Fight Club turns 10.

[T'Baio]

I just found out that Fight Club was released ten years ago this weekend. Ten...fucking...years. Holy shit, I'm old.

I remember going to see the flick opening night, and there weren't a whole hell of a lot of people there. I adored it and went to see it three more times, with fewer and fewer people there every time. Fincher was already in my top five directors, thanks to Se7en and The Game, even his commercial and video work. I was hyped about the movie for a year, and was real disappointed it did so poorly.

Later, shortly after the DVD came out, everyone was suddenly the hugest fan of Fight Club. "Have you seen this movie, Fight Club!?!" Umm...yeah. Apparently the studio marketing department was not allowed to talk about it.

 

[clint g]

still havent seen it......



I did notice however that everyone became a fan of the film out of nowhere. Sort of like what happened with boondock saints

 

[MeanJoePhaser]

It left after two weeks near where I once lived (near was over 30 miles away). By the time I decided to see it, it was goooooone.

In post 9/11 USA, it's totally irrelevant now, though. Sorry, Chuck, you've been outmoded by history.*

*Yes, I'm saying this to annoy its devotees. You can ignore it, or use it as an excuse to harp about how bloody topical the film/book/collectible trading cards/action figure line,/short lived t.v. series/comic books/off broadway musical still is and how it changed you sad, sad little lives forever.

P.S. U R NOT A BEWTIFUL UNIQUE SNO-FLAKE

 

[Mr Light]

One of my all time favorite movies! I saw it in my first week of college at the free theater there at like 8pm... and then we went right back to watch it again at the 11pm showing! I still think that movie has the all time best plot twist ever (I'm looking at you, Sixth Sense!).

 

[Ward Fowler]

still havent seen it......

I did notice however that everyone became a fan of the film out of nowhere. Sort of like what happened with boondock saints

That's true. The difference being that Fight Club is a fantastic movie and Boondock Saints is absolutely horrible. After hearing all the great stuff about it I couldn't believe how awful it was.

 

[Captaindemotion]

It's arguably the best movie of the 1990s and I say so even as a huge fan of Reservoir Dogs, The Usual Suspects, Goodfellas and other contenders.

In some ways, it has been rendered somewhat dated in terms of topicality by 9/11 but that in no way takes away from its artistic brilliance.

 

[FordSVT]

I used to like Fight Club, and I think I still appreciate it for what it is, but it's one of the few movies I dislike more and more every time I watch it. It's entirely unpleasant and the characters are unlikeable. Once you know the twist and have re-watched it to catch the forshadowing, there's little else to keep me coming back to it.

 

[Talosian]

9/11 hasn't changed much of *anything*. 9/11 is background noise at this point. It's the fall of the Berlin Wall to the youngsters of today. All the commercialism and self-help ideology that this film critiqued are alive and kicking. In fact, they're bigger than ever.

 

[Mr Light]

I agree Boondock Saints is completely overhyped. After hearing so much of it when I finally watched it.... this is it? It's alright but that's about it.

 

[Roshi]

Did you know urine was sterile? You can drink it!

 

[Yoda]

Saw it in the theaters, freshman year of college. Perfect movie for an 18 year old, methinks. Completely blew me away.

Last time I saw it I didn't love it quite as much, but it was still good.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

It's entirely unpleasant and the characters are unlikeable.

I suspect that was the point.

 

[Gary Mitchell]

I used to like Fight Club, and I think I still appreciate it for what it is, but it's one of the few movies I dislike more and more every time I watch it. It's entirely unpleasant and the characters are unlikeable. Once you know the twist and have re-watched it to catch the forshadowing, there's little else to keep me coming back to it.

I started out with the dislike. I can't fathom why so many people like it so much.

 

[suarezguy]

Only having watched it recently, 9/11 shows more clearly how disturbing the men's desire for violence and a cause was.

 

[SlyCardie]

Really amazing that it's this old. Still an awesome movie, come to think of it, I haven't seen it in probably 6 months, about time to break it out again.

 

[Darth_Pazuzu]

One of the things that always struck me about people's reactions to Fight Club is that a lot of people love the movie and hate the movie for all the wrong reasons.

The people who hate the movie somehow seem to think that the movie is taking Tyler Durden's side and is somehow advocating his whole mad philosophy.

And on the flip side, so many of the people who love the movie do so because they relate perhaps a bit too literally to the whole rebellious aspect of it, being maybe a little too sympathetic to Tyler Durden's aims.

What I love about the movie is that it's a cautionary tale about extremism. Edward Norton's "Jack" starts off as being a discontented corporate drone who seems to have done everything the way he was brought up to believe he should, and whose life up to this point has followed that particular "script" - but he's still frustrated, unhappy and insomniac. When he "meets" Tyler Durden and wholeheartedly embraces his attitude and philosophy, it perhaps starts off as being a necessary corrective to everything that he feels is wrong in his life - or at least an understandable way of blowing off steam. But then that eventually starts to go too far, and develops into a monster beyond his control - namely the terrorist organization named Project Mayhem!

And one positive aspect that a lot of people tend to miss about Fight Club is that Jack eventually realizes that things have gone way too far and eventually attempts to wrest back control of the situation, even going so far as to turn himself into the police. (Not that that's a very effective strategy in this case!) Even Tyler himself informs Jack at perhaps the most revelaing key point in the story (besides of course the revelation of the main twist), "You decide your own level of involvement!"

 

[Davros]

I thought we were not supposed to talk about fight club.

 

[suarezguy]

What I love about the movie is that it's a cautionary tale about extremism. [...] one positive aspect that a lot of people tend to miss about Fight Club is that Jack eventually realizes that things have gone way too far and eventually attempts to wrest back control of the situation

I'd say that the film takes a consistently mocking tone against "Jack," he's portrayed as laughable even late. Many viewers share the anti-corporate, anti-profit ideas; it's hard not to see that as the film's point given that the very ending [spoilers] seemed pretty celebratory that the buildings (and hence much of the commerce system) fell given the posture of the characters and the music that played.

 

[Mr Light]

The buildings going down wasn't celebratory to my eyes, it was the apocalypse, the end of the world. And that haunting creepy music playing while they hold each other and watch the world end... that's a downer ending. You think they were looking forward to living in a world where the economy and government no longer existed and they were forced to live as hunter-gatherers?

My interpretation of the movie is that Tyler Durden was the wrath of God smiting the wicked and corrupt with a new Great Flood. Jack goes to a church for the addict meeting. Tyler tells him at one point our fathers were our models for God and they left, what does that tell you about God, in all probability he hates you. And the end when Tyler is beating the crap out of Jack there's an angelic choir playing softly in the background. Jack's "other personality" was really an angel of death.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

The buildings going down wasn't celebratory to my eyes, it was the apocalypse, the end of the world. And that haunting creepy music playing while they hold each other and watch the world end... that's a downer ending. You think they were looking forward to living in a world where the economy and government no longer existed and they were forced to live as hunter-gatherers?

It wasn't the whole world being destroyed, just a few buildings. Not a terribly happy ending, to be sure, but not an apocalypse either. It seemed clear that the film was not actually advocating Tyler's worldview and that "Jack" used the opportunity to turn away from it.

And for the record, I have never been in a fight, I would not last three seconds in one. I'd fold up like a deck chair.

One thing I didn't get, though (and this has been awhile, so pardon me if I am misrembering) is when Tyler says he only sleeps one hour a night. Is this even possible? I don't see how any human being could exist like that. The fatigue would eventually catch up to you and kill you. Or is this just because of the twist?