Requiem For A Dream
Arista
(1hr. 42min.)
This modern day fable, based on the 1978 novel by Hubert Selby Jr. (who co-wrote the screenplay with director Darren Aronofsky), takes place amid the faded glory of Coney Island. Its dual storyline chronicles the lives of four people in pursuit of a better life. Unfortunately, the means they use to get there is fueled by drugs with obvious results.
Lonely, widowed Sarah (a much altered Ellen Burstyn) pines for better times between fixes of cheesy daytime television shows and visits with her lawnchair yentas. She is suddenly galvanized by news that she has been selected to appear as a contestant on her favourite TV show. Determined to fit into an old red dress, she quickly becomes addicted to diet pills. Burstyn is amazing in the role and well earns her Oscar nomination.
The second storyline follows her son, Harry (Jared Leto), and his two friends, Tyrone (Marlon Wayans) and Marion (Jennifer Connelly), as they go into business together, hoping to make that big score selling off a load of pure heroin. Instead, they succumb to the temptation of their own merchandise and a compelling journey into the abyss of drug abuse ensues. It’s not for the faint of heart.
Wonder boy Aronofsky, who wowed the film festival circuit with his first feature, “¹”, (made for a modest $60,000), unleashes barrage after barrage of special effects and film techniques to document their harrowing ascent into madness. There’s an especially elaborate time-lapse photography sequence which squashes 40 minutes of time into 25 seconds on-screen. How this and many other visual effects were achieved are explained in one of the most entertaining and insightful collections of support material out there.
There are the usual trailers and promo material, multiple commentaries by both the director and director of photography (Matthew Libatique), mini documentaries on the making of the film, and a revealing interview of Selby by Burstyn, which lays bare Selby’s own real life miseries (starting from his mother’s womb!)
It’s often brutal, but a highly recommended disc on many levels.
http://blake.prohosting.com/awsm/script/requiem.txt for the movie script on-line.
Thumb Wars: The Phantom Cuticle
Image Entertainment
(29 min.)
Does anyone remember those bobbing, caterpillar-browed “super marionettes” from such ’60s classics as The Thunderbirds and Captain Scarlet? Or, Gumby and Pokey’s surreal world of “claymation”? Well, now you can add Thumbation to that list of wonders!
All the characters in this send up of Star Wars: The Phantom Menace are played by real life thumbs, elaborately costumed and coiffed, with the real life eyes and mouths of the actors digitally superimposed onto the soft side of the thumb. Sounds crazy, but the effect is amazing in its simplicity, and the characters are in some ways less cardboard-like than the original human cast.
The story you already know . . . Thumbellion Resistance fighters, Loke Groundrunner and Princess Bunhead, battle the dastardly Black Helmet Man to prevent the evil Thumbpire from activating the deadly Thumbstar and from destroying the galaxy.
The famous bar scene remains a classic and the final attack sequence on the Thumbstar may be even more spectacular than Lucas’ version.
Sight gags involving hands and fingers abound, with Imperial Troopers sporting thimbles for helmets and space ships that resemble flying gloves.
Brought to you by Steve Oedekerk, better known as the writer of The Nutty Professor, and Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls, this thirty minute filmette boasts surprisingly good production values and special effects. The dialogue is suitably corny with Princess Bunhead stealing the show with her vacuous “good vs. bad” speech.
Extras include storyboards, an interview with Gabba the Butt, and trailers for other blockbuster Thumbation productions (The Blair Thumb, Thumbtanic), though I don’t think full length versions exist.
The commentary by Oedekerk on the making of the film is somewhat disappointing. This is one time you’d really like to know how much was spent, the techniques used to achieve the digital effects, behind the scenes stories, out-takes, etc. But all we get is prattle. Definitely a missed opportunity.
All in all, this is a great novelty DVD that should entertain adults as much as kids.
