This DVD has been sat in our DVD rack since before Christmas. Why haven’t I watched it up until now? Well, I thought it was about boxing. You know, a ring, 2 boxers wearing boxing gloves, a crowd cheering. I was so bored, and I had already watched Interview With The Vampire again last night, so I decided to give Fight Club a try. It wasn’t what I expected at all, and I feel a bit of a fool for not having watched it already. So, with a title like that, what’s it all about? I have to admit that the first 20 minutes were very boring. I nearly switched it off.
Basically it starts at the end, and then we are given a commentary as to how the film ended up at that place. Jack (played by Edward Norton), is a single guy, living alone. He works for a motoring manufacturer, and his job is to check their vehicles after they have been involved in accidents to see if they need to recall that particular model. He suffers from insomnia and asks the hospital to give him something for it. They tell him that all he needs is a good nights sleep and some exercise. He then joins a support class, for cancer sufferers. It makes him feel better, so he starts to join other support classes for other life threatening diseases. It becomes a kind of hobby for him. Nobody at these groups knows he is not terminally ill. Then he meets a woman that turns up to the same groups as he does, Marla (played by Helena Bonham Carter). He doesn’t want to be found out, so they agree that they would not turn up at the groups at the same time. Marla lives alone too, and is doing exactly what Jack is doing, to make herself feel better with her life. He also makes friends with Bob (played by Meatloaf), who is a large man with breasts, suffering from prostate cancer.
On a plane trip, he meets up with Tyler Durden (played by Brad Pitt). Tyler says he makes his own soap and sells it. He gives Jack his card. When he arrives home, he finds that his apartment has been blown up, apparently an accidental gas explosion. First he rings Marla, but then hangs up. Then he calls Tyler, and they meet up at a bar. Jack tells him what has happened and that he needs somewhere to stay. Outside the bar, when it is agreed that Jack can stay with Tyler, Tyler asks Jack to hit him. An odd request it might sound, and that’s just how it sounded to scrawny looking Jack. He does it in the end, and Tyler hits him back. They end up fighting, and find that they both feel hell of a lot better for it. So that’s what happens. They do this regularly, and are seen by other people, who also ask if they can fight too. They overtake the basement of the bar, make a few simple rules, and so Fight Club is born. It’s just a place where men come to fist fight with each other, and they love it. They love getting hit, they love dishing out hits. They are even given ‘homework assignments’, which are very funny.
The film is very funny in places, and it had me laughing out loud. I’m not sure whether it is supposed to be a comedy, no, maybe not. It is Cert 18, but that’s to do with all the blood that’s thrown about. It’s not very believable, but different. I can honestly say that I enjoyed it in the end. And near the end, there is a very big twist. You will not see it coming, and it will make your chin drop. A fascinating twist. You need to pay attention to the film or you may miss something.
Great directing by David Fincher, who also directed Seven and The Game. The narrative reminded me of the film Usual Suspects, and Jack’s voice is very similar to that of Kevin Spacey. He looked a bit like him too in some scenes. Brad Pitt’s acting was nothing special, and he did not have me swooning without his long hair. It is one of those films that you would rent, not buy. So why do we own it? Well, someone was selling stuff to get money for Christmas, so we brought it cheap.
There are 2 discs in the DVD case, and it is boxed packaged, just squeezing in the DVD rack.
Disc I
The Main Film
Commentary track with David Fincher, Brad Pitt, Edward Notrton and Helen Bonham Carter. On/Off.
Subtitles - English only
Chapter Selection - 36 to choose from
Disc II Supplemental
Cast and Crew(complete list of cast and crew members)
Behind the Scenes:
Production
Alternative Main Titles
Airport
Jack’s Condo
Paper Street House
Projection Booth
Corporate Art Ball
Visual Effects
Main Title
Furnii Catalog
Ice Cave/Power Animal
Mid-air Collision
Sex Sequence
Car Crash
Gun Shot
High Rise Collapse
On Location
Crew documentary
Publicity Material:
Trailers PSA’s
Music Video
Internet Spots
Promotional Gallery
Edward Norton Interview
Art Gallery(stills)
Deleted and Alternate Scenes:
Chloe and Rupert
Copier Abuse
Marla’s Pillow Talk
Walter
Tyler’s Goodbye
Tyler Quits Smoking/Jack Quits Work
As you can see, there are stacks of extra’s, and maybe worth the purchase. I will probably watch it again in time, so if you thought it would be a boring boxing film, believe me, it isn’t. Give it a try.