Fight Club (UK)
Mischief. Mayhem. Soap
Certificate: 18
Running Time: 133 mins
Retail Price: £24.99
Release Date:
Content Type: Movie
Synopsis:
"How much do you know about yourself if you`ve never been in a fight?" - Tyler Durden.
Brad Pitt and Edward Norton deliver knockout performances in this stunningly original, darkly comic film from David Fincher, the director of `Se7en`.
Norton stars as Jack, a chronic insomniac desperate to escape his excruciatingly boring life. That`s when he meets Tyler Durden (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 the ultimate high. To introduce other men to simple 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...
Special Features:
Interactive Menus
Scene Access
Commentary with David Fincher, Brad Pitt, Helena Bonham-Carter & Edward Norton
Disc Two: Music
Deleted/Alternate Scenes
Behind the scenes with Multiple Angles
Cast & Crew Bios
Ed Norton Interview
Trailers & TV Spots
Internet Spots
Art Gallery
Original Artwork
18-page colour booklet
Video Tracks:
Widescreen Anamorphic 2.40:1
Audio Tracks:
Dolby Digital 5.1 English
Subtitle Tracks:
CC: English
Directed By:
David Fincher
Written By:
Jim Uhls
Chuck Palahniuk
Starring:
Van Quattro
Jared Leto
Meat Loaf
Helena Bonham Carter
Edward Norton
Brad Pitt
Casting By:
Laray Mayfield
Soundtrack By:
Michael Simpson
John King
Director of Photography:
Jeff Cronenweth
Editor:
Jim Haygood
Costume Designer:
Michael Kaplan
Production Designer:
Alex McDowell
Producer:
Art Linson
John S. Dorsey
Ceán Chaffin
Ross Bell
Executive Producer:
Arnon Milchan
Distributor:
Twentieth Century Fox
Your Opinions and Comments
The visual/audio, is incredible, possibly the finest i have seen on a DVD. The extra features are equaly as good, and there are alot, so you get your money`s worth.
Overal i think any action freak will enjoy this film, and it`ll be something you have never experienced before.
"First rule of fight club, you don`t talk about fight club!.
Second rule of fight club is, you don`t talk about fight club!.
Third rule of fight club is, you do not talk about fight club!"
(Tyler Durden, Brad Pitt)
The film itself is on that has to be seen more than once to fully appreciate it. A very original storyline and perfect cast make it, in my opinion one of the best movies of the last decade.
After seeing this movie in the theathre It became one of my favourite movies of all time.It was the first movie in decades to enter my top 10 movies list and now it holds the 5th place (just after the Star Wars Trilogy, Back To The Future, Indiana Jones and Alien Trilogies or Sagas).Knowing that the director would be David Fincher (man behind Alien 3 and Seven) and with actors like Brad Pitt, Edward Norton, Helena Bonham Carter It couldn`t sound any better and so it was hypergreat.
The transfer to dvd is excellent, the packaging is the best I have ever seen, with cool covers and lot`s of cool stuff, including "how to start a fight" booklet. There`s 2 disc, the first disc has got the movie and some commentaries and the other disc is for supplements/extras.The menus are fantastic and all things together this is the best dvd ever with good video transfer and clear audio transfer.
28llimaH[at]moc.liamtoh
from start to finish.
It is superb.
I can`t sum up what is SO good about it, you just have to see it for yourself.
and after watching it, see how your life changes!.
IF YOU CAN: get the special 2 disc edition... and be wowed by the vast extras stuffed onto disk 2.
THE AUDIO commentary os funny, insightful and allows you to appreciate the ideas behind the film.
JUST BUY IT!!!!!!!!.
What a cinematic treat Fight Club turned out to be. Brad Pitt is Tyler Durden, a charismatic soap salesman. Only, he doesn`t really exist. He is just a figment of the Narrators imagination. The Narrator is played by rising star Edward Norton, who portrays an insomniac hooked on support groups. Together, the two set up the underground, bare-knuckle boxing club of the title in the basement of a pub. Things escalate from here into a nightmare, with Tyler declaring war on society. To put his plan into action he, sets up Project Mayhem with the help of brainwashed Fight Club members. They do many dangerous, but occasionally comical, things such as blowing up computers and pasting false advertising campaigns up.
Fight Club is all about insanity and the need for males to release testosterone by braying each other to pulp. This may sound very simple minded, but Fight Club is a lot more complex than it may first appear. It definately requires repeated viewings in order to make it`s message about the frivolity of society sink in. Fight Club is a seriously original piece of cinema, which ignores all the usual hollywood cliches, delivering something new and fresh for a large audienece. Fight Club also includes good performances by Helena Bonham Carter, Meatloaf and Jared Leto. And remember... if anyone goes limp or taps out, the fight is over!
PICTURE: Anamorphic Widescreen 2.40:1.
As my high marks indicate, the picture quality here is in pristine condition. David Fincher`s trademark blacks come across with a great deal of depth and solidity, with no grain present whatsoever. This is probably the best the movie will ever look outside a movie theatre. Forget the VHS, get yourself a DVD copy. I can`t comment on the accuracy of flesh tones, because the greenish colour cast used makes them look very washed out at times. That said, this is an intentional look and not just a case of bad encoding. And remember... only one fight at a time fellas.
SOUND: Dolby Digital 5.1 (NTSC version includes Dolby 2.0 as well).
Like the excellent picture quality, the sound is a real showpiece for the powerful narration of Ed Norton and the Dust Brothers 21st Century soundtrack.
I cannot comment on the Dolby 2.0 track, as I only have the region 2 version. However, the 5.1 track will most probably be the better of the two. The narration in particular comes across with great depth and clarity, being clearly more dynamic than the standard dialogue in the film. All the retro sound effects are well mastered; background noises in pubs and the roars of cheering fight watchers are well integrated. And remember... fights will go on as long as they have to.
EXTRAS: This two disc set includes all the regulars such as docs and trailers, as well as an original music video and some hilarious internet spots. My favourite section is the one that focuses on the huge `Advertising` campaign surrounding Fight Club. There are public service announcements from the main stars and a text based Ed Norton interview as well as the trailers and internet spots already mentioned. These are more comical than they first appear, with great attention being paid to detail. Even the small featurettes included are well directed! Look out for an interesting section on all the art work produced for the movie too. And remember... no shirts, no shoes.
OVERALL: Buy Fight Club if only for its sheer amount of extra material and refreshing feel. Pitt and Norton both deliver excellent performances making the movie highly enjoyable and a joy to view. Comes with top marks in all categories! And remember... only two guys to a fight!
Well, it`s a good movie. What can I say. A very good movie in fact. It certainly isn`t to everyones taste, and has a very adult theme, but to all you Daily Mail readers, it isn`t as violent as it appears. There is only one death and the fights are only mildly grusome. The point behind the film is excellent though. I won`t go into it, it is something you need to discover for yourself. If your not into the deep philosophy of the film, and are just looking for entertainment, it delivers here to. It has a great cast, is very darkly comic, with loads of great moments of black comedy, The visuals are out of this world, with some truly inspired CGI moments, that will just make your eyes pop out of your head. The music is truly imspired to, with a wonderful last scene. Groundbreaking, and although expensive at $60million, it is certainly recouping the money in DVD sales.
VIDEO
A wonderful picture from Fox. The film is very dark to suit the mood of the film, with very few scenes where it isn`t night. The transfer, which is 2.40.1 is incredibly clear and details all the dark colours perfectly. Very good Fox
AUDIO
A nice clear soundtrack too, and one that is very haunting, The sound effects are very good in the film, and everything is very clear and concise. Dialogue is pitch perfect as well.
EXTRAS
I must be the only visitor to not be that impressed by the extras on this two disc set. What I mainly want to know is what happened to the other three commentaries that were on the R1 release. Why do we have the Fincher, Pitt, Norton, Bohnam Carter one (which is very good admitedly) and not the Fincher solo and Chuck Palanuck ones. Why do we not deserve them? Onto the second disc, and we have lots of very small alternate camera shots of various images from the film, and different soundtracks. There is a five minute behind the scenes, and some on location footage. While all this is OK, the multi angle is a pain to navigate, and a bit shallow and pointless. Things perk up with the Section on effects, which bundled with a few commentaries, is very interesting indeed. There is an extensive Marketing section, which bears some fruits if you look, and then some nice deleted scenes, with one very good one, that makes sense if you have read the screenplay (Pillow Talk) To be honest, with the amount of material on these discs, I reckon it would all fit onto one, but then we wouldn`t get the nice packaging, with the booklet, which, incidentally, more interesting than anything on Disc 2.
OVERALL
A great film, with a nice transfer, but the extras are a bit of a letdown. I don`t know why we didn`t get the extra commentaries, as there is only a 5.1 English track and one subtitle stream on disc 1, so space isn`t a problem, but the extras aren`t enjoyable or comprehensive at all.
I could not help but laugh my guts out on the PSA`s on the second special features disc.
I loved the music video as well since it was so unique to me.
The strange thing about watching it is that you forget there is so much in it. I love that secret bit where you see Meatloaf Aday`s pants falling down when they run from the pressman hotel.
The audio is pretty good, Same with the photography
The only thimg I found that was bad was the fact we did not see more fighting, even though some of the fighting scenes are very graphic.
I love this movie so much that I even made my account just so that I could rate it
David Fincher should be proud of himself for making this masterpiece.
The philosophical part of the movie was so understandable, even so I have adapted my whole life to revolve around it.
Alley
One day while returning from a business trip, he meets a very interesting individual. His name? Tyler Durden, a soap salesman who sprouts out weird (and twisted) philosophy to the nameless narrator. Just as he returns home, he discovers that his home had been destroyed, apparently a gas explosion. Having nowhere to live, he decided to phone his newly found friend through the business card which Durden gave earlier. The two meet at a pub and have a few drinks. Not before long, they batter each other outside a bar parking lot. They introduced a secret Fight Club that becomes successful.
Upon release, the film recieved mixed reviews from critics. While many people see Fight Club as a modern day classic, others (notably Ebert) denounced the film as nothing more than a film that endorses violence and glamourises facism. I say it`s a masterpiece and that some people don`t get the message in the film. Looking at the trailers, it seems that most of the film is filled with violence throughout but when you look at the main feature, it actually takes a small portion of the entire film. The rest is filled with social commentary. I`m not going to spoil anymore.
Video- The 1st rule of Fight Club is that you don`t talk about the DVD(sorry). Fight Club presented in 2.40:1 anamorphic widescreen, the transfer is well... what can I say about this one? faultless. Colours and sharpness are fine, so far, there`s little if not free of edge enhancement. There have been a few complaints from a handful of reviewers in regards to the video quality, most notably, the few bits of dirt that appears from time to time and the general dirty look to it. I personally felt that the washed out look and the grainy video adds character to the film. According to David Fincher himself, it also gives that deliberate dark look, a similar technique used by Gordon Willis for the Godfather films.
Audio- The only offer on this disc is DD 5.1. This mix is a very aggresive mix and there bassy. I would say it`s one of if not the most bassiest sound tracks I`ve ever heard of all my 150+ collections. It`s very active, all speakers used from the Dust Brothers score to the beating of Tyler Durden and many other character. Be prepared for lots of rumbling from your subwoofer. Play it loud.
Extras- The first pressings is packaged on a digi-pack with a booklet containing chapter stops and a bunch of quotations from critics and the author Chuck Palahniuk himself. On the 1st disc, you`ll get an audio commentary from Fincher and cast members including Edward Norton, Brad Pitt and Helena Bonham Carter. A note to DVD junkies, Bonham Carter`s commentary is seperate while Fincher, Norton and Pitt`s are done in the same room. Should Carter be in the same room, there would be more laughs etc. This talk track is very interesting, they discuss the production of the film. It`s a great talk track. It`s a shame that the R2 release omits the other 3 commentary tracks from the R1 version
Disc two mostly has promotional material. They only worthy extras are: Behind the scenes with Multiple Angles and deleted scenes.
Overall- Fight Club is an original and darkly funny film. It is ranked 9th best film in Empire`s 2004 Top 100 Greatest Films of All Time. It`s official, Fight Club beats the living crap out of todays movies(or sub-movies).