VYS0019 – It’s a Very, Very Mad World: Donnie Darko – Show Notes
In December 2002 Hine and Buckley met at the Dukes Cinema in Lancaster, Lancashire, UK, for what become one of their most cherished movie-going experiences - to watch an independent film which had already gathered a cult following: Donnie Darko. Donnie Darko is a divisive film popular opinion swings between it being a poignant and magical modern classic to it being amateurish, film school bullshit with an inexplicably great cast (and soundtrack!!!). In this feature length episode (an entire swaggering minute longer than the run-time of the theatrical cut itself!) Hine and Buckley drill down deep into why the film still means so much to them almost 21 years later, what Richard Kelly actually intended the film to mean, why it's actually a '90s masterpiece (despite not being set, made or released in the '90s) and what the "S" in "S. Darko" might stand for... Recorded 16 March 2023.
Warning: Extreme Spoilers For Donnie Darko Follow
Donnie Darko Trailer (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZyBaFYFySk)
Donnie Darko: The Director’s Cut (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mzc1ZoWZ2b8)
Lancaster, Lancashire, UK (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lancaster,_Lancashire)
Twin Peaks (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8GQcynGMMds)
Eraserhead Trailer (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oK-2_OsBe0s)
Wild at Heart Trailer (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCQwumNQL9E)
Lost Highway (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1nKjO9QCSic)
Spiderland (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAApF-FDkoY) by Slint
Blue Bell Knoll (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZpqaNjtaU6o&list=PLfimnwaZdumjSJzjt_t2HQ-f954DQxrbL) by Cocteau Twins
S(hitty) Darko Trailer (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOy04u0yoPY)
American Beauty Trailer (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ly7rq5EsTC8)
The Matrix Trailer (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKQi3bBA1y8)
Fight Club Trailer (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtRKdVHc-cE)
Requiem for a Dream Trailer (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBwzN4v1vA0)
American Psycho Trailer (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YnGhW4UEhc)
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone Trailer (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNgwNXKBEW0)
The Fast and The Furious Trailer (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TAOizOnNPo)
Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring Trailer (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V75dMMIW2B4)
Hallelujah (https://youtu.be/ttEMYvpoR-k) by Leonard Cohen
Hallelujah (https://youtu.be/y8AWFf7EAc4) by Jeff Buckley
Hallelujah (https://youtu.be/aplWTXEcY70) by Alexandra Burke
Mad World (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1ZvPSpLxCg)by Tears for Fears
Mad World (https://youtu.be/4N3N1MlvVc4) by Gary Jules and Michael Andrews
Mad World (https://youtu.be/PlDnambWXZA) by Adam Lambert
Wikipedia page for Intercourse (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexual_intercourse) - For the benefit of innocents like Hine
David Lynch Quotes - Here (https://filmschoolrejects.com/understanding-david-lynch/?amp) and Here (https://filmschoolrejects.com/understanding-david-lynch/?amp)
The Leftovers Trailer (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLT3YUALJno)
Twin Peaks the Return (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8-KTdNdizE)
Donnie Darko Website (http://www.donniedarko.org.uk/explanation/) - This is not the original Donnie Darko Website, the original used Flash player which is no longer supported by most browsers but can still be found here (http://archive.hi-res.net/donniedarko/))
Wikipedia Page for The Lost Experience (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lost_Experience) - The alternate reality game which was part of the TV series Lost (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hBI7ijfXE8)
The Philosophy of Time Travel (http://www.donniedarko.org.uk/philosphy-of-time-travel/) - Do not buy the version being sold on Amazon
The Donnie Darko Book (https://www.abebooks.co.uk/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=31302320364&searchurl=ds%3D20%26kn%3Ddonnie%2Bdarko%26sortby%3D17&cm_sp=snippet-_-srp1-_-title2) by Richard Kelly
2004 Article from Saloon on Donnie Darko: The Director's Cut (https://www.salon.com/2004/07/23/darko/)
Back to the Future Part II - Doc explains tangent universes (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WfIranZeUg)
The Destructors (https://shortstoryproject.com/stories/the-destructors/) by Graham Greene - and remember: that old man could be you in a few years...
Dubliners (https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/dubliners-james-joyce/17890?ean=9781513264677) by James Joyce
Back to the Future Part II - Doc Explains a time-travel-paradox (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKqd27h7KjM)
Independence Day Trailer (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1E7h3SeMDk) - the trailer starts with more Tears for Fears
Battlestar Galactica Trailer (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64Ae2AJRshI) - Legitimately one of the best TV series ever made (according to Vayse), it's weird that we haven't mentioned it sooner
Campbellian Story Structure (https://www.movieoutline.com/articles/the-hero-journey-mythic-structure-of-joseph-campbell-monomyth.html)
American Gods (https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/american-gods-neil-gaiman/1589775?ean=9780755322817) by Neil Gaiman
Michael Andrew’s Soundtrack to the Donnie Darko (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYVxCQpbjvo&list=PLOspBXT5KCee2yPeU7CRt8kEy7T8o4xYT)
Life and Death from Lost (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCJU7dQRw_8) by Michael Giacchino
The End Of All Our Exploring (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6aPzCyJD7o) from the Leftovers by Max Richter
The Killing Moon (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWz0JC7afNQ) by Echo and the Bunnymen
Head over Heels (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CsHiG-43Fzg) by Tears for Fears
Wikipedia Page for Stephen Hawking (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Hawking)
Wikipedia page for Stephen King (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_King)
Wikipedia page for Steven Spielberg (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Spielberg)
Southland Tales Trailer (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9A82ciNC7jk)
Stranger Things Trailer (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnd7sFt5c3A)
Guardian Article (https://amp.theguardian.com/society/2008/feb/27/mentalhealth.health1) about the mental health crisis of the late '80s and '90s told with a focus on Prozac - a connection that Hine didn't make at the time of recording was that Prozac was launched in the US in 1988, the year in which Donnie Darko is set...
Blue Velvet Trailer (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQwTHluXcWk)
Nevermind (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7TDeBi34OtE&list=PLMxy067kbpQjRXmNGao7pvVoFaCTIZRze)by Nirvana
Bleach (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdPdFNptSU0) by Nirvana
Surfer Rosa (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jrxxto5dNQo&list=PLMxy067kbpQhJkOZtEDdjn97sir7HmzkQ) by Pixies
Ultramega Ok (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXYccATGkLI) by Soundgarden
Invisible Lantern (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42IPtWW29aY) by Screaming Trees
Bug (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4l0j3vqTPLY) by Dinosaur Jr
Superfuzz Bigmuff (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uj7xbMnAiUs&list=PLVxakxoWul5WcZlb3Mpwm_SBw0lY2aMuD) by Mudhoney
It’s a Wonderful Life Trailer (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLR3gZrU2Xo)
Harvey Trailer (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VvfXvW2wsuQ)
The Last Temptation of Christ Trailer (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IiJoTT6NDqU)
Richard Kelly Interview from the Playlist (https://theplaylist.net/richard-kelly-southland-tales-interview-20210126/) in which Kelly talks about doing more Southland Tales and more Donnie Darko
Watchmen TV Series (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kykx21Xekmg)
Justin Timberlake dance sequence from Southland Tales (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IW2BYamUWME)
The Chumscrubber Trailer (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJ8u9Q81mNo)
Brick Trailer (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Zfw8__A7ps)
Heathers Trailer (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJVKh9KKiug)
The Virgin Suicides Trailer (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbz4-du3Ayg)
Napoleon Dynamite Trailer (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHDi_AnqwN4)
Wanted Trailer (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=edpEspHOeVU)
The Big Lebowski Trailer (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cd-go0oBF4Y)
The Hudsucker Proxy Trailer (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBa8p0NFwM8)
Under The Silver Lake Trailer (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwgUesU1pz4)
A Beautiful Mind Trailer (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wZM7CQY130) - Released the same year as Donnie Darko
Frank Trailer (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1A7iVIg_ry8)
For Whom the Bell Tolls (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwmTCIHPRsM) by Carmen Daye and Steve Baker
Time Loops: Precognition, Retrocausation, and the Unconscious (https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/time-loops-precognition-retrocausation-and-the-unconscious-eric-wargo/1974052?ean=9781938398926) by Eric Wargo
We Can Remember It For You Wholesale: Volume Five Of The Collected Stories (https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/we-can-remember-it-for-you-wholesale-volume-five-of-the-collected-stories-philip-k-dick/2892454?ean=9781857989489) by Philip K Dick
The fate of Jim Cunningham revealed and other extraneous Donnie Darko trivia from the mind of Richard Kelly (http://www.donniedarko.org.uk/trivia/)
