"Requiem For A Dream"

HorseFilms said:
Too artsy. Too "look at me, I'm a filmmaker and I'm in your face. Deal with me."
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Is that what you really thought while watching the movie?
When Kubrick grabbed the camera on the shoot of Clockwork Orange in your face was a ceramic penis and not a filmmaker. Requiem happens to be about drug abuse and i really thought all of the scenes/shots that stood out as "in your face" shots complimented the general attitude of the film very well. Anyway, i just do not understand the "too artsy" bit...
 
Wow, so you're not a fan of Clockwork Orange huh?

I love Requiem for a Dream, and I feel all of the stylish moves Aronofsky made served the story. Tenacious filmmaking. Can't wait for The Fountain.

FIGHT CLUB is deep, it's one of the great transgressive works of fiction in a long time. BTW, Fincher did not write it, Chuck Palahniuk wrote the novel, Jim Ohls adapted it, and Andrew Kevin Walker polished it. (But that's probably way more then you wanted to know)

I'm not surprised that Coltrain is not a fan. I don't see him getting into transgressive works like this, am I right?
 
In a way, my entire life is about transgressing.

Fight Club, the movie, is not deep, that's why 13 old boys love its transgressive nature. Haven't read the book.
 
Fight Club spoilers below.

Chance White said:
I'm not surprised that Coltrain is not a fan. I don't see him getting into transgressive works like this, am I right?
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I agree. I've seen people not understand "I heart Huckabees" so it "Sucks". This comes down to opinion. And Coltrain's opinion is strong:

BUT (not to defend, like some sort of high school debate team) Fight Club is deep (as in many messages and story depth) and it can be watched again and again BECAUSE:
The undertones of lost idealism, construction through chaos and destruction...and the fact that Tyler is Jack...you can go back and see everything now through different eyes (like the green folder Jack holds on the bus is a Project Mayhem folder from later on) Little things...

But you have to have an open mind to understand the messages.

Requiem is a one shot deal, you get every message in one viewing.

But Coltrain if you want to find people who completely love this movie, there's billions out there.
But see we're here discussing the film in all aspects. We're just trying to tell you why it's not THAT great...
 
I agree that Requiem isn't deep. But it does what it sets out to do very well.

I loved every minute of I Heart Huckabees.
 
Phil said:
BECAUSE:
The undertones of lost idealism, construction through chaos and destruction...and the fact that Tyler is Jack...
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But "deep" would imply, I think, that these things were somewhat hidden or obscured and might not be recognized immediately, however anyone who sees the film would see them and understand them, even 13 year olds.
 
Return said:
coltrain dude....you love fight club.

you said before it changed the way you view movies.

*roll eyes*
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I have no idea what you're talking about.
 
HorseFilms said:
Having seen both Pi and Requiem, I can say that I'm not an Aronofski fan at all. I can see how people can get into it, but his style annoys the crap out of me. Too artsy. Too "look at me, I'm a filmmaker and I'm in your face. Deal with me."
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I think that I can agree with this, however, I didn't really think of it as artsy. I think that the material is why Requiem has a following. Very gritty and realistic (in the worst way). But after watching both Pi and Requiem, I find that I really don't like the way he edits his movies. The repetitive nature in both the scripts and shooting is annoying. EVERY time Leto shoots up we go through the motions again: the needle injecting, the inhale, the eyes....and so on. Very annoying. Same thing with Pi in the script. I also HATE (and forgive me for not knowing the jargon) when Ellen Burnstyn is eating, instead of watching her eat, we see the food and one shot, edit and insert noise, and the food disappears.

Good lighting, decent acting, but VERY annoying. And for a movie that is very disturbing, I still can't find a way to like either of them. Disturbing that I can like--American Psycho.

I think that Aronofsky is way overrated. But he doesn't have a big resume, so we'll wait and see how he does on his next film (the fountain or something like that).
 
Jubal28 -
Interested in your reply about "requiem", what ticked you off? Is it the director and his style, or something else...if your male an over the age of fourteen, certainly it COULD NOT be Jennifer Connely ( : ) )
I know it's been a while since this was posted, but...still interested in what and why.
 
Aronofski is one of the gifted visual artists of the new generation of filmmakers. I can understand someone not liking his style but at least he has a style and he uses it to serve the types of stories he's interested in telling. I can watch Requiem over and over again, the performances are just that good, that intense, to me. I would argue that Fight Club (which I own and love, though not as much as Requiem) is just as heavily mannered in style. I still think Fincher pussed out by not retaining the ending from the book though. Aronofski had balls to not cut anything for the sake of the ratings board. The score by the Kronos Quartet gives me shivers everytime I hear it. I like that Aronofski retain a commonality of tone throughout the score, reoccuring themes that riff off each other. It's highly immersive. Anyway, just my two cents.
 
i really don't find anything interesting in this visual style...it is quite annoying actually. If it weren't for Connelly and a double dildo i'd totally dismiss it.
 
As I said, it was a celebration of misery from start to finish. About miserable people doing everything they possibly can to make their own lives more miserable. Not a one of them was a victim of circumstance; it was all -- and purely -- personal choice. They deserved every bit of suffering which came to them.

If that's "art," then art is in a sorry place, being about ugliness and decay instead of spirit and beauty.
 
it wasn't a movie about misery per say. That was only a possible reactive outcome on what the movie was really about..addiction.
 
Jubal = cynic? :huh:

2nd - Huckabees is one of those movies that you either *Get it* or you *don't*. Existentialism rules!!

3rd - Requiem has left an eternal mark in modern cinema...whether good or bad....it doesn't matter. What does matter is the impact it had, and continues to have on current films. Anyone seen *SPUN*? That has to be the most blatant ripoff of a movie I've ever seen. Even right down to the *hip-hop montages*.....the whole movie was ripped from Requiem. But I guess since they threw in a few more elements of sex and a dash of comedy....that makes it "different."

I guess imitation IS the most sincere form of flattery afterall!!

~reservoir~
 
Cynic? Me? Most definitely not. It was the mind-crushing, soul-sucking cynicism of “Requiem” to which I am reacting with disgust.

Call it “addiction” if you want, but it works out to the same thing.

I suspect “Requiem” will eventually be seen an over-the top relic of an over-the-top cynical age.

At least I hope so, in order to keep the image of a bright future for mankind intact.
 
reservoir said:
and continues to have on current films. Anyone seen *SPUN*?
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Impact on current films? and then you say Spun?? I can stop 100 people in the mall and noone knows Spun. trust me I've done it...

Because one person "ripped off" this movie doesn't mean it's impacting anything...This movie has a cult following...that's it...I could find people who go on and on about Fight Club and Clerks too...it just seems Requiem is always in every forum, Hell I'd like to talk about the film (on an artistic level), but I'd feel like just another drone if I ever brought it up...

I have to agree with David, "it was a celebration of misery from start to finish."

This is an in your face film about an event that is occuring everywhere...It's like making a horror film based on true events of a serial killer...Imagine if someone re-enacted exactly how Ted Bundy or Jeffrey Dahmer killed their victims...There would be a riot, and the families of the victims would ban the film...and you know what they'd say...they'd say "This is a celebration of a murderer from start to finish."

But I'm sure there would still be some people saying..."besides it being about murder, the film had a style that will impact the film community..."

IN THE END...I was glad when this thread died...It seems that any comment other than, "This film is the best film ever." about Requiem, is not allowed...and will be discussed until the horse is beaten dead...

(also I can't let everyone gang up on David, just because he has a different opinion...)
 
Good movie: yes

Brutal: no

When I first watched it, I just kinda had this "eh" attitude to the whole thing.

I'm probably desensitized.
 
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