A Darren Aronofsky Collection (Lionsgate/Pi/Requiem For A Dream)

 

(Requiem For A Dream) Picture: B     Sound: B     Extras: B     Film: B

(Pi) Picture: B-     Sound: B     Extras: B     Film: B-

 

 

Darren Aronofsky has a directorial flair that is largely his own.  These films ebb and flow in linear timelines that have been intercut with hallucinatory sequences - seeming at times to be extended music videos in such a fashion.  As evidenced by each of these movies, there is a strange rhythm that flows through his works - emboldened by the use of frequent repetition in scenes and ideas.  As he points out in the commentary tracks on both of the films, there is also a deliberate visual attempt at creating timelessness within the frame of the movies.  To an extent it works - but the thematic mishmash rings true largely of urban America in the 1980s and 1990s.

 

In the long run, however, these films will regardless remain a capsule of new millennium moviemaking.  Many directors now utilize music video techniques in their storytelling, albeit in a number of different ways.  Aronofsky falls in line with the likes of David Fincher, Danny Boyle and The Wachowski Brothers as directors who have hammered out their own devices from the medium’s newfound cultural prominence over the past couple decades.

 

Pi (1998) was Aronofsky’s first foray into feature films, and though he was clearly trying to forge his own style, he also rather overtly borrows themes and ideas from both David Lynch and David Cronenberg. There aren’t many modern directors better to take cues from though, and while the proceedings are uneven, the plot remains effective, despite being a bit ludicrous overall.  Not as polished as Requiem For A Dream (2000) was to be, this still packs a punch and is worth the time you’ll spend with it.  As for the latter film, the increased budget placed at the director’s disposal presents him with a larger canvas on which to experiment and let his ideas flourish.  The camerawork and editing in this film are impeccable, with excellent performances all around.

 

The gnawing addiction that is central to the movie is especially interesting when Ellen Burstyn is driving her character.  Her anguish seems authentic, and it brings home the idea that addiction can be found anywhere, as she has several less taboo but all too common vices that she is unable to overcome.  Some of the best scenes here are when her mind is outwardly explored on film.  The refrigerator can be seen lunging toward her, and her “television-self” appears in her own living room, mocking her along with fiction motivational speaker Tappy Tibbons.  In certain respects, one may be reminded in part by Cronenberg’s Videodrome here, but there are several ways Darren Aronofsky plays things up to better effect by offering more humanity for the audience to grasp onto when things start to get a little strange.

 

The special features enclosed are the same as the single-disc versions of the films.  You get two great commentaries for each film, with Aronofsky doing one for each.  Actor Sean Gullette does the second track for Pi and cinematographer Matthew Libatique (A.S.C.) does the duties on Requiem For A Dream.  Each has its share of behind the scenes footage and deleted scenes, as well as the obligatory inclusion of trailers among other extras.

 

Picture quality for Pi is good, and is presented in an anamorphically enhanced widescreen aspect ratio of 1.66:1.  It was shot in 16mm black and white on lower reversal film stock, but the transfer is good, and in some scenes the print really shines.  Quality for Requiem For A Dream is naturally better, as better elements were used in its production. It is also anamorphically enhanced, with an aspect ratio of 1.85:1.  The sound is constructed about evenly in quality and tone for both movies, but is less polished in Pi, which is rougher in general, and is only mixed in 2.0 Dolby.  The latter film contains a soundscape that is layered a bit more delicately, and is presented in 5.1 Dolby Surround.

 

Ultimately, both of these films can lend to a feeling of despair and unease that I’m not particularly fond of.  True, that is ultimately how life goes - but I remain a fan of escapism.  The lack of a tidy and well-wishing ending will bother some people more than others, but I’ve ignored this small personal dislike to see how worthwhile these films are, especially in the technical sense.  These stand as great primers for any up-and-coming filmmakers out there, and the low price of this set begs for it to be sought out.

 

 

-   David Milchick