5. Requiem For a Dream
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKLpJtvzlEI Based on the novel by Hubert Selby, Requiem for a Dream recounts heroin-addict Harry, his friends, and his mother as they struggle with various drug problems. Harry's adventure results in horrifying scenes of necrotizing gangrene, while his girlfriend degrades herself more and more to shocking new depths. The real tragedy of the story, however, is Harry's mother Sara. An elderly woman looking for just a glimmer of stardom, Sara, exquisitely portrayed by Ellen Burstyn, finds herself with an accidental drug problem, resulting in a perpetual state of delirium. Throughout the film, an intense and haunting score by Clint Mansell plays. The main theme, Lux Aeterna, is so powerful that it has transcended the film it was originally written for, despite being released merely a decade ago. Since that time, other films including Sunshine and Lord Of the Rings: The Two Towers have incorporated the theme into their own advertisements.