“Is Tyler my bad dream? Or am I Tyler’s?”
David Fincher’s (Seven, Zodiac) cinematic adaptation of Fight Club (based on Chuck Palahniuk’s novel) burst onto the scene in 1999 to polarizing critical reaction. For every claim that the director had crafted a scathing indictment of post Baby Boomer materialism, a rebuttal arose deriding the movie as a celebration of mindless violence wrapped in infantile philosophizing. This could be written off as a case of snobbish critics just not “getting it” or the low brow masses wanting their visceral but vapid entertainment. For me, the film’s beauty does not simply lie somewhere in the middle as I adore the brutal, dream-like vision but not for the common rationale about its prominently touted message.
Sure there is a lesson to be learned that the things we own do not own us, we should not define our existence gathering more “versatile solutions for modern living,” yadda yadda. I do not mean to deprecate the seemingly well intentioned impulse but consider the savage solution given as “Fight Club,” the social entity where all male participants beat the crap out of each other as therapy and “…nothing [is] solved but nothing matters…” That is the movie’s nihilistic definition of salvation and when it overflows its basement boundaries, we get “Project Mayhem.” Organized, prankster style chaos perpetrated on unsuspecting consumerist society that culminates in an all out attack (both symbolic and literal) against the credit companies. At this point, our protagonist is no longer a rebel but a terrorist and what an exquisitely insane one.
Edward Norton is excellent as the anonymous narrator (often referred to as Jack in the third person) acting as the poster boy for the emotionally and spiritually exhausted males at the turn of the millennium. Even more impressive, Brad Pitt delivers a hypnotic performance as the enigmatic Tyler Durden, part unbridled masculine energy and part rambling poet philosopher. From the impetus of “I want you to hit me as hard as you can” to the anarchistic realization that “only after disaster can we be resurrected,” the duo creates an inextricable relationship of psychologically and physically breaking each other down that makes this cinematic fever dream so cathartic and inherently rewatchable.
As we partake in Jack’s surreal sense of unreality, the movie becomes a testament to mental illness giving rise to violent excess. For many critics, this is the weakness undermining the serious societal concerns (corporate invasion of public life, emasculated males bereft of spirituality, etc) bandied about but not exactly addressed in a constructive manner (which I think really is the point). I do not know if the director and/or author thought they were making an important statement, just trying to be shocking or a bit of both. And for what its worth, I do not much care as Fincher and crew produce a consumer product masquerading as art (or vice versa) that while warning about the dangers of our materialistic lifestyles allows us to revel in how beautifully the clues to “who Tyler Durden is” are entrenched throughout the narrative.
Fox delivers Fight Club to Blu-ray with excellent video and reference quality audio including most of the extras from the DVD edition plus a few high-def exclusives. Sadly the new BD features are a mixed bag (though the commentary guide is very welcomed) and the archival supplements have a major deficit, beyond the weak SD quality, with the lack of “play all” options which makes for tedious going with the multitude of trailers, tv spots, deleted scenes, etc. You will also notice a joke from Fincher when you first insert the disc that is somewhat amusing and may make you think you have a defective disc but just be patient.
Fight Club’s visual texture matches its dark thematic qualities, and while standard def resulted in crushed blacks and obscured details, 1080p resolution treats Tyler Durden quite well. Fincher and cinematographer Jeff Cronenweth utilized specific lens and shooting techniques to deliver an intentionally gritty, beaten-up feel with a muted color scheme and noticeable grain. These aesthetics do not make for a “go to” HD disc for impressing friends, but I doubt this transfer could any better represent the director’s intentions. Though black levels are for the most part rock solid, there are still minor moments where darker areas of the screen (which can be very prominent in many shots) do not resolve cleanly and contrast seems to waver but considering how stylized the image is, I cannot say whether these are true deficits (and beneficially there is no obvious artifacting or digital tampering). Still the increase in detail (both close and far, most noticeable in the often bruised faces), color stability and depth to the deliberately murky image is reason alone to upgrade from your DVD.
While I will not say Fight Club’s sound design is the absolute best I have heard, when you get it this right, personal taste is the main differentiator. The English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio is integral to the psychological effect of the movie and immerses you from the opening credits with the Dust Brothers’ trippy, pounding score. Virtually every scene embodies an involving soundscape with effects ranging from the subtleties of the copy room or the dream cave to the all out chaos of a disintegrating plane or crashing car with shattering glass and bending metal invading every channel of your sound setup. Dialog and narration are solidly rendered, never getting lost in (and sometimes surreally adding to) the mind bending mix. And do not forget the fights where the sound of bone on bone, concrete or whatever makes you cringe or the finale with collapsing buildings rumbling through your sub while the Pixies’ “Where Is My Mind” dances all around you. This is about as good as lossless audio gets.
Dubbed audio is available as French DTS 5.1 plus Spanish and Portuguese Dolby Digital 5.1 with optional subtitles as English (SDH), Chinese, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish and Swedish.
Commentaries – Four commentaries are the highlight of the supplements and can be daunting with so much information covered. Fans of the film will find something to recommend in each depending on taste (from lighter to more serious fare) with all aspects of production touched upon. The easiest to dive into has Fincher relaxing in the background (though interjecting every so often) while Pitt and Norton (with Helena Bonham Carter obviously edited in) provide copious anecdotes on filming balanced against what the thematic elements means to each. The actors trade jokes throughout and take time to poke fun at the director.
Fincher takes control on the second track giving scene specific comments that cover deeper production details, casting, shooting on location vs. sets, directing techniques, etc. Third is author Chuck Palahniuk and screenwriter Jim Uhuls discussing the adaptation process and differences between the novel and screenplay with random comments on Fincher’s directing and various actors. Last up is Director of Photography Jeff Cronenweth, production designer Alex McDowell, FX supervisor Kevin Haug, costume designer Michael Kaplan and digital animator Doc Bailey collaborating on what each brings to the production. This is a busy track and probably the driest of the bunch but still has much interesting info (some overlaps with the input on the behind the scenes feature).
Insomniac Mode: I Am Jack’s Search Index – I was skeptical but quickly convinced of this extra’s value as it allows you to navigate the copious amount of info in the commentaries (and visual features). There is a search function that lists topics from A to Z allowing you to jump to whatever interests you. Even more beneficial is a commentary guide that gives a breakdown on screen of topics each of the four tracks is discussing at any particular moment allowing you to easily jump between them. I found this to be extremely helpful. A Bonusview (profile 1.1) enabled player is required.
A Hit in the Ear: Ren Klyce and the Sound Design of Fight Club (HD) – There is a five or so minute intro from sound engineer Ren Klyce who has worked with Fincher for over two decades. He touches on audio helping to construct a film’s “psychological landscape” and how certain bits were recorded including the copious punches using chicken carcasses with walnuts inside. Then there are four key sequences where you can “remix” the sound to change the feel of the scene. This incorporates adjusting the volume and balance between the channels on your 5.1 setup split between realistic effects and “Jack’s POV.” While this was cute to play with, I do not see much need to revisit this feature.
Flogging Fight Club (9:58, HD) – Fight Club received a “Guys Choice Award” on Spike TV earlier this year. Most notable is it was delivered by Mel Gibson who rode in on a horse wearing a Viking Helmet. Fincher, Norton and Pitt read comments by critics who derided the film but otherwise there is not much meat to this.
Deleted and Alternate Scenes (~15 min) – Here are seven scenes (two with duplicated shooting footage) that give deleted or edited takes. Interesting for fans but nothing of essential viewing quality, and I actually found the on-set footage the most intriguing.
Behind the Scenes Vignettes –There is some really great “making of” info covering Production, Visual Effects and On Location that is hampered by cumbersome navigation. The “on location” bit is the weakest being a 5ish minute video that includes random shooting moments such as Pitt fighting and detonating explosions. The remainder is comprised of 16 topics highlighting the construction of important pieces such as the opening titles, jack’s condo, the ice cave, the sex scene and the car crash. What makes this so painful to watch is each of the 16 pieces requires you to highlight your choice and then select between several commentaries from the visual effects supervisor, FX coordinator and digital animation producer. Many also have related storyboards that have to be chosen separately. This would have worked so much better as one piece edited together.
Publicity Material – As the title states, this is a smattering of different PR pieces including theatrical trailers, TV spots, internet promos, public service announcements (easily the best of the bunch), a music video, and an interview transcript with Edward Norton (which is well worth reading for his thoughts on the relation of art to society). The majority of these are nice for nostalgia but do not have much replay value especially having to click through each one.
Art Gallery – Montages of storyboards, visual effects stills, paper street house, costumes and makeup, brain ride map and pre-production paintings.
I do not find myself particularly buying into any more than belittling Fight Club’s potentially liberating anti-materialistic philosophy coupled with its juvenile expression, but I do love the way it plays out. The film demands multiple viewings, not because you cannot initially grasp “the twist” but rather to marvel in how virtually every scene synthesizes the perspectives of Tyler and Jack letting us live in their surreal world for a few hours. Plus the gritty visuals blended with the warped sound design make for a wild ride.
Fox could have done a better job with the extras for this 10th anniversary edition Blu-ray which are decent (most specifically the pre-existing commentaries) but not extraordinary (partially due to lame navigation choices). Yet we do get Tyler Durden in all his high-def glory with visuals that support the gritty look Fincher strived for and lossless audio that is just plain awesome. Fans of this film have no choice (none, I tell you) but to upgrade and if you have never seen this seminal 90’s classic, there is no better place to get your introduction to Fight Club.
– Robert Searle
Shop for Fight Club: 10th Anniversary on Blu-ray at a discounted price from Amazon.com.
