Pi (1998)
87%RT Audience Score: 85%
Awards & Nominations: 8 wins & 12 nominations
Dramatically gripping and frighteningly smart, this Lynchian thriller does wonders with its unlikely subject and shoestring budget
Pi is a movie that will make you feel like you’re on a rollercoaster ride, but instead of loops and drops, you’re going through the mind of a genius mathematician. The black-and-white photography and editing are so unique that you’ll feel like you’re watching a movie from another dimension. It’s not for everyone, but if you’re up for a challenge, Pi is a must-watch. Plus, it’s always fun to see how far a micro-budget can go!
Production Company(ies)
Almega Projects O2 Filmes,
Distributor
Artisan Entertainment
Release Type
Filming Location(s)
Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for language and some disturbing images
Year of Release
1998
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Color:Color
Black and White -
Sound mix:Dolby Digital
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Aspect ratio:1.66 : 1
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Runtime:1h 25m
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Language(s):English, Hebrew
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Jul 10, 1998 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Feb 26, 2002
Genre(s)
Drama
Keyword(s)
starring Sean Gullette, Mark Margolis, Ben Shenkman, Pamela Hart, Steve Pearlman, Samia Shoaib, directed by Darren Aronofsky, written by Darren Aronofsky, Sean Gullette, Eric Watson, produced by Eric Watson, drama, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Gavin Smith, Owen Gleiberman, Richard Corliss, Trevor Johnston, Dennis Harvey, Liam Lacey, Sarah Boslaugh, Marisa Mirabal, Rob Gonsalves, Christopher Runyon, John A Nesbit, MPAA rating R, psychological delusions, paranoia, headaches, Chinatown apartment, equations, homemade computer, mysterious number, Wall Street agents, profit, Roman Polanski, cinematography, sound effects, anxiety, horror, thriller, independent film, smart, bizarre, chilling, Lynchian, shoestring budget, intellectual, spiritual, mind’s-eye urban claustrophobia, Dolby Stereo, Flat (1.66:1)
Worldwide gross: $3,221,152
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $5,911,268
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,124
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 644,631
US/Canada gross: $3,221,152
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $5,911,268
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,760
US/Canada opening weekend: $31,069
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $57,016
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,152
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $60,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $110,108
Production budget ranking: 2,142
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $59,293
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $5,741,866
ROI to date (est.): 3,389%
ROI ranking: 29
Mark Margolis – Sol Robeson
Ben Shenkman – Lenny Meyer
Pamela Hart – Marcy Dawson
Steve Pearlman – Rabbi Cohen
Samia Shoaib – Devi
Director(s)
Darren Aronofsky
Writer(s)
Darren Aronofsky, Sean Gullette, Eric Watson, Darren Aronofsky
Producer(s)
Eric Watson
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
8 wins & 12 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (58) | Top Critics (17) | Fresh (51) | Rotten (7)
A tour-de-force of grainy, high-contrast black-and-white photography and inventive editing and sound design, π at times ventures to the limits of cinematic legibility.
April 11, 2018
Gavin Smith
Film Comment Magazine
TOP CRITIC
September 7, 2011 | Rating: B
Owen Gleiberman
Entertainment Weekly
TOP CRITIC
Aronofsky, who has parlayed this movie’s Sundance success into two Hollywood deals, is that rare indie filmmaker who doesn’t want to make hip romantic sitcoms. He’s a genuine experimenter with a spooky visual style.
March 29, 2009
Richard Corliss
TIME Magazine
TOP CRITIC
We share Max’s feelings of imminent psychological disintegration as the film probes our own insecurity in the face of the eternal. Maths meets millennial doom in one of the decade’s true originals.
February 29, 2008
Trevor Johnston
Time Out
TOP CRITIC
It’s remarkable to what extent Aronofsky has rendered the cerebral kinetically intense. The film’s imaginative, diverse images create a mind’s-eye urban claustrophobia.
June 6, 2007
Dennis Harvey
Variety
TOP CRITIC
Audacious and bursting with ideas.
July 12, 2002 | Rating: 3/4
Liam Lacey
Globe and Mail
TOP CRITIC
…Aronofsky’s taste for including horror in his films is evident from his very first feature…
November 3, 2018 | Rating: 7/10
Sarah Boslaugh
PopMatters
Restricted as an up-and-coming filmmaker, Aronofsky didn’t conform to convention and instead delivered his art full throttle…
October 17, 2018 | Rating: 4/5
Marisa Mirabal
Birth.Movies.Death.
A workout, no question, and not for everyone, but it has intellectual and spiritual fervor, and even when it stops dead for some mystical exposition, at least it assumes our intelligence (though also our patience).
June 26, 2018
Rob Gonsalves
eFilmCritic.com
Pi accomplishes so much more with…its micro-budget than a Hollywood production could.
February 20, 2014 | Rating: A-
Christopher Runyon
Movie Mezzanine
a real treat
January 30, 2013 | Rating: B+
John A. Nesbit
Old School Reviews
Both story and style reveal the calculations of an artist so desperate to get noticed that he forgot to cover his id.
August 21, 2009
Rob Nelson
City Pages, Minneapolis/St. Paul…
Plot
In NYC’s Chinatown, recluse math genius Max (Sean Gullette) believes “everything can be understood in terms of numbers,” and he looks for a pattern in the system as he suffers headaches, plays Go with former teacher Sol Robeson (Mark Margolis), and fools around with an advanced computer system he’s built in his apartment. Both a Wall Street company and a Hasidic sect take an interest in his work, but he’s distracted by blackout attacks, hallucinations, and paranoid delusions..
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
There is no goofy or funny comment about the film on Fresh Kernels.
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