Fight Club (www.the-usher.com)

"You do not talk about Fight Club!"

As his life turns into a monotonous and mundane tirade of repetitive nonsense, he meets charismatic free spirit Tyler Durden (Pitt). A rebel who stands for everything that goes against convention, Tyler introduces him to a new approach towards life that re-energises him completely as he leaves his well-paid desk job behind. He still can only find comfort by lying his way into support groups, Tyler reintroduces him to his own primal, male aggression by forming a 'fight club', were you bare-knuckle fight with the rest of the emasculated men who feel subdued by modern society.

When it comes to picking out one of the best films of 90s, one movie would be in most cinephiles top ten or even top five is 'Fight Club'.

David Fincher's adaptation of Chuck Palahniuk's novel struck a cord with many men across the world in 1999. The emasculation of men, driven by the fashion and media industries, forced them to embrace their feminine side, cry and show emotion. With women expecting men to embrace these new ideals and also conform to the expectations of having a good job and spending plenty of the time down the gym, the average man felt almost choked by the restrictions placed upon. The ideals pushed forward in 'Fight Club' showed men reclaiming their primal masculinity and rebelling against conformity and commercialism.

The idea of fighting back and in fact fighting each other, made men feel that they could express anger, frustration and finally rid themselves of any feeling of inadequacy forced upon them by the 'New Man' ideal. Watching Brad Pitt and Edward Norton, two of Hollywood's big hitters, championing these principles the movie was bound to become a beacon that many men would be drawn to.

The movie itself is a powerhouse of storytelling and character, a must for all cult movies. Edward Norton's character is your typical average man, conforming to the commercial picture of manhood. He has the perfect condo, filled with Swedish furnisher, coffee table reading material and a fridge full of condiments. This might seem perfect to some but in fact he is lonely, frustrated and isolated from his real feelings. Brad Pitt's Tyler Durden is the complete opposite. A natural soap salesman who lives life to full, rebels against everything the so-called modern man stands for. It is Tyler that opens not just Edward Norton's characters eyes but everyone he meets to the possibility of taking back their lives and venting their aggression. The 'Fight Club' movement is born.

Only visionary director David Fincher's visual style and attention to detail could bring a story like this to life. With a narrative structure that jumps around as the story is told from Edward Norton's prospective and it is through him that we discover Tyler's agenda. Fincher loves the camera and uses it in ways that most other directors cannot even dream of. He also uses visual effects with great subtlety, implementing them into a scene to enhance the story and not to make a sequence stand out as a visual spectacle. Along with 'Se7en' and 'Panic Room', Fincher has defined his style to become one of Hollywood's most influential filmmakers.

Brad Pitt and Edward Norton are quite simply brilliant in this movie. Edward Norton's character is the man that most of us are, simple, unassuming and very average. Brad Pitt's Tyler Durden is the man most of us want to be, strong, aggressive and living life to the full. The pair of them compliment each other perfectly and draw you into the story. They are supported by the always excellent Helen Bonham Carter, who left her costume drama/English rose persona behind to play the extremely troubled but very sexy Marla. There is also a scene stealing performance from Meat Loaf as Bob, the overly emotion, large breasted man who is desperate to reclaim his manhood.

'Fight Club' is quite rightly considered a cult classic and one of the best films of the 1990s. Many would also consider it an all-time classic and it is a movie that will definitely stay with you for a very long time, especially after the shocking revelations of the final act. Remember the rules, live life to the full and we can all be our own version of Tyler Durden.

PICTURE & SOUND

Presented in Widescreen 1.85:1 Anamorphic with Dolby Digital 5.1 and dts soundtracks, the transfer is very good.

BONUS FEATURES (DEFINITIVE VERSION)

Disc 1

Commentary by David Fincher
The director talks you through the production of the movie and his thoughts about the storyline and the meaning of the film. This is a good single person commentary from a gifted filmmaker, offering a fascinating insight into how he approaches a movie.

Commentary by David Fincher, Brad Pitt, Edward Norton and Helena Bonham Carter
This is taken from the original two-disc release and is a chatty and fun commentary. Brad Pitt cracks wise throughout and the group reveal many a secret from the filling of the cult classic.

Commentary by Chuck Palahniuk and Jim Uhls
The writer of the novel and the screenwriter offer an insight into the differences between the novel and the screenplay. This chatty commentary reveals how the book and story came about as the two talk about key scenes and the characters of the film.

Commentary by production designer Alex McDowell, director of photography Jeff Cronenweth, costume designer Michael Kaplan, visual effects supervisor Kevin Haug and digital animator Doc Baily
This technical commentary reveals how the look and style of the movie was created. From the visual effects to how Brad Pitt, Edward Norton and the rest of the cast looked, the group talks about how the movie was made and how it looked so good.

Disc 2

Cast and Crew
Text biographies of 'Brad Pitt', 'Edward Norton', 'Helena Bonham Carter', 'Meatloaf', 'Jared Leto', director David Fincher, screenwriter Jim Uhls, novelist Chuck Palahniuk, producers Art Linson, Ce�n Chaffin, Ross Grayson Bell, Arnon Milchan, director of photography Jeff Cronenweth, production designer Alex McDowell, costume designer Michael Kaplan, editor James Haygood, special makeup effects supervisor Rob Bottin and composers The Dust Brothers.

Behind the Scenes
With optional commentaries by visual effects supervisor Kevin Haug, special effects coordinator Cliff Wenger, visual effects supervisor - Digital Domain Kevin Mack and Digital animation supervisor Richard 'Doc' Bailey, this section is split into three sections entitled 'Production', 'Visual Effects' and 'On Location'. Production covers 'Alternative main titles', 'Airport', 'Jack's condo', 'Paper Street house', 'Projection booth' and 'Corporate Art Ball', the section allows you to view the sections from multiple angels and with different soundtracks. The visual effects section takes a look at 'Main Title', 'Furni Catalogue', 'Ice Cave/Power Animal', 'Photogrammetry', 'Mid-air Collision', 'Sex sequence', 'Car crash', 'Gunshot' and 'High rise collapse'. Here you can look at behind the scenes shots, storyboards and principle photography. Finally you can go on location with David Fincher as he prepares to shoot the gun scene, see Brad Pitt get his head cast and Meatloaf putting on his fat suit.

Publicity Material
View Trailers, TV Spots, PSAs, Music Video by the Dust Brothers, Internet spots, Promotional Gallery and a text interview with Edward Norton Art Gallery View Storyboards, Visual Effects Stills, Paper Street House', 'Costumes and Makeup, Brain Ride Map and Pre-Production paintings. Deleted and Alternative Scenes Entitled 'Tyler quits smoking/Jack quits work', 'Marla's pillow talk', 'Copier Abuse', 'Chloe and Rupert', 'Angel Face's beating', 'Walter' and 'Tyler's goodbye', these deleted scenes have text introduction to reveal why they were removed.

OVERALL

The definitive version of 'Fight Club' isn't that different to the original two disc special edition that was released a few years earlier. The inclusion three extra commentary tracks might make this worth a purchase for die-hard fans and for those wanting the uncut version of the movie. Other than that there isn't much difference here to make it worth adding to your collection if you already have it. Wait for the High Definition version.

DVD

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