Rating: 
Summary: Disturbing Masterpiece
Review: Requiem for a Dream was a fantastic movie possibly the best I've seen in all of 2000/2001 and I have seen a lot of movies in that time.The story follows 4 drug addicts. Although the movies isn't really about drugs, its more about thier depletion of hope. The movie is faced paced with amazing cinematography which makes you feel that your on a trip yourself. The movie is definatly not for the weak at heart, its disturbing and has a lot of gore in the last 10 minutes. The ending is definatly depressing, I saw this about 4 days ago and I'm still disturbed by it. Requiem For A Dream is a great movie and should definatly be shown in classrooms to show students what drug addiction can do.
Rating:
Summary: Hypnotic, fascinating, and mesmerizing!
Review: From the moment the movie began to the moment it ended, this movie kept me thrilled and interested! It shows the inter-twined lives of four addicts... and how they each feed and cope with their habits. Brilliantly directed and filled with brilliant actors, this movie is a MUST-SEE for anyone who wants to be absoultely intrigued!
Rating: 
Summary: Good, not great
Review: While the movie is well-made and well-acted, it is also rather obvious and not nearly as "disturbing" or "brilliant" as many reviewers ...would have you believe. For starters, I found the ending, which many have trumpeted as the crowning achievement of the film, rather disappointing and silly. Silly points: Sarah being force fed in the hospital; her being restrained almost immediately in the ER, despite the absence of any evidence that she was a threat to harm herself or others (forced rehab?); the entire treatment of ECT as the near-equivalent to electrocution; Leto and Wayans being arrested in the ER for drug use (please!); Leto's arm being amputated with blood spraying all over his face (please!). One general problem with this film is that it treats everyone outside of the four main characters as two-dimensional cardboard cut-outs and stereotypes (the phony talk-show host; the cruel doctor prescribing Sarah's pills; the bigoted Southern policeman; the uncaring white-coated psychiatric nurses). Also, unless you're extremely naive, you probably already knew that drug addiction is an unpleasant lifestyle. After numerous films on the subject, does anybody still think there's glamour involved in it? What does hold the film together are the four main characters and the actors/actresses that portray them. Especially touching was Sarah's scene when she describes why she's so excited about appearing on television. The film needed more of that (as well as more of Wayans' character, and his relationship to his mother), and less of the attempted shock value. It could have been great, and Aronofsky could make a great film if he would quit trying to shock us and start trying to move us.
Rating: 
Summary: Compelling Ellen, Riveting Visuals and a Few Complaints
Review: It is a strange thing to hear that this is a film about drugs; actually, it is about anything you may dream of, like being a celebrity or getting rich, and that is why this film is so harrowing and shocking, and to some, irritating. It is a cliche now after so many reviews to say that "Requiem" is a requiem for any American dreams, but it is an inevitable feeling you get. Anyway, that's how I think. So, please do not think "Requiem" is just another "Trainspotting" because the latter has a sense of humor while "Requiem" gives almost nothing of that. You will be attacked relentlessly by variety of cameraworks, so in the end you will feel really, really, exhausted. And the acting is all compelling; I would not dwell on it too long, but just let me say, Marlon Wayans is so good that you forgive him for appearing in "Scary Movie," and some film about dragons (though I liked it) and about Ellen Burstyn, she proves again that she is one of the most talented actresses in the world. But you already know that for she survived the now legendary shooting of "The Exocist." Having said that, I point out several things that you don't want to hear. Though "Requiem" is a fascinating ride to hell, director Darren Arnofsky shows, I think, too much visual tactics; for instance, the close-up of an eye (you can see that on the video jacket) and its pupil appears more than 5 times (I lost count), but the repetition is too much and unnecesary. Of course I know the point, his stress on the addiction of drugs, but the repeated use of the same skill is generally bound to lose its effects, and this film is the case. The other thing I complain (though a minor one) is, we have seen the same kind of story before, and though Jared Leto - Marlon Wayans story is gripping, I couln't help remembering the masterpieces of the past; Al Pacino's "The Panic in Needle Park" is the first to come up in my mind, and Jon Voights's "Midnight Cowboy" next, and probably "Scarecrow." I don't say "Requiem" is not good, but for those old fans like me, the comparison is inevitable, and probably that is why Ellen Burstyn falling down into her own fantasy world got deservedly Oscar nonimation while the other story, though compelling itselfand, got less good reviews.
Rating:
Summary: Impossible to be unaffected after seeing this!
Review: Requiem For A Dream is one of those rare films that leaves the viewer totally drained. This story of addiction and broken dreams pummels you with imagery that only director Darren Aranofsky can pull off. Many of the camera effects he honed in his movie PI, are perfected in "Requiem". The cast, down to the smallest part, is flawless. Ellen Burstyn's methodical descendance into dependence is one of the all-time greatest performances by any actress. How the Oscars passed her over is beyond me. Wayans even turns in a dramatic performance of unexpected caliber. Jennifer Connely's rich-girl romantic turned junkie/prostitute should serve as a wake-up call to any recreational drug user. Jared Leto is convincing as the waste-product son with a good heart. The hallucination scenes are half Andy Warhol/half Marat Sade. Rarely does a film disturb/amaze everyone who sees it...but this one does. I understand Aranofsky is going to direct the next Batman movie. Hopefully he can rescue the franchise from hacks like Schumacher. In the meantime, "Requiem" should be required viewing for every aspiring director. You must see this film!
Rating:
Summary: Honest
Review: This movie is a honest look at drug addiction; how it starts, what the people go through, and how it inevitably ends... Solid movie with good acting.
Rating:
Summary: disturbed to insanity
Review: I have to agree with the other reviews I have read. This movie is so disturbing and upseting, yet you keep watching it because of its powerful hold it has on you. All the performances were great, and whether you do drugs or not, it shows the reality of it all. And this movie is not only about illegal drugs, but it shows the effects of popping pills that doctors prescribe also. I have to admit, after the movie was over, I was in complete shock as the credits started rolling. The ending is so powerful in itself that there really is no way of explaining it. You just have to watch it. I sat there, trying to decide whether I actually liked the movie or not, and regretting not having watched the movie with others. But in the end, this is definitely a movie worth seeing, but only if you would consider a movie like this in the first place. My only advice is that you may want others around you while you watch it, especially if you are very emotional and get emotionally involved in movies, like me.
Rating:
Summary: Changed
Review: When I rented this movie I hadn't heard anything about it at all. I was bored and took off to the tiny video store closest to my apt. I's seen almost everything they had and I thought, "oh, what the hell, I'll check this out," half expecting it to be one of those teeny bopper, MTV-type movies because of the cast. Wow. I'd like to apologize to Jared Leto and Marlon Waynes - I just didn't know. The performances in this movie were brilliant. Ellen Burstyn was amazing. The characters' miserable pursuit of their misguided dreams grabs hold of you, crushes your spirit. You know what's going to happen but can't stop watching, as though you just want to be their for them, for Sara, for Harry, for Tyrone, for Marion. It's not some corny anti-drug movie. It's a raw, gut-wrenching, unforgiving look at the by-product of a society that has chosen to dull its senses with an assortment of addictions and which feeds on empty images of glamour, high life and leisure. As the credits rolled, I just stood there ( I had stood up right in front of the television screen for the last 30 minutes or so of the movie), chest heavy, brain throbbing, balance thrown, as though the wind had been knocked out of me. It is difficult to watch, as alot of our reality tends to be, but it is so necessary. No stupid happy-ending wrap-up here. This is real. And unforgettable. It leaves you changed.
Rating:
Summary: Shocking...
Review: I've heard amazing things about this movie, both good and bad. And I have to say it was one of the bes tmovies I've ever seen. If you are senstive and easily.....this movie is jus tnot for some people. I though I could handle it, but for about 15 minutes after watching I just felt sick to my stomach and threw up...witch is actually good! You get draged into this movie and WOW! just check it out, if your up to it.
Rating:
Summary: The Dream And The Darkness
Review: It was hard to watch this movie with a disengaged outlook the first time I saw it. Watching Sara Goldfarb (Ellen Burstyn) mentally deteriorate on the screen was just plain heart wrenching (my mother is a recent widow living on the other side of the country, and though she is mentally stable and not a TV and chocolate addict, I couldn't help experiencing some measure of guilt as I related the events in the movie into my own personal life). I remember seeing Jared Leto in "Fight Club" and "American Psycho"', but I couldn't remember where exactly I saw Jennifer Connelly before, though she looked very familiar. The evening following my first viewing of "Requiem For A Dream" I was in the video section of the Gilbert Public Library and came upon "Dark City" (remember, Roger Ebert's favorite movie of 1998). I had watched this movie twice before (on video) and liked it. And, lo and behold, here was a movie with Jennifer Connelly in it. I checked it out of the library and watched it later that night and, lo and behold (again), the movie had a scene, close to the end, with Jennifer Connelly standing at the end of a pier in pretty much the same perspective and distance from the viewer that she stands out on the pier in Harry Goldfarb's vision of her in 'Requiem For A Dream'. The shots are so similar it's hard to believe it was anything but intentional. But what is the reason? I've come up with nothing other than by comparing "Dark City' and "Requiem For A Dream" we can make some interesting analogies. Both movies deal with the idea of freedom and the degree of control one has over the direction of his or her life. Both deal with being an adult, but also of being ultimately naive of the forces that direct the real world. Both movies have hypodermic needles as an important element. And no one would disagree that the 4 main character's of "Requiem for A Dream" live in darkness. The differences: in 'Requiem For A Dream' the main characters make the need to create an alternative vision, to escape all the intricate responsibilities and complications of the real world, their prime motive. The characters of "Dark City" are ignorant of the beings that create the illusion of their existence, even when the malevolent and indifferent creatures are subdued and replaced by someone benign and caring. Jennifer Connelly on the pier in "Dark City" represents achieving, if not paradise, at least a place of peace and rest. On the pier in "Requiem For A Dream" she becomes the light at the end of Harry Goldfarb's tunnel, who disappears in Harry's dream as he, she, and the two other main characters curl up in fetal positions, succumbing to the horror of the chaos they've invoked or into the empty illusions they've cultivated. When I first watched 'Requiem For A Dream" I saw the edited DVD version, the R-rated version being the only one offered for rental at the major video outlets in the Phoenix area. I later rented a video of the director's cut (Unrated version) at an independent video shop in Gray Tennessee -- after reading some of the reviews on this site I felt I might have missed something terribly important. The differences between the two versions are insignificant.
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