Donnie Darko (15)

Richard Kelly’s audacious, dazzling debut feature was last year’s surprise package. Your everyday tale of demonic rabbits, medicated teens, stormy time travel and the end of the world, it blends genres as it bends minds, emerging as an original, affecting brain-scratcher.

DVD Extras:

That it improves on the rental release is no surprise. That it surpasses its Region One cousin is a pleasant bonus. There is, of course, a certain amount of crossover between the two, this package serving up the same two commentaries (yak one: Kelly and star Jake Gyllenhaal - - excellent; yak two: a bunch of gibbering cast and crew, including Kelly, Drew Barrymore, Katharine Ross and Jena Malone - - overbearing), a host of vaguely interesting deleted/extended scenes and The Philosophy Of Time Travel, which contains excerpts from Grandma Death's key text. But this release also comes with 20 cast-and-crew interviews, B-roll footage, artwork, galleries and TV spots. Okay, so a meaty Making Of would have been preferable, but at least everyone gets their say, the pic'n'mix gabs acting as a healthy supplement to the twin audio tracks. This will all do very nicely until the inevitable Special Edition materialises...

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