Directors MORE DIRECTORS CHECKLIST SERIES - Volume #208 - THE FILMS OF DARREN ARONOFSKY (1 Viewer)

[Brook K]

Rate 'em, Rank 'em, Review 'em, whatever

Volume #208: Darren Aronofsky

The Fountain (2005)
Requiem for a Dream (2000)
Pi (1998)
Protozoa (1993)
Supermarket Sweep (1991)

 

[Brook K]

Another emerging American director I'm a fan of, but he certainly couldn't be described as prolific. Although he has had some projects fall through, like Batman.

*1. Requiem For A Dream - A (I'll always remember seeing this for the 1st time. I was in LA on the first HTF trip in 2000. My heart was literally pounding in my chest during the montage finale. I've rarely had such an extreme physical reaction to a movie. I went back a day later (with HTF'er Jason Whyte) and saw it again, then saw it again when I got back from LA)
*2. Pi - A-

3. Black Swan - B
4. The Wrestler - B
5. The Fountain - B (would have loved to see the original concept before the budget cuts. Just feels like a good deal of material is missing)


Own: 2

 

[SteveGon]

Just Requiem for a Dream and Pi.

 

[Bill McA]

Rated from
Protozoa (1993)
Supermarket Sweep (1991)

Seen 5
Own 3

 

[JohnRice]

Out of :star::star::star::star::star:

The Fountain (2005) Is it even possible to have seen this yet?

Requiem for a Dream (2000) :star::star::star:1/2 When I first saw this, I thought it had replaced Leaving Las Vegas as the most depressing movie ever made, but it has weakened for me since then. It lacks a certain profound nature Vegas serves up in spades, and I prefer Figgis' tact and ability to have the theme of self-destruction just below the surface. Still, Aronofsky made some fine decisions with his more bold approach to what is essentially the same theme. He also elicited some outstanding performances.

Pi (1998) :star::star::star: Quirky and interesting.

Protozoa (1993)
Supermarket Sweep (1991)


I own DVDs of both movies I have seen.


Geez Brook, if you really want a short list, why not do one on Sofia Coppola?

 

[george kaplan]

DARREN ARONOFSKY

Seen: 2
Like: 0
Own: 0

Rank order:

Pi (1998)
Requiem for a Dream (2000)


I didn't like Pi at all, but I hated Requiem with a passion. I frankly just don't get it. What's so appealing about watching a bunch of fucked up drug addicts get more fucked up? It's all a matter of taste I guess, but I just don't see the appeal of this or Trainspotting or Leaving Las Vegas or Sid & Nancy or any of the other let's watch a bunch of drug addicts get worse and die.

 

[Walter Kittel]

I realize this is a rhetorical question, but some folks like seeing darker material if for no other reason than it is just as valid an examination of the human condition as any unlikely blue sky, pollyanna-ish, sugar-coated, concoction that might appeal to other viewers. In fact, probably more so, since you can always count on bad things happening. In other words, darker works ( at least for me ) tend to have more credibility or realism in terms of my world view.

Requiem For A Dream :star: :star: :star: :star: - Ellen Burstyn was robbed at the Academy Awards.
Pi :star: :star: :star: 1/2

I have very high expectations for The Fountain.

Oh yeah, and BTW I love Requiem For A Dream, Leaving Las Vegas, and Trainspotting.

- Walter.

 

[Brook K]

Popping in at lunch,

John - I don't believe The Fountain has been shown yet, but if a director had a 2005 scheduled film, Jim included it in his lists. I did the same here for consistency.

As for Sofia, while Jim admirably included some directors he doesn't like, if outright hates, like Godard; I won't be including any directors that I don't have some degree of affection for and, except for a tiny number of cultish picks, don't have some outstanding talent. Since neither of these things is true for Sofia, she won't be on my list.

George, if I had the time I'd write a long post discussing what I think are the merits of Requiem for you to disagree with. But since I don't, I'll just boil it down to a few quick brushstrokes 1. sympathy for the characters, remember they don't start out completely hopeless, each has a dream. They are brought down by human weakness. 2. performances 3. editing 4. the music of Clint Mansell and the Chronos Quartet

 

[Kirk Tsai]

1. Requiem For a Dream
2. The Wrestler
3. The Fountain

 

[JohnRice]

Ouch!!


I think dark, realistic films such as Leaving Las Vegas are somehow life affirming to some, if not many. I equate it to eating outrageously hot food (something I do), riding roller coasters (something I don't do) or drinking Stone IPA (something I have attempted to do). There can be something invigorating about doing something that actually results in a certain amount of pain.

 

[Justin_S]

Ranks and ratings * to *****:

1: Requiem for a Dream (2000) *****
2: The Fountain (2006) *****
3: The Wrestler (2008) *****
4: Pi (1998) ****

Own 3

Requiem is my favorite film of all time, truly an experience like no other. I greatly look forward to any future Aronofsky projects.

 

[Jim_K]

Ratings out of :star: :star: :star: :star:

[SIZE= 14px]DARREN ARONOFSKY (1969 - )[/SIZE]


Black Swan (2010) :star: :star: :star: 1/2

The Wrestler (2008) :star: :star: :star: :star:
The Fountain (2006) :star: :star: :star: 1/2
Requiem for a Dream (2000) :star: :star: :star: :star:
Pi (1998) :star: :star:
Protozoa (1993)
Supermarket Sweep (1991)

 

[Marc Fedderman]

Out of 4 stars:

Pi :star: :star: :star:
Requiem for a Dream: :star: :star: :star:

 

[Bill McA]

Very nicely put Walter, and I agree 100%

 

[george kaplan]

Well I strongly suspect that I have a much darker world view than you. I agree that darker films are probably more realistic. But for me, I want to escape from reality, escape from my world view. Life is horrible enough as it is. Murder, Iraq, child kidnappings, terrorist attacks, religious intolerance, corporate fraud and greed, suicide bombers, poverty, racism - the news is full of this stuff. I guess it's just me, but watching the news about that stuff is depressing enough. I have little need or desire to supplement it with a diet of nothing but equally dark, depressing films. To those who enjoy watching suffering and misery for your entertainment, more power to you, but I'll never understand how such films can be something that people actively seek out. And I'm not asking for an explanation, simply stating that I don't (and never will) get it.

 

[JohnRice]

Yes George, you are exactly right. Those are the only movies we watch. We all refuse to view anything else.

 

[JohnRice]

You have said several times that you despise movies where characters are unlikeable, and that you also despise movies which are unbelievable, but now you are saying, with movies, you want to "escape from reality".

 

[Walter Kittel]

I'm not sure what I can add to the discussion George. I certainly intend no disrespect when I add that you are welcome to like or dislike what you will, but when you express opinions that call into question the choices of others you will probably get some type of response.

I believe I understand the seemingly contradictory requirements of disliking unbelievable films juxtaposed against the concept of escape. Unbelievable covers a large swath of territory and perhaps when you say unbelievable you are referring to a subset of works containing one or more events that are either internally inconsistent or to which you are unable to connect the visual / auditory presentation of these event(s) to the larger narrative or framework of the film in question.

Getting back to the 'darker' films discussion, I agree with John that there can be a certain visceral impact from these works that, in some cases, expresses itself as 'Man, my life can be bad at times, but this is just messed up!'

- Walter.

 

[JohnRice]

I realize I am probably banging my head against the wall. It's just that as I look through all these Directors threads I notice something. George seems more interested in finding things he doesn't like than things he likes. There are remarkably few movies he has seen and liked, probably around 1 out of every 6 or 7 movies, according to these threads, at least. Most of the time, he likes absolutely nothing from any given director, but has often seen several of that director's efforts. Yet when it is someone like Sturges, he raves about how the guy can do no wrong, but has only seen 4 of his movies. Most people, when they find a director they admire so much, seek out everything of his they can find. There are also a few where he has seen and liked one movie, but has not sought out any more. I think there is a theme here.

Just my thoughts and observations.

 

[george kaplan]

Well that's patently untrue. It is true, that even for my favorite directors (Hitchcock and Wilder), there are a number of their films I don't like. I'm a fairly discriminating person. But it's also true that there are least 1000 films I love. Now, the fact that I've maybe seen anywhere from 5,000 to 10,000 films does mean that there's a lot I don't like, but to say that 1000 films is "remarkably few" is ridiculous.