"Watching a $60,000, black-and-white indie movie in a format devoted to video and audio clarity may seem like swatting a fly with a Buick. True, there isn't much to be gained from Pi's non-anamorphic, matted presentation (at least it's letterboxed). More importantly, this disc offers a glimpse into the low-budget world of what director Darren Aronofsky calls the ""Pi family,"" and the driving techno soundtrack sounds at least $60K worth of decent in 2.0 Dolby Surround Sound. The behind-the-scenes montage takes about two seconds to demystify the film's special effects secret: hot glue. But viewers will also see the director's mom, Mom's best friend (who had a small acting part), and the low-rent set in low-grade color. The two commentary tracks -- one from the director and one from his college buddy and lead actor Sean Gullette -- reveal the budget- and sanity-stretching hoops the cast and crew jumped through, including shooting illegally on the New York subway and handling a real brain. Four deleted scenes with commentary, film-geek production notes, and home-video footage of the Pi family's trip to Sundance round out this fuzzy, but still fun DVD."
