Fight Club (1999)

An insomniac office worker looking for a way to change his life crosses paths with a devil-may-care soap maker and they form an underground fight club that evolves into something much, much more...

Director:

David Fincher

Writers:

Chuck Palahniuk (novel), Jim Uhls (screenplay)

Stars:

Brad Pitt, Edward Norton, Helena Bonham Carter

Top 250 #10 | Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 7 wins & 18 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Edward Norton	...	The Narrator
Brad Pitt	...	Tyler Durden
Helena Bonham Carter	...	Marla Singer
Meat Loaf	...	Robert 'Bob' Paulsen (as Meat Loaf Aday)
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 (as Tim de Zarn)
Ezra Buzzington	...	Inspector Dent

Storyline

A ticking-time-bomb insomniac and a slippery soap salesman channel primal male aggression into a shocking new form of therapy. Their concept catches on, with underground "fight clubs" forming in every town, until an eccentric gets in the way and ignites an out-of-control spiral toward oblivion.

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Plot Keywords:

surprise ending | out of control | fighting | rage | graphic violence | 

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Taglines:

Losing all hope is freedom

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

18A

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook

Country:

USA Germany

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 October 1999 (Canada)

Also Known As:

Fight Club

Filming Locations:

421 W. Eighth Street, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$63,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£1,177,219 (UK) (12 November 1999)

Gross:

$37,023,395 (USA) (25 February 2000)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Fox 2000 Pictures, Regency Enterprises, Linson Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

139 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

After director David Fincher was finished editing the film, the studio executives were baffled by the piece, and unsure how to market it. Fincher had wanted a highly unique marketing campaign which would mirror the film's theme of anti-commercialism, but already worried about the possible backlash against the film, the Fox executives refused to go ahead with Fincher's idea (two of Fincher's trailers can be found on the DVD in the 'Internet Spots' section). Instead, a campaign was launched which was built largely upon the presence of Brad Pitt in the film, as well as concentrating on the fighting (which plays a minor role in the actual film itself). The campaign was highly criticized as giving the impression that the film was basically just about men beating each other up, completely ignoring the comic and satiric elements of the narrative, and for marketing the film to the wrong audience. David Fincher was particularly incensed when he saw ads for the film during WWE and UFC programming.

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Goofs

When The Mechanic (Holt McCallany) sprays the Seminary Student (Matt Winston) with a hose, the camera briefly shakes because the cameraman was laughing uncontrollably.

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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 ...

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Crazy Credits

Just as the closing credits are about to start, a flash-frame-shot of a penis appears on the screen.

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Connections

Featured in 20 to 1: Hollywood's Hot List (2009)

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Soundtracks

FORBIDDEN TO LOVE
Music by Guy Moon
Lyric by Bob Garret
Arrangement by Jeff Haskett
Produced by Guy Moon

User Reviews

Generally positive comments

This film, is basically, at least in my opinion, one of the greatest films ever, period. I read the book afterwards, and equally enjoyed the book. The film is definitely for younger people, the critics of films, in general are older, so they cannot appreciate this film. The film defines the younger generation, only younger people can relate to it, however, older people(middle aged+) can appreciate the art of the film, the beauty of the camera work, as well as the excellent acting. The film, in every aspect is fantastic, it begins with a rather humorous narration, from a person we grow to know as, "narrator". It goes about to show how he lives, and his way of life. In these scenes alone, movie lines that will go down in history are said, and it's only the first twenty minutes. The film tends to progress faster and faster as the film continues. We delve into the narrators psyche, and find that he is not unlike most people in this world, he has a tendency to say to people what they want to hear, even if it is not the truth in it's entirety. Almost all folks can relate to the main character, and he feels to be a real human, not a character in a story. This, is partially due to the excellent directing, as well as book, but it is mostly due to the fantastic performance by Edward Norton. It, in my opinion is an Oscar performance. Bradd Pitt gives his best performance to date, he is definitely an excellent coworker with David Fincher, they seem to share a common thread when it comes to film making I suppose. I have full intention of purchasing this film when it is released on VHS and DVD. Do yourself a favour, see this film, if that is not an option, at least read the book. If you are younger and feel unrest with society, this is the film.