The Devil and Daniel Johnston (2005)

User Rating:

7.9/10   

Director:

Jeff Feuerzeig

Writer:

Jeff Feuerzeig (writer)

Release Date:

5 May 2006 (UK)

Genre:

Documentary | Biography | Music

Plot:

Daniel Johnston, manic-depressive genius singer/songwriter/artist is revealed in this portrait of madness, creativity and love. |

Plot Keywords:

Singer | Airplane Accident | Church | Songwriter | Musician

Awards:

2 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Daniel Johnston	...	Himself
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Laurie Allen	...	Herself
Brian Beattie	...	Himself
Louis Black	...	Himself
David Fair	...	Himself
Jad Fair	...	Himself
Don Goede	...	Himself
Matt Groening	...	Himself
Gibby Haynes	...	Himself
Bill Johnston	...	Himself
Dick Johnston	...	Himself
Mabel Johnston	...	Herself
Margie Johnston	...	Herself
Sally Johnston-Reid	...	Herself
Ken Lieck	...	Himself
Kathy McCarty	...	Herself
Freddie Mercury	...	Himself (archive footage)
Thurston Moore	...	Himself
Jason Nightmare	...	Himself
John Pochna	...	Himself
Jeff Tartakov	...	Himself
David Thornberry	...	Himself
Peter Zaremba	...	Himself

Directed by
Jeff Feuerzeig

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Jeff Feuerzeig		writer

Produced by
David Donaldson	....	coordinating producer: Post Logic Studios
Ted Hope	....	executive producer
Henry S. Rosenthal	....	producer

Original Music by
Daniel Johnston

Cinematography by
Fortunato Procopio		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Tyler Hubby

Art Direction by
Gregg Gibbs
Jill McGraw

Art Department
Candace Cole	....	graphic designer
Kiara Geller	....	art department
Timothy Georgarakis	....	graphic designer
Gregg Gibbs	....	art department
Jill McGraw	....	art department
Eric Myerson	....	graphic designer
Chris Rogers	....	art department (as Christopher Rogers)
Hanna Rogers	....	graphic designer

Sound Department
Ethan Andrus	....	sound recordist
Wayne Bell	....	sound recordist
Adam Joseph	....	sound recordist
James Lebrecht	....	sound designer
James Lebrecht	....	sound re-recording mixer
Dan Olmsted	....	sound re-recording mixer
Daniel Sperry	....	consultant: dolby sound (as Dan Speery)
Allie Sultan	....	assistant sound editor (as Alison Sultan)
Patti Tauscher	....	supervising sound editor
Dennis Towns	....	sound recordist

Visual Effects by
Joseph Bailey	....	lead 2D artist: Big Red Pixel
Tarn Fox	....	digital compositor: Big Red Pixel
John G. Kirby	....	lead 3D artist: Big Red Pixel (as John Kirby)
Jonah Loop	....	visual effects producer: Big Red Pixel
Robert Rossello	....	visual effects supervisor: Big Red Pixel

Camera and Electrical Department
Gabriel Aguilar	....	electrician
Gabriel Aguilar	....	grip
Karl Alexander	....	electrician
Karl Alexander	....	grip
Jessica Attel	....	electrician
Jessica Attel	....	grip
Kent Baker	....	electrician
Kent Baker	....	grip
Yves Beauvais	....	still photographer
Pat Blashill	....	still photographer
Jutta Brandt	....	still photographer
Harry Clark	....	assistant camera (as Harry Clark Jr.)
Harry Clark	....	camera operator: additional photography (as Harry Clark Jr.)
Jasper Daley	....	still photographer
Monica Dee	....	still photographer
Peter Donavan	....	assistant camera
Steve Double	....	still photographer
Casey Dunn	....	electrician
Casey Dunn	....	grip
Mátyás Erdély	....	camera operator: additional photography (as Matyas Erdely)
David Fair	....	still photographer
Rob Featherstone	....	camera operator: additional photography
Jeff Feuerzeig	....	camera operator: additional photography
Jeff Feuerzeig	....	still photographer
Bob Finley III	....	electrician (as Robert Finley)
Bob Finley III	....	grip (as Robert Finley)
Niles J. Fuller	....	still photographer
Tom Gimbel	....	still photographer
Craig Grossmueller	....	assistant camera
Edison Jackson	....	electrician
Edison Jackson	....	grip
Ben Kobbs	....	second assistant camera
Charles 'Woody' Lang	....	electrician (as Woody Lang)
Charles 'Woody' Lang	....	grip (as Woody Lang)
Michael Lavine	....	still photographer
Mike Layne	....	still photographer (as Michael Layne)
David Layton	....	assistant camera
Robert Lewallen	....	electrician (as Bobby Lewallen III)
Robert Lewallen	....	grip (as Bobby Lewallen III)
Michael Macioce	....	still photographer
Rick Magee	....	still photographer
James 'Buz' Maloy	....	electrician (as Buz Maloy)
James 'Buz' Maloy	....	grip (as Buz Maloy)
J. McConnico	....	still photographer
Peter Michelena	....	plate photographer
Mark J. Miller	....	still photographer (as Mark Miller)
Deb Pastor	....	still photographer
Matthew A. Petrosky	....	assistant camera (as Matt Petrosky)
Susanne Sasic	....	still photographer
Adam Drew Schwartz	....	assistant camera (as Adam Schwartz)
Tom Shinn	....	electrician
Tom Shinn	....	grip
Jeff Tartakov	....	still photographer
David Thornberry	....	still photographer
Wilson Waggoner	....	electrician (as Wilson Wagoner)
Wilson Waggoner	....	grip (as Wilson Wagoner)
John A. Witmer	....	electrician (as John Witmer)
John A. Witmer	....	grip (as John Witmer)

Editorial Department
Jeff Feuerzeig	....	additional editor
Nathaniel Fregoso	....	assistant editor
Ed Fuller	....	additional editor
Anne Hall	....	assistant editor
Matthew W. Johnson	....	IQ artist
Nelson Mah	....	film scanner: Post Logic Studios
Brett S. McCarthy	....	assistant editor (as Brett McCarthy)
Michael Underwood	....	digital colorist: Post Logic Studios (as Mike Underwood)

Music Department
Brooke Wentz	....	music supervisor
Walter Werzowa	....	composer: additional music

Other crew
Nicole Acacio	....	production coordinator
Gabriel Aguilar	....	production assistant
Leora Backer	....	production assistant
Henry Ball	....	engineer: Post Logic Studios
Susan Boone	....	legal services
Mateo Bourdieu	....	production assistant
Michael Burke	....	production assistant
John Cates	....	production assistant
Jason Dennis	....	production assistant
Kevin Dewitt	....	production assistant
Rodney Elliot	....	production assistant
Christopher Geraghty	....	production coordinator
Steve Hahn	....	production assistant
Sean Harper	....	production assistant
Dennis Hocking	....	production assistant
Adam Hollander	....	production assistant
Ben Kobos	....	production assistant
Mark Krumper	....	production coordinator
Tamara Marcarian	....	production assistant
Tony Mazzucchi	....	production assistant
Charles Mcdonald	....	title designer (as Charles McDonald)
Donovan Milcoch	....	production assistant (as Donovan Micoch)
Mark J. Miller	....	production coordinator (as Mark Miller)
Joe Monroe	....	asset manager: Post Logic Studios
Lawrence Onoda	....	production assistant
Marcos V. Perez	....	production assistant
George S. Rosenthal	....	production assistant
George Rush	....	legal services (as George M. Rush)
Molli Simon	....	production coordinator (as Molli Amara Simon)
Morganna Thomas	....	production assistant
Charles Yang	....	production assistant

Thanks
Woody Allen	....	thanks
Brian Beattie	....	thanks
Louis Black	....	thanks
Joshua Blum	....	thanks
Bruce Conner	....	thanks
David Fair	....	thanks
Jad Fair	....	thanks
Nick Apollo Forte	....	thanks
Don Goede	....	thanks
Matt Groening	....	thanks
Gibby Haynes	....	thanks
Ken Lieck	....	thanks
Kathy McCarty	....	thanks
Thurston Moore	....	thanks
Eric Papa	....	thanks
Barbara Peterson	....	thanks
John Pochna	....	thanks
Jeff Tartakov	....	thanks
David Thornberry	....	thanks (as Dave Thornberyy)

Production Companies

• Complex
• This Is That Productions

Distributors

• Avalon Productions (2006) (Spain) (theatrical)
• Mongrel Media (2005) (Canada) (theatrical)
• Sony Pictures Classics (2006) (USA) (theatrical)
• Tornado Film (2007) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Tornado Film (2007) (Japan) (DVD)

Special Effects

• Big Red Pixel (visual effects)

Other Companies

• Berkeley Sound Artists  audio post facility
• Complex  production services
• Epstein, Levinsohn, Bodine, Hurwitz & Weinstein  legal services
• Johnston Family Archive  archive footage courtesy of
• Johnston Family Archive  still photographs
• Michael Ochs Archive  still photographs
• Modern VideoFilm  super 8 transfer
• Park Entertainment, The  post-production facilities
• Post Logic Studios  digital intermediate
• Rights Workshop, The  clip clearance
• Rights Workshop, The  music supervision
• Saul Zaentz Film Center  audio post facility

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for thematic elements, drug content, and language including a sexual reference.

Runtime:

110 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Ireland:15A | Australia:M | USA:PG-13 | UK:12A

Filming Locations:

Austin, Texas, USA

Company:

Complex

Quotes:

Daniel Johnston: I never met a girl I didn't meet.

Movie Connections:

Features Woodshock (1985)

Soundtrack:

Despair Came Knocking

Genius and Madness

Many of the great artists of history have suffered from some form of mental disorder, and we often find ourselves fascinated both by their brilliance and their madness. Of course, as this documentary points out, none of us ever had to actually live with a Van Gogh or a Lord Byron and deal with the real world consequences of what went on in their heads.

In The Devil and Daniel Johnston, Jeff Feuerzeig gives us a rare glimpse into the tortured mind of just such brilliant artist by effectively combining interviews from those who have known Daniel Johnston best with Johnston's own internal monologue. Feuerzeig achieves the latter because, apart from recording hundreds of songs on cassette tapes, Daniel recorded much of his life; from his mother screaming at him as a teenager to his arrest by park officials for painting Jesus fish on the Statue of Liberty to Johnston reading aloud about his own mental illness from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.

Many people came to know Daniel Johnston's work in the early 90s when Kurt Cobain famously called him the "greatest songwriter on Earth" and wore a t-shirt with an image from one of Johnston's hand-drawn album covers on the MTV Video Music Awards. Johnston's raw and introspective songs were subsequently covered by Nirvana, Sonic Youth, The Flaming Lips, Beck, and many others. Sadly, just as his music was making inroads into the popular consciousness Johnston's mental illness worsened (possibly accelerated by heavy LSD use), and his career and life entered increasingly troubled waters.

The Devil and Daniel Johnston works as a documentary about music, art, and mental illness all at the same time. It grants you unusual access to what's going on inside a the mind of a human being bursting with creative talent while simultaneously struggling to control the demons that haunt him. After watching this, don't be surprised if you find yourself wanting to hear more of Daniel Johnston's work.