MovieChat Forums > Following (1999) Discussion > Better debut: Following or Pi?

Better debut: Following or Pi?

posted 13 years ago by amwyr4
20 replies | jump to latest

They both came out in 1998. They are both in black and white. They are both the feature film debuts of two of the most talented filmmakers working today. Which first film do you prefer?

I like Following better, giving it an 8, than Pi, which I gave a 7. This may be because I prefer Christopher Nolan slightly more than Darren Aronofsky. However, I think Following succeeds on multiple levels considering he was on such a miniscule budget (it was made on $6,000, Pi was made on $60,000), compared to the stunning Pi, which has somewhat of a jumbled screenplay.

[–] Bree_33 12 years ago

Pi is impressive. "Following" has an interesting narrative strategy.

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[–] STinG3606 12 years ago

Pi. As opposed to Nolan, who is an entertainer before a philosophical director, Aronofsky always chose to sacrifice the entertainment for the cerebral or emotional aspect of his film.

What makes Pi much more brilliant is that the MacGuffin is intangible, its close to non-existent. It is a Maltese Falcon and yet we have all these pressure around Max forcing us to be interested.

I do consider the acting in Following to be immensely superior, however.

You ever dance with the devil in the pale moonlight?
Yeah, he told me you're gay.
*BANG!*

[–] slowbrosif 12 years ago

I like Pi because I consider it more visually striking.

Primer is also fair to mention in this thread. Another great debut with a mind *beep* plot.

[–] skyblazeeterno 11 years ago

Following ...easily

Pi just comes across as a student film that happened to be a bit bigger than that...weird for the sake of being weird. You'd be lucky to get ANYONE to say what Pi was about other than it was about a mathematician!

Following is a bit more spooky and a bit more pervy...it has more going on and makes you think what you would do if you were following or burgling

[–] amwyr4 11 years ago

I compared the two on my blog:

http://dwendt212.wordpress.com/2014/06/24/auteur-debuts-comparing-nola ns-following-and-aronofskys-pi/

[–] TompaDompa 10 years ago

Following. Pi just didn't do it for me.

Don't listen to the negative ones; their arguments are irrational.

[–] clockworkorange13 9 years ago

I genuinely feel that Pi is 10x the film that Following is. Not even comparable. Following wasn't bad but it was very very dry compared to Pi. Pi is a movie that is exploding with style and energy and ideas. Following wasn't like that at all.

[–] cartesianthought 9 years ago

Following has a complex plot that wants you to initially believe its simple.

Pi has a simple plot that wants you to initially believe its complex.

[–] franzkabuki 9 years ago

Pi had a really good look to it, sort of reminiscent of Eraserhead, and for the first 2/3 it remained rather engaging - before turning into something totally stupid in the end (this kind of juvenile idiocy has, of course, turned out to be Aronofsky's trademark over the years - just check out his back-to-back comedies Requiem For A Dream and The Fountain for proof). Following, on the other hand, is a smart, solid film until the end and doesn't overreach - very possibly, I'd rank it in Nolan's top 3 after Memento and The Dark Knight... either that or Insomnia.

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