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'Requiem For A Dream' takes a fresh and raw look at the lives of four addicts of different sorts and how their addictions fuel their own minds delusion as well as exposing just how much they are prepared to degrade themselves in order to attempt to satisfy unattainable goals.
Ellen Burstyn, ... Read review
Fantasy mixes with the harsh reality of addiction and the desire for hope inRequiem for a ... more
Dream. Beginning at the dawn of a new summer in Coney Island, the film charts the relationship of Sara Goldfarb (Ellen Burstyn) and her son Harry (Jared Leto)--tw...
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Fantasy mixes with the harsh reality of addiction and the desire for hope inRequiem for a ... more
Dream. Beginning at the dawn of a new summer in Coney Island, the film charts the relationship of Sara Goldfarb (Ellen Burstyn) and her son Harry (Jared Leto)--tw...
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Darren Aronofsky follows up his acclaimed debut Pi with this gritty emotionally charged ... more
film set amidst the abandoned beaches and faded glory of Coney Island, Brooklyn. Based upon the novel by celebrated author Hubert Selby Jr., the story intricately l...
Darren Aronofsky follows up his acclaimed debut Pi with this gritty emotionally charged ... more
film set amidst the abandoned beaches and faded glory of Coney Island Brooklyn. Based upon the novel by celebrated author Hubert Selby Jr. the story intricately ...
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Reprint Movie Poster; Rolled Poster; Poster Condition: New; Size: 27 x 39 inches approx. ... more
All our items are despatched from the United Kingdom. Starring - Ellen Burstyn, Jared Leto, Jennifer Connelly, Marlon Wayans, Christopher McDonald, Manufacturer: MoviePostersDirect
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Mansell previously worked with director Darren Aronofsky on Pi where the electronica was ... more
powerfully raw. Enlisting the Kronos Quartet, this is proof of a far more intellectual process to create a through-scored piece. Both on screen and album, the music undergoes a perceivable development. Here it is given three sections ("Summer", "Fall" and "Winter"), and therefore attempts an almost symphonic form. "Summer Overture" introduces a repeatedly impressive central motif. The quartet excels in its sawing performance of it, and by the time of the first of two congas closing this initial seasonal section, you'll be prepared for the unexpected explosions of dissonance to follow. The final third ("Winter") puts a new motif through inventive stages of growth. From "Southern Hospitality" to "Meltdown" the sampled strings incessantly build in pitch until the desired unnerving effect has been well and truly achieved. This is music to match the most unshakeably nightmarish of dreams. --Paul Tonks
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Production Year: 2004 - Drama - Director: Nick Cassavetes - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over, 12 years and over - Starring: Rachel McAdams, Ryan Gosling, Gena Rowlands
Advantages: Uncompromising, Enthralling, Great performances Disadvantages: Uncomfortable viewing at times
...turn promptly goes to buy it back, thus indirectly feeding and maintaining his addiction.
Requiem For A Dream is a terrific and traumatic vision that perceptively captures the subconscious minds of people whose dreams are eating away at them.
This is a film I came across during a standard trip to my local video shop about three years ago. I had heard good things about the film and was aware that it was a little unconventional, which suits me fine.
'Requiem For A Dream' takes a fresh and raw look at the lives of four addicts of different sorts and how their addictions fuel their own minds delusion as well as exposing just how much they are prepared to degrade themselves in order to attempt to satisfy unattainable goals. Ellen Burstyn, puts in a terrific performance in the twilight of her acting career, playing Sara Goldfarb, a woman whose solitary life is changed by the offer to appear on television. Sara becomes convinced she must lose weight in order to fit into an elusive red dress for her appearance, she develops an addiction to diet pills and sleeping pills in the process. She is a television addict whose son Harry (Jared Leto) is a heroin addict trying to make enough money to keep him, his girlfriend Marion (Jennifer Connelly), and their good friend Tyrone (Marlon Wayans) high and above water. The film follows their harrowing descent into the depths of depravity: Sara pops pills and hallucinates that her fridge and television are trying to attack her, Harry steals and envisions the perfect score, while Marion has sex with her quite frankly macabre 'therapist' and other distressing debasements to stay high. Watching them feed their cravings for the junk of modern culture and heroin is both exhausting and difficult.
By showing us the parallel paths of the miserable existence of the mother and the son, Aronofsky has cleverly and effectively made it impossible for the audience to simply dismiss their delusion without feeling a little sympathy. Aronofsky positions that there is no real distinction between "hard drug" addiction and TV rubbish when it comes to not dealing with the harsh reality of life. Ellen Burstyn's character makes both worlds more accessible. After taking an interest in her, it's much easier to accept the others. Perhaps without watching how her addiction to her serves a greater purpose, it would have been much easier to dismiss heroin addiction.
The acting deserves distinction. Burstyn especially brings a heartfelt performance to the film as an innocent compelled by parallel forces to her son. It's very difficult to watch her transformation and she is completely unrecognisable by the end of the movie. Jared Leto displays a real vulnerability and complete ignorance in being unaware of his real dilemma. Jennifer Connelly puts in a solid performance and stands out in her willingness to take on a role that is all consuming. She seems completely accepting of her potentially doomed fate, contrasting well with Leto. She has more than proved herself in low budget indie films over the years and has clearly shown her ability to adapt to the larger scale projects too.
The film was shot in a series of dreamlike sequences in infra-red. Their dark and dismal surroundings are brightened by images of happier times - this heightens the sense of delusion surrounding the film
Aronofsky's second effort is arguably more of a finished article than Pi, while his taste for conspiracy remains. Some scenes don't really serve any purpose other than to speed up the pace to the ending. While driving from New York to Florida to score some dope, Harry and Tyrone are arrested at the hospital they stop in after the gangrene in Harry's arm sets in. In the following scenes they are forced to work in a chain gang while they clearly should be in detox. If his point is a condemnation of those entities that should be helping instead of hurting or even abetting (as in the case of Sara's doctor who has no conscience over pumping her full of pills), it is well proven.
There is some reference to other films in the drug genre (well herion specifically). The Little John character who feeds Connelly drugs in exchange for her body is reminiscent of Pulp Fiction's Marcellus Wallace and his power. TV's seem to be the number one choice item to steal by heroin addicts. Harry and Tyrone's trip down the boardwalk to a pawnshop with his mother's set is a bit like the scene in Trainspotting where they steal a TV. Aronofsky has a more considered theory to show us; Harry is continually going to pawn his mother's set instead of directly stealing money from her. She in turn promptly goes to buy it back, thus indirectly feeding and maintaining his addiction.
Requiem For A Dream is a terrific and traumatic vision that perceptively captures the subconscious minds of people whose dreams are eating away at them.
...to write a review of Requiem For A Dream simply because it blew me away. I had vaguely heard of it for a while; I knew that it was about drugs, it was supposedly good, and that was about it. However, I recently stumbled across it on my trusted font of cinematic knowledge, IMDb, and discovered that not only is it by the director of Pi (another critically acclaimed film); not only is the director, Darren Aronofsky, married to Rachel Weisz; not only ... ...on their various addictions.
Requiem For A Dream isn't easy viewing, I'll tell you that. Forget the Marlon Wayans you know, and picture him as a believable, serious actor. Difficult I know, but if you're expecting any sort of comedy or even any light relief in this film, you'll be disappointed. It's also very violent, there's some graphic sex, and an awful lot of substance abuse as you might expect (it received the NC-17 rating in America when it ...
l-m-n-o-p 06.01.2007 (01.02.2007)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Requiem For A Dream (DVD)
Advantages: Dreams... Disadvantages: ...can become nightmares
Requiem for a Dream is not a film for the faint-hearted. If you are offended by graphic scenes of drug use, exploitative sex, or mental and physical breakdowns, this is not a film that you would want to watch or enjoy watching. Similarly, strong language is frequent and it certainly deserves its 18 certificate. That said, this film is stylistically brilliant, and contains a plot that draws so many elements of modern living into sharp focus. Essentially ... ...part of 21st century life. Requiem is uncomfortable viewing in parts, not least because it challenges the viewer to address issues that could easily remain hidden. How have we reached the point where people can be so completely isolated? How can we collectively avoid the vacuum that allows it to take hold? Although the film deals primarily with the sharp end of the scale, bear in mind that this applies equally to sugar as it does to illegal drugs… ...
miriamb 08.08.2002
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Requiem For A Dream (DVD)
"Purple in the morning, blue in the afternoon, and orange in the evening. Just like that, one, two, three, four."
“Requiem for a Dream” is a film which isn’t stranger to controversy. Pre-release debates almost left “Requiem” with a shocking NC-17 certificate in the USA, approximately an X rated certificate on this side of the lake. It was said to be “pornographic” and “glamorized drugs”. From the outset, it seems so, until you look deeper. It is ... ...conventional filming – but this does not make it pretentious; instead, the message the film offers is completely the opposite. “Requiem” boasts its style without lacking substance.
"Requiem for a Dream" is based upon Hubert Selby Jnr's novel of four New Yorkers living against a back-drop of jaded Coney Island, Brooklyn, with it’s rickety 50s roller-coaster glory long-gone and runs of beach abandoned. The setting is perfectly ironic as it contrasts ...
j_mcb 12.05.2004
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Requiem For A Dream (DVD)
Advantages: Shows you the grislly truth about drugs Disadvantages: Pretty disturbing
...powerful a film. Requiem for a Dream was directed by Darren Aronofsky who is responsible for such film as ‘Pi’ and ‘Protozoa’, both highly rated film, infact Protozota has 9.1 on IMDb, but that’s only out of 27 votes, so by the looks of that, it’s probably extremely hard to find and I wouldn’t have a clue what it’s about! It was made with a budget of just $4.5m, but like I have always said, the low ... ...one that proves that. Ok, it didn’t do so well in the cinema, it wasn’t even released over here, but if you read my reviews regularly, how many times do I say ‘the best films are the ones that didn’t do great in the cinema’….oh how I love to be right! Now, I was wondering what the hell ‘Requiem’ meant, as you probably are, so I looked it up and it means…’ A hymn, composition, or service ...
GR-Design 03.10.2002
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Requiem For A Dream (DVD)
Advantages: a collection of all aspects of cinema Disadvantages: leaves you weak at the knees
...I watched as a child. Requiem for a Dream basically sums up everything I was taught at University, in one harrowing movie. It shows how powerful all aspects of film can be and that, when combined together, can really take you on an emotional journey, one which you might not be ready for.
You have different things to think about when producing a movie. This includes the narrative, actors, cinematography, sound, lighting, - the list just goes on! ... ...not only thought about the impact of each of those areas, but used them all to their most powerful to communicate its message.
If we look at its narrative as a starting point we see that basically it’s about four people just wanting to be happy. But nothing is ever easy, especially in the movies! In one way or another, these four people are all drawn into the usage and dependency of drugs. That doesn’t sound too bad does it? After all, most films ...
serza 15.03.2003 (25.04.2003)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Requiem For A Dream (DVD)
A story of addiction revolving around four characters hooked on various drugs. Sara, who dreams of appearing on televsion decides to use diet pills to help her lose weight... Her son, Harry, his girlfriend, and his best friend are all addicted to cocaine and herion. They aspire to become big time dealers...
Release details
DVD Region
DVD
Studio(s)
MOMENTUM PICTURES; TECHNICOLOR DISTRIBUTION SERVICES
Release date
06/08/2001
No of Discs
1
Catalogue No
MP 021 D
Editor
Jay Rabinowitz
Screenwriter
Darren Aronofsky, Hubert Selby
Barcode
5060021171214
Production Designer
James Chinlund
Cinematographer
Matthew Libatique
Featured
Hubert Selby
Director of Photography
Matthew Libatique
Composer
Clint Mansell
Author
Hubert Selby
Costume Designer
Laura Jean Shannon
Languages
Main Language
English
Subtitle Language
English
Technical information
Sound
Dolby Digital 5.1
Dubbing Sound
Dolby Digital 5.1 English
Professional reviews
Review
"...Fascinating....Aronofsky brings a new urgency to the drug movie by trying to reproduce, through his subjective camera, how his characters feel, or want to feel, or fear to feel..." (Chicago Sun-Times, p.32, 03/11/2000)
"...One of the most disturbing movies ever made...yet it's impossible to take your eyes off it..." -- Rating: A (Entertainment Weekly, pp.49-50, 13/10/2000)
"...Aronofsky is so compelling, so visionary a filmmaker, he keeps us riveted to his film..." (Los Angeles Times, p.C12, 20/10/2000)
"...Ms.Connelly has never before done anything to prepare us for how good she is here....[The film's] full-on assault blazes through the central nervous system..." (New York Times, p.E27, 06/10/2000)
"...Burstyn gives an award-caliber performance that is as raw and riveting as the movie that contains it..." (Rolling Stone, p.138, 09/11/2000)
"...Aronfsky's second film is even more visually jazzy than his first....The result is highly impressive: a swooping, gut-churning assault on the senses..." (Sight and Sound, p.48-9, 01/02/2001)
"...Both the direction and performances are Oscar-deservingly outstanding....REQUIEM FOR A DREAM is so devastating that it resonates like the echo of a dying scream..." -- 4 out of 5 stars (Total Film, p.79, 01/02/2001)
DVD Description
For his follow-up to his darkly brilliant debut, PI, director Darren Aronofsky chose to adapt a tough and meaty piece of work: Hubert Selby's 1968 novel REQUIEM FOR A DREAM, a dark spiral into the abyss of barren fantasies doomed to extinction. However, in Aronofsky's frenetic, visionary, unique, and disturbing style lies the perfect setting for this story of four people whose intertwined lives are filled with eternally hopeful despair. This is a different sort of horror film. Harry Goldfarb (Jared Leto) and Marion Silver (Jennifer Connelly) are lovers in Brooklyn with dreams of setting up a small business and spending the rest of their lives in love--their version of the American dream. The two are also desperate heroin addicts, a compulsion that darkens their lives and leads Harry to repeatedly pawn his mother's television. His mother, Sara Goldfarb (Ellen Burstyn), is addicted to television, which is why she keeps replacing the stolen set. One day she receives a call from her favorite show, the surreal TAPPY TIBBONS SHOW, and learns that she has been selected to appear on an upcoming broadcast. When she can't fit into her best red dress, her doctor prescribes diet pills (uppers), to which she swiftly and painfully becomes addicted. Harry's cohort, an intelligent hustler named Tyrone (Marlon Wayans), completes the foursome. With its unflinching dissection of addiction, REQUIEM FOR A DREAM is a psychologically disturbing, visually captivating depiction of lost hope. The last half hour of the film is among the most harrowing of any film ever made.
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