Though critics were split on Fight Club upon its initial release, it has become a deserved classic of the 1990s as far as its die-hard following of fans is concerned. A subversive tale packed with dark comedy, David Fincher’s adaption of Chuck Palahniuk’s novel presented a vision just as unique as its source text, with great performances by Brad Pitt, Edward Norton and Helena Bonham Carter.
Fight Club comes to the Blu-ray format for the first time in celebration of the film’s 10th anniversary, and Fincher is up to his gags again. Upon popping the disc into a Blu-ray player, fans may think there was a mix-up at the plant. Drew Barrymore takes the screen and it appears to be the menu for Never Been Kissed. Luckily, the disc seemingly starts to skip and the faux menu makes way for a furniture advertisement and the true Fight Club menu. It is a fun little gag that lasts only a few seconds, keeping it funny and from becoming a hindrance on multiple replays.
The Blu-ray is packaged in a plastic case with a fold-out paper sleeve. It features new, graffiti-style artwork with the three main characters in black stenciled on the grey background, and the name and bar of soap (on the back) in pink. It also features one of the film’s better quotes – a motivational speech, if you will.
“You are not special. You are not a beautiful and unique snowflake. You are the same decaying organic matter as everything else.”
Fight Club tells the story of Edward Norton’s unnamed character (who is often referred to as Jack), a “label-obsessed insomniac” who becomes disillusioned and depressed as he starts to lose his mind. He begins going to support groups in a seriously misguided series of attempts to make himself feel better. Things are going well until he meets Marla Singer (Carter), who presents a reflection of his own screwed-up ways and invades even his serene, mental retreat.
Then, while on a business flight, Norton’s character meets his most interesting “single-serving” friend yet, Tyler Durden (Pitt). He is a loud scumbag of a soap salesman, who seems the total opposite of Norton’s character, calling into question everything in his life after Jack seeks refuge with him following an explosion that destroys his apartment. The two create Fight Club, an underground organization that lets men get out their aggression and find new life, but only between the hours of when Fight Club starts and when Fight Club ends. And no one is allowed to talk about what happens in Fight Club. What happens is the start of an existential journey for Jack.
The visual upgrade of Fight Club on its Blu-ray release is astounding. There are still small points of noise left in the feature, but for the most part the 1080p video offers a great look at the colors of the film – from the grime of the Paper Street house, to the whites of the bathroom beatdown, to the dark, dark red of all the blood. Fight Club was a film never designed to look pretty, but the hi-def upgrade brings out every last speck of its ugly textures.
Even more impressive is the audio track. Fight Club is a film meant to be cranked in surround sound. The pulse-pounding beats of the opening credits immediately astound, but it is the atmospheric soundtrack and thuds of the punches that will haunt viewers the most. The sound mix leaves the voices easy to hear, and is spot-on all around, from the rain, to the sirens and so on. Most impressive are the sounds of the car crash and the inside of the jumbo jet during its mid-air collision. This is the stuff HD surround sound was made for.
The single disc also contains all of the special features of the “Special Edition” DVD, albeit in standard definition. This includes not one, not two, not even three, but four feature commentaries, each offering unique perspectives, making them all worthwhile. The rarest of the bunch is the writers’ commentary, featuring Chuck Palahniuk, as it is not often that the original novelist has his say on the film adapted from his work.
There is a seemingly endless amount of promotional material, behind-the-scenes vignettes with options for multiple angles and commentaries, deleted and alternative scenes, a music video and public services announcements. But the Blu-ray also offers a few never-before-released features.
“A Hit in the Ear: Ren Klyce and the Sound Design of Fight Club” takes a few select scenes, provides a sound mixer’s take on them, and then allows viewers the chance to mix the scenes by altering the volume of different elements of the audio to different channels of the surround sound output. “Flogging Fight Club” features an award presentation. And “Insomniac Mode: I Am Jack’s Search Index” provides a new way to skip around to favorite scenes in the film.
While it would have been nice to see all of the special features upgraded to high-definition, Fox does provide a few new ones, and the overall collection is overwhelming. Most impressive, though, is the HD upgrade, most notably on the audio end. Fight Club is still a fantastic film that resonates 10 years later, and Fincher’s team put great effort into bringing that tale to a new format, with crisp visuals, incredible audio and a near endless supply of features. Fight Club on Blu-ray is a must own for 2009.
Special Features:
-The Fight Club Blu-ray is presented in 1080p high-definition 2.40:1 aspect ratio video; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, English Dolby Surround, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital, French 5.1 DTS and Portuguese 5.1 Dolby Digital audio; with English SDH, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Cantonese and Mandarin subtitles
-Commentary by Director David Fincher
-Commentary by David Fincher, Brad Pitt, Edward Norton & Helena Bonham Carter
-Writer’s Commentary by Chuck Palahniuk and Jim Uhls
-Technical Commentary by Alex McDowell, Jeff Cronenweth, Michael Kaplan & Kevin Haug
-A Hit in the Ear: Ren Klyce and the Sound Design of Fight Club
-Flogging Fight Club Featurette
-Insomniac Mode: I Am Jack’s Search Index
-Behind-the-Scenes Vignettes with Multiple Angles and Commentary
-Deleted and Alternative Scene
-Trailers, TV and Internet Spots
-PSAs
-Music Video
-Promotional Galleries, Art Galleries, and More!
Title: Fight Club (10th Anniversary Edition) [Blu-ray]Starring: Edward Norton, Brad Pitt, Helena Bonham Carter, Meat Loaf
Directed by: Rob Reiner
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Release Date: Nov. 17, 2009
Rating: 9 / 10
About the Writer:
Bill Jones is the editor-in-chief of padsandpanels.com, a site dedicated to the coverage of comics and games.
So what your saying is you give the visuals a ‘9′, the audio a ‘9′ and the overall package a ‘9′? To paraphrase a friend of mine, nothing but God is a ‘10′. But in my book, Fight Club, in any disc incarnation, is as close to perfection as I’ve seen. Nice review. Wingman, out!