Pi

Pi (1998) is a psychological thriller directed by Darren Aronofsky, following Max Cohen, a reclusive genius who believes a 216-digit number holds the key to understanding all of existence. As he descends deeper into obsession, he is pursued by Wall Street analysts and Hasidic mystics who each want the number for their own purposes. The film is a raw, hypnotic exploration of mathematics, faith, and the fine line between brilliance and insanity.

• The film was shot for only $60,000 budget.
• Darren Aronofsky directed Pi as his feature debut.
• Filmed entirely in high-contrast black and white 16mm.
• The drill scene was inspired by Aronofsky's own headaches.
• Sean Gullette prepared by studying mathematics and Kabbalah.

• When I was a little kid, my mother told me not to stare into the sun. So once, when I was six, I did.
• Mathematics is the language of nature. Everything around us can be represented and understood through numbers.
• If you graph the numbers of any system, patterns emerge. Therefore, there are patterns everywhere in nature.
• 12: There is no larger being. 13: He is alive. 14: I understand.
• My new hypothesis: if we're built from spirals while living in a giant spiral, then everything we put our hands to is infused with the spiral.