Fight Club Blu-ray features poor video and great audio in this poor Blu-ray release
The mundane existence of a product liability evaluator and insomniac, who is addicted to self-
help groups, is turned upside down when he meets a sado-masochistic anarchist who is
secretly plotting to overthrow civilization. As their friendship grows, they become increasingly
involved in a secret society of "fight clubs" where men act out their aggressions and violently
beat one another to a pulp. In the meantime, the evaluator falls in love with a woman who is
also addicted to self-help groups, but is unable to act on his desire for her.
A preachy dark ode to violence with strong nihilistic overtones, David Fincher's "Fight Club" (1999) is the perfect example of a good idea gone terribly wrong. The film supposedly condemns everything its protagonists promote, but it does so in a manner that is so transparently exploitative that it resonates better as a flashy fascist tale than a condemnation of the excessive brutality its narrative is built upon. Courtesy of German distributors Kinowelt.
A miserable workaholic (Edward Norton, American History X) suffering from severe insomnia complains to his doctor. He is denied a prescription and told to attend a support group for testicular cancer victims. After a series of sessions and plenty of stories from people with serious health issues, the workaholic's insomnia disappears. Unfortunately, Marla Singer (Helena Bonham Carter, The Human Voices Wake Us), a "fetishist" taking pleasure in hearing the confessions of people suffering from terminal diseases, joins the same support group, and the workaholic's insomnia returns.
During a business trip, the workaholic encounters an ambitious man with a style, Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt, Legends of the Fall), who immediately impresses him. He introduces the workaholic to a secret society, "The Fight Club", where people would beat up each other for pleasure.
Cured
I don't believe there is much left that a critic could tell you about Fight Club that hasn't already been mentioned. Those who have embraced the film and its message have made it painfully obvious why, and those who have dismissed it have been equally successful in clarifying why they weren't impressed with it. So, I suppose the only thing I could do to keep you interested - or not - in reading this review further is tell you what party I side with.
I am not a fan of Fight Club.
Like Roger Ebert, a critic I regularly disagree with but enjoy reading, I saw Fight Club as a "most frankly and cheerfully fascist big-star movie". Furthermore, I also found its message to be openly manipulative, disingenuous and nihilistic. Here's why:
Openly manipulative – Extreme violence is arguably the last frontier, aside from pornography, which mainstream cinema has left to explore. For a number of reasons, it is also the more liberally perceived one by the American society, and, as such, easier to manipulate with. In Fight Club, however, the excessive violence is impossible to rationalize given that it could only be justified by lack of morality, not because of it.
Disingenuous – Despite other critics' claims that Fight Club condemns what it shows, thus forcing one to ponder why nihilism is embraced and propagandized by well-educated individuals, the film actually resonates better as a promo ad, not as a condemnation. Unsurprisingly, nowadays Fight Club is remembered for its aggressive imagery, not because of its supposedly subtle critique on violence.
Nihilistic – Other than the high-profile cast, willingly indulging themselves into excruciating lessons in self-mutilation, I am unsure why one would want to see Fight Club (is this actually a good reason to see this film?). One could argue that their gradual moral degradation is what makes this film an intriguing watch, but its narrative hardly sustains such a read. On the contrary, Fight Club focuses exclusively on the main protagonists' destructive actions, and by doing so, it eliminates any possibility of being read as a credible condemnation of violence.
Technically, Fight Club is certainly capable of standing on its own. David Fincher's camera is convincing if not overly bold in tracing the main protagonists and their misery. The dark and impressively claustrophobic scenes from the first half of the film for example certainly create an intriguing atmosphere, but the more the story progresses the less effective the film's message becomes (for a convincing take on the corrosive effects of disillusionment see Gaspar Noe's Seul contre tous).
Presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.40:1, encoded with VC-1 and granted a 1080p transfer David Fincher's, Fight Club debuts on Blu-ray courtesy of German distributors Kinowelt.
Fight Club is yet to be announced for Blu-ray in the United States and this early German release was obviously anticipated by many who wish to see the film in high-definition. Unfortunately, there isn't much here that one could be content with. First of all, Kinowelt offer a transfer which is only on par with, if not a tad below, previous SDVD releases. The color-scheme is notably weak (blacks are unconvincing, blues and greens unstable, and whites looking washed out). Contrast is also unimpressive and more often than not Fight Club looks like it has been upconverted, not granted a stellar 1080p transfer. Edge-enhancement and macro-blocking are also easily noticeable. For example, even during the darker scenes you will easily notice the heavy lining around the main protagonists' faces. In addition, there is a good amount of debris and specks that pop up throughout the film, which leads me to believe that the actual master print Kinowelt had access to wasn't in perfect condition. To sum it all up, Fight Club looks disappointingly weak, and, as far as I am concerned, miles away from Kinowelt's good package of Luc Besson's Leon. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" release which you will not be able to playback on your Region-A PS3 or SA. You need to have a Region-B or Region-Free hardware in order to access the disc's content).
Steelbook - Fight Club arrives as an extremely attractive steelbook, with the actual cover work imprinted on the metal case. The disc is placed into a clear-type holder attached to the case, which makes for a truly stylish Blu-ray collector's set. If you are into collecting these lavish steelboks then I suppose Fight Club is something you want to keep an eye on and hope that you could obtain for a reasonable price.
There are a number of different audio tracks on this Blu-ray disc: English: DTS-HD HR 7.1, English: DTS EX 6.1, English: DTS 2.0, German: DTS-HD HR 7.1, German: DTS EX 6.1 and German: DTS 2.0. Before I comment on the audio treatment, I would like to point out that the default track here is the German: DTS-HD HR 7.1. With other words, this is what your player will begin reading once the Blu-ray disc loads up (obviously, you could switch to the English track of your preference via the main menu). This being said, I opted for the English: DTS-HD HR 7.1 track – a potent, well-balanced, and generally convincing mix that enhances the film's aggressive audio rather nicely. There is a good amount of activity in the rear channels here. A lot of the brawling scenes in Fight Club sound convincing, and I believe that a DTS-HD MA 7.1 track will only slightly improve on what is already being done here. Furthermore, the bass is heavy and punchy while the quality of the dialog ranging from good to very good. I did not detect any disturbing hissing, pops, or cracks. I also played a bit with the English DTS 2.0 track and my impressions of it are quite good. Obviously, it is not as active as the DTS-HD HR 7.1 track but it is very nicely mixed. Finally, the German dubs are obviously something only German speakers could accurately comment on but it seems to me that during the action scenes (the ball fiasco at the end) the German DTS-HD HR 7.1 track is practically identical to the English DTS-HD HR 7.1 track. Kinowelt have also provided optional German and German HOH subtitles for the main feature as well as the commentaries offered in the extras department.
This Blu-ray disc offers the same overwhelming amount of supplemental materials found on the 2DVD SE releases of Fight Club. First, there is a gallery of deleted scenes (all in PAL format), a total of four, but none of them are of substantial interest as they add little to the actual story. There is a second section with three more extra scenes, with two of them adding alternative versions as well. The disc also contains an "interactive viewing" option which basically allows one to listen to the director's commentary in PIP mode (a second window opens up in the bottom right corner of the screen where virtual shots from selected scenes are supplied). Next is an entire storyboard section with multiple scenes from the film shown as sketches. Furthermore, on this disc you also get the exact same 17 behind-the-scenes vignettes found in the 2DVD SE releases as well as all of the promo materials (trailers and TV spots). There is also a large photo gallery with a variety of different stills from the main feature. Finally, all four commentaries - with David Fincher; Brad Pitt, Helena Bonham Carter, Ed Norton and David Fincher; with Chuck Palahnuik and Jim Uhls; Alex McDowell, Jeff Cronenweth, Michal Kaplan, and Kevin Haug – are also available (you can access them through the audio section). This Blu-ray disc also contains 2.0 content, but despite my numerous attempts to log into the "Fight Club" content site I couldn't (instead I was referred to www.dynamicHD.com).
It seems like fans of David Fincher's violent Fight Club will have to wait for 20th Century Fox to release their own Blu-ray version of this controversial film. Kinowelt's disc, exceptionally elegant and packed with all of the extras that have been available on regional 2DVD SE releases, offers a notably disappointing video treatment. Therefore, I certainly cannot recommend that you spend your hard-earned cash on it. Unless, of course, you are a die-hard collector who wishes to own one of these truly beautiful steelbooks complimenting Fight Club in Germany.
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