This is the first installment in a new regular feature here at Gearcritech.com. We call it the Gearcritech Director’s Series. Each month we will be reviewing the works of a particular director and posting a review of one of their films each week in that month. The first series for the month of the July is on a mutual favorite amongst everyone here at GC, the great David Fincher.
Movies are a huge part of modern entertainment, and every year there are hits and misses, blockbusters and bombs. But every now and then there comes a cult classic that leaves a permanent impression with viewers. A film that strikes a chord and becomes an instant classic. Films like Donnie Darko, The Nightmare Before Christmas, and The Crow, that don’t necessarily pull in a lot of money at the box office or get good reviews, but for some reason draw a large audience who not only praise, but relate to the film. One of the more visceral cult hits to strike in recent times is one of my personal favorite films of all time, Fight Club. This movie not only appeals to me because of the hardcore violence and suggestive themes, but the strong message it carries about counterculture and antiestablishmentarianism. Fight Club takes a strong swing at pop culture and how the people of modern society fill the voids in their lives with shit they don’t need. For those who are truly touched by this movie, they are given a glimpse of what it is like to strip yourself down to your bare primal nature and rely only on your primary instincts, in the hunter/gatherer sense.
Movie
“‘Jack’ (Edward Norton) is a chronic insomniac desperate to escape his excruciatingly boring life. That’s when he meets Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt), a charismatic soap salesman with a twisted philosophy. Tyler believes self-improvement is for the weak - it’s self-destruction that really makes life worth living. Before long Jack and Tyler are beating each other to a pulp in a bar parking lot, a cathartic slugfest that delivers joys of physical violence, Jack and Tyler form a secret Fight Club that becomes wildly successful. But there’s a shocking surprise waiting for Jack that will change everything. Pitt and Norton deliver knockout performances in this stunningly original, darkly comic film from David Fincher.”
Fight Club is a very fastpaced and frenetic story based on the novel of the same name by Chuck Palahniuk. It follows the original book very closely, with a few major changes and slight reinterpretations. The film is very darkly lit, with an urban grittiness. It is edited in a very erratic and rough cut style, typical of Fincher. The visual style really creates a unique perspective for the viewer, fully immersing them into the movie. We are inserted into the subtle aspects of the world and shown (through CG) a skewed view of events, such as the bottom-up view of the contents of Jack’s trash can, the rooftop-to-pavement-to-parking-garage camera transition, or the rotating freeze frame sex scene. Fincher put the special effects department to good use for the CG scenes in the film. Brad Pitt also does a fantastic job at relaying the twisted philosophy of Tyler Durden and really carries the role very well, thoroughly depicting the characters ideals from the book.
Rating: 8 out of 10
Transfer
Presented in anamorphic widescreen at a 2.40:1 aspect ratio. The transfer isn’t all that perfect, and the film grain comes through at times, although sometimes it does the film good considering Fincher’s dark lighting and erratic composite cutting and special effects. Sometimes I can’t tell if the graininess has been added intentionally during post-production to complement the rough shooting style. The transfer quality isn’t a big deal at all, and is only noticable in a few places, other than that, it shines through just fine.
Rating: 7 out of 10
Audio
For most of the film the characters are just talking so the audio isn’t really a big deal, but in the fight scenes we hear some good sounds. The fists smacking flesh, and the raw thuds really amplify the fights and make it a visceral event. The score by The Dust Brothers also really fits the film well, and reflects the fast-paced, energetic tone of the film.
Rating: 8 out of 10
Extras
Special Edition content includes: 3 theatrical trailers, 12 American TV spots, 2 International TV spots, 3 Spanish TV spots, 2 PSA’s, 5 Internet spots, Dust Brothers music video, 7 deleted/alternate scenes, “on location” behind-the-scenes featurette, 14 behind-the-scenes video segments on production and visual effects with alternate video and audio tracks (accessible using the “angle” and “audio” buttons on your remote), multiple stills galleries (containing hundreds of production photos, effects stills, production artwork, storyboards, posters & lobby carts, the film’s press kit and more), Ed Norton interview transcript, cast & crew bios.
Rating: 8 out of 10
Overall
All in all, Fight Club is a staple of modern culture, and has become a strong cult hit, pulling in a very large audience. At the time of its release, the film got a strong reaction from critics and censors, citing the film as no less than pro-fascist nihilist propaganda. Since then however, America has lightened up a bit and come to accept the visceral overtones in the film. Personally I feel that Fincher and the rest of the cast and crew really did a great job in translating the message and tone from the original novel and making it into a very strong and powerful film experience. It isn’t 100% true to the book, but the changes they made on screen were for the better and really make the story that much better than it already was.
Overall Rating: 8.5
Fight Club
Movie: 8
Transfer: 7
Audio: 8
Extras: 8
Overall: 8.5
Director: David Fincher
Format: Widescreen [2.40:1]
Sound: English 5.1 Dolby Surround
Rated: R
Genre: Action/Drama
Studio: 20th Century Fox
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