Reviewed by Colin Jacobson

Title:	Fight Club: 2-Disc Special Edition (1999)
Studio Line:	20th Century Fox - Mischief. Mayhem. Soap. A ticking-time bomb insomniac (Edward Norton) and a slippery soap salesman (Brad Pitt) channel primal male aggression into a shocking new form of therapy. Their concept catches on, with underground "fight clubs" forming in every town, until a sensuous eccentric (Helena Bonham Carter) gets in the way and ignites an out-of-control spiral toward oblivion. The New York Times raved that Fight Club "just might require another viewing." Here's your chance. Brace yourself.
Director:	David Fincher
Cast:	Edward Norton, Brad Pitt, Helena Bonham Carter, Meat Loaf, Jared Leto
Academy Awards:	Nominated for Best Sound Effects Editing. 2000.
DVD:	2-Disc set; widescreen 2.40:1/16x9; audio English DD 5.1 & Dolby Surround, French Dolby Surround; THX; subtitles English, Spanish; closed-captioned; single sided - dual layered; 36 chapters; rated R; 139 min.; $34.99; street date 6/6/00.
Supplements:	Disc One: 4 Commentary Tracks including David Fincher, Brad Pitt, Edward Norton, and Helena Bonham Carter; THX Optimode. Disc Two: 17 Behind-the-Scenes Vignettes with Multiple Angles and Commentary; Outakes & Deleted Scenes; Storyboards; Publicity Gallery; Concept Art and More.
Purchase:	DVD | Novel - Chuck Palahniuk | Score soundtrack - The Dust Brothers

Picture/Sound/Extras: A/A/A+ Fight Club seems to be one of those movies about which no one takes the middle ground. From what I've witnessed, virtually everyone who sees it loves it or hates it; lukewarm assessments appear tremendously rare. Well, you're going to get one here, though the temperature is a little higher than "lukewarm" implies. Ever since I saw Seven back in 1995, I've been a big fan of director David Fincher. Actually, I'm one of the few people who already felt positive feelings about his work prior to Seven; most panned his directorial debut - 1992's Alien 3 - but I found it to be provocative and daring. Seven, however, took my interest in Fincher's work to another level; the film picked me up and placed me firmly in the bag for him. My feelings were tested by 1997's The Game, however, which presented a typically dark Fincher tale until the very end, when it copped out and took the happy ending route. The sight of Fincher trying not to be Fincher was unpleasant; although I've found some redeeming qualities in The Game, I never will feel anything other than antipathy toward that ending. Despite that disappointing experience, I greatly looked forward to Fincher's next film, 1999's Fight Club. I rushed out to my local theater when it appeared last October and couldn't wait to find which Fincher would show up this time. Happily, it was the ballsier Fincher; I don't want to discuss much of the plot since I don't like to include potential "spoilers" - and, as with Being John Malkovich, almost anything I mention about FC could be construed as a "spoiler" - but suffice it to say that the film is infused with a dark and anarchic spirit. However, while I definitely liked the movie, I felt somewhat underwhelmed; Fight Club wasn't quite the killer experience I expected. Expectations have a way of making it tough on me, however, so I thought perhaps my opinion would change with subsequent viewings. My second screening of the film - via DVD - didn't do anything to alter my feelings about FC, however; I still think it's a creative and compelling movie, but it doesn't match up with the top-notch Fincher we saw in Seven. In any case, Fight Club does make for a very entertaining and provocative experience. It's definitely a film that will make you think and that needs to be seen more than once for you to develop any kind of real understanding of it. The movie created quite an uproar for its allegedly semi-fascist viewpoint and the way it seems to embrace violence and nihilism, and the first time through, you might actually believe that. However, when you see it again, you discover the layers behind the exterior and can better start to piece together the film's ideas. I like that aspect of the movie because it doesn't do your thinking for you. It presents the material in a semi-dispassionate way and expects the viewer to make sense of it. I've heard Fincher compared to Stanley Kubrick, and from that point of view, the analogy makes sense; Kubrick tended to leave his films without strong "this is the way it is" conclusions, which is why so many of them stirred so much controversy. Fight Club fits neatly into that mold since so many different points of view about it have emerged. Some find it to be cruel and soulless, some believe it irresponsibly glorifies violence and anarchy, and some think it's a hilarious black comedy. I mainly fall into that latter category. Personally, I don't really understand how so many people miss the satire and the humor in FC, but I don't know how people can eat head cheese either. Suffice it to say that the easily-offended will not be happy with this film. Love it or hate it, Fight Club cannot be ignored or easily forgotten. Despite the currently mild favor in which I hold the film, I have a feeling that my opinion may change - for the better - as time passes. I don't know if Fight Club will ever qualify as a classic, but it's definitely unusual and it presents a powerful statement. The DVD: Fight Club appears in its original theatrical aspect ratio of approximately 2.40:1 on this single-sided, dual-layered DVD; the image has been enhanced for 16X9 televisions. While I can't call this a flawless transfer, it's awfully darned close; Fight Club looks absolutely terrific. Sharpness appears consistently crisp and well-defined, with literally no instances of softness; no matter how wide the shots went, they remained razor-sharp. I noted no problems with moiré effects or jagged edges, though I saw mild artifacts from the anamorphic downconversion on my 4X3 TV. The print itself seemed clean; I detected a few white speckles (maybe five throughout the film) but other than that, I didn't notice any hairs, scratches, nicks or grain. As with pretty much all of Fincher's films, colors appear muted but they seemed accurate and came across the way I believe they were intended to look. Blacks were tremendously deep and rich, which is important since this is such a dark film; all heavy tones appeared perfectly solid. Shadow detail also was a crucial aspect of the transfer, and it seems splendid, with very appropriate opacity. All in all, the movie presents a fantastic picture. Also wonderful is the Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack of Fight Club. Actually, from what I've read, this is a Dolby EX 6.1 affair, though it's not advertised on the packaging. In any case, the soundfield seems very broad and well-defined. The audio often can be quite aggressive and really provides an encompassing track. All five speakers get a good workout, with unique sounds that go to each channel but that also blend together neatly and largely seamlessly. FC is a "busy" film visually, and the active sound mix complements the images well. The quality also appears excellent. Dialogue occasionally betrayed a slight amount of edginess but it always seemed natural and clear; I had no problems with intelligibility. Music - which mainly comes from the score by Dust Brothers - seems rich and crisp. with all of the techno track sounding appropriately deep and lively. Effects are simply fantastic, as they always appear realistic and vivid. The soundtrack displays fine dynamic range, with clean highs and deep bass. FC offers audio that equals the high quality of its picture. One note: this is a loud soundtrack at times, so be careful with your audio settings. At times things quieted down and I edged the volume up a bit, but then something pops up that blew me away and made me dash for my remote. I advise you to keep the volume set a bit lower than usual and make slight adjustments from there. The loudest scene is the one with the plane crash, so if you make it through that, you're fine. (By the way, that last line may have appeared to include a spoiler, but it's really not; the scene in question has almost nothing to do with the plot.) As terrific as the sound and picture are, there's one reason why Fight Club appears to be selling like donuts at a police convention: the supplemental features. After a few months of hearing this DVD touted as the greatest ever, I was quite anxious to see it for myself. Now that I have, I must acknowledge that it's a packed little set. Most of the extras appear on the second DVD, but the first one - that also includes the movie itself - features an amazing four audio commentaries. I've seen DVDs with two commentaries, and even some with three (like Contact), but this is the first I've encountered with four different tracks. That's 556 minutes of listening fun! First up is a commentary from director Fincher. Two of his three prior films appeared as special editions from Criterion, so Fincher's a veteran of these affairs, and he offers a lot of strong information here. Fincher is more frank about his work than most directors, so we get a nicely unvarnished viewpoint of the film's production. The commentary has more empty spaces than I'd like, but Fincher makes it a very compelling piece. Even more fun is the next commentary. It also features Fincher, but it includes actors Edward Norton, Brad Pitt and Helena Bonham Carter as well. The three men were recorded together - though it sounded like a few of Pitt's comments came when he was alone - and Bonham Carter was taped on her own. This track is neatly edited and provides a ton of great anecdotes and information. Norton dominates, which is a slight disappointment - Pitt added great remarks for Seven but seems a little too much in the background here - but the atmosphere of the commentary remains light and perceptive at most times. Next we find a commentary from novelist Chuck Palahniuk and screenwriter Jim Uhls; they were recorded together, which surprised - but pleased - me. This track probably has the most gaps of the four, but it remains quite entertaining. We learn a lot about the genesis of the project and the inspiration for many aspects of it, but we also see the film from an "informed fan's" point of view; it sounds like these two weren't in on much of the movie's day-to-day creation - in the DVD's booklet, Palahniuk calls himself a "tourist" during the production period - so they chat about it like above-average Joes. They also pick at minor flaws and have fun with the piece in this entertaining track. Finally, the fourth commentary relates a variety of information about the special effects. We hear from director of photography Jeff Cronenweth, costume designer Michael Kaplan, production designer Alex McDowell, visual effects supervisor Kevin Haug, and digital animator Richard "Doc" Bailey. As one might expect, this track sticks mainly to the more technical aspects of making Fight Club, and it can be a little dry at times. Due to the fact it's the fourth commentary, we also hear some information we already learned from the others; that's not a criticism of the participants, since it's virtually inevitable that four separate tracks will contain some redundant material. This was probably my least favorite of the four commentaries, but I still learned some good facts about the production. DVD 1 includes one other extra, and it's a very nice addition. If you go into the "Setup" area, you'll find a "THX" icon. Click on it and you can use their "Optimode" plan to set up your TV. This provides you with information to correctly configure various audio and video aspects of your home theater. I don't think it fully replaces something like Video Essentials, but then again, "Optimode" comes as a free addition to a DVD, so it's clearly a bargain. If you haven't already used VE or some similar product, you should find "Optimode" very helpful. Now to move on to DVD 2, which contains the meat of the supplemental features. This disc divides its goods into five different sections, entitled "Crew", "Work", "Missing", "Advertising" and "Art", respectively. In the following text, I'll go through each sequentially. Because of the sheer volume of material, I won't make subjective comments about each piece; instead, once I've covered it all, I'll provide some general impressions. Crew: This is the most bland of the sections. It contains a slew of the standard "cast and crew" biographies; we find five entries for actors and 13 listings for crew members. In general, the bios are good, though some are better than others. In any case, nothing terribly exciting appears here. Work: Here's where things get more interesting. This area splits into three subsections: "Production", "Visual Effects", and "On Location". "Production": This portion begins with "Alternate Main Titles", a piece that lets you witness the opening credits in a number of different ways. Using alternate angles, it gives us the unutilized sequence without text, an incomplete preview version, and two editions with differing fonts (called "Strangelove" and "Small Science", respectively). In addition, you can choose from two different audio tracks: the main title theme, and an alternate main title theme. The piece runs for one minute and 35 seconds, so we're talking 12 minutes and 40 seconds total if every option is pursued to its end. "AMT" also includes "Brain Ride Map", a collection of 34 stillframes that show production art, drawings and notes about the segment. "Airport" provides two video segments, "Location Scout" and "Principal Photography", plus three audio tracks; the first two are the natural audio from the material, while the third incorporates commentary from Fincher. The two video pieces can be watched separately or at the same time through a split-screen method; if you choose the latter, you have to pick one of the two audio tracks. (For a bizarre experience, select the wrong audio!) Each segment runs for two minutes and 10 seconds, so all in all, that gives us six minutes and 30 seconds total. We also find a stillframe area with eight storyboards. "Jack's Condo" duplicates the options for in "Airport", with two different video segments and three audio tracks, plus the ability to watch both pieces simultaneously via split-screen. One nice touch: when Fincher tells the crew what he wants to happen for various segments, an inset box with the relevant film footage or other video material appears (this accompanies many of the other parts as well, but I won't comment on it again - you can assume that if such a feature makes sense within the video, it will appear). Each piece goes for two minutes and 50 seconds, so that's a total of eight minutes and 30 seconds. In addition, 23 frames worth of storyboards appear. "Paper Street House" differs a little from the preceding template; instead of "Location Scout", we get "Pre-production Designing and Building the House" plus the "Principal Photography" segment. The split-screen option remains, but we find no commentary. On their own, the clips last five and a half minutes for 11 minutes all in all. "Projection Booth" reverts to the same "Location Scout" and "Principal Photography" method and also includes the split-screen view, but no commentary appears. Each part takes two minutes, so that's a grand total of four minutes of material. We also find 11 frames of storyboards. "Corporate Art Ball" puts both "Location Scout" and "Principal Photography" in the same piece and offers something different for the second angle: "Pre-visualization, raw footage, digital effects". The corresponding natural audio goes with the first one, while the second provides an audio commentary from special effects supervisor Kevin Haug and special effects coordinator Cliff Wenger. Each segment lasts three minutes and 55 seconds for a sum of seven minutes and 50 seconds. This part also tosses in 12 storyboards and completes the "Production" subsection. "Visual Effects": Its first piece addresses the "Main Titles" and provides video footage of the computer effects in progress. For the audio, you can choose from two different commentary tracks; one from Kevin Haug and the other from visual effects supervisor Kevin Mack. The video lasts two minutes and 55 seconds, for a total of six minutes and 50 seconds possible. It also repeats the "Brain Map" seen "Furni Catalog" examines that scene's effects. The only audio option is a commentary from Haug, and the piece runs two minutes and 20 seconds. We also get nine screens of storyboards. "Ice Cave/Power Animal" provides some principal photography shots plus details of the computer generated penguin. The "PP" footage uses raw sound from the set, while the CGI is accompanied by more commentary from Haug. It lasts three minutes and 15 seconds and the section also includes seven storyboards. The cool CG first-person technique called "Photogrammetry" comes next. The video shows lots of raw effects and features additional commentary from Haug. The program runs for three minutes and 30 seconds and tosses in eight storyboards as well. "Mid-air Collision" discusses the sequence that most startled me, sound-wise through video footage of a "Previsualization Session" plus some basic CG effects. This includes some raw audio plus comments from Haug on one track and Mack and Wenger on the other. The piece lasts four minutes and 40 seconds, for a possible total of nine minutes and 20 seconds. No storyboards this time. "Sex Sequence" examines the creation of that scene through some CG imagery and is accompanied by a commentary from Haug. The piece lasts two minutes and 35 seconds and it also includes seven storyboards. "Car Crash" mainly offers principal photography footage of that segment, and it also tosses in brief glimpses of CG through inset boxes. The piece can be viewed with its natural audio or with a commentary from Wenger. It lasts three minutes and 50 seconds for a possible total of seven minutes and 40 seconds and the area also features 40 storyboards. "Gun Shot" also mixed principal photography and examinations of the computer effects. The three-minute program provides some raw sound but mainly offers commentary from Haug. No storyboards appear. Finally, "High Rise Collapse" shows production footage and various states of computer effects, and it's accompanied by commentary from Haug and "Doc" Bailey. It runs for four minutes and 40 seconds, and it also doesn't include any storyboards. "On Location": This portion completes the "Work" domain with one five minute and 25 second compendium of various shots from the set and other areas. We see sights such as Meat Loaf putting on and testing his fat suit, Pitt getting a head cast made and practicing fighting, and demonstrations of the liposuctioned fat. All of the audio comes straight from the source. All told, if you watch all of the materials available in the Work area, you'll spend about 95 and a half minutes doing so. That doesn't include the time it takes to examine the 159 stillframes. Missing: No, this section doesn't feature the 1982 Sissy Spacek/Jack Lemmon film; it includes seven different deleted scenes. Most of these are actually alternate versions or different edits of existing scenes; for example, one offers a different line of dialogue from Bonham Carter. In all cases, the segments show the alternate version and also the final one from the film. Two snippets also included some "behind the scenes" footage as well. Each of the sections ranges from 30 seconds up to three minutes and 15 seconds; all of the pieces together (including the "behind the scenes" stuff) run for about 17 and a half minutes. One nice touch: when you select each of the deleted scenes, a snippet of text appears that explains why the material was altered or removed. Through the commentaries, I already knew why a lot of these changes were made, but I still really appreciated the additional information. Advertising: Here's where we find all of the materials used to promote the film. The section includes the movie's teaser and its theatrical trailer, plus another teaser called "The Eight Rules of Fight Club"; that one was unused and appears here exclusively. We also get 12 US TV spots, two international TV ads, and three Spanish ones. Unfortunately, the latter aren't dubbed; we hear a narrator on two of them but the film's dialogue appears via subtitles. At least we get to see a bar of soap that says "El Club De La Pelea"! "PSAs" features two "Public Service Announcements". One is from Jack/Norton, the other from Tyler/Pitt. Each offers the usual pre-movie information we've heard so many times (don't talk, know where the fire exit is, etc.) but they add their little twists. Next is a music video from the Dust Brothers. On the surface, this appears to be the standard "montage of film clips" piece, but it does have some differences. For one, it features a unique voice-over from Pitt, who exclaims the usual Durdenisms but adds some I didn't recognize. It also hasn't been altered for TV, so it's an "R"-rated video. Ultimately, it's not much more than a glorified trailer, but it's not bad. Speaking of "glorified trailers", the "Internet Spots" section includes five brief ads that feature material not seen elsewhere. Essentially, these combine film footage with "talking to the camera" clips of Norton shot just for these ads. The "Promotional Gallery" includes a variety of materials. "Lobby Cards/Advertising" includes 20 frames of promotional photos and posters, while "Press Kit" replicates the film's unique publicity brochure; the kit appeared as if it were a catalog similar to those upscale deals lampooned in the film. We see a pretty good sampling of the kit through these 34 frames. Finally, "Stills" provides 155 photos from the production. The last piece in this section is an "Edward Norton Interview". This offers a text transcript of an appearance he made at Yale in October 1999. It's not a terrifically long interview, but it covers some interesting material. Art: The final section includes a lot more stillframes. "Storyboards" replicates each and every storyboard created for the film. It does so in a whopping 267 frames, each of which offers up to four storyboards. (While this presentation makes each 'board harder to see, it allows for much easier navigation, so I appreciate it.) Text at the start helpfully tells us that some scenes weren't storyboarded so we won't find them. We also get a nice index that lets us jump ahead 30 pages of 'boards at a time, which also should be helpful. "Visual Effects Stills" offers 17 frames worth of "behind the scenes" pictures and details of some effects. "Paper Street House" presents 45 stills that show various shots of the interior and exterior of that building. Oddly, the first eight frames go by on their own without the usual "frame advance" input required, while the remaining 37 must be changed manually. I don't know if this is an authoring error or intentional, but it seems odd. "Costumes and Makeup" includes 22 more frames. Some of these feature sketches of costume designs, while the rest depict various ideas for injury makeup. A"Pre-production paintings" area includes 50 frames worth of conceptual artwork. Finally, the "Brain Ride Map" again offers the same piece also available in the two previous sections that discussed the main titles. With that, we finish the supplemental features proper. However, a few "Easter Eggs" also can be discovered. In the "Advertising" section on DVD 2, if you press your remote's "down" arrow three times, a "smiley face" will appear. Click it and you can browse through the "Fight club Collection", a catalog of actual promotional items done up in the same manner as the press kit. DVD 1 features two hidden features. First is a message from "Tyler Durden" that appears as the third warning at the start of the disc; it's not your standard FBI threat. (While it's interesting, I don't like the fact I can't skip it or the other two screens.) Finally, if you highlight "Special" on the main menu and then press "up" on your remote, you'll find another "smiley face". Click it to see some credits for the DVD. Finally, Fight Club includes probably the best DVD booklet I've seen. "How to Start a Fight" is a 20-page document that includes lots of photos and some great text about the film. Amazingly, it largely avoids the repetition of already-heard information as most of the quotes come from folks who didn't participate in the other materials (executives at Fox, other producers, etc.) and also includes a wide variety of snippets from reviews of the movie; in keeping with its tone, we find all kinds of opinions - good and bad - which is a surprise. (Although the really gutsy move would have been to print some of the negative reactions on the outside of the package, where prospective purchasers can see them.) Speaking of the packaging, Fight Club offers an unusual set. A cardboard slipcase holds another case which contains the two DVDs and the booklet. It's a tri-fold affair; it opens to reveal disc-holders in the middle and on the right, and a sleeve for the booklet on the left. All six pieces of cardboard are festooned with artwork and slogans. I have fears for the durability of this package, though I guess it's no less stable than a snapper case. In any event, it's a cool little situation. Whew! After more than nine hours of audio commentaries and more than four hours spent checking out the other supplements, I'm exhausted! Fight Club provides the most extensive set of supplemental materials presented on a DVD to date. Most of the pieces are very good. I greatly enjoyed the video clips in the Work area because I love that kind of raw, taken-from-the-set stuff; nothing better shows the reality of making movies. Work definitely presents the standout section here. The rest are also good. I admit I hoped for more extensive deleted scenes in Missing; we don't find all that much footage once already-included shots are assessed. Still, I was happy to see the scenes. Advertising pretty neatly documents that area of the process, and "Art" did a nice job of relating that information (though I'm a bit worn out from all the advancing of still frames). Quibbles? I must acknowledge that I would have liked a nice Universal "Collector's Edition" style documentary to provide a general overview of the filmmaking process, mainly because this could have provided more organized and coherent interviews with the principles; we certainly hear a lot from them during the four audio commentaries, but a more formal interview situation might have better organized and directed their thoughts. I also was disappointed that one shot in which Norton gets tapped by a bus (which he mentions during the commentary) doesn't appear, though I seem to recall that Fincher stated it may not have been available. Those are about the only nits I can pick in regard to this amazing package. Fight Club has earned nearly-universal plaudits, and I can't find any reason to halt that parade. I like the film itself; though I remain surprisingly dispassionate about it, I definitely am much closer to the side that loved it than the ones who hated it. The picture and sound quality are top-notch, and the complement of extras seems tremendously well-executed and exhaustive. Subjectively, Fight Club isn't my favorite DVD just because I prefer some other films, but objectively, this is the best DVD yet released and it's well worth whatever price you need to pay for it.

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