Fight Club: Amazon.ca: Helena Bonham Carter, Zach Grenier, Meat Loaf, Brad Pitt, Jared Leto, Edward Norton, Eion Bailey, Christina Cabot, Markus Redmond, David Fincher: DVD

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All films take a certain suspension of disbelief. Fight Club takes perhaps more than others, but if you're willing to let yourself get caught up in the anarchy, this film, based on the novel by Chuck Palahniuk, is a modern-day morality play warning of the decay of society. Edward Norton is the unnamed protagonist, a man going through life on cruise control, feeling nothing. To fill his hours, he begins attending support groups and 12-step meetings. True, he isn't actually afflicted with the problems, but he finds solace in the groups. This is destroyed, however, when he meets Marla (Helena Bonham Carter), also faking her way through groups. Spiraling back into insomnia, Norton finds his life is changed once again, by a chance encounter with Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt), whose forthright style and no-nonsense way of taking what he wants appeal to our narrator. Tyler and the protagonist find a new way to feel release: they fight. They fight each other, and then as others are attracted to their ways, they fight the men who come to join their newly formed Fight Club. Marla begins a destructive affair with Tyler, and things fly out of control, as Fight Club grows into a nationwide fascist group that escapes the protagonist's control. Fight Club, directed by David Fincher (Seven), is not for the faint of heart; the violence is no holds barred. But the film is captivating and beautifully shot, with some thought-provoking ideas. Pitt and Norton are an unbeatable duo, and the film has some surprisingly humorous moments. The film leaves you with a sense of profound discomfort and a desire to see it again, if for no other reason than to just to take it all in. --Jenny Brown

Additional features

The first rule of Fight Club may be that you don't talk about Fight Club, but that didn't stop the powers that be from assembling four separate commentaries for you to partake of in your viewing pleasure of the Fight Club DVD. Listen to director David Fincher solo, or with stars Edward Norton, Brad Pitt, and Helena Bonham Carter; novelist Chuck Palahniuk and screenwriter Jim Uhls discuss the differences between the book and the film; and the film's design team dissects the numerous visual effects that went into the film. Wretched excess? Hardly. If any film was worthy of such intimate dissection, it's this one, and the two-disc DVD set is a film aficionado's dream. The first disc, containing the film and the commentaries, is one of the best film-to-DVD transfers you'll see, with nifty, seamless interactive menus. The second disc is given over entirely to extras, from storyboards and dissections of seminal sequences to alternate filmings of certain scenes, to deleted scenes that didn't make the final cut (with helpful explanations placing them in context, noting why they weren't used, and showing the scenes that did make the final cut). There's also just as much information given over to the promotion and marketing of the film as there is the production of it; you'll find innumerable trailers, including Internet-only clips and Norton and Pitt's hilarious "public service announcements." And keep an eye out for the fake "warning" at the beginning of the film as well as the hidden smiley-face that will take you to some hilarious Fight Club promotional items, including the "Your life is ticking away one minute at a time" clock, ripe for desktop service. All in all, this is one of the best DVD sets you'll ever find, in terms of technology and information. --Mark Englehart

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Sorry, but I have to break rule No. 1 Feb 29 2012

By Steven Aldersley TOP 50 REVIEWER

Format:Blu-ray

Fight Club (1999)
Drama, 139 minutes
Directed by David Fincher
Starring Edward Norton, Brad Pitt and Helena Bonham Carter

Why do I like Fight Club? It seems to suggest that violence and anarchy are good things, but that's certainly not something I believe. I think it comes down to the dark comedy and the strong script, coupled with excellent performances from Norton and Pitt. This is a cool world to experience, but I wouldn't want to live in it.

The story seems perfectly traditional at first. We see Norton on a plane. He's referred to as The Narrator in the credits and seems to think of himself as Jack. He encounters Tyler Durden (Pitt) and takes his business card. Jack returns home to find that there's been an explosion in his apartment, so he calls Durden and eventually asks to stay at his house for a while. Durden is a cheerful, carefree lunatic who wants Jack to punch him. The two fight on the street and decide to recruit members and form Fight Club, believing that it's an expression of freedom.

Jack spends his free time visiting support groups. We see him hugging people with testicular cancer and all manner of diseases. He enjoys letting his inhibitions go and listening to the members speak about their illnesses. After a while, he becomes aware of Marla (Helena Bonham Carter). Like him, she's a tourist visiting the various support groups. He confronts her and they agree to attend different classes.

Durden encourages Jack to stop trying to live up to the expectations of other people. As a result, Jack becomes more assertive. He challenges the authority of his boss and stops worrying about his appearance and the latest IKEA catalog. He regularly shows up for work with fresh cuts and bruises. Jack finds that he enjoys his new image. One thing he doesn't like is Durden forming a relationship with Marla.

Fight Club is set in a gritty world and makes the viewer feel unclean while watching it. Fincher is good at creating unsettling worlds and this one is similar to those found in The Game and Se7en. Durden's house appears derelict and the neighborhood is seedy. As the story unfolds, it becomes clear that Durden has a purpose for starting Fight Club. The recruits are assigned tasks to disrupt society and members can come from any occupational background. It's like a secret society.

Fight Club contains a major twist and I won't reveal it for those who haven't ever seen the movie. The twist elevates the movie to a different level. Subsequent viewings are enhanced because you'll notice little details you may have missed the first time. It's clever how everything ties together. The ending annoys some viewers, but it works perfectly for me. The final sequence is set to one of my favorite Pixies' songs and is probably my favorite scene in the entire movie.

Although it's not an action movie, Fight Club is a pure adrenaline rush. From the opening credits set to the pounding beat of the Dust Brothers, it rarely lets up until the relative calm of the closing scene.

I'm enjoying this project and got more out of Fight Club on yesterday's viewing than I ever have before. Just don't go out and copy the behavior it depicts.

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