers when it finally caught up to them, since then the film has become a cult phenomenon and despite these facts, the work of writer/director Richard Kelly seems lost, his follow-up film Southland Tales was more of a dud than anything else, we covered that on Blu-ray already and you can check it out here.

 

We could talk more about Donnie Darko until we are blue in the face, but instead we’ll talk about Donnie Darko and how its Blu-ray performance is instead.

 

Let’s begin with the picture, for this Blu-ray release Fox has issued the film it a 1080p High Definition transfer and framed at 2.35 X 1.  First, I’ll talk about the good.  The film has a unique look, which we have discussed in our previous reviews for the film and what should be noted here is that the film is meant to have a rather washed out or ‘glow’ to it, at least through the majority of the scenes.  Other times the film is darker and has a muted appearance, this was a look that was always meant to be, but the DVD’s issue for the film had a difficult time capturing much of the detail of the film, while still managing the bizarre contrasts.  The Blu-ray is a much more accurate attempt at getting the right levels of contrast, brightness, and depth.  Colors look more solid and are more intact; the darker scenes are far more detailed with various levels of black being utilized.  Likewise the whiter or lighter scenes also look sharper.  Overall resolution is far superior to the DVD’s, which is no surprise, but the disappointing part is that there is still excessive grain and softness that plagues this release and will likely disappoint many fans. 

 

Both cuts of the film are available on the Blu-ray release, which we have already extensively covered in our previous reviews, what can be said though is that the theatrical cut does not hold up nearly as good as the directors cut and the image seems a bit better as well.  Since this is a 50GB release, it’s interesting that both versions of the film are on the same disc, which would have never worked for DVD, especially considering the film also features a DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio mix.  We are wondering if perhaps it was a bit too much to include both versions of the film on the same disc, even though it’s a 50GB, all the extras are included as well and we have to think that some quality was compromised in that process. 

 

The DTS-HD mix is good, even better than the DTS mix that was only available on the U.K. import, but despite how good it is, there are certain scenes that seem a little superior in the directors cut than the theatrical cut.  The DTS-HD mix is clever, sharp, booming, and often times very detailed throughout making the film come to life in ways that the Dolby mix could only dream of.  The soundtrack in particular resonates in a stronger way, especially since the utilization of pop songs is a very key element throughout the film.  Dialogue is also more pronounced and helps clear up some of the areas in the film that the dialogue was a bit muddy. 

 

We are huge fans of this film, we certainly hope that Richard Kelly can return to making strong films like this, we also feel that the directors cut of the film works in a more complete way and owning this Blu-ray will give viewers quick access to both cuts of the film, while the quality is a step below what we were expecting, we can only wonder if a future installment of the film would be appropriate in which case the film is given separate discs for each cut of the film and perhaps even a restoration of the film is needed to help bring consistency to the two prints. 

 

Until that time, we have the best version of the film for home video, even with some technical issues, there is no doubt that fans will not really care and will always be on the lookout for a more definitive version of this modern classic!

 

 

-   Nate Goss