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RICHARD KELLY, the filmmaker behind DONNIE DARKO, is about to unleash a DIRECTOR’S CUT of his debut feature on the world. Paul Dale asks why, what
is the point?
nder bltie moon I saw you/ So soon you‘ll take me/l'p in your arms. too late to beg yon/()r cancel it. though I know it must he/The killing time/ l'nw'illingly mine.‘ :\nd so begins Richard Kelly 's tw'o-y'ear-old oddball ['8 indie lilick Donnie [Mr/w. Donnie (lake (iyllenhaal is on a bike and the Bunnymen are opening the panic book on this bi/arre (Ambrose) Bierce—ian tale ol‘ what may or may not
have happened to one small town lad in the 38 days oi
()ctober Wh’h’ when a six foot demon bunny started stalking him. Donnie Dar/m is acute. likeable. imaginative little curio whose odd delights and ambiguity seem to be a result of the fact that Kelly had to discipline himself to bring the film in at under two hours in order to see it released. But time has moved on and Kelly has now been allowed to release the version he originally wanted to — which is something of a shame. For what Kelly has done is to insert a quirky slice of exposition via the clumsy device of page insertions from the story's Philosophy of Time Travel book. which tells us about ‘Tangent L'niverses'. ‘the Manipulated Living' and so on.
The film is still an absolute peach but the additions seem to negate its multilayered charms rather than adding to them and this seems to be the name of the game in that most dil‘l‘icult ot‘ propositions. the director‘s cut.
There is. of course. the James (‘ameron approach where you stuff in everything you can find on the cutting room floor and turn your once singular vision in a hlubbering mammoth or else there's the Ridley Scott school ot‘ thought — where you trim and snip anything that time. age and economic acquired conservatism has told you doesn‘t work. Both approaches come down to the simple fact that the egotism and power have allowed these men to act on the one notion that mature.
12 .\" 5s...) .‘ 5V: .‘
‘I'M NOT A FOOL, l HAVEN'T GONE IN THERE AND BOTCHED THE THINGS THAT PEOPLE LOVE'
sell conlident middle—aged men should never act on as the l'aces chorus to '()oh la la would hayc it: 'I wish that I know what I know now. when l was youngerf
In his del‘ence Kelly has recently said: "My original vision was always a kind ol' epic science liction tale but it had to be condensed to come in under two hours. l'ltimatcly l l'ound it impossible to tally communicate the story in under two hours but now I don't have a restriction on running time. hopefully audiences will be able to re—experience the lilm in a completely new way. With the new visual el‘l‘ects and new sound design I think it's something the tans will want to see on the big screen. It's all good though — I'm not a tool. I haven't gone in there and botched the things that people love. Donnie does not shoot first — l'm not pulling a Greedo.‘
Talking of Star ll'urs. news that George Lucas is actually currently working on a new CGI’d up version of his very decent early sci t‘i film THX [/38 is more than a little worrying. What monstrosity he will emerge with will have to be seen. but before he changes a thing he needs to remember that tilm. like all great art. should be emblematic and telling ol‘ its time and not jiist a carcass ol‘ regret that one can return to and re- liesh tor a new generation ol‘ rubbernecker cinemagoers.
'l'hat Kelly should join this sect ol' regretl‘ul older men at the tender age ol 28 is troubling. We just all better hope he redeems himsell w hen he delivers up his ‘dark. twisted. ambiguous. metaphysical science headtrip‘ ot a new movie. South/um! ’lii/es. later this \L‘dl’.
Donnie Darko: The Director’s Cut is on selected release from Fri 27 Aug.
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Fi/m news and giveaways from the big and htt/e coantry
NEIL YOUNG, NOW THERE’S A man unafraid to experiment across musical and cinematic mediums. His new film Greendale is a musical look at the simple lives and struggles of people in a small fictional town of Greendale. It features 12 songs by Young including ‘Devil's Sidewalk' and ‘Be The Rain'. Greendale will be screened at Cameo cinema in Edinburgh on the 30 and 31 of August at 6.30pm. Also Sanctuary Visual Entertainment will be releasing the DVD of the film on 6 September. We have a pair of tickets for each screening and five runner up copies of the DVD to give away. All you have to do is send an email marked ‘GREENDALE’ to promotions@list.co.uk or on a postcard to The List, 14 High St, Edinburgh, EH1 1TE. Deadline Friday 27 August. Please include a daytime telephone number and postal address. Usual List rules apply.
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FANCY GETTING YOUR FILM shown in Montana, cowboy (or cowgirl)? Then you need to take note that the final postmark deadline for the the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival is Monday 15 November. The festival is the premier venue for non-fiction film in the American West. Over 75 films, including world and US premiers, classics, rare and experimental works will be shown during the week-long event. See http://highplainsfilms.org/festiva l/entries.htm and http://www.blgskyfilmfest.org. Yee haal Go pilgrim go!