Fight Club [Blu-ray] [1999]

Product Information

I spent considerable time repeatedly watching sequences, and I’m not sure if it’s MPEG-2 artifacts or 3:2 pulldown artifacts, but very occasionally I see something odd that looks like noise reduction, however when I advance frame-by-frame I don’t see it. You can also select “Commentary Guide” which allows you to view the topics discussed in one of the four commentary tracks. The cast of this film is very large, but the film revolves around two main characters, which are played by Ed Norton Brad Pitt. There are some strong primaries on display during the more brightly lit portions but for the majority the palette is muted but naturalistic and solid.

While Fox claims that David Fincher was deeply involved with the production of this Blu-ray, his involvement isn't really apparent anywhere (save for a cute Easter Egg I'll get to in a minute). Those who wish to hang on to their original DVDs just for the Easter Eggs also should definitely consider picking a copy, because this is a great opportunity to do so. The two quickly become friends, bonding over a mutual disgust for corporate hypocrisy and find release in an eccentric, shocking new form of therapy - Fight Club. The level of detail is very impressive, with the individual throbbing veins visible on Norton's temple and text from the IKEA catalogue (including the individual catalogue reference numbers) during the “apartment consumer whore” scene is legible. Vocals are crystal clear, never difficult to follow and add a pleasing bass tonality to Norton's voiceover.Airport- This offers the chance to view the location scout for this scene, as well as the principle photography involved. Viewed in isolation the transfer is a pretty decent Laserdisc transfer, however when compared directly to the ‘Brown Paper’ DVD transfer it’s clear why the market for Laserdiscs evaporated in 2000.

This is interesting, as we get to see some of the versatility of Super35, in particular the vertical and horizontal latitude for re-framing. Paper Street House- Video options include principle photography and preproduction, where the crew is designing and building the house. Literally from the opening frame, with the aggressive Dust Brothers title music pumping in (as we rocket through the synapses firing in our narrator's brain), I was impressed.The 1999 transfer is framed so that on the rear of the Ford police car on the left of the frame you see only about two thirds of the Ford logo above the tail-light and nothing to the left of it. You’ll get an idea of what you’re in for when The Dust Brothers’ score kicks in during the opening credits. D-VHS was JVC’s last gasp attempt to extend the life of the VHS format in the face of digital obsolescence. The 2008 transfer is much sharper than the 1999 transfer and occasionally framed slightly differently, however it is also a little teal-er but not objectionably so.

The audio, on the other hand, is absolutely remarkable and a definite improvement over previous DVD releases.On the whole this BD release is a whole lot clearer, sharper and better defined than the previous DVD release. One of the most impressive sequences, for me, was always the “plane crash” sequence and on this release it is simply stunning. David Fincher's 'Fight Club,' ten years on, is just as cutting edge and in-your-face as it was a decade ago.

There is a constant buzz of ambient effects, such as the chatter of photocopiers and phones in the office area or the echo of the focus group therapist's voice floating around the listening position. Cutting off people at the ankles is generally a composition no-no, and it seems likely they correctly concluded that nobody was going to be paying attention to Marla’s shoes during this scene anyway. Outstanding performances by Norton and Pitt are supported by a razor-sharp script and an arsenal of stunning visual effects that include computer animation and sleight-of-hand editing. Suffice to say – it’s an excellent DVD in the context of the time it was released, even today it holds up.I’m curious to wonder if we’ll ever see a release of Fight Club in 4K… I can’t count the number of times I’ve seen the movie and I know for sure seeing it in 4K would be stunning. This entry was posted in Blu-ray, Comparison, D-VHS, DVD, iTunes, Laserdisc and tagged Blu-Ray, Comparison, D-VHS, DVD, iTunes, Laserdisc on 7 April 2018 by Link. Being a region-free release, multiple subtitle options are included in English SDH, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Danish, Finnish, Dutch, Norwegian, Swedish and Chinese.