What makes a film a classic? In this column, film scholar Bruce Isaacs looks at a classic film and analyses its brilliance.

Requiem for a Dream is often described as one of the most disturbing and “hard-to-watch” films ever made. Darren Aronofsky’s second feature film, based on Hubert Selby Jr.‘s novel of the same name, follows four characters as they plunge to depressing depths from their drug addiction. The follow up to his debut feature, Pi, established Aronofsky as a highly imaginative filmmaker with a distinctive style.

In this sequence we follow Marion (Jennifer Connelly) as she exits a building. On paper, it is a relatively simple setup. But Aronofsky’s unique style and unconventional use of camera creates a stunning scene that is almost unbearable because of its intensity.

See also:

The great movie scenes: Hitchcock’s VertigoThe great movie scenes: Antonioni’s The PassengerThe great movie scenes: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless MindThe great movie scenes: Steven Spielberg’s JawsThe great movie scenes: Hitchcock’s PsychoThe great movie scenes: The GodfatherThe great movie scenes: Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space OdysseyThe great movie scenes: Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette

Bruce Isaacs does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.