The Game (1997)

After a wealthy banker is given an opportunity to participate in a mysterious game, his life is turned upside down when he becomes unable to distinguish between the game and reality.

Director:

David Fincher

Writers:

John Brancato, Michael Ferris

Stars:

Michael Douglas, Deborah Kara Unger, Sean Penn

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Michael Douglas	...	Nicholas Van Orton
Sean Penn	...	Conrad
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	...	Daniel Schorr
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 in to curiosity, Nicholas visits CRS and all kinds of weird and bad things start to happen to him.

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Plot Keywords:

suicide | surprise ending | game | hitchcockian | puzzlement | 

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Taglines:

Players Wanted.

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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:

Tunnel Top Lounge and Bar - 601 Bush Street, San Francisco, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$50,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$14,337,029, 14 September 1997

Gross USA:

$48,323,648

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$109,423,648

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:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This was David Fincher's first film to use a custom configured Panavision Super 35 frame line in which the 2.39:1 extraction is placed one third of the top of 1.85:1 with 4:3 brackets. He would use the framing for his next two films, Fight Club (1999) and Panic Room (2002).

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Goofs

A tiger in the background disappears between shots at the zoo.

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Quotes

Samuel Sutherland: [Nicholas is making rounds at his birthday party] Nicholas, I haven't a *clue* what's going on, but your taste in champagne is excellent, as always.
Anson Baer: It was a *great* entrance!

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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

Spoofs Crash (1996)

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Soundtracks

Hollow
Written and Performed by Matthew Sweet
Courtesy of Freewood Entertainment

User Reviews

Michael Douglas at his very best

"The Game" took me on one psychological thrill ride after another loaded with twists and turns scene after scene.

Michael Douglas pulled off his best performance as Nicholas Van Orton a man who is approaching his birthday. Upon which he receives an invitation to play a game given to him by his brother Conrad played by Sean Penn. Nicholas reluctantly agrees and soon finds out that the game is more than he bargained for.

I thoroughly enjoyed this film because I never knew who was trustworthy or what was going to happen next, this truly was one film that must be seen by those who enjoy never knowing for sure how a movie will turn out.

"The Game" is all Michael Douglas and how well he pulls off his role of being the innocent who happens to be in the middle of a game he can't control. However, a really good movie can not be pulled off by one actor, a whole lot of credit should go to Sean Penn and Deborah Kara Unger for their convincing portrayals in this film.