Opening Shots: 'Fight Club'
From Robert Humanick, a film odyssey:
I'm not sure if this applies to the "opening shot" rules, in that it is included as part of the opening credits, as well as the fact that it was digitally rendered (some people are picky about such things). But having already read (and agreed with) many of the other submitted choices (particularly "Aguirre," my personal favorite), I felt this one needed a voice of its own.
"Fight Club" opens from remote darkness into unrestrained chaos, the camera pulling back at near-breakneak speed out of an unknown quarter through various layers of strangely textured substances, the frantic nature compounded by the Dust Brothers' pulse-techno soundtrack. Ultimately, the microscopic journey reveals itself to have been taking place within the brain of the film's unnamed main character (Edward Norton). The point-of-view shot exits his body through a pore on his face (a bead of sweat rolling down from it just as the camera retracts from the skin), pulling further back over more differing terrains to ultimately reveal a hazy human figure. Just as the picture comes into focus, revealing the figure to be at the mercy of the film's quasi-villian (who has a gun shoved mercilessly into his mouth), the recurring voiceover begins: "People are always asking me if I know Tyler Durden."
This shot simulates what could be called the film's own Big Bang, beginning out of nothing only to storm like lightning in a bottle, signifying the beginning of consciousness for Edward Norton's character. Most importantly, by originated from deep within his mind, this shot emphasizes the fact that everything to follow is from the filtered perspective of his character (which in turn suggests that the film simulates the beginning of consciousness for the audience as well). At the tail end of the shot, the first line provides another significant clue to decoding the rest of the film, by noting that a very strong connection, whatever it may be, exists between this character and the as-of-yet (for the viewer) undiscovered Tyler.
JE: This is terrific, Robert! And, of course, it counts -- because (as I said at the beginning) it's kind of up to you to decide what constitutes the first shot, whether it includes the main-title sequence or the image that comes next. It varies from picture to picture. (Some think "Lost in Translation" starts with Scarlett Johannson's behind, over which the title appears; others think it really begins with the shot of Bill Murray asleep in the car.) I'm very glad that so many people have acknowledged what I consider some of the very best films of the 1990s, like "Miller's Crossing," "Dazed and Confused," "Fight Club"...
I will never forget seeing "Fight Club" for the first time. I was full of adrenaline and almost giddy by the end of the shot you describe here. What's more, this opener defines the entire movie before a single thing has happened. It all begins deep in the brain of the nameless character (whom some refer to as "Jack" -- after his refrain, "I am Jack's ______"), and his flesh appears to merge with a gun pointed in his own mouth. (See David Cronenberg's "Videodrome" and the birth of the "New Flesh.") In just a moment, the narrator says "I know this because Tyler knows this." "Fight Club" tells you, from the first few seconds, EXACTLY how to watch it, how to interpret what you're seeing. (Some people still think it's about some guys who fight.) I don't think any film has ever captured what it was like to be one of so many young, disaffected, urban American males -- with jobs and apartments, who thought they had the whole couch thing taken care of -- in the latter part of the 20th Century (and into the 21st) with such cinematic bravura and under-the-skin insight as "Fight Club." When I saw it, I swear I thought it was my psychological autobiography. Or, maybe, autopsy.
Comments
I always thought Ed Norton's character would be named 'Chuck', after Chuck Palahniuk, the author of the book. I remember reading about another author whose characters were always anonymous, and it had become habit to refer to those characters by the given name of the author, but I don't remember who it was anymore.
JE: I see what you mean. In the movie's end credits he's just identified as The Narrator
Posted by: Dan Rosart | July 14, 2006 09:29 AM
Excellent entry!
In a lot of ways, this was my birth into the world of intelligent cinema. Of course, I had seen wonderful films before (as well as those of Fincher's), but this film made me begin to look at all those films - and future films - in a different light. I remember being just sixteen and going to the theatre in my small Kansas town (no one checks ID there) to see it while everyone I knew went to the high school football game. I was one of maybe 5 people there on its opening night. As soon as that music cue scratched into effect, and the credits kicked in and jolted me, I felt unhinged - a feeling the film would only reinforce scene after scene. I left stirred, exhilarated, and angry that I had no one to discuss it with over some pie.
Posted by: Jordan Gray | July 14, 2006 04:49 PM
I do believe that the opining shot is supposed to be testosterone. And had the filmmakers done their homework, the opening shots (and the film) would get a whole different dimension: Testosterone is created in the testicles.
Which brings me to another point: Testosterone and male filmmakers seem to be key words in this little project of yours.
JE: Interesting idea, Emilio -- and "Fight Club" definitely is about the effects of testosterone in the brain (as in the testicular cancer support group scenes). But, as those scenes clearly demonstrate, the filmmakers are perfectly aware of where that hormone comes from. This shot is about neurons, dendrites, synapses, imagination (and hallucination)...
As for the Opening Shots Project: all testosterone? In "Nights of Cabiria"? "Choose Me"? "His Girl Friday"?... Those shots are powered by pure feminine energy, even if the movies are made by men!
Posted by: Emilio Sanhueza | July 15, 2006 06:58 AM
Great insight on the opening shot of "Fight Club." I remember being so 'touched' (for lack of better, more appropriate word) by this film that I viewed it, in a span of 1 month, approximately 18 times the very month the DVD came out (I was 16-years-old at the time). It had such a "this is your pathetic life, go do something about it" feel to it, a modern day "Carpe Diem" message that perhaps it is inevitable to view the film as a philosophical wake-up call.
Very remarkable how films that deal with the office environment typically want us to shy away from such a life. "Office Space" wholeheartedly wants us rethink what happiness is, what it is to be both pleased with oneself and content about the plaguing 9-to-5 job. It does not speak completely against such lifestyle, which I believe "Fight Club," in its essence, does not, too. Yet, bracketing your life to only include your daily routine, letting your intelligence and brain cells (pun intended) run dry is what these films hail as what is ruining our collective, creative minds.
Hopefully we can draw out that little bit of Tyler Durden that we ALL have hidden inside of us. It is never too late to join the club.
Posted by: Michael A. Palma | July 17, 2006 01:33 PM
The key to where this shot starts is that particular portion of the brain is indeed the "fear center" of your grey matter. It's not supposed to be testosterone, as the filmaker did indeed do quite a bit of homework on that shot.
Posted by: Darren J. Gendron | August 29, 2006 09:00 AM
This is a great movie entry, probably the best I've seen. I'm very curious how it has been created. If anyone has some info about it - mail me.
Posted by: demenu | April 11, 2008 03:09 AM