Mutant, the premiere vinyl, poster and collectibles company, is launching a new collaboration with acclaimed home video distributor Arrow Video. Together, they are launching an exclusive line of UHD 4K Blu-ray releases under the banner Mutant Mediabook.
Kicking off this exciting partnership is a new edition of “Donnie Darko.” It will be available Friday at 10 a.m. PT on the official Mutant website.
According to the official release, the partnership will combine “Arrow Video’s world-renowned catalog of meticulously restored genre films with Mutant’s flair for elevated physical media, Mutant Mediabooks will feature premium packaging, brand-new artwork, exclusive mediabook inserts and expanded bonus features — all tailored for collectors and cinephiles alike.”
“It’s no secret we are obsessed with physical media over here at Mutant, and one sandbox we’ve always wanted to play in is home video, so we are all thrilled to be launching this partnership with the incredible folks over at Arrow Video to enable us to do just that,” Mutant co-founder Spencer Hickman said in a statement. “Our new home video line will feature exclusive brand-new artwork housed inside our beautiful Mutant Mediabook, and initial numbered pressings will come with an exclusive slipcase. Each release will be stacked with essays and photos that will hopefully bring fans closer to their favorite movies.”
“I’m personally thrilled that ‘Donnie Darko’ is our first release, as the film means a great deal to me,” he continued. “I think we’ve managed to bring something fresh to the iconography of this classic film with Greg Ruth’s incredibly elegant and beautiful artwork, and Award-winning designer Craig Oldham has done an outstanding job on the layout of the entire package. We just couldn’t be prouder of this release kicking off this new line of physical media from Mutant. We’re only just getting started, so make sure you are signed up for our newsletter for details of future releases.”
“The team at Mutant is the best in the business,” Louise Buckler, head of marketing Arrow Video, added. “The quality of their releases, their love for what they do and their passion for physical media are something we deeply align with, so when the opportunity arose for us to work together, we jumped at it! Richard Kelly’s ‘Donnie Darko’ is a title we all hold dear to our hearts, so it was the perfect title to launch this exciting new collaboration. We are honoured to partner with them on this new venture and can’t wait to see what the future holds.”
The December debut of the “Donnie Darko” Mutant Mediabook, presented in its definitive 4K restoration, will feature exclusive cover art, mediabook insert, and a numbered release badge. Future titles in the Mutant Mediabook line will be announced in the coming months, with a focus on cult cinema classics, horror gems, and fan-favorite oddities from the Arrow Video vault.
“Each Mutant Mediabook will offer ultra-HD 4K restorations, collector’s booklet essays and custom-designed slipcovers,” a press release further noted.
Below are all of the details for the release, including special features:
DONNIE DARKO – Mutant Mediabook
2 x 4K UHD discs housed inside a rigid slipcase
Artwork by Greg Ruth
Layout by Craig Oldham
Featuring a 32 page mediabook
Initial pressing of 2,000 featuring a numbered exclusive slipcase
$50
4K ULTRA HD BLU-RAY LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS
- 4K restorations of both the Theatrical Cut and the Director’s Cut from the original camera negatives by Arrow Films, supervised and approved by director Richard Kelly and cinematographer Steven Poster
- 4K (2160p) UHD Blu-ray presentations of both cuts in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible)
- Original DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 audio
- Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
DISC 1 – THE THEATRICAL CUT [4K UHD BLU-RAY]
- Audio commentary by writer-director Richard Kelly and actor Jake Gyllenhaal
- Audio commentary by Kelly, producer Sean McKittrick and actors Drew Barrymore, Jena Malone, Beth Grant, Mary McDonnell, Holmes Osborne, Katharine Ross and James Duval
- Deus ex Machina: The Philosophy of Donnie Darko, a documentary by Ballyhoo Motion Pictures on the making of Donnie Darko, containing interviews with writer-director Richard Kelly, producer Sean McKittrick, cinematographer Steven Poster, editor Sam Bauer, composer Michael Edwards, costume designer April Ferry, production designer Alec Hammond and actor James Duval
- The Goodbye Place, Kelly’s 1996 short film, which anticipates some of the themes and ideas of his feature films
- 20 deleted and alternate scenes with optional commentary by Kelly
- Trailer
DISC 2 – THE DIRECTOR’S CUT [4K UHD BLU-RAY]
- Audio commentary by Kelly and filmmaker Kevin Smith
- The Donnie Darko Production Diary, an archival documentary charting the film’s production, with optional commentary by cinematographer Steven Poster
- Archive interviews with Kelly, actors Jake Gyllenhaal, Jena Malone, Drew Barrymore, James Duval, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Holmes Osborne, Noah Wyle and Katharine Ross, producers Sean McKittrick, Nancy Juvonen, Hunt Lowry and Casey La Scala, and cinematographer Steven Poster
- Three archive featurettes: They Made Me Do It, They Made Me Do It Too and #1 Fan: A Darkomentary
- Storyboard comparisons
- B-roll footage
- Cunning Visions infomercials
- Music video: Mad World by Gary Jules
- Galleries
- Director’s Cut trailer
- TV spots
