The Devil and Daniel Johnston (2006)
Average Rating: 7.5/10
Reviews Counted: 106
Fresh: 94 | Rotten: 12
Whether you think this mentally ill cult musician is worthy of being called a "genius," this document of his life is crafted with sincere respect and is fascinating to watch.
Average Rating: 7.8/10
Critic Reviews: 32
Fresh: 30 | Rotten: 2
Whether you think this mentally ill cult musician is worthy of being called a "genius," this document of his life is crafted with sincere respect and is fascinating to watch.
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Average Rating: 3.7/5
User Ratings: 25,058
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Movie Info
A decade after wowing critics with his debut feature Half Japanese: The Band That Would Be King, director Jeff Feuerzeig finally delivered his sophomore effort -- a documentary about the life and music of singer/songwriter Daniel Johnston. Using archived film clips and recordings with newly shot footage and interviews, the film paints a detailed and honest picture of the tortured genius. The Devil and Daniel Johnston premiered at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Matthew Tobey, Rovi
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All Critics (111) | Top Critics (32) | Fresh (97) | Rotten (12) | DVD (12)
The Devil and Daniel Johnston is an unflinching yet loving look at the outsider musician's life. It's also the most revealing look at genius and mental illness since Terry Zwigoff's 1994 documentary Crumb.
Top CriticA heartbreaking, yet strangely uplifting and inspirational, exploration of the fine line between genius and madness, and how sometimes, one becomes impossible to discern from the other.
I found the documentary surprisingly diverting as a case study.
To share Feuerzeig's loving investigation is to share an insightful study of the destructive and creative capabilities of the mind.
This well-done documentary will explain why Johnston has never been able to rise above cult status ...
Feuerzeig was able to fashion such a thorough, engaging film partly because aficionados such as Lee Renaldo of Sonic Youth shot so much footage of Johnston performing and acting out.
While the movie is interesting as a curiosity, it ultimately reflects on the people who erroneously believe in the heightened quality of Johnston's overrated music.
While a bit draggy in places, the film nonetheless holds up quite well as an enjoyable biopic of a underground musical madman. The "genius" moniker does get dangled a bit too often, there's certainly enough beauty and power in Daniel Jonston's music to su
Like many documentaries about artists battling demons, it doesn't offer enough framework to suggest why anyone should care, but the fragile beauty and borderline exploitation of Johnston's character are made tangible...
Riveting even when it borders on the hagiographic.
Resembles Crumb in its depiction of damaged souls whose only refuge is art.
... a haunting portrait of an artist walking on the edge, that shows his pain in a very real way.
The DVD includes deleted scenes, commentary from director Jeff Feuerzeig and producer Henry Rosenthal, Daniel Johnston's audio diaries, legendary WFMU Broadcast; and the Cinema of Johnston, a collection of three short films.
Regardless of whether you like Daniel Johnston's music or, indeed, whether you can even tolerate it, Johnston is an undeniably riveting documentary subject
A haunting, frequently unsettling documentary about the blurry line between madness and genius.
A paean to the artist as a tortured genius. I can't deny that Johnston has the tortured part down pat. It's the genius part I'm having trouble accepting.
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November 16, 2005:
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