I genuinely feel that any debate about the merits of endless director cuts - where the filmmaker keeps changing and refining an established movie - was comprehensively settled when Richard Kelly totally fucked up the start of Donnie Darko by replacing 'The Killing Moon' with 'Never Tear Us Apart'.
It's Kelly's film so he can do whatever the fuck he wants, and the INXs song is a certified banger, but Echo and The Bunnymen were so perfect as an opening salvo, setting the tone for the whole film, that it always feels weird to watch it with the other song. It always feels off.
Everything else Kelly did for the extended version, including the fleshing out of the time travel theories, is fine, but messing with a perfect music cue like that is just wrong.
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Don't forget that the Director's Butcher didn't end there- Kelly also swapped out The Church "Under the Milky Way" in the scene where Donnie and Gretchen are on the stairs at the party. (This is where "The Killing Moon" was shuffled to.) I share your sentiment- INXS "Never Tear Us Apart" is a great song. The 80s gave us bangers aplenty but INCS is just tonally out-of-place. It is so bizarre to me that they crafted the perfect atmosphere in the original release that was as important to the unforgettable impact of Donnie Darko as the story and actors. And then ruined it.
"Refining" something should make it purer but what Kelly achieved feels more like adulteration to me.
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