Rating: Summary: Fight Club Review: this movie was a horrible movie I usually like david fincher's movies very unbelieveable how can his imaginary character be driving a car with him siting in the passengers seat and people in the back seat just a all around dissapointing movie
Rating: Summary: I was surprised Review: that this was such a great film. Enjoy it there aren't many twists that are this much fun.
Rating: Summary: A great dvd treatment for a deserving film. Review: David Fincher has been one of my favorite directors from the moment I walked out of the theater I saw Se7en play in. He creates dark landscapes that are slightly different from the world we exist in but only by minute enough details that they still seem plausible. Fight Club is a perfect example of his mastermind at work. Starting with an amazing book by Chuck Palahniuk we have a great foundation from which to build a fascinating ride through the degradation of one man's grasp of reality, and back with him as he discovers what is and is no longer real. The performances are all very well done, with special merits going to the two leads. Brad Pitt is everything Tyler Durden should be and IS that character. Edward Norton, one of the most gifted young actors currently in Hollywood, gives a fine performance as our narrator, Jack. The play between these two and the way in which they work off of one another perfectly is simply too much fun to watch. The dvd is a 2 disc package from Fox and they threw in all the extras one could want here. There's numerous commentaries which I still have yet to listen to most of in all honesty. Deleted scenes, making of, behind the scenes, trailers, commercials, etc etc etc. Video is sharp and clean and the sound mix is perfect, with dialogue never being hard to hear or follow. The packaging is not your normal dvd case and I have heard complaints about the flimsiness, but as long as you treat it with care the case will last as long as any other.
Rating: Summary: A violent but intelligent social critique Review: In a way, "Fight Club" is the rough, often brutal, and intensely masculine counter part to "American Beauty". Both films examine contemporary, American, middle class society and both argue that its raison d'ĂȘtre is predicated on a false set of values. In "American Beauty" many of the characters mire themselves in worthless distractions and intense denial in order to achieve happiness within the limitations of middle class society. "Fight Club" asks why we should work at jobs we hate to buy stuff that we don't need and then offers a defiant answer. We shouldn't. Instead, we should define our self-interest in terms of our collective primal requirements. For men, this boils down to violence, competition, and proving themselves physically. The violence, however repugnant it may seem, takes place in an intensely ritualized format that offers something to all of its participants. Anyone who thinks that this is hokey and unrealistic should go to a boxing gym or martial arts training hall. Most of the participants in such places are not psychotic Neanderthals, but sensitive, well-behaved yuppies of both genders. Many of the fight scenes in "Fight Club" reminded me of these places not because of the violence but because of the competition and camaraderie one finds there. "Fight Club" argues that people have reached the apogee of this trade off-that they have given up too much freedom to obtain a diluted and highly regulated form of happiness. The logical conclusion of "Fight Club" is that people will only be able to lead an honest and fulfilling life when the instruments of late mature capitalism are destroyed. Thus the film ends with the bloodied, wounded protagonist and his girl friend watching the destruction of leading banks and credit card companies and the dawn of a new era. Understandably, some people object to the overly masculine nature of the film and its apparent exclusion of women. My own understanding is that the film focuses on men's response to contemporary society but is not meant to deny the role of women in any fashion. It has received accolades from a leading feminist, Susan Faludi (author of "Back Lash") which hopefully confirms this point. If violence bothers you then definitely do not watch this film. But violence aside, it is a film of ideas that addresses what society offers us today and how we can respond to it.
Rating: Summary: The Best Intelligent "Guy Movie" ever made Review: And no it's not because of the brutal fight scenes. Many critics have panned this film and called it an insult to all Generation X-Men. The only thing about this it that none of these reviewers were Generation X-Men. This film is visually superb, well acted, and hillarious. It also makes quite a few points. Despite the fact that the actual fight club was insane, deep down most 25 year old guys don't really want to go sit at a desk for 8 hours a day and come home to an apartment as small as a motel room, only to think about what they could buy to make their life better. Day after day of this kind of life is the kind of thing that drives people crazy, and after a while you do just want to hit something. This movie hints at why a lot of men are like this. Overall this is a great DVD. It is technically excellent, and having a second disk full of extras doesn't hurt. If you've seen this movie and liked it, you might as well buy it.
Rating: Summary: Oh my, another bad "mom" syndrome. Review: In the tradition of "Physcho", "Magic" and other nut films, this one ranks right up there with the best of them. Then end was a total suprise. Pitt out does himself in the one.
Rating: Summary: Surrender to Fight Club.....A no-holds-barred Knockout! Review: If you haven't seen it...See it! If you HAVE...See it again! Either the critics just plain DIDN'T GET IT...Or shrewdly pretended not to! Considering Fight Club's tauntingly in-your-face Political INcorrectness, it's easy to see why most critics opted to play it safe! Here is a film that almost cries out, "HATE ME! DESPISE ME!" An occasional film gingerly will step on the toes of audience sensibilities. Fight Club drop kicks them! Yet, it is so unrelentlessly and quirkily original, so pathologically tantilizing..you will LOVE it...and then HATE yourself for it! (If you're skeptical, just look at that slick DVD packaging!) Make no mistake, however, Fight Club always shows its audience ample respect. It never pontificates nor proselytizes, as would your typical formulaic Hollywood film. The term "Ride" is employed so freely to movies today, that it has become rather meaningless. Fight Club re-invents the word! Literally, from the DNA Rollercoaster opening Credits (Accompanied by the DUST BROTHERS musical eqivalent of a sustained amyl-nitrate rush!), to the metaphoric wailings("We're still men!") of castrated testicular cancer victims, to the mesmerizing and deftly parlayed 3-way screen chemistry of Norton- Bonham Carter-Pitt, to the sharply focused pointlessness of our cruise-control, hyper-consumeristic lifestyles...Fight Club synthesizes both our pent-up frustration and our self-induced reluctance to communicate it, in RULE #1..."You DO NOT talk about Fight Club!" This, Ladies & Gentlemen, is one "RIDE" you DO NOT want to miss!
Rating: Summary: Best DVD Released to Date Review: When it comes to the combination of the film itself, the transfer, and the extra features (not to mention the packaging), there is no disc that even comes close to Fight Club. Of course, the most important aspect is the film, and Fight Club does not disapoint. When I first heard about this film, I only heard the name and a description saying it was about a bunch of people starting an underground fighting club. At this point I dismissed it as a stupid film aimed at the wrestling crowd. Don't make that mistake too. When I found out that David Fincher was directing, I changed my opinion. I loved Fincher's other three films (as well as his music videos), and I knew that that he wouldn't make a mindless...film. I went to see it once it came out, and I was blown away. It was the exact opposite of what I originally expected. It had one of the most intelligent scripts of the year. This film is not about a fighting club, that is mearly an element of the storyline. The themes of this film go much deeper. It is a satire about social behavior, consumerism, the masculine ideal, conformity, and much more. It's frequently the people that stick with their preconcieved notions and can't figure out the true meaning of this film that don't like it. Many conservatives attack the film's violence, but in reality there isn't much. There is only one death and a few fist fights. Violence is just an excuse they give because they are afraid of the ideas presented in this film. Saving Private Ryan is undoubtably more violent, but it presents conservative ideas about honor, duty, patriotism, etc. so it's considered okay. SPR is very good, but this film is much more groundbreaking. It also has David Fincher's brilliant visual style and an excellent cast headed by three Academy Award nominees each giving one of the best performances of their careers. For these reasons and more I feel that Fight Club is one of the three best films of 1999. Now if this was a film only disc, it would still be worth buying, but there is a lot more to this dvd. I guess I'll start with the packaging. There is a slipcase with a tri-fold innercase inside. In the first section of the innercase is a 20 page booklet featuring excepts of crew interviews and reviews (both good and bad). The booklet, as well as the innercase, is also covered in artwork, photographs, and quotes from the film, layed out in a very Fight Club way. On the other two sections are the discs, both of which are dual layered. On the first disc is the film. It is presented with a beautiful animorphic widescreen picture and an equaly impressive 5.1 auto track (there are also 2 chanel English and French audio tracks). Both the sound and picture rival that of the best dvd's out there. This disc includes a brief video and audio set-up guide to make sure take full advantage of the previously mentioned quality. This disc also contains four commentary tracks. That's about nine hours of extra features even before we get to disc two. There is a bit of repetativeness, but each commentary comes from a diffent aspect of the filming: 1)dirctor 2)cast 3)writers 4)technical crew. Then on disc two, there are so many features that I can't go through them all in detail. A quick run through: a multiangle and multiaudio breakdown of the opening title sequence, other special effects sequences broken down(frequently with commentaries), behind the scenes look at location scouting and shooting of various sequence (frequently with commentaries), a featurette, cast and crew bios, deleted scenes, storyboards, pre-production paintings, costume design, producion stills, and marketing (trailers, tv spots, internet spots, posters/lobby cards, a writen interview with Edward Norton, PSA's, a really cool press kit, a music video, promotional stills). It goes without saying that all of this will keep you busy for quite some time, and if your a fan of the film, you'll love every munite of it. With all this, it's hard to think of a reason not to get this dvd. In fact, if I didn't have a dvd player, I would probably buy one just to get this disc. At the moment I own about 140 dvd's and have rented many others, and I have to say that this is very easily the best one that I have come across.
Rating: Summary: best movie of 1999 Review: In a year that already was turning out to be the best in many many years for film, along comes Fight Club and takes the prize. Though it was ignored at the awards it is quite simply a materpeice. The best of the year and one of my top 10 of all time. Its a powerful movie full of thought and humor, that takes multipul viewings before you can digest it all. It probably wasn't acceptted on the whole because YES, it is disturbing, and YES it does make you think and YES it does make you question. Thats why it is such a success... long after it is over you are still asking yourself questions. It leaves it to you to decide for yourself what the message was. Plus this DVD edition is great. Its the best one I own. Lots of care went into it.
Rating: Summary: probabally the best DVD to date! Review: the movie itself was very good, the movie alone I would probabally give 4 stars. But this dvd has so many extras it is worth a star of its own. This is the reason why DVDs are so fun to own, and I hope future releases follow a similiar suit. AS for the movie the acting is superb, the one negative, is there is way to much preaching going on for my taste, its ok to have a message to send, but preaching is a bit to much for me.. For sure not finchers best.. but fincher definatly will have me hooked for what I hope is a long and succesful career.
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