Watch: 'Requiem For A Dream' 20th Anniversary Performance Of "Lux Aeterna" Celebrates The Film's 4K Home Video Release

Even if it's been many years since you've seen Requiem for a Dream, director Darren Aronofsky's gut-punch of a movie, you can probably hear the film's most famous piece of music in your head if you read the words "Lux Aeterna." That catchy, eerie song comes courtesy of composer Clint Mansell, and since Requiem for a Dream is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, the Kronos Quartet has reconvened (in a socially-distanced setting, thanks to the pandemic) to bring that haunting tune back into the forefront of your mind once again. Check it out below.

Requiem for a Dream 20th Anniversary Performance

The first time I saw Requiem for a Dream, it was by myself after midnight in a dorm room in college. I remember the visceral effect it had leaving me reeling for days afterward, and this score being stuck in my head was a big part of why it had such a lasting impact.

Coincidentally, I just spoke with Clint Mansell this week about his experience scoring Ben Wheatley's upcoming Netflix adaptation of Daphne du Maurier's gothic romance classic Rebecca, and he mentioned his working style on Requiem during our conversation. "I did a 20 year Requiem of a Dream anniversary for the Toronto International Film Festival recently, and talking about that reminded me that I used to write on the script a lot, back in the early days of my formative years [as a composer]," he told me. "It was something that I'd kind of moved away from over time, but I went back to that with Rebecca."

This performance is also in support of the movie's new 4K remaster, which was overseen by cinematographer Matthew Libatique and makes the film available for the first time in both Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos. There are also some brand new special features on the 4K disc, including:

  • NEW: "On Set: 1999" Featurette
  • NEW: "Transcendent Moments: The Score of Requiem for a Dream" Featurette
  • NEW: "Ellen Burstyn on Requiem for a Dream" Featurette
  • NEW: "Through Their Eyes: Revisiting Requiem for a Dream" Featurette
  • Here's the trailer for the remastered version:

    Celebrating its 20th anniversary with a 4K Ultra HD release, Darren Aronofsky's Requiem for a Dream — with a screenplay by Aronofsky and Hubert Selby Jr., based on Selby's novel — is a hypnotic film about four people pursuing their visions of happiness. Even as everything begins to fall apart, they refuse to let go, plummeting with their dreams into a nightmarish, gut-wrenching freefall.

    The Requiem for a Dream 4K combo pack is available now.