The Devil and Daniel Johnston

The Devil and Daniel Johnston is a 2005 documentary film about American musician Daniel Johnston (1961–2019).

The Devil and Daniel Johnston
A promotional poster for the film
Directed by	Jeff Feuerzeig
Produced by	Henry S. Rosenthal
Starring	Daniel Johnston
Cinematography	Fortunato Procopio
Edited by	Tyler Hubby
Music by	Daniel Johnston
Distributed by	Sony Pictures Classics
Release dates	January 2005 (2005-01) (Sundance) March 31, 2006 (2006-03-31) (United States)
Running time	110 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Box office	$453,337[1]

Summary

The film chronicles Johnston's life from childhood up to age 45, 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]