The Devil and Daniel Johnston

2005 American documentary film

January 2005 (2005-01) (Sundance)
March 31, 2006 (2006-03-31) (United States)

Running time

110 minutesCountryUnited StatesLanguageEnglishBox office$453,337^[1]

The Devil and Daniel Johnston is a 2005 documentary film about American musician Daniel Johnston.

Summary

It chronicles Johnston's life from childhood up to the present, with an emphasis on his experiences with bipolar disorder, and how it manifested itself in demonic self-obsession. The film was directed by Jeff Feuerzeig and produced by Henry S. Rosenthal.^[2]

Reception

Critical reception

On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 89% based on 110 reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "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."^[3] On Metacritic the film has a score of 77 out of 100, based on reviews from 33 critics.^[4]

Awards

The film won the Documentary Directing Award at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival.

Home media

It is available on DVD from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, which includes a supplemental feature documenting the reunion between Johnston and his long-time obsession and muse, Laurie Allen. A manufacture on demand Blu-ray was released through Sony's Choice Collection on October 19, 2016.^[5]

References

^ "The Devil and Daniel Johnston (2006) - Financial Information". The Numbers.
^ "Production Notes" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-06-05. Retrieved 2010-03-09.. Retrieved 2010-03-08.
^ The Devil and Daniel Johnston at Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2019-09-10.
^ "The Devil and Daniel Johnston". Metacritic.
^ "The Devil and Daniel Johnston". TiVo Corporation. Retrieved September 5, 2017.