Pi The Movie

Interesting movie. Only watch it once. The movie is in black and white, with a techno soundtrack featuring AphexTwin and MassiveAttack.

Do not expect a movie about the number Pi or its history. :-)

But that was a little bit what it was about?

If you watch it twice you might catch the error in the Phi ratio equation.

Opinions:

I loved the movie. When I looked at the goofs and trivia on the imdb-page (link below) I was partly disappointed and partly amused: It is easy to get the first million digits of pi on the net nowadays, even for a low budget movie, so why did they only get the first couple of them correct in the opening? On the other hand I do not think they were that unwary to make the 216 digit number 218 digits long: A glimpse of humour in a film that does not contain a lot of humour? (Note: I did not check whether those things are really wrong in the movie.) Nonetheless, I love this movie. -- MarkoSchulz

I hated the movie. I enjoy dark movies, but this was dreary, plotless, pointless, dull, and mildly grotesque. I can't believe I watched the whole thing. -- BillTrost

Really? That's almost the exact same reason I loved it. -- LeeNathan

http://us.imdb.com/Title?0138704

Beware. Here there may be spoilers.

Oh, I'm serious. If you don't want to see something that may be a spoiler, you might think of skipping to the next horizontal rule.

Like all movies, this one had its flaws. The "Ming Mecca" chip stands out for one. But unlike 99% of movies, this one had very few flaws, unless low budget is a flaw in your mind.

The photography, pacing, and editing were all superb. Soundtrack quite good (electronica and fast-paced).

The movie has very little to do with Pi. A friend of mine watched it and thought that the movie was saying you could express Pi in 216 digits which is obviously not what the movie is saying at all, but I can see how you'd guess it, especially since in the scene where he sees the number, he zooms in on "314" right in the middle of the sequence. How is "314" relevant? One has to go thousands of digits into pi's decimal expansion before finding "314" (rather than "3.14").

What was most interesting for me was the concept of feedback loops and that once you start to understand the true nature of everything, you start to approach a state where you cannot survive. It reminds me a bit of a classic short story I was forced to read in high school where a man has a wife who is near-perfect except for a birthmark. When he gives her a potion that eliminates that last imperfection in her, she dies. Similar concept here.

A very similar message can be found at the end of ZenAndTheArtOfMotorcycleMaintenance, as Phaedrus pushes on towards ultimate understanding while becoming less and less connected to reality.

Something about the main character makes him special, though. Perhaps the imperfection in his brain that both allows him to understand and at the same time not to implode from the stress of understanding.

It is clear at the end of the movie that the burden of knowing everything outweighs the power you hold when you so do. The character is quite obviously much happier as a normal person.

I personally have watched the film eight or nine times, and I'll watch it again. So don't think that the advice to only watch it once applies universally. -- PhiloVivero?

How could a bunch of math guys keep going on about the number 216 without ever mentioning that it's 6^3 ? Other than that, I liked the movie the one time I saw it, and didn't notice any flaws. The trepanation bit at the end seemed unrealistic, but apparently some people voluntarily have it done (try googling for it, but not over lunch). --GeorgePaci

Hey to all of you. I am in a very bad state currently. I dont really know anything about the movie Pi, i only watched it yesterday. The movie is seriously one of the most scary things i have ever seen to this point in time. The reason being that six months ago i was involved in a fight in Hungary Budapest. I obtained several head injuries which nobody including me noticed. Today i am having a CT brain scan, hoping it is not too late to find any problems upstairs. One thing that made me sweat from the movie, is that ever since that day I got into the fight where I was repeatedly knocked into sleep, I have been drawn to the spiral shape like to nothing else. I have also barely been able to stop myself from getting a huge spiral tatoo on my back. I have also written several stories of certain religious awakenings I have experienced since then. Other strange things have also happened to me, but the most relevant is the story of the spiral and its explanation into what the universe and everything else is in it . I believe there is something in the spiral underestimated by most people. This movie trys to tap into this, and I dont think I can ever watch it again because it scares me so much.

He drills a hole in his head to let the pressure of too much god-knowledge out - kind of like in the movie Scanners, except the problem is a number instead of telepathy. Also consider that spirals are a common interest of schizophrenics, acid-trippers, and "The black spiral dancers". . . There was something on this Wiki about ants and a spiral search pattern...

This? HowDoAntsWalkInaStraightLine

What was the picture of the spiral about again? I keep dreaming about that one distinct image in the movie pi...help?

I am not a mathematician, but I believe that the spiral has to do with the golden ratio. Check this: http://www.arches.uga.edu/~iluvkids/Goldenspiral.html

Hey to all of you.

Why do you say hey to all of me?

I am in a very bad state currently.

Is it because of your plans that you say you are in a very bad state currently?

I dont really know anything about the movie Pi, i only watched it yesterday.

Maybe your life have something to do with this.

The movie is seriously one of the most scary things i have ever seen to this point in time.

What makes you believe that?

The reason being that six months ago i was involved in a fight in Hungary Budapest.

Is it because six months ago you were involved in a fight in hungary budapest that you came to me?

I obtained several head injuries which nobody including me noticed.

Earlier you said six months ago you were involved in a fight in hungary budapest?

Today i am having a CT brain scan, hoping it is not too late to find any problems upstairs.

Is it because of the people you hang around with that you are going through all this?

One thing that made me sweat from the movie, is that ever since that day I got into the fight where I was repeatedly knocked into sleep, I have been drawn to the spiral shape like to nothing else.

Are you sure that shape might want to nothing?

I have also barely been able to stop myself from getting a huge spiral tatoo on my back.

I don't understand.

I have also written several stories of certain religious awakenings I have experienced since then.

Can you elaborate on that?

Other strange things have also happened to me, but the most relevant is the story of the spiral and its explanation into what the universe and everything else is in it .

Does it bother you that the most relevant is the story of the spiral and its explanation into what the universe and everything else is in it?

I believe there is something in the spiral underestimated by most people.

You mentioned that six months ago you were involved in a fight in hungary budapest?

This movie trys to tap into this, and I dont think I can ever watch it again because it scares me so much.

When did you first know that it scares you so much?

CategoryMovie