Pi (1998)

Director:

Darren Aronofsky

Writers:

Darren Aronofsky (written by)
Darren Aronofsky (story) ...

Release Date:

10 July 1998 (USA)

Genre:

Thriller | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

faith in chaos

Plot:

A paranoid mathematician searches for a key number that will unlock the universal patterns found in nature.

Plot Keywords:

Mathematician | Headache | Stock Market | Genius | Mathematics

Awards:

9 wins & 7 nominations

Cast

Sean Gullette	...	Maximillian Cohen
Mark Margolis	...	Sol Robeson
Ben Shenkman	...	Lenny Meyer
Pamela Hart	...	Marcy Dawson
Stephen Pearlman	...	Rabbi Cohen
Samia Shoaib	...	Devi
Ajay Naidu	...	Farrouhk
Kristyn Mae-Anne Lao	...	Jenna
Espher Lao Nieves	...	Jenna's Mom
Joanne Gordon	...	Mrs. Ovadia
Lauren Fox	...	Jenny Robeson
Stanley Herman	...	Moustacheless Man
Clint Mansell	...	Photographer
Tom Tumminello	...	Ephraim
Henri Falconi	...	Kaballah Scholar

Also Known As:

3,14159265358 (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for language and some disturbing images.

Runtime:

84 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Hebrew

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Netherlands:12 | Iceland:12 | Hungary:16 | Brazil:14 | Finland:K-12 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Chile:14 | France:U | Germany:12 | New Zealand:R13 | Norway:15 | Singapore:PG | South Korea:15 | Spain:13 | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Harvest Filmworks

Trivia:

The photographer who is pursued by Max in the subway, is played by Clint Mansell. He is the composer of the films soundtrack.

Goofs:

Factual errors: Max mentions that the Golden Mean is represented by the Greek letter theta. In fact, it is phi or tau.

Quotes:

Sol Robeson: Hold on. You have to slow down. You're losing it. You have to take a breath. Listen to yourself. You're connecting a computer bug I had with a computer bug you might have had and some religious hogwash. You want to find the number 216 in the world, you will be able to find it everywhere...

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Hubert Selby Jr: It/ll Be Better Tomorrow (2005)

Soundtrack:

Bucephalus Bouncing Ball

The best no-budget movie you'll ever see

"Pi (1998)" is, without doubt, the best no-budget movie I've ever seen. Directed by Darren Aronofsky with a ridiculous budget of $60,000 - which I first thought was a mistake in the figures, since I couldn't believe such a movie could possibly be made with that amount of money.

Most of the cast and crew later re-united to make "Requiem for a Dream (2000)" - one of the best movies made in the last few years. Like many others, it was "Requiem" that made me find "Pi". It took Aronofsky only 2 movies to become one of my favorite directors, and I can't wait to see what the future holds for this young and promising writer/director.

The movie stars Sean Gullette, which co-wrote the movie with Aronofsky and Eric Watson. You might recognize him as Arnold (Marion's old partner and shrink) in "Requiem". Gullette is perfect in his role and does an amazing job here. It's a shame we don't see his talent in more movies.

Mark Margolis (Mr. Rabinowitz in "Requiem") is excellent as Max's mentor and all the other cast is doing a great job too.

Like in "Requiem", technical aspect is top-notch: Excellent black-and-white cinematography (Matthew Libatique) and the innovative use of the Snorricam, lightning, editing (Oren Sarch), and music (Clint Mansell, frontman for Pop will Eat itself).

The director's commentary for this movie is fascinating. After hearing it you'd appreciate the effort and heart that were put into this movie a lot more.

Look for guest/cameo appearances by Samia Shoaib (the nurse in "Requiem") as Devi, Max's nextdoor neighbor; Clint Mansell (the movie's composer) as the photographer; and Abraham Aronofsky (Darren's father) as one of the men delivering the suitcase at the door.

One last word. While some aspects presented in the movie - such as the Hebrew numerology and mathematical concepts - are correct (that is, the explanations of Hebrew numerology are not made-up; That _doesn't_ mean I actually believe in any of the meanings attached to them), I suggest you to use your suspension-of-disbelief instead of trying to find logic and mistakes in them.

10/10