Fight Club (film)



         


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.

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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).

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Criticism and trivia

The film was critized for its graphic violence, though only one person is killed. Its 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 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.

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Awards

The film won the following awards:

It was also nominated for the following awards:

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Technical data

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See also

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