Fight Club (1999)

Director:

David Fincher

Writers (WGA):

Chuck Palahniuk (novel)
Jim Uhls (screenplay)

Release Date:

15 October 1999 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

How much can you know about yourself if you've never been in a fight?

Plot:

An office employee and a soap salesman build a global organization to help vent male aggression.

Plot Keywords:

Fight | Club | Support Group | Office | Chakra

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 4 wins & 14 nominations

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Edward Norton	...	The Narrator
Brad Pitt	...	Tyler Durden
Helena Bonham Carter	...	Marla Singer
Meat Loaf	...	Robert 'Bob' Paulson
Zach Grenier	...	Richard Chesler
Richmond Arquette	...	Intern
David Andrews	...	Thomas
George Maguire	...	Group Leader
Eugenie Bondurant	...	Weeping Woman
Christina Cabot	...	Group Leader
Sydney 'Big Dawg' Colston	...	Speaker
Rachel Singer	...	Chloe
Christie Cronenweth	...	Airline Attendant
Tim De Zarn	...	Inspector Bird
Ezra Buzzington	...	Inspector Dent

Also Known As:

MPAA:

Rated R for disturbing and graphic depiction of violent anti-social behavior, sexuality and language.

Runtime:

139 min

Country:

USA | Germany

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

UK:18 (video re-rating) (2005) | USA:R (certificate #36857) | Malaysia:18PL | Italy:VM14 (cut) | Italy:VM18 (DVD rating) (uncut) | Brazil:18 | USA:TV-MA (TV rating) | South Korea:15 (cable rating) (cut) | Argentina:18 | Australia:R | Belgium:KNT | Canada:18+ (Québec) | Canada:18A | Chile:18 | Finland:K-16 (original rating) | Finland:K-16 (video rating) (cut) | Finland:K-18 (DVD rating) | France:-16 | Germany:18 (bw) | Hong Kong:IIB | Iceland:16 | Ireland:18 (cut) | Israel:16 | Japan:PG-12 | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:R18 | Norway:18 | Portugal:M/18 | South Korea:18 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:18 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:18 (canton of Vaud) | UK:18 (cut) | Singapore:M18 (re-rating) | Singapore:R(A) (original rating) | Philippines:R-18

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles Center Studios - 450 S. Bixel Street, Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Fox 2000 Pictures

Trivia:

Although he refused to smoke in Rounders (1998) (his character played poker for cigarettes, but did not smoke), Edward Norton agreed to smoke for this film.

Goofs:

Factual errors: When Tyler splices porno frames into family films, the audio and picture tracks would have only a barely noticeable 1/24 of a second interruption (as is shown). However, the image flash and sound flash are shown as happening simultaneously, when in fact, if they were spliced into the same frame on the reel (which is what we see Tyler doing), they would be 21 frames apart (i.e. the single image frame would occur about a second prior to the single audio frame). The sound for a 35mm film is read by a head located about a foot past the projection lamp; so, for the film and sound to remain in perfect sync, the soundtrack for a given frame is located about a foot in front of that frame, that way the image and the sound are projected simultaneously. For the sound and image flashes to occur at the same precise moment, Tyler would thus have to splice the frame of audio onto the reel about a foot further along than he splices the image frame, which he doesn't do (not to mention, it would be impossible to perfectly sync it by hand anyway).

Quotes:

[first lines]
[Tyler points a gun into the Narrator's mouth]
Narrator:[voiceover] People are always asking me if I know Tyler Durden.
Tyler Durden:Three minutes. This is it - ground zero. Would you like to say a few words to mark the occasion?
Narrator:...i... ann... iinn... ff... nnyin...
Narrator:[voiceover] With a gun barrel between your teeth, you speak only in vowels.
[Tyler removes the gun from the Narrator's mouth]
Narrator:I can't think of anything.
Narrator:[voiceover] For a second I totally forgot about Tyler's whole controlled demolition thing and I wonder how clean that gun is.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in On Location: Fight Club (2000) (V)

Soundtrack:

GIRL FROM YPSILANTI

Great Film: Deserved Several Academy Award Nominations

The script was tight, the theme fascinating, the acting incredible (especially Edward Norton, as one might expect), the direction inspired, and the cinematography stunning. It is one of the few films of the past five years that deserves to be seen multiple times. In fact, if you have seen it only once, you have missed something. I was seriously hoping the movie would receive Oscar nominations for Best Actor (Norton), Best Screenplay, Best Director, Best Cinematography and Best Picture.

So, how is it that the film received no nominations? Unfortunately, it had a mismatched ad campaign. The ads made it seem like the movie was about street boxing, instead of a intellectual and emotional ride through a man's psyche as he takes a strange path toward rebellion against consumer society. As a result, most who went to see it were disappointed, and those who would recognize its brilliance stayed far away from the movie theaters. This is one of the most underrated movies I know.

I always love movies that keep you entertained and keep you guessing, and this movie scores a 10 in both. Those who enjoyed The Game, Memento, or The Matrix really should check it out.