Dean Winkelspecht reviews FIGHT CLUB 10th Anniversary Edition on Blu-ray

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—> See Link to our Blu-ray Review (below)

—> See three different COVER ART Images

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

When you wake up in a different place at a different time, can you wake up as a different person?

Mischief. Mayhem. Soap.

"The film's bold, bruising humor leaves marks on a wide range of hot-button issues... FIGHT CLUB pulls you in, challenges your prejudices, rocks your world and leaves you laughing in the face of an abyss."
—Peter Travers (Rolling Stone)

"Packed with sizzling cinematics, including (no surprise here) another brilliant Edward Norton performance." —Mike Clark (USA Today)

"A bold, inventive, sustained adrenaline rush of a movie... Rarely has a film been so keyed into its time." —David Rooney (Variety)

"The movie is visceral and hard-edged, with levels of irony and commentary above and below the action."
—Roger Ebert (Chicago Sun-Times)

FIGHT CLUB 10th Anniversary Edition
— on Blu-ray » (Now available - released November 17)

Brand NEW bonus material includes an Interactive Search Index, Interactive Sound Design feature, Behind-the-Scenes at Spike TV's 2009 Guys Choice Awards, and much more!

Brad Pitt as Tyler Durden: "The first rule of fight club is you do not talk about fight club."

Los Angeles, CA — Quit your job. Start a fight. Prove you're alive. If you don't claim your humanity you will become a statistic. You have been warned... Tyler. Clever, savagely witty and dark, Fight Club: 10th Anniversary Edition arrived on Blu-ray Disc (BD) November 17 from Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment.

Based on the book by Chuck Palahniuk (Choke), Fight Club was directed by acclaimed filmmaker and Golden Globe-nominee David Fincher (Se7en, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button) and stars Edward Norton (Rounders, The Italian Job, 25th Hour, Primal Fear) and Brad Pitt (Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Inglorious Basterds, Spy Game), whose characters bond over a mutual disgust for corporate hypocrisy and find release in an eccentric, shocking new form of therapy – Fight Club.

The Fight Club: 10th Anniversary Edition BD is packed full of punches with all-new bonus materials including two interactive featurettes – "A Hit In The Ear: Ren Klyce and the Sound Design of Fight Club," which allows users to remix four key scenes themselves with the help of Oscar-nominated sound designer Ren Klyce; and "Insomniac Mode: I Am Jack's Search Index," giving viewers the ability to access any part of the disc's extensive bonus material via interactive tools.

The BD also features behind-the-scenes with Fincher, Pitt and Norton as they accept the Guy Movie Hall of Fame honor for Fight Club at SPIKE TV'S 2009 GUYS CHOICE Awards, commentary by Fincher, Palahniuk, Pitt, Norton and Helena Bonham Carter, "Welcome To Fight Club" featurette, seven deleted scenes, a music video, photo gallery and much more (see list below), for the suggested retail price of $34.99.

Fight Club is a 1999 American feature film adapted from the 1996 novel of the same name by Chuck Palahniuk. The film was directed by David Fincher and stars Edward Norton, Brad Pitt, and Helena Bonham Carter. Norton plays the nameless protagonist, an "everyman" who is discontented with his white-collar job in American society. He forms a "fight club" with soap salesman Tyler Durden, played by Pitt, and becomes embroiled in a relationship with him and a destitute woman, Marla Singer, played by Bonham Carter.

Fincher intended Fight Club's violence to serve as a metaphor for the conflict between a generation of young people and the value system of advertising. The director copied the homoerotic overtones from Palahniuk's novel to make audiences uncomfortable and keep them from anticipating the twist ending. It was cited as one of the most controversial and talked-about films of 1999. The Guardian saw it as an omen for change in American political life, and described its visual style as ground-breaking. The film later found commercial success with its DVD release, which established Fight Club as a cult film.

The fight scenes were heavily choreographed, and the actors were required to "go full out" to capture realistic effects like having the wind knocked out of them. Makeup artist Julie Pearce, who worked for the director on the 1997 film The Game, studied mixed martial arts and pay-per-view boxing to portray the fighters accurately. She designed an extra's ear to have cartilage missing, citing as inspiration the boxing match in which Mike Tyson bit off part of Evander Holyfield's ear. Makeup artists devised two methods to create sweat on cue: spraying mineral water over a coat of Vaseline, and using the unadulterated water for "wet sweat." Meat Loaf, who plays a member of the fight club who has "bitch tits", wore a 90-pound (40 kg) fat harness that gave him large breasts for the role. He also wore eight-inch (20 cm) lifts in his scenes with Norton to be taller than him.

For the musical score, Fincher was concerned that bands experienced in writing film scores would be unable to tie the movie's themes together, so he sought a band which had never recorded for film. He pursued Radiohead, but ultimately chose the breakbeat producing duo Dust Brothers to score the film. The duo created a post-modern score that included drum loops, electronic scratches, and computerized samples. Dust Brothers performer Michael Simpson explained the setup: "Fincher wanted to break new ground with everything about the movie, and a nontraditional score helped achieve that."

Fight Club won the 2000 Online Film Critics Society Awards for Best DVD, Best DVD Commentary, and Best DVD Special Features. Entertainment Weekly ranked the film's two-disc edition in first place on its 2001 list of "The 50 Essential DVDs", giving top ratings to the DVD's content and technical picture-and-audio quality. When the two-disc edition went out of print, the studio re-released it in 2004 due to fans' requests. The DVD was one of the largest-selling in the studio's history; it also grossed $55 million in video and DVD rentals.

Synopsis: A lonely, isolated thirty-something young professional in an unidentified, semi-stylized city, seeks an escape from his ordinary life with the help of a devious soap salesman. They find their release from the prison of reality through underground fight clubs, where men can be what the world denies them.

BONUS FEATURES include:
• NEW A Hit In The Ear: Ren Klyce and the Sound Design of Fight Club
- Welcome To Fight Club
- Angel Faces Beating
- The Crash
- Tyler´s Goodbye
• NEW Flogging Fight Club
• NEW Insomniac Mode: Jack's Search Index, Commentary Log, Topic Search
• Behind the Scenes Vignettes: Production, Visual Effects, On Location
• Edward Norton Interview
• Commentary by David Fincher
• Commentary by David Fincher, Brad Pitt, Edward Norton and Helena Bonham Carter
• Commentary by Chuck Palahniuk and Jim Uhls
• Commentary by Alex McDowell, Jeff Cronenweth, Michael Kaplan and Kevin Haug
• 7 Deleted Scenes and Alternate Scenes
• Trailer Farm – Theatrical Teaser, Theatrical Trailer, The Eight Rules of Fight Club
• 12 TV Spots
• Public Service Announcements
• Music Video
• Five Internet Spots
• Promotional Gallery
• Art Gallery

FIGHT CLUB — Explore further:
—> Blu-ray Review by Dean Winkelspecht »
EXCERPT: "Fight Club" is one of those films you either 'get' or you don't 'get'. The David Fincher film that stars Edward Norton and Brad Pitt has become a well-loved cult classic since its foray into home video, but failed to achieve near the hoped success during its theatrical run. Based upon the Chuck Palahniuk novel, "Fight Club" sparked numerous debates and controversies for its depictions on violence and underlying political themes. It's heavy and difficult to follow plot and unusual ending caused "Fight Club" to be misunderstood or too confusing for many that saw the film. The film was visually interesting and the second collaboration between Fincher and Pitt after the successful "Se7en" helped catapult the careers of both men. While many panned the film initially, the views of many critics reversed direction after the video release; an indication that "Fight Club" is one of those films that take a while to ´get´ and appreciate.

While "Fight Club" many not be appreciated by those beyond its cult audience, the film has become a part of popular culture. The quote "The first rule of Fight Club is you do not talk about Fight Club" is known by everyone and borrowed, misquoted and parodied countless times. Other quotes from characters Tyler Durden (Pitt) and the nameless narrator portrayed by Norton. The concept of the "Fight Club" itself has been borrowed and recycled as a part of popular culture and numerous real-life Fight Clubs were started across the country and other copycat crimes relating to the film occurred prior to its home video popularity. The film introduced numerous new-age methods of filmmaking and narration that has allowed "Fight Club" to be as influential as other Nineties films such as "Pulp Fiction."

Before the credits roll in "Fight Club," you will have been thrown for a loop or two that will leave you thinking about everything you've seen. Where the brilliance of this film lies is that the second viewing if the picture is far more intriguing once you know how everything unfolds. About halfway through "Fight Club" there are some definite changes in narrative and tone that gives hints to how the film will ultimately end, but are so well handled that they don't necessarily spoil the ending. Sure, there are people that will figure things out before the end on their first viewing, but plenty of people figured out "The Sixth Sense" long before the big reveal. The manner in which Fincher tells his adaptation of Palahniuk's novel is masterful and I can see why so many critics changed their perspective after the film hit video stores and rental outlets.

"Fight Club" is an intelligent story and it does require a certain degree of patience and comprehension to fully appreciate. This is not a popcorn movie. Those that do not 'get' "Fight Club" are not necessarily unintelligent viewers, but "Fight Club" is a thinking man's movie that can be viewed as a statement against the political and corporate landscapes of American during the Nineties. It weaves a story through the point of view of a character suffering delusions and trying to find an escape and an outlet in his own mind. There are numerous layers of "Fight Club" and not everybody will find the same answers and conclusions while watching the film. It is a movie that asks the viewer to come up with their own conclusions and thoughts about the film and for this reason "Fight Club" was a highly debated film.

"Fight Club" is not a film for everybody. It requires a lot of thought and a lot of attention to fully appreciate. This isn't a movie that is just about a bunch of guys knocking each other's teeth out in the basement of a shady establishment. There is far more going on under the surface that what appears and it isn't after one or two viewings that you can fully appreciate how solid of a film "Fight Club" is. David Fincher started off rough with "Alien 3," but "Se7en," "The Game" and "Fight Club" was a very good trilogy of well told films and the two films starring Brad Pitt are his best works to date. I've always enjoyed "Fight Club," but I was among those that discovered the film from good word of mouth once it hit video. This is a great film, but it requires a degree of patience.

(Click thru the Link above for the full review)

—> Visit the film's Official Site »
(from 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment)

"Stunning, mordantly funny, formally dazzling..."
—Gavin Smith (Film Comment)

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

Film Synopsis:
How much can you know about yourself if you've never been in a fight?
Mischief. Mayhem. Soap.

"Mind Blowing!" -Philadelphia Weekly

The mundane existence of a product liability evaluator and insomniac, who is addicted to self-help groups, is turned upside down when he meets a sado-masochistic anarchist who is secretly plotting to overthrow civilization. As their friendship grows, they become increasingly involved in a secret society of "fight clubs" where men act out their aggressions and violently beat one another to a pulp. In the meantime, the evaluator falls in love with a woman who is also addicted to self-help groups, but is unable to act on his desire for her.

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

Fight Club pulls you in, challenges your prejudices, rocks your world and leaves you laughing" (Rolling Stone). Brad Pitt ("12 Monkeys", "Seven"), Edward Norton ("Primal Fear," "American History X") and Helena Bonham Carter ("Mighty Aphrodite," "A Room With A View") turn in powerful "performances of which movie legends are made" (Chicago Tribune) in this action-packed hit. The New York Times raved that FIGHT CLUB "just might require another viewing." Here's your chance. Brace yourself.

FIGHT CLUB is narrated by a lonely, unfulfilled young man (Edward Norton) who finds his only comfort in feigning terminal illness and attending disease support groups. Hopping from group to group, he encounters another pretender, or "tourist," the morose Marla Singer (Helena Bonham Carter), who immediately gets under his skin. However, while returning from a business trip, he meets a more intriguing character—the subversive Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt). They become fast friends, bonding over a mutual disgust for corporate consumer-culture hypocrisy. Eventually, the two start Fight Club, which convenes in a bar basement where angry men get to vent their frustrations in brutal, bare-knuckle bouts. Fight Club soon becomes the men's only real priority; when the club starts a cross-country expansion, things start getting really crazy.

Like Tyler Durden himself, director David Fincher's FIGHT CLUB, based on the novel by Chuck Palahniuk, is startlingly aggressive and gleefully mischievous as it skewers the superficiality of American pop culture. Outstanding performances by Norton and Pitt are supported by a razor-sharp script and an arsenal of stunning visual effects that include computer animation and sleight-of-hand editing. One of the most unique films of the late 20th century, FIGHT CLUB is a pitch-black comedy of striking intensity.

Filmed in Los Angeles, California. Director David Fincher shot over 1,500 reels of film, which is over three times the usual amount of footage used for most feature-length films. The house on Paper Street was specifically designed for the film and built from the ground up in a deserted industrial zone. Edward Norton's character is actually unnamed, but is sometimes referred to as "Jack," which comes from a medical book he reads in the Paper Street house. In the book, internal body organs speak as characters, saying things like "I am Jack's colon." As the movie progresses, the narrator makes up his own statements such as "I am Jack's raging bile duct."

Subliminal images are present throughout the film. Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt) flashes onto the screen in four split-second appearances before actually encountering Edward Norton's character. Tyler also briefly appears in a television ad (for an upscale restaurant) that "Jack" watches from his hotel room. Later, Tyler is shown splicing pornographic footage into family films while working in a projection booth. At the end of the film, there's a quick shot of one of these images. Brad Pitt removed the cap from his chipped front tooth for certain scenes. Visual effects supervisor Kevin Scott Mack (who designed the elaborate title sequence) appears as a terrified passenger in the scene where the narrator imagines his plane ripping apart in a mid-air collision.

In addition to the Dust Brothers' score, the film also features the songs "Goin' Out West" by Tom Waits and "Where Is My Mind?" by the Pixies. The Online Film Critics Society named FIGHT CLUB Best DVD, Best DVD Special Features, and Best DVD Commentary; Entertainment Weekly named it the second best DVD of 2000.

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