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Cth's DVD Buys

or

If This Is Your First Night At Grayhaven, You Have To Write

or

Fuck Martha Stewart!

by Cth (cth@clickcom.com)

 

This Weeks DVD selections were brought to you by:

The letter "F" and the number "5"

Fight Club

Cover                        5/5  (Eye catching; Unique; Excellent shelf presence)

Direction/Story          5/5  (Flows well; faithful to the novel; CGI blends in well)

DVD Layout              5/5 (Easy to find packed with extras; Animated menus, Nice intro loop sequence)

Extras                       5/5 (Commentaries galore; easter eggs; behind the scenes; etc)

OVERALL                5/5  (MUST HAVE; Worth more than you pay for it; Showcase CD)

COVER

Simplistic design, but very eyecatching.  The interior artwork design also shows a great eye for commerical art.. kinda funny in a way considering the message of the movie.  The Photos on the DVDs and their respective holders make sense considering the events of the movie.. In other words, the entire disc presentation shows a lot of thought was put into this set.

DIRECTION

David Fincher is known for making some *DARK* films.  This movie is no exception.  You can almost forgive him for Alien^3 in a way.  From the commentary track to the film itself, it's obvious he has his own vision, and knows what makes a film work.  Compare this with his other films Seven, Alien^3, and The Game.  Fincher has come a long way from making music videos, but hasn't forgotten his roots and brings a visual style to each film that blows you away.

STORY

The Narrator (or Jack as has been suggested for a name) has a problem with insomnia.  The only way he seems to be able to cure it, is by attending support group meetings.  Quickly he becomes addicted to being the center of attention, until Marla shows up.  Marla also like attending support group meetings for diseases she doesn't have.  Once again, Jack cannot sleep.  Then one day, on his way to inspect a car for faulty design flaws, he meets a soap salesman named Tyler Durden.  His life slowly falls apart when his luggage is lost, and his apartment blown up.  He calls Tyler and meets him for some beers at the local bar.  Tyler agrees to let Jack stay, if he does one thing.  Hitting him as hard as he can.  And thus, begins Fight Club.  Each week, it grows larger and larger until Tyler changes the rules.  He assigns homework to everyone guaranteeing chaos around the city.  Tyler is building an army and the city isn't happy about it.

So Tyler declares war on everyone else.  Jack sees things spinning out of control and tries to stop it only to make a startling self discovery.  With this knowledge, he goes to confront Tyler and stop him from blowing up credit card companies.

LAYOUT

Excellent intro loop conveys the mood of the film well.  Eclectic.  Sections are organized well, and it's not to hard to find the Easter eggs.

EXTRAS

TONS of commentary tracks, all of which are noteworthy.  The author and screenwriter tell the origins of scenes and offer insight into how the adaptation process works.  Pitt/Norton/Fincher/Carter's track was pretty insightful, full of hidden "Did you notice" type things..  It's one of those where you can tell they had fun making the movie and watching it again.  There's also a DVD player/THX testing section that makes the price of the movie even better.  There's storyboards, there's still shots, there's multiple angles, multiple languages..

Basically, everything DVD can offer, is on these 2 DVDs. 

DON'T MISS              

The excellent commentary track by Fincher, Pitt, Norton, and Carter.  Actually, ALL of the commentary tracks are well worth it.  Also, for fun, check out the Public Service Announcement spots, and imagine what fun it'd be to see them in the movie theater.

FINAL WORD

If you don't have this, and think this is a boring movie about guys beating the crap out of each other, think again.  Destined to be a cult favorite, the movie was distributed at the height of the Columbine craziness, which caused a huge critic backlash.  This movie offers more social commentary and is thought provoking, in addition to being hilarious and stylish.  There's something for everyone in this movie in other words.  One of the best movies of 1999, along with American Beauty and Being John Malkovich.

Copyright©2000 Cth