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Just saw this the other night, is it related to Donnie Darko?

posted 16 years ago by boywonderpowpunch
7 replies | jump to latest

I was channel surfing the other night when I decided since nothing was on I would check out what corny 70's movie they were showing on Drive-In Classics. For those who don't know, Drive-In Classics is a digital cable subscriber channel that shows everything from the 1950's to the 1970's that is considered cult or classic in the world of cinema.

Something about this film caught my eye right away. Perhaps it was the look of this young blind guy, he looked very 70's but unique at the same time, wearing a train conductors hat and a silky disco type shirt. I think it was also the fact he was a very smooth talker and seemed to not let his mothers annoying comments bother him but rather play them off with sarcasm. The mother seemed very real to me and I thought there on screen chemistry was great. I suddenly also thought this is actually really good acting for a cheap looking 70's flick and when I seen Goldie Hawn I thought OK this must be somewhat known and I will watch it. I liked the film a lot for some reason, the way the set of the apartment looked and the way the driving scenes were filmed it seemed very good for the 70's. I was curious if the film Donnie Darko took its name from this film or if it's just a coincidence, considering the lead character goes by Donnie Dark.

[–] VinnieRattolle 15 years ago

The first time I heard the name Donnie Darko, I thought it was a remake of Butterflies Are Free... course, that theory went out the window when I saw a trailer. There's been speculation over at the board for Donnie Darko that the name was lifted from this (just as the plot of that film was lifted from "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge"), but I don't think writer/director Richard Kelly has ever addressed the question (but don't quote me on that -- I'm not the diehard fan of Darko that some are).

[–] Frumious_Bandersnatch_46 15 years ago

I was curious if the film Donnie Darko took its name from this film or if it's just a coincidence, considering the lead character goes by Donnie Dark.

My best guess is coincidence — but then, I know nothing about the film Donnie Darko.

Don(nie) Baker calling himself Donnie Dark was a (self-mocking) reference to the children's books his mother had written many years earlier about a blind superhero. (Or, as Donnie described him to Jill, "a sightless Superman.")

Yes, the movie was very 70's. It's an excellent adaptation of a play that first opened October 21, 1969 and ran for over 1100 performances. Both Eileen Heckart (as Mrs Baker) and Paul Michael Glaser (as Ralph) had played those same characters on the stage.

Glad you liked it. It's been one of my favourites on stage and screen for more years than I care to admit to. It really shows what you can do with a simple but imaginative set and a few really talented actors.

***
Have you noticed that in Shakespeare's plays soothsayers said the sooth, the whole sooth, and nothing but the sooth?
***

[–] Enrique-8 15 years ago

HE LOOKED VERY 70s???????????

He WAS 70s...sheesh

This is NOT a cheap looking flick...it's a classic movie adapted from a stage play....

My goodness...you know what? There were actually PEOPLE who lived back before 1980!

Enrique Sanchez

[–] Frumious_Bandersnatch_46 15 years ago

I know. I'm one of them.

The 60s/70s look and feel to the play/movie takes me back to the days of my wonderfully misspent youth every time I watch it. — And I'm not admitting how old I was when this movie was first released.

Observations are relative to the observer.
— Albert Einstein

We don't see things as they are; we see things as we are.
— Anaïs Nin

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"The time has come," the Walrus said, "To talk of many things,"
Of atoms, stars and nebulæ, of entropy and genes;
And whether one can bend space;
And why the spaceship shrinks.
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[–] Enrique-8 15 years ago

Hehehe....Well...that was a refreshing answer!

Thanks, Mr. Slithy Toves! :)

Enrique Sanchez

[–] Frumious_Bandersnatch_46 15 years ago

You're welcome, Mr Sanchez.

To my own grandchildren (and my sister's grandchildren) I'm ancient. I remember records on vinyl. I remember television before satellite; before cable, before color, even; and before remote control — actually, we were the remote control: Dad would say, "Get channel 5." and Mom would say, "Turn it up a little, please."

---
"The time has come," the Walrus said, "To talk of many things,"
Of atoms, stars and nebulæ, of entropy and genes.
---

[–] TheAnimalMother 14 years ago

I wondered the same thing, if this film had some how inspired the Donnie Darko title. I guess we'd have to ask Richard Kelly to really find out.

My body's a cage, it's been used and abused...and I...LIKE IT!!