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The Game (1997)

7.7
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Ratings: 7.7/10 from 162,083 users   Metascore: 61/100
Reviews: 442 user | 141 critic | 19 from Metacritic.com

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

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Title: The Game (1997)

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Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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...
...
...
Peter Donat ...
...
...
...
...
Scott Hunter McGuire ...
Florentine Mocanu ...
Nicholas' Mother
...
Maria
...
Maggie
Daniel Schorr ...
Himself
...
Power Executive
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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. Written by Anonymous

Plot Summary | Plot Synopsis

Taglines:

John 9;25: "I was blind, but now I see." See more »


Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language, and for some violence and sexuality | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

 »
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Details

Country:

Language:

| |

Release Date:

12 September 1997 (USA)  »

Also Known As:

Igra  »

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

Show detailed on  »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

| |

Color:

(Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1
See  »
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Did You Know?

Trivia

Deborah Kara Unger fractured a bone in her foot and jumped into a dumpster infested with real rats while working on this film. See more »

Goofs

Nicholas' lips don't move when he apologizes to Christine after everyone runs away at the fake hospital. See more »

Quotes

Nicholas: So, you've played recently?
New Member Ted: Oh, about a year ago. I was working in Los Angeles.
Nicholas: I hear the London office is very good, too. It just sounds like a lot of fantasy, role-playing nonsense.
New Member Ted: [leans in] You wanna know what it is? What it's all about?
[Nicholas leans closer]
New Member Ted: John 9:25.
Nicholas: I... haven't been to Sunday school in a long time.
New Member Ted: 'Whereas once I was blind, now I can see.'
[rises]
New Member Ted: Good night, Nicholas. Best of luck.
[...]
See more »

Crazy Credits

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

Connections

References Midnight Madness (1980) See more »

Soundtracks

"Happy Birthday To You"
Written by Mildred J. Hill and Patty S. Hill
See more »

Frequently Asked Questions

See more (Spoiler Alert!) »

User Reviews

An extremely underrated movie
28 January 2007 | by (United Kingdom) – See all my reviews

After the great success, both with critics and with the public, of "Seven", Director David Fincher turned to this film. It has often been said that this movie was one he'd wanted to make for a long time and upon viewing you can really see his belief in both characters and the story- overall an excellently directed movie.

Although several people argued that "Seven" was gory, in my opinion it wasn't, for example, there is a total lack of blood in the Lust scene, something which I particularly admired- the fact that a director could make a chilling and shocking movie without resorting to piling tons of blood onto the screen. Fincher continues this streak in "The Game" by drawing the tension and shocks of the film by using psychological terror.

Unfortunately, the movie could not parallel the success of "seven" upon its release and also received mixed critical reviews, however since then it has become somewhat of a cult movie with far more success on DVD than in the box office.

Perhaps most notable about the film is the fact that (apparently) Fincher himself often seems to direct his actors in a detached way, the way one might move around chess pieces in a game. Whether this is 100% true or not his direction, the acting and just about everything else is superb.


27 of 39 people found this review helpful.  Was this review helpful to you?

Message Boards

Recent Posts
Too many plot holes euronick61
Too many what ifs. tha_416_raver
This movie was awful. leftwichqb7
Would you ever forgive your friends and family if they did this to you? ciara99
Did brother Conrad 'con' Nicolas on the bill? hermann-eric
similar films???? myfriendsup
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