Fight club Analysis

Fight club is a film based on the novel "fight club" by Chuck Palahniuk. The film was released October 15th 1999 and at the box office grossed $100.9 million. It was distributed by 20th century FOX who have distributed other high grossing films such as Die Hard , I Robot and Avatar , the highest grossing motion picture of all time.

 

 

The scene starts out with a zoom from the opening title credits with a focus on the sights of a pistol. Then it continues gaining focus on the extreme close up shot of the man above. There is a silence and then a narrator (non digetic) says "People are always asking me if I know Tyler Durden" in a subtle and calm voice which contrasts with the image of a man in distress.

 



 

Then there is a clear cut to a close up shot of the same scene from another angle which establishes the scenario the character is in. There is a clear digetic voice in the scene saying "This is it" we know its not a voice over because it comes from the left side of the screen where the gun is, and it holds more re verb then the voice over suggesting that the environment is a building with a vast amount of space for re-verb to be on a voice. 

 

 

 

 Then the diagetic voice says "would you like to say a few words to mark the occasion?" To which the character in the shot replies but the audience cannot work out what he's saying due to the muffling of the gun in his mouth. The shot only lasts a couple of seconds but due to the tilt it suggests to the audience that the unknown person holding the gun is the most powerful because he looks down on his victim. This gives an air of anticipation for the audience because they want to see who this person is and who the victim is.  The fact that he's speak with a gun in  his mouth may be a clue to his personality that he may not be afraid of death due to the calmness of himself in the situation.

 

Then the scene cuts to an eye line shot of the , from what we have seen, protagonist and he says when the gun is pulled away "I cannot think of anything)". The non digetic over voice says "for a second I totally forget about Tyler's whole controlled demolition thing and wonder how clean that gun is" this clear connection shows the audience that this character is a crucial part of this film. The hint towards " controlled demolition thing" establishes the hostile environment the main character is dealing with. Suttle hints in the opening sequence help suggest to the audience what has happened to reach this piont in the character's life.

 

Then we hear the voice over say "we have front row seats for this theatre of mass destruction" as the camera ,using cgi, looks at gentleman ,who is holding the gun, from the other side of the glass then it swings scaling the building down into the street. This establishes the environment that they are in ( a major city at night). This is essential for an opening scene to establish the environment the film will be set it because if the audience may feel less encouraged to to watch the full film because they dot know where its taking place thus they cannot empathise with the characters.