This Day in Horror History: FIGHT CLUB Opened in 1999
Mike Sprague
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On this day in horror history, David Fincher’s twisty and twisted classic Fight Club with Brad Pitt, Edward Norton, and Helena Bonham Carter opened in 1999.
Based on the novel by Chuck Palahniuk, Fincher was selected to helm the adaptation due to his enthusiasm for the story. He developed the script with Jim Uhls and compared the film to Rebel Without a Cause and The Graduate, with a theme of conflict between Generation X and the value system of advertising.
Studio executives didn’t dig the film and took over Fincher’s marketing campaign to reduce losses. Thus Fight Club failed to meet expectations at the box office.
That said, the film was one of the most controversial and talked-about films of 199 and found success on DVD, establishing it as a cult classic. On the 10th anniversary, The New York Times dubbed it the “defining cult movie of our time.”
It tells the tale of a depressed man (Edward Norton) suffering from insomnia who meets a strange soap salesman named Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt) and soon finds himself living in his squalid house after his perfect apartment is destroyed. The two bored men form an underground club with strict rules and fight other men who are fed up with their mundane lives. Their perfect partnership frays when Marla (Helena Bonham Carter), a fellow support group crasher, attracts Tyler’s attention.
Rated R for disturbing behavior, anti-social behavior, violent behavior, graphic behavior, language, and sexuality, the film sports a 79% approval rating over on Rotten Tomatoes with a Critics Consensus that reads: Solid acting, amazing direction, and elaborate production design make Fight Club a wild ride.
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