This is one of those movies that's great to rewatch again and again, there's TONS of subtle hints about Tyler not being real right from the very start. If you ever feel like giving it another watch, DO IT. You'll pick up on so many tiny details that you totally missed the first time (hell, we all did)

My favourite final shot in all of cinema. The Pixie's 'Where is My Mind?' fits like a hand in a glove.

You should watch it again now knowing what you know. It is a totally different experience and gets better with each watch.

One of my favorite lines is when Marla says he’s the worst thing that ever happened to her. Knowing what we know about her, that’s really saying something

Fight Club, American Beauty, The Matrix, and Office Space all came out in 1999 and they all share similar themes of cubicle workers growing bored of their existences and rebelling against the work force/the man/the establishment/societal standards etc. As Tyler said, that generation of men grew up without a great war, without a great depression, without great causes to fight for. Their paths had just been go to school, go to college, get a job in the corporate machine etc. Just existing on autopilot with no purpose. That's why these films were basically a religion to people back in the day.

The psychic tension in the audience while watching this movie at the theater built and built ( and BUILT! ) until the epic reveal, at which point I felt the whole theater relax, as if a bubble had been popped, and take deep breaths because they could now say to themselves: "Ohhh, he's just crazy." Up until then, they were having their whole lives, and reality itself, put on trial for being too materialistic and for being sheep. For me, until the reveal, I kept thinking: this movie is SO subversive, how the hell did they get the funding to make it? When the reveal came, I almost jumped out of my seat because of the genius move of letting everyone off the hook with the excuse that he was just crazy. Yet, the subversion was in, set deep like a layer cake under the crazy excuse.

The marketing campaign for this film really didn’t give anything away, and it’s part of why it wasn’t hugely successful on release. I know I didn’t see it until about a year later based on word-of-mouth recommendations. It was WAY more interesting than I expected. 1999 was a cool year for movies….Being John Malkovich, Fight Club, The Matrix

We really can’t talk about the time Bruno from Encanto joined Fight Club.

I went to see this movie when it came to theaters in Finland. There were like 6 guys in a wan as we drove home. It was silent. The one of us said: "I just wanna fight so much!". We all laughed and said the same thing. And we didn't fight. We're not stupid. This movie is a masterpiece! It raises feelings!

Three points I’d like to make - In the background in the scene where the Narrator has Marla get on a bus, there is a theater advertising the movie SEVEN DAYS IN TIBET, which stars Brad Pitt. A lot of people like to think that the reason Tyler looks like Brad Pitt is that the Narrator is unconsciously imagining himself as one of the most popular and handsome actors alive. Also, Marla says in the film, “I haven’t been fucked like that since grade school.” That was a retake for another line, “I want to have your abortion.” Because HBC is from England and the way school is organized is different than in the States, she didn’t realize what grade school actually meant! HBC comes down the stairs at one point and says, “The condom is the glass slipper of our generation,” naturally bringing to mind “Cinderella”. HBC would later go on to be the Fairy Godmother in Disney’s remake of CINDERELLA, who gives the title character her glass slippers. Also, because they bought Fox, FIGHT CLUB and CINDERELLA are owned by Disney.

“I’d rather just half ass it my entire life.” That’s when you got my thumbs up.👍🏿 Thanks for the reaction, Shanelle.

The flash images you see at the start of the movie are images of Brad Pitt, they represent Ed Norton slowly building the alternate ego that is Tyler/Pitt, that is why after Pitt appears you don't see them anymore because he has manifested. A superb movie, fun, thought provoking, keeps you thinking all the way to the end.

I saw this 3 times in theaters, then read the book, then bought the movie and have watched it over 100 times since. At the time, the movie was criminally under-rated, but has since built a HUGE cult following.

His name was Robert Paulson

Like pretty much everyone, I went into this movie not expecting what it turned out to be and I LOVED it. Fincher is one of my favorite directors for a reason. The man is next level. That being said, while I'm with the ideas of seeing through the mass hypnosis of consumer culture, dealing with the fact that life is often struggle and pushing to live your best, most authentic life, I'm sad that so many people have misinterpreted the message of the movie and believe that it's holding up Tyler's philosophy of chaos, egocentrism, and forcefully "waking up" the people around you by destroying their lives as the truth and the right thing to do. They miss all the "be awake" part and instead interpret it as "Life is pain so go out and seek pain, embrace pain, and cause pain to others to wake them up to (what you personally believe to be) reality. They miss the part about self-awareness and responsibility and instead interpret it as a license to be an a-hole and act like an animal. Those people seem to have missed that Tyler is the villain in the movie, his philosophy goes off the rails, and he's defeated in the end by the protagonist. The movie isn't saying that Tyler is right and a bunch of toxic people IRL should be following his example... it's saying he had some points at the beginning about consumer culture but then the madness takes it WAY too far and he has to be stopped. And he is. Meanwhile, people who don't get it watch the movie and think, "I want to go punch somebody now!" and "Yeah, domestic terrorism is what we need to wake people up!" These are the same sad people who watch "The Joker" and take it as a prescription for life. Even Chuck started out with a less toxic philosophy when talking about his book but, since the movie blew up and he became a celebrated writer (and hasn't had as big a hit since), he's really embraced the angry, toxic masculinity that people misinterpreted from his work. Now he's running with it because, let's be real, that crowd is who has made him the most popular. Which, when you think about it, is the exact opposite of the philosophy in both the book and the movie. Chuck talks the talk but doesn't walk the walk, as they say. Nor would I expect him to. He's a writer who wrote a story, not a cult leader starting a new religion. Unfortunately, a lot of people base their selfish, self-centered, survival-of-the-fittest philosophy on this book and/or movie and make the world worse for it. Still, I love David Fincher, I love the cast, I love the filmmaking, and I'm definitely a supporter of people seeing through the consumer game. E.g. Why do people feel the need to buy new clothes every season (or year) to replace their still perfectly good clothes just because the people selling the clothes tell you that styles have changed? If you bought a pair of blue jeans, they'll last you for years but the people who make jeans can't have you only buying jeans every 5 years or so. They NEED you to buy more jeans so, every season or two, they tell you your old, still perfectly good jeans are 'out of fashion' and you'll look like an idiot if you wear them, so you better go buy some new style jeans for lots of money if you want to keep up and fit in with the people around you. It's a scam to sell you things you don't need because that's how they stay in business. In those cases it's good to remember that the people selling you the clothes and the people telling you which clothes are in fashion are all working in the same biz and getting paid from the same pile and they'd all be out of jobs if fashion trends didn't change much and you only bought new clothes when your old clothes fell apart. That doesn't mean you should go out and blow up the buildings where they make jeans or that you should buy a gun and shoot a fashion designer. It means you should realize that everything they tell you is to sell you something rather than believing that it's a fundamental truth of life. At that point, it's up to you whether you want to participate in consumer culture but, even if you do, at least you're doing it consciously instead of being tricked into thinking you're "less than" if you don't have the latest and greatest thing they're trying to sell you. And, if you choose to participate in consumer culture for whatever reason, it's not up to your anti-social, shut-in neighbor who hates his life to set your house on fire and "wake you up." They should be making their own choices for their life and leaving yours up to you.

Remember when he was beating himself up in the office? He said "I'm reminded of my first fight with Tyler". Because it was the same thing then.

What about your "Galaxy Quest" reaction? Still waiting for it....

Tyler’s wardrobe was straight out of the late 90’s early 2000’s thrift store/goodwill style. It phased out about as fast as it appeared.

The movie is meant to be set in Wilmington, DE where almost every major bank has a headquarters (I live here and work in banking). The banks fought against it being set here and there had been talk of filming it here because of the implication of the last scene. There are still some hints left in with the mentions of fight clubs being setup in Delaware City & New Castle, both Delaware towns.

I love Fight Club. Another Fun Fact: in every scene there is a Starbucks cup hidden somewhere.

This is one of the prime examples of a film where its most vocal fanbase unfortunately took the wrong lesson from the one it's obviously teaching.

1999 was one of the best years in movie history. All expressing discontentment with the American dream and deconstructing materialism. Fight Club. American Beauty. Office Space

I never thought about metaphors for organized religion, but then again, I was a teen when I saw this for the first time and just enjoyed the mayham 🤪😉 May I recommend to react to '12 monkeys'? another psychodelic movie with a crazy Brad Pit performamce, and Bruce Willis is pretty always great to see

Happy you finally got to this. Certified classic. I saw this when it came out, was OBSESSED, and I'm STILL learning new things about it. You don't even know the rabbit hole you've stumbled into. You probably have a lot on your plate, but you need to rewatch at least once at some point. The WHOLE movie is a completely different experience the second time.

I've seen this film more times than I can count yet I've never considered Shanelle's reading of it being about death before, I've always just taken it's message of anti-consumerism and anti-materialism as the main point of it all.

It seems that this is not on IMBD, but if you watch the director's commentary, he says that Marla's post-coital remark was originally, "I want to have your abortion." Naturally, the studio didn't like this, and after some back and forth, they told the director to put in anything else. I suspect they didn't like the final version either.

Tyler "we just had a near LIFE experience" what a fantastic line. I love it 😆

One of my favorite movies. I pull my DVD of it out about once a year. Every time I watch it I catch something new. One of my favorite scenes is where Tyler is looking into the camera talking and the frame shakes. There seems to be such rage in that scene.

This movie's themes are centrally: how rebelling against conformity can lead to similar conformities, and toxic masculinity and how masculinity is perceived by ourselves and others. The youtube channel (folding ideas) has a great video on this movie and how many people miss its meanings.

"We don't talk about Fight Club." Lol! Also the scene where Edward Norton hits Brad Pitt in the ear was real and Pitts reaction was genuine. Fincher, I heard, cracked up laughing at the scene.

Jared Leto also has a brief cameo as Angel Face, the blonde haired pretty boy who gets viciously pummeled by Edward Norton. So satisfying.

Now that you’ve seen it you really should watch it again. You will be amazed at all the clues you missed and the scenes that play out different now that you know the surprise!

After Tyler & Marla have sex; it was originally in the script " I want to have your abortion " but was changed to "I have not been ****** like that since grade school "

For a long time I thought that my GRANDMOTHER was part of Fight Club because she never spoke to me about Fight Club... :/

YES!! CANT WAIT ! This movie is a religion for some of us! “His name is Robert Paulson”

I was a projectionist at a theater during this time in films. The 90's - early 2000's were some of the best of cinematic history, back when there were original and unique ideas still. I miss those days. The newest movie that blew me away was JoJo Rabbit. If you haven't seen it, I HIGHLY suggest a viewing.

You only get that ending blind one time, and it's beautiful. Just that reaction says it all, that mouth-covered "this shouldn't delight me but it does" feeling. The Chinese censorship board changes the end of the film to cut off the explosions and announce that Tyler and Marla went to the police who defused all the bombs safely. Tells you everything about why the ending is so powerful and satisfying.

Masterpiece. Decades ahead of it's time. So many layers to this movie.

Love our Shanelle! Great review and so fun through Shanelle's perspective!

Every guy hopes they can get as ripped as Brad Pitt in this movie

Another movie with similar out of control weirdness based on a Palahniuk novel is 'Choke' starring Sam Rockwell. Well worth a watch, with fantastic performances, but at the same time shocking and hilarious.

Where is the GALAXY QUEST reaction???

it's a deeply existential examination of male masculinity and mental health in a modern world. Our modern roles in society vs our deep ancient ancestors.

Check this Fan Theory....in "Ferris Beuller's Day Off" Ferris is actually Cameron's Tyler Durden. Watch that with this theory in mind, it works!

Ooo I love this movie! I'm really gonna enjoy this reaction!!

Yeah I saw it in the theaters with some college friends when it came out. The general reaction of the theater was like WTF?!? Except my one friend who figured it out 1/3 through the movie who Ed Norton and Brad Pitt were both Tyler. Mind you this is the same friend we’re in the theater watching 6th sense and figured that plot twist out as well.

the flashes in the film: Each time (other than the ending one) are times that Narrator (Jack) almost switched into Tyler but didn't

I also found that the dvd commentary (both norton and pitt) was amazing. It was like having them over and just hanging out while talking about the different themes, consumerism, etc. They both had an extremely interesting and fascinating conversation during this film and its the best dvd commentary I’ve ever heard. It almost feels like you’re getting to know both of these actors as people.

Now watch American History X.

All of Fincher's films in the 90s are dark, gritty classics with beautiful cinematography, and yes, that definitely does include Alien 3 (Assembly Cut)! A shame his output since has been to a much lesser standard and frequency.

tyler pops in, in single frames, in the early movie. sorta foreshadowing that the narrator is starting to imagine him. leaning against edward, standing or laying down in the back grounds

I love this channel since nostalgic rewatches. Thank you Shanelle for all your hard work.

A great movie about males bonding over the making of a hygiene product 😁

Despite this movie being a masterpiece, it sadly got barely any Oscar or other awards attention (just nominations for special effects and sound editing - NONE for acting, directing, cinematography, etc). At the time it was released, many critics and mainstream film buffs simply didn't understand the philosophy it was conveying, or recognize the top-tier filmmaking that went into it. A lot of them didn't even realize that the film was ultimately *criticizing* toxic masculinity (by showing how easily it leads to cruelty, violence, and destruction). So they ended up writing it off as just a weird film about some crazy dudes fighting and making chaos. Only as years went on did the film gain recognition for all its artistic merits.

Shan love your reactions on how you breakdown the storyline, characters, twists, cinematography, and directors vision and camera choices. Keep up the great job love ❤

Blew my teenage mind when I saw it in the theater. Life changing cinema. One of my favorite things to look for when rewatching are Helena's facial expressions and dialog once she starts having a relationship with the narrator; if you imagine her perspective, every scene she is in blatantly gives away the entire plot twist, but the audience never catches it. It's genius writing, directing, and acting.

Such a great film! A great read, also, if you’re interested. I hope that someday you will continue the View Askewniverse by watching ; Mallrats Chasing Amy Dogma Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back Clerks 2 Jay & Silent Bob Reboot

Can I just point out you are not supposed to talk about this..... 😅🤣

So glad you finally got around to this one,...I knew you would love it!

One of the few 10/10 movies ever made. Its always relatable and relevant. A cultural phenomenon of a movie!

When I first saw the movie in the theater I felt that the idea that violence was a solution to the ennui of modern life was a weak message, but over the years it has resonated more with me as society has become more watered down and soulless - not so much the violence as the idea of conflict and pain as a means to understand oneself and one's relationship with the world, a reconnecting with the primal nature.

I would like for you to check out the movie Some Like it Hot, its a comedy.

We are all not just friends but true lovers too!

Fell in love with HBC when I first watched "Room With A View" waaaay back when.

I don't know why everyone is suddenly doing Fight Club reactions, but I don't mind. As a movie that preaches to emasculated and domesticated males, it's always interesting to get a female perspective. I've seen some women be like "Oh that looks nice" when he's describing all the furniture that is making him a slave, completely missing the point.

Patrice O'Neal saw Fight Club, he said: "it's self hate, guilt, the burden of white guys who can't be men and the burden of dishonesty". His description was right on the money.

I was a projectionist and I got to show this. Those "cigarette burns" haven't been used in years as movies lay out on giant flat discs.There are 3 levels of discs. It's basically a HUGE film reel on its side. You thread the film from the disc to the projector at the top, then down through the project, then back to the discs and thread it to the middle of an empty disc. As the movie plays, the film slowly fills the empty disc and will be ready to be threaded again. Back in the OLD days, film was extremely flamable and the projectionist had to be there to watch over it. The reels were 20 mins long and had to be hand threaded at the end of the 20 mins, hence the change over dot. The reels still came to the theater in 20 min reels, but you could easily attach the end of one to the beginning of the next reel eventually laying the whole movie on its side as one giant reel. The discs would hold about 4 hours worth of film. Oh and BTW if you ever did splice in a still like that, you would go to jail. That is like the golden do-not-break rule. Plus people would notice and the would complain immediately. Hell, people complained about just normal movies. They would yell at us for not warning them about certain scenes, they would yell at us when we did warn them (usually if they had kids with them).

This movie caused so many fights at school it’s ridiculous, i was in grade 11 and times were crazy

Hell yeah!! Great too see this!! You pick thee' BEST of the 90's!

I genuinely enjoy all of your reactions. You remind me so much of the people I was friends with high school/college.

Loved your reaction :D Blows me away each time i see it. One of the most rewatchable films ever.

great reaction S, have a great day!

Hi again Shanelle, haven't caught a video in a little bit but thank you for the content! Love this flick.

When Norton is beating himself up in front of his boss, he says, "for some reason I thought about my first fight with Tyler" ... since he was also beating himself up then. Love that little line.

It's amazing watching your take on these movies. You're where I was like 20 years ago. I saw this in a theater - riding in the backseat of a car with highschool friends. We snuck in the theater. I didn't know that was the plan and pointed out that I needed to pay and got shushed.

Prettiest you’ve looked and during my fav movie of all time Thanks ❤

22:47 Oh yeah, it keeps getting better and better. Said it once, never gonna stop saying it: this is why I love your reactions! 😃

Little late to the party having just found this channel, and burning through the videos. Fight Club is my favorite film, just such a joy and mindbinder. I find something new every viewing. She said "He's having a near death experience" or something similar, and I had to respond (to no one), "no, he's having a near LIFE experience". Enjoy your content more than some others, as you bring a new perspective being connected to the business, and really like the trivia bits!

Nice. About time ✊🏾 luv your vids

1999 was some year as far as movies go.

The BIGGEST mind blown theory of this film; is that it's a sequel too Ferris Bueller's Day Off. The narrator is Cameron ( notice they never mention his name) and again... he has another mental breakdown. Ferris NEVER existed. Notice how the narrator is in auto insurance. Much like how Cameron destroyed his father's car and I'm sure they made a fraudulent claim. So, having a hard time in life... Cameron makes up another imaginary friend.

I watch this movie as 3 movies in one: a satire, a tale of madness, and a love story.

This is a movie you have to watch at least twice. I'd recommend watching it three times. And be extremely observant of everything seen, said, and done in each scene. There's dozens of clues hidden throughout the film that Ed Norton's character and Brad Pitt (Tyler) are the same person. The first clue is in the opening scene when Ed Norton is talking about the explosives and he says "I know this, because Tyler knows this." And the first time we see Tyler (other than the quick single frame flashes) is when he's on the moving walk way at the airport, and when we see him Ed says "if you wake at another time and in another place, could you wake up as a different person." And right when he says "a different person" that's when the camera reveals Brad. Something else to notice, when the flashes of Brad appear early on, pay attention to what is said. For instance when we see the quick flash of Brad behind the doctor, it appears exactly at the moment the doctors says "that's pain". So there's all sorts of clues in the film, which makes it really fun to watch a few times and see if you can find all of them.

I am Jack's embarrassment at idolising Tyler so much as a teen. Fincher's flair and Palahniuk's nihilism were a match made in murky post-modern heaven.

This is a great film to rewatch over and over again

When I saw that you were doing Fight Club I knew you would like it. Very dark humor in this movie. Superb acting and the story is amazing. Glad you enjoyed it

You missed the point of the film. Tyler says it best: "Man, I see in Fight Club the strongest and smartest men who’ve ever lived. I see all this potential, and I see it squandered. God damn it, an entire generation pumping gas, waiting tables - slaves with white collars. Advertising has us chasing cars and clothes, working jobs we hate so we can buy shit we don’t need. We’re the middle children of history, man. No purpose or place. We have no Great War. No Great Depression. Our great war is a spiritual war. Our great depression is our lives. We’ve all been raised on television to believe that one day we’d all be millionaires, and movie gods, and rock stars, but we won’t. We’re slowly learning that fact. And we’re very, very pissed off." Unfortunately most people don't think like this anymore. The internet/social media/government has made sure of that. The film (and book) attack the ideas of humans living in this capitalistic and alienated world as justifiable. For good reason too. Look at where we are at now...

By far, one of the most perfect songs, for a perfect ending, to a perfect movie.

Fun fact- the first building that explodes is the fox plaza which is the same building they used as the Nakatomi Corporation HQ in Die Hard.

I was 15 when this came out and it was one of my favs, 1997-2000 were some really good movies, Fight Club, Matrix, Gattaca, Virgin Suicides etc

26:08 - You're just killing it with the right reactions! 😂

18:43 - Right there with you, Shan!

The look on Shan’s face with the grande latte enema 🤣

You make me laugh so much lmao Great reaction.

The main character's name is Jack... "I am JACK's desire to destroy something beautiful."

What a _coincidence,_ I just watched another "Frist Reaction to Fight Club" video today.

Tyler was right about one thing: the breakfast you have the morning after a midnight gun was in your face, death being a finger motion away...is the *best* meal you'll ever have. I had eggs and toast and cheap coffee; them eggs were ethereally sublime. The crunch of the buttery toast. I just don't have the words.

The actors commentary on this movie is chef's kiss, it's all three Brad, HBC and Edward, you should try it on a re-watch. Love your vids cheers

12 Monkeys, The 5th Element, Romy & Michelle, Young Guns 1 & 2, Moonlighting, Vanishing Son

Woohoo, new video!