Blu-ray Review: Fight Club

Release Date: November 17th, 2009
Running Time: 139 minutes

The Film

The first rule of fight club is—you don’t talk about fight club. Well, I guess that’s the end of my review. For a decade Fight Club has continued to dig itself deeper and deeper into cinematic pop culture, influencing an entire generation of cinephiles with its unique visuals, radical message, and uncompromising violence. Presented on a Blu-ray set sure to please even the most ardent fans, Fight Club is a High Definition experience that should not be missed.

The film stars Edward Norton as the anonymous narrator loosely referred to as Jack. He works for an auto company, constantly traveling and suffering from severe insomnia. Jack eventually finds the emotional release he needs to sleep in the form of support groups where he pretends to be a victim. He becomes addicted to the experience until another fake, Marla Singer (Helena Bonham Carter), crashes his party. Disgusted by Marla, Jack comes to an agreement with her where they split the groups and days up among each other.

Everything changes for Jack when he meets Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt), a soap salesman, on a plane. When Jack returns home he finds his apartment blown up and has no one to call but Tyler. Tyler invites Jack to stay at his home and all he asks in return is that Jack punches him in the face. The two proceed to beat on each other, drawing the attention of a crowd. Jack moves into Tyler’s rundown house and the two form “Fight Club” in the basement of a bar. Freed from his material possessions and lifestyle, Jack finds peace in the pure, visceral brutality of Fight Club.

Once again Jack’s life is thrown for a loop when Marla calls him and threatens to commit suicide. Jack ignores her but Tyler picks up the phone and saves her. The two get involved in an emotionless, sexually charged relationship, much to Jack’s annoyance. Meanwhile more fight clubs emerge all across the country. Tyler and Jack head up a group called “Project Mayhem” aimed at taking down corporate America and bringing everyone “back to zero,” but what started as mischief soon has very serious consequences.

Fight Club is many different things to many different people. For me it is a showcase piece for two of my favorite actors in some of their most fun, daring performances. The dogmatic propaganda was never anything I took seriously, but there is a whole generation that lives by it. The cultural impact of the film is still being felt, whether through merchandise (soap) or actual events. You still hear about kids getting arrested for fight clubs today! You would think the sick, realistic beatings seen in the film would discourage viewers from partaking in similar activities. The beating of Jared Leto is one of the most vicious ass-kickings I have seen on screen.

So where does Fight Club fit in cinematic history? Is it a genius diatribe on the degeneration and materialism of society, or is it merely a testosterone-fueled rampage with little beneath the surface? Like most “great” films Fight Club is what you make of it. While some may hold onto it like a religion, for me it was always just a stylish, grimy, incredibly fun roller coaster ride—a visually stimulating piece of escapism brought to life in the hands of a group of extremely talented filmmakers.

The Disc

The video is presented in a 2.40:1, 1080p High Definition transfer. Fincher has a unique visual style that is both extremely gritty yet incredibly polished at the same time. The stylized, rough color palette is purposely desaturated and grimy. The black levels are deep and rich, far better than the previous DVD offerings. Fine detail is a revelation in close ups—Ed Norton has never looked so horribly sleep deprived. You will also see textures in the costumes that were never visible before. Wide shots preserve this high level of detail and give the image solid pop. A layer of film grain is in accordance with Fincher’s vision as well. Compression artifacts and video noise are not a problem. Thankfully no DNR or other techniques have been used to “clean” the image, so this is the best and most accurate the film has ever looked since its theatrical release.

The audio is offered in an English DTS HD 5.1 master lossless audio track. Other mixes include: Spanish/Portuguese Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound; French 5.1 DTS Surround Sound; and English Dolby Digital Surround Sound. Subtitles are offered in English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, and Chinese. I have always been impressed with the sound design in Fight Club, particularly the flesh-on-flesh impact sounds that are still the most realistic fight effects I have heard to date. The lossless mix allows you to feel every brutal, sweaty punch in what is a hell of an aggressive, constantly immersive track. There are numerous instances of action where the level of detail in the sound design is so precise that you’d swear it was happening around you. Even the quieter moments are littered with ambience and atmosphere, from the support group rooms to Tyler’s disheveled house. Dialogue is balanced and crisp. The bass also gets a constant workout through the energetic score. Simply put, this is a reference quality mix.

The Extras

Though most of the special features are ported from the 2-disc DVD this still remains a very complete set and has a few fun new features to boot. Director David Fincher has also included a special gag surprise for fans that they will notice immediately upon starting up the disc, but I don’t want to spoil the surprise.

FOUR commentary tracks are offered. Director David Fincher gives an in-depth, more technical solo track, or you can listen to him joined by Pitt, Norton, and Bonham Carter for a more energetic, friendly discussion. A third track features author Chuck Palahniuk and Screenwriter Jim Uhls providing the writers’ perspective, while the final track is uber-technical and features: Director of Photography Jeff Cronenweth; Production Designer Alex McDowell; Costume Designer Michael Kaplan; Visual Effects Supervisor Kevin Haug; and Visual Effects Editor Doc Bailey. Whether you’re looking for an actor-heavy anecdote-filled commentary or a down-and-dirty production dissection, I guarantee one of these tracks will fit the bill.

“Insomniac Mode: I am Jack’s Search Index” is one of the coolest, simple but innovative special features I have seen on a Blu-ray disc. A topic search allows you to sift through a list of references found in the film or special features, and you can choose to be taken directly to the corresponding scene. More impressive, however, is the Commentary Guide that brings up a pop-up menu detailing in real time the various topics being discussed across the different commentaries. This allows you to jump into a specific track if you see something you want to learn more about, or switch between all four and essentially create an on-the-fly best-of commentary track for yourself!

“A Hit in the Ear: Ren Klyce and the Sound Design of Fight Club” allows you to tweak the sound levels and design of four different scenes to experience the meticulous, detailed nature of the craft. The scenes are: “Welcome to Fight Club,” “Angel Face’s Beating,” “The Crash,” and the “Kudzu Vine Speech.”

“Flogging Fight Club” is a hilarious, 10-minute collection of footage from the 2009 Guys Choice Awards where Mel Gibson honored the film alongside Fincher, Pitt, and Norton, placing it in the Guy Movie Hall of Fame.

16 behind-the-scenes featurettes are ported over from the DVD and split into three sections: Production, Visual Effects, and On Location. Multiple angles and audio tracks are offered on the segments. While it is certainly a complete look at the production, a lengthy documentary would have been easier to digest than this multitude of snippets.

Seven Deleted/Alternate scenes (15 minutes) are pretty standard with a few minor inclusions of material that was too rugged for the theatrical release.

The “Publicity Material” section contains Trailers, TV Spots, Internet Spots, 2 Public Service Announcements, a Music Video for “This Is Your Life,” and a transcript of an Ed Norton interview.

Lastly, a series of HD Art Galleries run a half hour and cover a variety of pre-production, production, and post-production topics.

Final Thoughts

Fight Club smashes onto Blu-ray on a very respectable set that preserves the extensive DVD content and adds just enough new material to make the upgrade price worthwhile. Factor in the blatant technical improvements and this title should be bumped to the top of your HD upgrade list.