Fight Club

MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

In this darkly comic drama, Edward Norton stars as a depressed young man (named in the credits only as "Narrator") who has become a small cog in the world of big business. He doesn't like his work and gets no sense of reward from it, attempting instead to drown his sorrows by putting together the "perfect" apartment. He can't sleep and feels alienated from the world at large; he's become so desperate to relate to others that he's taken to visiting support groups for patients with terminal diseases so that he'll have people to talk to. One day on a business flight, he discovers Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt), a charming iconoclast who sells soap. Tyler doesn't put much stock in the materialistic world, and he believes that one can learn a great deal through pain, misfortune, and chaos. Tyler cheerfully challenges his new friend to a fight. Our Narrator finds that bare-knuckle brawling makes him feel more alive than he has in years, and soon the two become friends and roommates, meeting informally to fight once a week. As more men join in, the "fight club" becomes an underground sensation, even though it's a closely guarded secret among the participants. (First rule: Don't talk about fight club. Second rule: Don't talk about fight club.) But as our Narrator and Tyler bond through violence, a strange situation becomes more complicated when Tyler becomes involved with Marla (Helena Bonham Carter), whom our Narrator became infatuated with when they were both crashing the support-group circuit. Based on the novel by Chuck Palahniuk, Fight Club was directed by David Fincher, who previously directed Pitt in the thriller Seven. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

DVD FEATURES:

• Region: 1
• Number of Discs: 1
• Screen: Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV
• Audio: Dolby Surround
• Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1
• Features:
  • cc
  • Director's commentary by David Fincher
  • Commentary by David Fincher, Brad Pitt, Edward Norton, Helena Bonham Carter
  • Writer's commentary by Chuck Palahniuk and Jim Uhls
  • Technical commentary by Alex McDowell, Jeff Cronenweth, Michael Kaplan, Kevin Haug

AWARDS

• Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

•     Nominated Best Sound Effects Editing - 1999 (Ren Klyce, Richard Hymns)

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Cast:

  
       Edward Norton - Narrator
       Brad Pitt - Tyler Durden
       Helena Bonham Carter - Marla Singer
       Meat Loaf - Big Bob Paulson
       Jared Leto - Angel Face
       Zach Grenier - Boss
       Christina Cabot - Leader at Partners In Positivity

• Director:

  David Fincher

• Producer:

  Art Linson, Ceán Chaffin, Ross Grayson Bell

• Screenwriter:

  Jim Uhls

• Book Author:

  Chuck Palahniuk

• Cinematographer:

  Jeff Cronenweth

• Composer (Music Score):

  The Dust Brothers, John King, Michael Simpson

• Editor:

  James Haygood

• Production Designer:

  Alex McDowell

• Art Director:

  Chris Gorak

• Executive Producer:

  Arnon Milchan

• Set Designer:

  Jay R. Hart

• Costume Designer:

  Michael Kaplan

• Sound/Sound Designer:

  Jeff Wexler, Ren Klyce

• First Assistant Director:

  Mike Topoozian

• Casting:

  Laray Mayfield

• Makeup Special Effects:

  Rob Bottin

• Sound Effects Editor:

  Richard Hymns

• Production Assistant:

  Kieron Estrada

REVIEW:

• A definitive case of a movie that has yet to find its time, David Fincher's unnerving and cataclysmic look at the male psyche takes no prisoners and makes no apologies, which is precisely why the film is so powerful. A kind of stepchild to Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange in terms of its thematic relevancy and misunderstood nature, Fight Club looks and feels like almost nothing that has preceded it. Brad Pitt, Edward Norton, and Helena Bonham Carter all successfully subvert their onscreen personas, and give fully committed portrayals that never get buried in the film's dazzling set pieces. More than any film of the 1990s, it was hotly debated in terms of its cinematic worth. Some critics deemed it fascist and overheated, condemning the film for its refusal to a create an easily delineated platform on the issues it raises. Others praised the film for this very reason, citing its ability to challenge the minds of moviegoers. The film was a surprising misfire in its initial release, but a legion of die-hard fans subsequently developed. It wouldn't be at all surprising if it goes on to achieve the delayed status of a work such as Blade Runner, another film panned by critics and audiences when it was released that is now viewed as a significantly influential movie and a banner example of film theory on screen. ~ Jason Clark, Rovi