Fight Club (1999)

"Mind-blowing!  Philadelphia Weekly
"Fight Club pulls you in, challenges your prejudices...and leaves you laughing.  Rolling Stone
"Raw and exhilarating.  Newsweek
"...Ed Norton and Brad Pitt deliver knockout performances...  Apollo Guide

Editor's Note 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.

	Edward Norton
	Helena Bonham Carter
	Brad Pitt
	Meat Loaf
	Chuck Palahniuk - Based On Novel By
	Jeff Cronenweth - Cinematographer
	David Fincher - Director
	The Dust Brothers - Musical Score
	Ross Bell, et al. - Producer
	Jim Uhls - Screenplay

David Fincher's adrenaline-fueled adaptation of Chuck Palahniuk's novel is a satirical, absurdist romp highlighted by the director's edgy visual flair.

"Tyler, you are by far the most interesting single serving friend I have ever met. [Pauses] See, I have this thing...everything on a plane is single serving..."----Narrator (Edward Norton) to Tyler (Brad Pitt) |"Oh, I get it. It's very clever."----Tyler |"Thank you."----Narrator |"How's that working out for you?"----Tyler |"What?"----Narrator |"Being clever."----Tyler |"Great."----Narrator |"Keep it up then."----Tyler

"I say never be complete. I say stop being perfect."----Tyler

"The things you own end up owning you."----Tyler

"I want you to do me a favor."----Tyler to Narrator |"Yeah, sure."----Narrator |"I want you to hit me as hard as you can."----Tyler |"What?"----Narrator |"I want you to hit me...as hard as you can."----Tyler

"After fighting, everything else in your life got the volume turned down. You could deal with anything."----Narrator, in voice--over

"I am Jack's smirking revenge."----Narrator, in voice--over

"Gentlemen, welcome to Fight Club. The first rule of Fight Club is you do not talk about Fight Club. The second rule of Fight Club is...you do not talk about Fight Club."----Tyler

"You have to consider the possibility that God does not like you. He never wanted you. In all probability, he hates you."----Tyler to Narrator

"It's only after we've lost everything that we're free to do anything."----Tyler

"The first one through this door gets a...gets a lead salad!"----Narrator, as he waves a gun at police officers

"I am Jack's complete lack of surprise."----Narrator, in voice--over

Variety
"...[A] bold, inventive, sustained adrenaline rush of a movie....Rarely has a film been so keyed into its time..." p.47

Rolling Stone
"...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..." 10/28/1999 p.113-4

Sight and Sound
"...Dazzling entertainment..." 12/??/1999 p.45-6

Total Film
"...FIGHT CLUB is bold, intelligent and thrillingly innovative..." -- 5 out of 5 stars 06/01/2000 p.98

Film Comment
"...Stunning, mordantly funny, formally dazzling..." 09/01/1999 p.58-68

USA Today
"...Packed with sizzling cinematics, including (no surprise here) another brilliant Edward Norton performance..." 10/15/1999 p.2E

Chicago Sun-Times
"...The movie is visceral and hard-edged, with levels of irony and commentary above and below the action..." 10/15/1999 p.31

James Berardinelli's ReelViews 10 of 10
With its kinetic style, visceral approach, compelling storyline, and powerful social message, Fight Club makes a commanding case to be considered the '90s version of A Clockwork Orange. In a time when so few motion pictures leave an impact, Fight Club refuses to be ignored or dismissed. The experience lingers, demanding to be pondered and considered, and, unlike 95% of modern-day thrillers, there is a great deal here to think about and argue over. Fight Club presents an overload of thought-provoking material that works on so many levels as to offer grist for the mills of thousands of reviews, feature articles, and post-screening conversations.