Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1219 in DVD
• Released on: 2004-07-19
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 1.66:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Black & White, PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 80 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Patterns exist everywhere: in nature, in science, in religion, in business. Max Cohen (played hauntingly by Sean Gullette) is a mathematician searching for these patterns in everything. Yet, he's not the only one, and everyone from Wall Street investors, looking to break the market, to Hasidic Jews, searching for the 216-digit number that reveals the true name of God, are trying to get their hands on Max. This dark, low-budget film was shot in black and white by director Darren Aronofsky. With eerie music, voice-overs, and overt symbolism enhancing the somber mood, Aronofsky has created a disturbing look at the world. Max is deeply paranoid, holed up in his apartment with his computer Euclid, obsessively studying chaos theory. Blinding headaches and hallucinogenic visions only feed his paranoia as he attempts to remain aloof from the world, venturing out only to meet his mentor, Sol Robeson (Mark Margolis), who for some mysterious reason feels Max should take a break from his research. Pi is complex--occasionally toocomplex--but the psychological drama and the loose sci-fi elements make this a worthwhile, albeit consuming, watch. Pi won the Director's Award at the 1998 Sundance Film Festival. --Jenny Brown

Special Features
English
Region 2

Synopsis
Low-budget film that won Aronofsky "Best Director" at 1998's Sundance Film Festival. Gritty, inventive black-and-white photography drives this story of genius mathematician Max Cohen who is exploring the possible existence of discernible patterns in the stock market. With the aid of Euclid, his home grown supercomputer, Max stumbles upon a bug that crashes his system and spits out a seemingly meaningless number. A knowledgeable friend gives him insight using the ancient game of Go and warns of the spiritual ramifications of powerful numbers. A Hasidic cabalistic sect and representatives from an extremely powerful Wall Street firm then attempt to extract the number from him, by whatever means necessary, for their own ill-gotten gains.

Customer Reviews

OMG! This will give you a headache!
For £5 this film is a bargain, cheaper then a cinema ticket. Is worth the DVD if u didn't see it!

This film is in black and white and i thought it might be dull.... but oh no
from tecno matrix style opening. To the repetitive scenes of being shot with a tranquiliser gun this film is one of weirdest I've ever seen. It kinda set to music, there's a headache inducing noise throughout the film if you can call it that.

This is supposed to be a window into the mind of a paranoid genius with a mysterious formula that might explain ..., everything! or the stock market maybe. And perhaps it's pretty realistic?? despites it's craziness the lead character is believable... you start believing in his crazy formula to! The black and white really works making everything feel 'quantified'.

Then people start offering him millions of pounds ... and like a crazy person he naturally trys to run away! not wrecking the plot, that's about the first 3 minutes!

Maths, mysticism and obsession
Taut, thought-provoking, and stylish. A film about maths, mysticism and obsession, powerfully realised on a micro-budget. Forgive the occasional lapse in believability, and enjoy the trip.

Boring and cliche
Really dull. Thought it might improve but never did. Over-hyped, pretentious and an utter waste of 80 minutes. Real disappointment considering the brilliance of Requiem for a Dream.