Review by Gary Tooze

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Description: Employing shock techniques and sound design in a relentless sensory assault, Requiem for a Dream is about nothing less than the systematic destruction of hope. Based on the novel by Hubert Selby Jr., and adapted by Selby and director Darren Aronofsky, this is undoubtedly one of the most effective films ever made about the experience of drug addiction (both euphoric and nightmarish), and few would deny that Aronofsky, in following his breakthrough film Pi, has pushed the medium to a disturbing extreme, thrusting conventional narrative into a panic zone of traumatized psyches and bodies pushed to the furthest boundaries of chemical tolerance. It's too easy to call this a cautionary tale; it's a guided tour through hell, with Aronofsky as our bold and ruthless host. Starring Ellen Burstyn, Jared Leto, Jennifer Connelly...

 

 

The Film:

"Every year, there seems to be one film that kicks you in the stomach and leaves your head reeling. In 1999, it was Tim Roth's profoundly disturbing, unforgettable The War Zone. This year, it's Darren Aronofsky's Requiem for a Dream, one of the most forceful anti-drug narratives ever to be committed to celluloid. To call this movie a cautionary tale would be to apply a label that is too tame -- Requiem for a Dream presents the darkest take imaginable on a story of hopes and dreams shattered by drug addiction. There's no preaching or sermonizing here, just an almost-clinical depiction of lives laid to waste. This is not a film for the weak of mind or soul. Even in the midst of the whirlwind of a film festival, when I was seeing four films a day and the tendency was for everything to blur into a continuum, this one stuck out, demanding attention and rumination. It is a force to be reckoned with.

As he proved with his art house success, Pi, Aronofsky is not afraid to take chances, and Requiem for a Dream represents a big one. Based on the novel by Hubert Selby Jr., this movie was granted the MPAA's NC-17 "kiss of death" for its uncompromising portrayal of the depths to which some people will sink to get their fix. No punches are pulled, no images "prettied up". Undaunted by the MPAA's hypocritical and senseless stance, Aronofsky appealed the rating, rightfully claiming that cutting any portion of the film would dilute, if not outright destroy, its message. The appeal was denied, but Artisan, in a move that affirms their commitment to art over commercialism (at least in this case) has decided to release the film unrated.

Excerpt from James Berardinelli at REELViews located HERE

Image :    NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were ripped directly from the Blu-ray disc.
 

NOTE: ADDITION - Lionsgate - Region FREE Blu-ray - It's always fun to compare 1080P transfers but as we suspected this film could, and does, look a lot better on Blu-ray than the initial offering by Alliance. Colors are brighter, it's significantly more detailed and just looks a whole lot better via the Lionsgate transfer. There may have been some sharpening but it isn't overly obvious. More grain is visible in the intentionally coarse, gritty scenes. It's not much of a comparison in regards to image - the Alliance is blown away with far less than half the feature file size and less than half its bitrate. The Lionsgate is in the original 1.85 and is dual-layered and progressive. Detail and contrast are the most significant upgrades to the visuals.

ON THE ALLIANCE (written March 09'): Requiem For  Dream on Blu-ray isn't yet available on Amazon.com and this is a typical bare-bones release from Alliance in Canada (available at Amazon.ca that does deliver to the US). Unlike some other Alliance releases this is progressive (1080P) - NOT interlaced. But as with the other Canuck Blu-rays - like From Dusk Till Dawn, Good Will Hunting, Cold Mountain etc.- this is single-layered but puny in size at only around 16 Gig of space. This came out on an Artisan SD-DVD in 2001 that suffered from some boosting and other limitations of that format. We've added one matched capture below to indicate the orangey skin tones and slight contrast enhancement of the older disc. While the Artisan wasn't strong - I wouldn't say this is either. A softness remains and I suspect this Blu-ray transfer could look a lot better. There were a couple of instances of heavy noise but close-ups are the most impressive in regards to detail. Colors seem far more true than the DVD edition but seem dull at times. The image quality seems fairly flat but is consistent and at least in the correct (close at 1.78 instead of 1.85) aspect ratio (unlike Se7en).

The Lionsgate is stacked with two commentaries (original, older one from Aronofsky, a second by the DoP Matthew Libatique), two featurettes that run close to an hour and a handful of deleted scenes - plus trailers. Since the Alliance offered nothing - it wouldn't be hard to best it - but these supplements are still great... if duplicated from the previous DVDs.