by Alex Billington
April 29, 2026
Source: YouTube
“Our bodies are prisons for our souls.” Did you watch this movie in theaters when it first opened? I did! It’s brilliant! Revisit this glorious official trailer for one of the most ambitious projects ever undertaken. The Fountain was the 3rd movie directed by Darren Aronofsky coming off his breakout hit Requiem for a Dream in 2000. It took him six years to finally finish and release it. Here’s the story: Aronofsky originally planned to direct The Fountain on a $70 million budget with Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett in the lead roles, but Pitt’s withdrawal and cost overruns led Warner Bros to shut it down. Aronofsky rewrote the script to be sparser and was able to resurrect the film for $35 million with Hugh Jackman and Rachel Weisz in the lead roles. Spanning over one thousand years, and three parallel stories, The Fountain is a story of love, death, spirituality, and the fragility of our existence in this world. Along with Jackman & Weisz, it also stars Ellen Burstyn, Stephen McHattie, Mark Margolis, and Cliff Curtis as a conquistador. The Fountain also features a phenomenal score by composer Clint Mansell – it’s still one of my all-time favorite movie scores. I love the visuals, especially all the space stuff with the floating tree of life, and I have fond memories of covering this movie during its original release back in 2006. Check out the classic theatrical trailer below.
Here’s the original trailers (+ poster) for Darren Aronofsky’s film The Fountain, direct from YouTube:
Yesterday, today, tomorrow. Past, present, future. Through time and space, one man embarks on a bold 1000-year odyssey to defeat humankind’s most indomitable foe: Death. Hugh Jackman plays that man, Tommy, who is devoted to one woman Izzi (Rachel Weisz) and is determined to protect her from forces that threaten her existence. His quest leads him to a Tree of Life… and to an adventure into eternity. The Fountain is directed by acclaimed American filmmaker Darren Aronofsky, his third film at the time after making Pi (1998) and Requiem for a Dream (2000) and right before The Wrestler (2008). The screenplay is also written by Darren Aronofsky, from a story by Aronofsky & Ari Handel. Produced by Eric Watson, Arnon Milchan, Iain Smith, Nick Wechsler. Warner Bros originally released Darren Aronofsky’s The Fountain in US theaters on November 22nd, 2006 but sadly it barely made $16.5 million at the box office that year. It hasn’t been re-released quite yet– but it deserves to be seen on the big screen again. One of your favorites?
