The Game (1997)

Wealthy financier Nicholas Van Orton gets a strange birthday present from wayward brother Conrad: a live-action game that consumes his life.

Director:

David Fincher

Writers:

John D. Brancato, Michael Ferris

Stars:

Michael Douglas, Sean Penn, Deborah Kara Unger

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Michael Douglas	...	Nicholas Van Orton
Sean Penn	...	Conrad Van Orton
Deborah Kara Unger	...	Christine
James Rebhorn	...	Jim Feingold
Peter Donat	...	Samuel Sutherland
Carroll Baker	...	Ilsa
Anna Katarina	...	Elizabeth
Armin Mueller-Stahl	...	Anson Baer
Charles Martinet	...	Nicholas' Father
Scott Hunter McGuire	...	Young Nicholas
Florentine Mocanu	...	Nicholas' Mother
Elizabeth Dennehy	...	Maria
Caroline Barclay	...	Maggie
Daniel Schorr	...	Himself
John Aprea	...	Power Executive

Storyline

Nicholas Van Orton is a very wealthy San Francisco banker, but he is an absolute loner, even spending his birthday alone. In the year of his 48th birthday (the age his father committed suicide) his brother Conrad, who has gone long ago and surrendered to addictions of all kinds, suddenly returns and gives Nicholas a card giving him entry to unusual entertainment provided by something called Consumer Recreation Services (CRS). Giving up to curiosity, Nicholas visits CRS and all kinds of weird and bad things start to happen to him.

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Plot Keywords:

birthday | game | suicide | jumping from a car | shower | 

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Taglines:

What do you get for the man who has everything?

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language, and for some violence and sexuality

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Cantonese German

Release Date:

12 September 1997 (USA)

Also Known As:

Igra

Filming Locations:

1 Bush Street, San Francisco, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$50,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$6,400,000 (Non-US) (31 October 1997)

Gross:

DEM 12,612,526 (Germany) (16 January 1998)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Polygram Filmed Entertainment, Propaganda Films, A&B Producoes, Lda.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

129 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Andrew Kevin Walker was one of the uncredited writers.

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Goofs

During the in-car shots in the sequence where Nicolas is being followed by the P.I., the speedometer of the BMW stays at zero.

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Quotes

Conrad: This is for you.
Nicholas: You shouldn't have.
Conrad: What do you get for the man who has... everything?
Nicholas: [reading card] "Consumer Recreation Services." Well, I do have golf clubs.
Conrad: Call that number.
Nicholas: Why?
Conrad: Make your life... fun.
Nicholas: Fun.
Conrad: You know what that is... uh, you've seen other people have it.

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Crazy Credits

The opening credits shatter in the form of jigsaw puzzle pieces in Reference to the Film's title.

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Connections

Referenced in Eyes Wide Shut (1999)

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Soundtracks

"Take Me Baby"
Written and Performed by Dave Crimmen
Courtesy of Mastersource

User Reviews

....and when it was all over, I was blown away

Very few films have captured my attention the way The Game did. Every turn, every corner seemed to have some hint of intrigue and deception. This film would be the life's work for any major film maker, but then again, this David Fincher were talking about.

Years from now, when Fincher is honored with his lifetime achievement award at the Academy Awards, his true fans will always remember this film. It put a whole new twist on the idea of "plot-twist." One of the few films me and my father both liked (we never agree on any film).