Let’s take a minute today to celebrate 15 years since the release of David Fincher’s insomnious, bipolar cult classic, “Fight Club.” Has it really been that long since we first learned how to sell rich women’s asses back to them, to reinvigorate our manhood once the life of an office drone has oppressed it to the point of disappearing, and what the first rule of fight club is? The film’s mark on the face of pop culture is indelible, and the debates it continues to incite on masculinity and consumerism are endlessly fascinating.
If you’re in the mood for a trip down memory lane, check out this film-synced audio commentary featuring Fincher, Edward Norton, and Helena Bonham Carter. Or watch Brad Pitt discuss a borderline psychotic prank he played on a friend with the help of Fincher, a few corrupt Mexican officials, and some pent up Y2K paranoia. We’ve also foraged a clip of Norton analyzing the magnetism that “Fight Club” held for him and his generation.
It’s interesting to remember the types of gender-based issues “Fight Club” addressed, especially in the context of Fincher’s latest project, “Gone Girl,” and that film’s preoccupation with what it means to be a woman, a man, or at least to play the role of one within a relationship. Thankfully, Fincher is still producing work that’s both thoroughly entertaining and searingly thought-provoking.