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Fight Club (1999) is a film based on the novel Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk. It was directed by David Fincher and starred Brad Pitt, Edward Norton, and Helena Bonham Carter. Also featured in it is an original soundtrack by the Dust Brothers. As of June 23, 2004 Fight Club is in development as a musical, developed by Palahniuk and Fincher. A video game based on the film is also planned to be released in October of 2004.
Plot
Though the plot is mostly similar to the novel, some significant changes have been made. The originally nameless narrator (played by Edward Norton) is now named in publicity for the movie as "Jack" (although his real name, like in the novel, is never mentioned in the dialog). Tyler Durden (played by Brad Pitt) is now a soap salesman instead of a beach artist. The narrator is now not entirely aware of what Tyler is doing with Project Mayhem and thus becomes increasingly uncomfortable with the increasing destructiveness of their activities, rather than being partially in control of it as in the book. Tyler is now the result of the narrator's repressed anger towards his modern life instead of his feelings for Marla (played by Helena Bonham Carter).
Reaction
Fight Club was released in the United States on October 15, 1999 to mixed reviews. While some critics raved about the film, many high-profile critics denounced it. Janet Maslin of The New York Times compared it favorably to American Beauty while Roger Ebert called it "male porn." The graphic violence of the fights seemed to upset most critics, although only one person is actually killed in the film.
The film's highly critical view of consumerism and modern living echoes Naomi Klein's book No Logo and also caused discomfort among some critics. Some elements from the film have found their way into the mainstream, such as the first two rules of fight club — both of which are You do not talk about fight club — or the name "Tyler Durden" itself. The general idea of a fight club was also adapted into the German computer role-playing game Gothic 2, which also listed Palahniuk in its credits.
Parallels are also drawn between Tyler Durden's vision of the world after his revolution, and the views of Theodore Kaczynski, a.k.a. the Unabomber. This can be seen in one scene where Tyler talks about abseiling down the Sears Tower in clothes that will last you the rest of your life and hunting elk on abandoned freeways. Tyler's ideas have also been compared to the Tao te Ching. It advocates limited technology, like Tyler, and emphasizes a certain degree of surrender — to stop trying to control all things.
The film opened with $11 million, a surprise #1 movie in a close race that weekend at the box office. However, it fell very quickly in subsequent weekends, finishing with only $37 million in the U.S. It was regarded as a failure as the budget was $63 million, not including advertising which could have been another $20-30 million. Even with the $63 million later accumulated overseas, executives at 20th Century Fox still felt the movie was a severe disappointment, so much so that Entertainment Chief Bill Mechanic was fired. According to Mechanic, he had personally clashed with Fox owner Rupert Murdoch over Fight Club and it cost him his job, barely a year after Fox's Titanic had become the highest-grossing film ever made.
Trivia
The movie appears to take place in Wilmington, Delaware, home to most credit card companies. Tyler's business card includes the Wilmington zip code 19808. Moreover, the cities specifically mentioned in the car-smashing scene are New Castle, Delaware City and Penns Grove, NJ, which are close to Wilmington. The apartment building in which the narrator lives has as its motto "a place to be somebody," which is also the city motto of Wilmington, Delaware.
Awards
The film won the following awards:
- the 2000 Empire Award (UK) for Best British Actress (Helena Bonham Carter)
- the 2001 Online Film Critics Society Awards for Best DVD, Best DVD Commentary, and Best DVD Special Features
It was also nominated for the following awards:
- the 2000 Academy Award for Best Effects, Sound Effects Editing
- the 2000 Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Action Team (Brad Pitt & Edward Norton)
- the 2000 Brit Award for Best Soundtrack
- the 2000 Costume Designers Guild Award for Excellence for Costume Design for Film - Contemporary
- the 2000 Sierra Award from the Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards for Best DVD and Best Editing
- the 2000 MTV Movie Award for Best Fight (Edward Norton vs himself)
- the 2000 Golden Reel Award from the Motion Picture Sound Editors, USA for Best Sound Editing - Effects & Foley
- the 2000 Online Film Critics Society Awards for Best Actor (Edward Norton), Best Director, Best Film, Best Film Editing, and Best Screenplay, Adapted
- the 2000 Political Film Society Award for Democracy
Technical data
- writing credits: Chuck Palahniuk (novel), Jim Uhls (screenplay)
- runtime: 139 minutes
- sound: DTS / Dolby EX 6.1
- aspect ratio: 2.35 : 1
- release date: October 6, 1999 (USA)
- budget: $63,000,000
- MPAA rating: R
See also
External links
de:Fight Clubpt:Clube de Combate
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