{"id":23927,"date":"2020-10-05T22:20:48","date_gmt":"2020-10-06T05:20:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/?p=23927"},"modified":"2020-12-17T17:12:24","modified_gmt":"2020-12-18T01:12:24","slug":"review-requiem-for-a-dream-4k","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/2020\/10\/review-requiem-for-a-dream-4k\/","title":{"rendered":"Requiem for a Dream: Director’s Cut 4K Ultra HD Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Requiem for a Dream<\/em><\/strong> to say the least isn\u2019t entirely a pleasant movie but with the great performances, especially Ellen Burstyn, with the compelling enough storylines, my second viewing of this was more positive.<\/p>\n

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Requiem for a Dream
\n<\/span>\u2014 20th Anniversary | Director’s Cut \u2014
\n(2000)<\/span>
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Genre(s): <\/strong>Drama<\/span>
\nLionsgate | Unrated \u2013 102 min. \u2013 $22.99 | October 13, 2020<\/span><\/p>\n

Date Published:<\/strong> 10\/05\/2020 | Author:<\/strong> The Movieman<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n
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MOVIE INFO:
\n<\/u><\/strong>Directed by: <\/strong>Darren Aronofsky
\nWriter(s): <\/strong>Hubert Selby Jr. (book); Hubert Selby Jr. and Darren Aronofsky (screenplay)
\nCast: <\/strong>Ellen Burstyn, Jared Leto, Jennifer Connelly, Marlon Wayans, Christopher MacDonald, Keith David<\/span><\/p>\n

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DISC INFO:
\n<\/u><\/strong>Features: <\/strong>Audio Commentaries, Featurettes, Deleted Scene, Interviews
\nSlip Cover: <\/strong>Yes
\nDigital Copy: <\/strong>Yes
\nFormats Included: <\/strong>4K, Blu-ray
\nNumber of Discs: <\/strong>2<\/span><\/p>\n
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Audio: <\/strong>English (Dolby Atmos)
\nVideo : <\/strong>2160p\/Widescreen 1.85
\nDynamic Range: <\/strong>HDR10, Dolby Vision
\nSubtitles: <\/strong>English SDH, French, Spanish
\nCodecs: <\/strong>HEVC \/ H.265
\nRegion(s): <\/strong>A, B, C<\/span><\/p>\n
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Lionsgate provided me with a free copy of the Blu-ray I reviewed in this Blog Post.<\/strong><\/span>
\nThe opinions I share are my own.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Note:\u00a0The screen captures were taken from the Blu-ray disc and\u00a0do not<\/span> represent the 4K Ultra HD transfer.<\/span><\/p>\n

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THE MOVIE \u2014 4\u00bd\/5<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
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Plot Synopsis:<\/strong> Imaginatively evoking the inner landscape of human beings longing to connect, to love and feel loved, the film is a parable of happiness gloriously found and tragically lost. Requiem for a Dream<\/em><\/strong> tells parallel stories that are linked by the relationship between the lonely, widowed Sara Goldfarb (ELLEN BURSTYN) and her sweet but aimless son, Harry (JARED LETO).<\/p>\n

The plump Sara, galvanized by the prospect of appearing on a TV game show, has started on a dangerous diet regimen to beautify herself for a national audience; film also explores the relationship between Harry and girlfriend Marion (JENNIFER CONNELLY), both with unrealistic dreams; plus Harry\u2019s best friend Tyrone (MARLON WAYANS) and their opportunities of getting into the drug dealing business.<\/p>\n

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Quick Hit Review: <\/strong>Darren Aronofsky came to the indie scene with the little known, even to this day, Pi<\/em>, a horror-drama that I\u2019ve never sat down to watch. His follow-up was Requiem for a Dream<\/em><\/strong>, another indie flick with a more well known cast and a movie that has garnered a decent following over the years, though not sure I\u2019d label it as a cult classic. However, it is hard-hitting, oft off-the-wall psychological drama that, and I don\u2019t know this personally, into the mindsets of drug-fueled (both heroine and the pharmaceutical variety) hallucinations and the downward spiral of four characters. And there\u2019s also messaging on addictions beyond drugs, but with television, done today it would be about social media and its pratfalls.<\/p>\n

The film utilizes different camera types (mostly first-person shots, probably with the camera strapped to the actor\u2019s chest using a harness) giving that uneasy feeling especially with each passing season with each character devolving further and further, and all with dreams (hence the title) and unrealistic and idealistic aspirations.<\/p>\n

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The biggest factor going for Requiem for a Dream<\/em><\/strong> is the cast, most notably Ellen Burstyn who received an Oscar nomination for her brilliant and poignant performance, one stretch in a conversation with Jared Leto, laying her heart out with being alone with a husband who\u00a0 had passed a year prior and the son who left home and starting a life for himself (though in reality he\u2019s gotten into the drug dealing business). Leto and Jennifer Connelly for their parts were fantastic together with a relationship that is slowly chipping apart. And not to be outdone, Marlon Wayans of all people was quite good. Notable, when I first saw this film back in 2000\/2001, I had only known him for the horror spoof Scary Movie<\/em>, so seeing him turn in a serious performance was surprising and refreshing, just a shame he didn\u2019t do more dramas later on.<\/p>\n

Darren Aronofsky proves himself to be a unique filmmaker and even though I wasn\u2019t a fan of Noah<\/em> and Mother<\/em> was\u2026 certainly something, the other films of his were great, my favorite being Black Swan<\/em> which nobody would describe as being Hollywood-ized. Requiem for a Dream<\/em><\/strong> is a very well done drama with societal commentary that\u2019s probably more relevant today with people\u2019s addiction to their phones and believing social media is real life.<\/p>\n

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SPECIAL FEATURES \u2013 4\/5<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
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This release comes with a glossy slip cover<\/strong> like other Lionsgate 4Ks. Inside is a redemption code for the Digital HD<\/strong> copy.<\/p>\n

Audio Commentaries:<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

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  • Co-Writer\/Director Darren Aronofsky<\/li>\n
  • Director of Photography Matthew Libatique<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Ellen Burstyn on Requiem for a Dream<\/em> (16:23)<\/u><\/strong> is a new interview with the veteran actress recounting her role and working with Darren Aronofsky, plus how she initially was going to turn the part down. (4K UHD only)<\/p>\n

    Transcendent Moments: The Score of Requiem for a Dream<\/em> (17:09)<\/u><\/strong> \u2013 Composer Clint Mansell discusses his inspiration for the electronic and synth score. (4K UHD only)<\/p>\n

    Revisiting Requiem for a Dream<\/em> (13:16)<\/u><\/strong> is on the indie aspect of the film with interview by a film historian on Darren Aronofsky as a filmmaker. (4K UHD only)<\/p>\n

    On-Set 1999 (5:52)<\/u><\/strong> is some behind-the-scenes footage and on-location interviews with the cast and crew. (4J UHD only)<\/p>\n

    The Making of Requiem for a Dream<\/em> (35:23)<\/u><\/strong> \u2013 Old featurette from the era that includes behind-the-scenes footage that\u2019s more of the fly-on-the-wall variety with some overlaying commentary. (Blu-ray only)<\/p>\n

    Deleted Scenes (TRT 11:34)<\/u><\/strong> \u2013 There are nine scenes cut or cut down from the film for one reason or another, as explained by Aronofsky in an optional commentary track. A few are very short and were part of a sequence. (Blu-ray only)<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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    VIDEO \u2013 4\u00bd\/5<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
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    Lionsgate releases Requiem for a Dream<\/em><\/strong> onto 4K Ultra HD where it\u2019s presented in the original 1.85 widescreen aspect ratio and a 2160p high-definition transfer. One wouldn\u2019t think a low budget independent film from 1999 would benefit from this format, but for the most part looked great. Detail is sharp with the natural film grain and, especially, noise is apparent and despite being a gritty film, there are some flashes of color that\u2019s on display, most notably most scenes early on with Burstyn during the television show hallucination while black levels is deep and no obvious artifacts and not looking crushed.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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    AUDIO \u2013 4\u00bc\/5<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
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    The disc comes with a new Dolby Atmos track though the Blu-ray already came with a strong DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 track, so there\u2019s not a significant difference between the two by my ears. Even so, mostly manic dialogue comes across with good clarity and there is some minor ambient sounds for the surround speakers, though the strongest element is with Clint Mansell\u2019s score is astounding in this HD audio.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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    OVERALL \u2013 4\/5<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
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    Overall, Requiem for a Dream<\/em><\/strong> to say the least isn\u2019t entirely a pleasant movie but with the great performances, especially Ellen Burstyn, with the compelling enough storylines, my second viewing of this was more positive (according to IMDb, I gave it a 7\/10).<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Requiem for a Dream to say the least isn\u2019t entirely a pleasant movie but with the great performances, especially Ellen Burstyn, with the compelling enough storylines, my second viewing of this was more positive.  <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4581,970],"tags":[6776,5744,937,2944,3044,424,661],"class_list":["post-23927","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-4k-uhd-reviews","category-quick-hit-reviews","tag-christopher-macdonald","tag-darren-aronofosky","tag-ellen-burstyn","tag-jared-leto","tag-jennifer-connelly","tag-keith-david","tag-marlon-wayans"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23927","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23927"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23927\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24384,"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23927\/revisions\/24384"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23927"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23927"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23927"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}