Donnie Darko

Donnie Darko (2001)

Timing: 1:54 (114 min)

7.764/10
13308

7.601/10
243726

8/10
908000

All about film

Video 19

Photo 231

Actors and characters

Release date

2001-01-19

Country

United States

Production

Newmarket Films, Flower Films, Gaylord Films, Adam Fields Productions, Pandora Cinema

Genre

Fantasy, Drama, Mystery

Budget

$4 500 000

Revenue

$7 500 000

Website

https://web.archive.org/web/20170416075239/http://archive.hi-res.net/donniedarko/

Director

Richard Kelly

Actors

Jake Gyllenhaal, Jena Malone, James Duval, Drew Barrymore, Beth Grant, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Mary McDonnell, Holmes Osborne, Noah Wyle, Katharine Ross
All actors and roles (10)

Scenario

Richard Kelly

Producer

Adam Fields, Sean McKittrick, Nancy Juvonen, Aaron Ryder, Drew Barrymore, Hunt Lowry, Christopher Ball, William Tyrer, Casey La Scala

Operator

Steven Poster

Composer

Michael Andrews

Artist

Audition

Joseph Middleton, Michelle Morris

Editing

Sam Bauer, Eric Strand
All team (142)

• Newmarket Films, the film's distributor in the United States, offered Richard Kelly the opportunity to create a director's cut. He agreed and, along with editor Sam Bauer, created a new version of the film in nine days.
• After filming wrapped, director Richard Kelly faced a problem: it was incredibly difficult to find a company willing to distribute the film – producers accustomed to clear plot structures were very confused by the film's genre ambiguity. According to Richard Kelly, the film's US distributor couldn't find the right time for release, as the movie combines many genres, and the distributor couldn't figure out how to run an advertising campaign. Kelly also said that 'Donnie Darko' could have gone straight to video.
• The film was shot in 28 days. The events of the film also unfold over 28 days.
• At the party, one can notice someone jumping on a trampoline wearing a Ronald Reagan mask. This is a reference to a photograph of journalist Hunter S. Thompson dressed in a Reagan mask and jumping on a trampoline.
• During a conversation with a psychiatrist about sex, Donnie references “Married… with Children” (1987), and specifically Christina Applegate. Originally, Donnie was supposed to talk about Alyssa Milano.
• Donnie and Gretchen were supposed to be watching “C.H.U.D.” (1984) in a movie theater. However, difficulties arose in determining the rights holders for this film. Therefore, Sam Raimi offered to freely use his own “The Evil Dead” (1981).
• Richard Kelly had planned for the song MLK by U2 to play during the final scene. However, after difficulties arose in obtaining the rights to use the composition, the creators decided to choose a cover version of Mad World.
• During the filming of the movie, the girls danced to West End Girls by Pet Shop Boys. However, during post-production, due to budget constraints, the song was replaced with Notorious by Duran Duran.
• Richard Kelly wanted Tim Robbins to play Donnie's father.
• The black and white poster in Donnie's room is a reproduction of a Maurits Escher engraving.
• The original film poster featured lettering in a style reminiscent of Arabic script. When the film was released on video, after the events of September 11, 2001, the font was replaced with the more 'friendly' Times New Roman.
• Jason Schwartzman was originally going to play Donnie.
• The initial runtime of the film was 165 minutes. The director's cut is closest to the original version that was shown at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2001.
• The cinema where Donnie and Gretchen watch the film "The Evil Dead" (1981) actually exists.
• The skeleton costume worn by Donnie at the party was also worn by characters in "The Karate Kid" (1984).
• Richard Kelly attempted to recreate the overall atmosphere of Stanley Kubrick's "Lolita" (1962) in this film. At the party, Elizabeth Darko (Maggie Gyllenhaal) is dressed exactly like Vivien Darkbloom (Marianne Stone) in "Lolita".
• In one of the deleted scenes, schoolchildren discuss Richard Adams' novel "Watership Down" (1978), whose plot features a rabbit foretelling the inevitable destruction of the rabbit warren. This scene was included in the director's cut of the film.
• During the party, a wolf howl can be heard in the background. This sound was borrowed from "An American Werewolf in London" (1981).
• The film ranked fifth on the list of "10 Favorite Australian Films".
• According to Richard Kelly, the book Eddie Darko is reading is Stephen King's "Strange Guests." However, the viewer doesn't see the book cover because "some ugly person stole it during filming." It can also be noticed in the film that Rose Darko is reading Stephen King's "It."
• The opening scene of the film is a reference to Martin Scorsese's "The Last Temptation of Christ" (1988). The title of this film can later be seen on a movie theater poster where Donnie and his girlfriend were.
• Jim Cunningham (Patrick Swayze) says that cigarettes, alcohol, and premarital sex are tools of fear. In the film, Donnie smokes cigarettes, drinks alcohol, and engages in sex.
• The computer game Donnie and his girlfriend are playing is Out Run (1986).
• According to Film4, the film ranked 9th on the list of "50 Films to See Before You Die".
• Maggie Gyllenhaal (sister of Jake Gyllenhaal) plays Donnie's sister in the film. She got onto the set thanks to a scene in "Cecil B. Demented" (2000), which Richard Kelly really liked.
• The bicycle ride to Grandma Death's house is a tribute to Steven Spielberg’s "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial" (1982), which also starred Drew Barrymore.
• The director's cut, released 1001 days after the theatrical version, contains 28 deleted scenes.
• A theme from Michael Andrews' composition Manipulated Living, used in the film as a soundtrack for one of the episodes, was later used by Madonna during her Sticky & Sweet world tour as a soundtrack for the intro video sequence.
• At a parent-teacher conference, Kitty Farmer believes writer Graham Greene appeared on the television show Bonanza. She is confusing him with actor Lorne Greene.
• When Donnie's mother calls to say they are flying on a red-eye flight, we hear an announcement – Boarding for flight 2806 is now beginning at gate 42, flight departs at 12:00 AM. Donnie’s mother is likely referring to this flight. This is also a reference to the countdown (28:06:42:12) that Frank told Donnie about.
• According to Richard Kelly, the man in the red tracksuit is a Federal Aviation Administration agent.
• The events of the film take place in 1988. Frank tells Donnie that the end of the world will occur in 28 days, 6 hours, 42 minutes, and 12 seconds. If you add those numbers together, you get 88. When Samantha asks when she will have children, Donnie replies: “Not before 8th grade.” Donnie tells his psychiatrist that his dog died when he was 8 years old. According to a news reporter, the fire at Jim Cunningham’s house was extinguished around 8:00 AM. The film’s finale takes place one week before the 1988 presidential election. George H.W. Bush was elected president on November 8, 1988. In a conversation with one of his teachers, Donnie talks about the DeLorean from 'Back to the Future' (1985), which needed to reach 88 miles per hour to travel through time.
• The film’s DVD contains a very important source of information, helping to fully appreciate the intent of 'Donnie Darko' – the book 'The Philosophy of Time Travel,' written by Roberta Sparrow – who is also 'Grandma Death' in the film. The director’s cut includes quotes from this book, invented and written by the director himself.
• After filming was completed, director Richard Kelly faced a problem: it was incredibly difficult to find a company willing to distribute the film. Producers accustomed to clear plot structures were very confused by the film's genre ambiguity. According to Richard Kelly, the film's US distributor couldn't find the right release date because the film combined many genres, and the distribution company didn't know how to run an advertising campaign. Kelly also said that "Donnie Darko" could have gone straight to video.
• At the party, someone can be seen jumping on a trampoline wearing a Ronald Reagan mask. This is a reference to a photograph of journalist Hunter S. Thompson dressed in a Reagan mask and jumping on a trampoline.
• During a conversation with a psychiatrist about sex, Donnie references "Married... with Children" (1987), and specifically Christina Applegate. Initially, Donnie was supposed to talk about Alyssa Milano.
• Donnie and Gretchen were supposed to be watching "C.H.U.D." (1984) in the cinema. However, difficulties arose in determining the rights holders for the film. Therefore, Sam Raimi offered to use his own "The Evil Dead" (1981) for free.
• The cinema where Donnie and Gretchen watch “The Evil Dead” (1981) is a real place.
• The skeleton costume that Donnie wears at the party was also worn by characters in “The Karate Kid” (1984).
• Richard Kelly attempted to recreate the overall atmosphere of Stanley Kubrick’s “Lolita” (1962) in this film. At the party, Elizabeth Darko (Maggie Gyllenhaal) is dressed identically to Vivienne Darkbloom (Marianne Stone) in “Lolita”.
• In one of the deleted scenes, schoolchildren discuss Richard Adams’ novel “Watership Down” (1978), which features a rabbit foretelling the inevitable destruction of the rabbit warren. This scene was included in the director’s cut of the film.
• During the party, a wolf howl can be heard in the background. This sound was taken from “An American Werewolf in London” (1981).
• According to Richard Kelly, the book Eddie Darko is reading is Stephen King's "The Mist." However, the viewer does not see the book cover because "some ugly guy stole it during filming." The film also shows Rose Darko reading Stephen King's "It."
• The opening scene of the film is a reference to Martin Scorsese's "The Last Temptation of Christ" (1988). The title of this film can later be seen on a movie theater poster where Donnie and his girlfriend are.
• According to Film4, the film ranked 9th on the list of "50 Films to See Before You Die."
• Maggie Gyllenhaal (Jake Gyllenhaal's sister) plays Donnie's sister in the film. She landed the role on set after Richard Kelly was very impressed with her scene in "Cecil B. Demented" (2000).
• When Donnie's mother calls to say they are flying in on a red-eye, we hear an announcement – "Boarding for flight 2806 is now underway at gate 42, flight departs at 12:00 AM." Presumably, Donnie’s mother is referring to this flight. This is also a reference to the countdown (28:06:42:12) that Frank told Donnie about.