Without fighting, defend _Fight Club_. (1 Viewer)

[Gregory E]

I've been thinking about this for a while and it's really hard to put into words why I love this movie so much. One reason would have to be some of the great lines and nuggets of wisdom that make you think....

"You are not your bank account. You are not the clothes you wear. You are not the contents of your wallet. You are not your boule cancer. You are not your Grande Latté. You are not the car you drive. You are not your f***ing khakis!"

"Now a question of etiquette. As I pass, do I give you the ass or the crotch?"

"We are a generation of men raised by women. I'm beginning to wonder if another woman is what we really need."

"I guess when people think you are dying, they listen to you instead of just waiting for their turn to speak."

"We've all been raised on television to believe that one day we'd be millionaires, movie gods, and rock stars.
But we won't. We're slowly learning that fact. And we're very, very pissed off.."

 

[Scott Weinberg]

Well said, Greg!

 

[Edwin Pereyra]

I really don't have anything more to add that has not already been said as far as reasons why I also liked this film. I found Fight Club to be both harrowing and incisive.
What really stood out in this film were the acting performances of both Norton and Pitt, and Fincher’s originality and profound intellect in storytelling.
~Edwin

 

[AllanN]

A snapshot in time. Its summer, only a few weeks from my college graduation. I just got back from a wonderful weekend at Six Flags with my girlfriend of over two years (whom I plan to ask to marry this Christmas). All of my family and friend’s are with me and live is good, with a very promising future.

Fast forward two months. It’s about 1 am in my POS apartment in a sub-par part of town in a new city. I’m on the phone with my now ex girlfriend and the only person I know in this new city. I receive the news that she is engaged to her neighbor. I tell her she is crazy, hang up the phone, and begin to uncontrollably cry on my couch. I wake up the next day barely getting any sleep and go off to my dead end job.

Enter Fight Club. This movie came to me at a very trying time and I immediately identified with the narrator. I had it all, a college education, a beautiful girlfriend, and a promising future. I had all the material things in life now they are all gone.

For me the movie worked on a very emotional level. It was a way to check out of the real world for a while and live in Tyler’s world if only for two hours. This movie very much taped into the frustration that allot of us have about the world around us. The scene where the narrator is burning his hand and Tyler is saying “This is your burning hand, this is your pain…..don’t deal with it the way those dead people do” really struck a nerve with me. To me it meant that I just had to face my fears head on or I would never get over them. I know because of this emotional involvement I can’t give an unbiased opinion of this movie. But I believe that this movie became such a cult favorite because all of its fans have a similar emotional involvement on some level.

Technically it is a wonderfully movie as well. Fincher, Norton, Pitt, Carter and everyone else where in my opinion at the top of there game. Set design and camera work where spot on. The dialogue was sharp and witty and Norton and Pitt played well together.

 

[MickeS]

It basically seems like the movie connected with people who felt like they were living a life similar to "Jack". Since I didn't, and didn't feel like I did, I guess that's why it didn't appeal to me very much. The talk about the evils of consumerism and our society doesn't seem so profound when you don't own very much, don't give a shit about brand names, and generally are a REALLY happy guy.
I agree with Nate above though, it's a funny movie. It reminds me a little bit of "Life of Brian", for some reason, but not THAt funny of course...
/Mike

 

[Chuck Mayer]

Overriding themes in Fincher films is tough. Visually, I feel he is head and shoulders above most working today, and his films share some striking similarities. I would like to see what he could do with color, but maybe that'll come. He's still a young director.
His films:
Alien^3
Se7en
The Game
Fight Club
Panic Room
Since we can't even agree on FC's themes, this might be a bit tough But FC is his most layered film, so it should be the hardest to quantify. Anbd Panic Room was mostly just a genre picture. More dense than most, but downright fluffy compared to FC or Se7en.
One constant that happens in every Fincher film is that protagonists all lose relationships very valuable to them. This happens VERY early in Alien^3, and off-screen in PR and TG. It happens in the middle of FC and at the end of Se7en (for Mills...MUCH earlier timeline-wise for Somerset). How they deal with it, and the strength they get from the loss does appear more than once in his films. So I'll use that as a starting point, and think on it.
Thanks for the grist...
Chuck
Bleak is a good word

 

[MickeS]

The main overriding theme in all his films is that the main character is thrown into a situation he/she can not control, and needs to find a way out of it. IMO. Many films deal with that though, which is why I feel that the look of Fincher's films is more interesting than what they're about.

ALIEN 3 - Ripley crashlands and has to defend herself against aliens and prisoners.

SEVEN - The cops are investigating the murders, and get involved personally in the murderers plan.

THE GAME - Main character is trying to play a game he has no control over.

FIGHT CLUB - "Jack" is being manipulated by Tyler throughout the movie.

PANIC ROOM - Mother and daughter have to outsmart the home invaders, who are in control most of the movie.

/Mike

 

[Andy Sheets]

One constant that happens in every Fincher film is that protagonists all lose relationships very valuable to them.

Interesting observation in light of the time Fincher was in the running for the directing job on Spider-Man. His proposed storyline was..."The Death of Gwen Stacy".

 

[MickeS]

Andy, even in the "Spider-Man" movie we got, Uncle Ben's death is the main motivation for Peter to become Spider-Man.

 

[Eric Fisher]

After being hyped up about it by my friends, I was very disappointed. I was not overly impressed with the film.

 

[Bryant Trew]

It basically seems like the movie connected with people who felt like they were living a life similar to "Jack". Since I didn't, and didn't feel like I did, I guess that's why it didn't appeal to me very much. The talk about the evils of consumerism and our society doesn't seem so profound when you don't own very much, don't give a shit about brand names, and generally are a REALLY happy guy.

This wasn't even remotely part of the reason why I absolutely LOVE this film.

 

[Kevin M]

This wasn't even remotely part of the reason why I absolutely LOVE this film.

Truly, I am not living a life particularly similar to "Jack's" either but I completely sympathized with him and identified with the many ideas and themes in the film.