Reviews (1184)

This Movie is Why "Professional" Critics Must Go
I didn't see this movie in the theaters because it had gotten very mixed reviews from the so-called professional movie reviewers. But, when it hit the local vidoe store, I thought I would give it a try. WOW, what a kick in the teeth, interesting, and fast moving journey into one man's mind. The path this movie takes is fantastic.

Norton and Pitt are perfectly cast, and supported by a crew of fight club members that make for a well-acted show. Meatloaf, Ed Gil, Jared Leto, et. al. are great in support as the members/followers of the leads. Helena Bonham Carter has the only real female role in this film and is perfectly cast. But as much as the acting, this movie is made by the story. Unconventional, with a great twist at the end, the whole movie kept me on the edge of my seat. As with many great movies, it is hard to classify the genre (action, comedy, drama), as there is a sampling of all in this film. In the end, I would just classify this as a great film.

Much was made of the violence of this movie when it first hit the theaters. Those critics overstated the case. There is blood and violence in the movie, but it is not excessive and it serves the plot well.

If you missed this in the theater, see it now. If you saw it once, see it again. I will.

Fight Club-another reason to own a DVD player.
If any DVD was produced on the same level as the Terminator 2 Ultimate Edition and the Toy Story 3-Disc box set, it is this DVD. Fight Club is not only a VERY well produced DVD, but the supplemental material will keep you busy for LITERALLY hours. You will finally have a reason to 'break in' that angle button on your remote. As a story, Fight Club takes a more cerebral approach to ones thought processes. Containing many cool effects, Fight Club may make the average movie viewer pop a few Excedrins while trying to figure out the point of the film. While many may finish the movie in total confusion, mostly everyone will agree that Fight Club is a unique movie experience. When I received the DVD package, I was instantly impressed with the graphic design of the outer package, the discs themselves and the booklet that is included. Initially, this DVD comes off as a "special edition" rather then a simple "movie release on DVD". Whoever created the graphics on the cover and throughout the booklet has a very active imagination. Disc one has the film, disc two has the supplemental material. ** Pause the third FBI WARNING at the beginning of the disc....it is quite funny** Disc one offers you your usual "chapters" choices with 'moving' scenes (like The Matrix), audio setup for Dolby surround for both a 2 speaker setups and 5.1 setups in English and Spanish. This is also a THX certified DVD, so it includes a THX setup screen. Disc one also gives you the choice of several audio commentaries to listen to throughout the film, including David Fincher, Bradd Pitt, Ed Norton, Helena Bonham Carter, the novelist and the screenwriter, the Director of Photography, Visual Effects Supervisor and a couple of others. In a nutshell, you have a choice to listen to A LOT of people, a great addition to this DVD. Picture quality of Fight Club was incredible. Overall, the picture is moody and dark with beautiful blacks and wonderful color detail. It is beautifully photographed with incredible shadow detail and crystal clear highlights. Sound quality was equally impressive. Being THX certified, you can expect nothing less then awesome. Edward Nortons voice-over sounds very live, as though he's sitting right in front of you. The sound has beautiful detail, with stereo separation being impressively realistic and the music and dialogue recorded incredibly well. Surround detail is amazing with some scenes having deep bass that will make the neighbors call the cops. Disc two will stay in your DVD player for a long time. The supplemental material includes crew and cast information. behind the scenes of the production, the visual effects and on-location footage with commentaires and multiple angles.......WOW! Disc two also contains seven deleted scenes as well as trailers, TV spots, music videos, an interview with Edward Norton and a bunch of storyboards, visual effects stills, paintings and many other additions to keep your fingers happy on that remote. The Producers of this DVD should be applauded....not only is the picture and sound quality top-notch, but the graphical elements and the supplemental materials included are fantastic and incredibly entertaining. I highly recommend this DVD for those who enjoyed this movie in the theatre, who are curious about the film, or those simply interested in seeing what a superb DVD release is all about. Enjoy!

Not bad, but...
OK, blend Matrix, Guy Richi, and Osama Bin Laden and you get a masterpiece? A funny comedy, not more. Fight Club is brilliant in the beginning with all that satire, but when it gets philosophical, I felt like I have seen this before.

Famous Fight Club quote.
"F*** Martha Stewart. Martha's polishing the brass on the Titanic; it's all going down, man."

-- She just 5 months in prison and 5 months of home confinement. Isn't it wierd how much of this film has been almost prophetic?

Outstanding commentaries
All the commentaries you could want, and they're all great. The actor's commentary is at least as entertaining as the film. ... Read more

Amazon.com essential video

All films take a certain suspension of disbelief. Fight Club takes perhaps more than others, but if you're willing to let yourself get caught up in the anarchy, this film, based on the novel by Chuck Palahniuk, isa modern-day morality play warning ofthe decay of society. Edward Norton is the unnamed protagonist, a man going through life on cruise control, feeling nothing. To fill his hours, he begins attending support groups and 12-step meetings. True, he isn't actually afflicted with the problems, but he finds solace in the groups. This is destroyed, however, when he meets Marla (Helena Bonham Carter), also faking her way through groups. Spiraling back into insomnia, Norton finds his life is changed once again, by a chance encounter with Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt), whose forthright style and no-nonsense way of taking what he wants appeal to our narrator. Tyler and the protagonist find a new way to feel release: they fight. They fight each other, and then as others are attracted to their ways, they fight the men who come to join their newly formed Fight Club. Marla begins a destructive affair with Tyler, and things fly out of control, as Fight Club grows into a nationwide fascist group that escapes the protagonist's control.

Fight Club, directed by David Fincher (Seven), is notfor the faint of heart; the violence is no holds barred. But the film is captivating and beautifully shot, with some thought-provoking ideas. Pitt and Norton are an unbeatable duo, and the film has some surprisingly humorous moments. The film leaves you with a sense of profound discomfort and a desire to see it again, if for no other reason than to just to take it all in. --Jenny Brown ... Read more

Reviews (1184)

This Movie is Why "Professional" Critics Must Go
I didn't see this movie in the theaters because it had gotten very mixed reviews from the so-called professional movie reviewers. But, when it hit the local vidoe store, I thought I would give it a try. WOW, what a kick in the teeth, interesting, and fast moving journey into one man's mind. The path this movie takes is fantastic.

Norton and Pitt are perfectly cast, and supported by a crew of fight club members that make for a well-acted show. Meatloaf, Ed Gil, Jared Leto, et. al. are great in support as the members/followers of the leads. Helena Bonham Carter has the only real female role in this film and is perfectly cast. But as much as the acting, this movie is made by the story. Unconventional, with a great twist at the end, the whole movie kept me on the edge of my seat. As with many great movies, it is hard to classify the genre (action, comedy, drama), as there is a sampling of all in this film. In the end, I would just classify this as a great film.

Much was made of the violence of this movie when it first hit the theaters. Those critics overstated the case. There is blood and violence in the movie, but it is not excessive and it serves the plot well.

If you missed this in the theater, see it now. If you saw it once, see it again. I will.

Fight Club-another reason to own a DVD player.
If any DVD was produced on the same level as the Terminator 2 Ultimate Edition and the Toy Story 3-Disc box set, it is this DVD. Fight Club is not only a VERY well produced DVD, but the supplemental material will keep you busy for LITERALLY hours. You will finally have a reason to 'break in' that angle button on your remote. As a story, Fight Club takes a more cerebral approach to ones thought processes. Containing many cool effects, Fight Club may make the average movie viewer pop a few Excedrins while trying to figure out the point of the film. While many may finish the movie in total confusion, mostly everyone will agree that Fight Club is a unique movie experience. When I received the DVD package, I was instantly impressed with the graphic design of the outer package, the discs themselves and the booklet that is included. Initially, this DVD comes off as a "special edition" rather then a simple "movie release on DVD". Whoever created the graphics on the cover and throughout the booklet has a very active imagination. Disc one has the film, disc two has the supplemental material. ** Pause the third FBI WARNING at the beginning of the disc....it is quite funny** Disc one offers you your usual "chapters" choices with 'moving' scenes (like The Matrix), audio setup for Dolby surround for both a 2 speaker setups and 5.1 setups in English and Spanish. This is also a THX certified DVD, so it includes a THX setup screen. Disc one also gives you the choice of several audio commentaries to listen to throughout the film, including David Fincher, Bradd Pitt, Ed Norton, Helena Bonham Carter, the novelist and the screenwriter, the Director of Photography, Visual Effects Supervisor and a couple of others. In a nutshell, you have a choice to listen to A LOT of people, a great addition to this DVD. Picture quality of Fight Club was incredible. Overall, the picture is moody and dark with beautiful blacks and wonderful color detail. It is beautifully photographed with incredible shadow detail and crystal clear highlights. Sound quality was equally impressive. Being THX certified, you can expect nothing less then awesome. Edward Nortons voice-over sounds very live, as though he's sitting right in front of you. The sound has beautiful detail, with stereo separation being impressively realistic and the music and dialogue recorded incredibly well. Surround detail is amazing with some scenes having deep bass that will make the neighbors call the cops. Disc two will stay in your DVD player for a long time. The supplemental material includes crew and cast information. behind the scenes of the production, the visual effects and on-location footage with commentaires and multiple angles.......WOW! Disc two also contains seven deleted scenes as well as trailers, TV spots, music videos, an interview with Edward Norton and a bunch of storyboards, visual effects stills, paintings and many other additions to keep your fingers happy on that remote. The Producers of this DVD should be applauded....not only is the picture and sound quality top-notch, but the graphical elements and the supplemental materials included are fantastic and incredibly entertaining. I highly recommend this DVD for those who enjoyed this movie in the theatre, who are curious about the film, or those simply interested in seeing what a superb DVD release is all about. Enjoy!

Not bad, but...
OK, blend Matrix, Guy Richi, and Osama Bin Laden and you get a masterpiece? A funny comedy, not more. Fight Club is brilliant in the beginning with all that satire, but when it gets philosophical, I felt like I have seen this before.

Famous Fight Club quote.
"F*** Martha Stewart. Martha's polishing the brass on the Titanic; it's all going down, man."

-- She just 5 months in prison and 5 months of home confinement. Isn't it wierd how much of this film has been almost prophetic?

Outstanding commentaries
All the commentaries you could want, and they're all great. The actor's commentary is at least as entertaining as the film. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Named after a line in The Godfather, Finn Taylor's directorial debut offers proof that movies about death don't have to be grim.Like Harold and Maude--but grittier--Taylor (Cherish) keeps the tone light and quirky.If you were to ask, he might even say that Dream with the Fishes is actually about life, but Terry (David Arquette) really does want to die and Nick (Brad Hunt) really does have only a few weeks to live.Death is what binds the two together.They would otherwise have nothing in common.The men live in the same San Francisco neighborhood, but Terry is a depressed widower with a penchant for voyeurism, while Nick may be terminally ill, yet he and his tattoo artist girlfriend, Liz (a virtually unrecognizable Katherine Erbe from Law and Order: Criminal Intent), live life to the full.They're just the medicine that the (psychically) ailing Terry needs. --Kathleen C. Fennessy ... Read more

Reviews (11)

A great movie!
This film, by director Finn Taylor, came out in 1997 and I saw it at an arthouse theater. I was so blown away by it, particularly the characters, the story, and some magnificent cinematography. Yes, it wasn't a box office smash, but I assume if you are looking for that kind of a film you'll rent a monstrosity like titanic or some other over-the-top special effects bonanza. Dream with the fishes is pure brilliance by a director, who seems to not have done anything since this 97 release. The home video version is great but still doesn't stand up to seeing this great film on the big screen, with a good sound system for the awesome soundtrack. Try to find the widescreen version, if possible. When the film is nearing the end and that beautiful Nick Drake song, 'River Man' is being played, I got tears in my eyes. It is extremely rare for me to become emotionally involved with characters in today's films, but this flick is one of the few exceptions. Arquette and Hunt are so great, regardless to what some other bone headed reviewer says. Check this one out, you'll be happy you did.

FINALLY ONE OF MY PRAYERS ANSWERED BY THE DVD GODS !!!
OK I first witnessed this film at a Film Festival A long time ago. After I dragged all my friends to see it I bought it on VIDEO then came the DVD REVOLUTION. I slowly starting replacing ALL MY VIDEOS w/ DVDs. After everything was said and done I was left with a few films on video that COMMANDED that I hold onto my stupid VCR. THIS WAS ONE OF THOSE FILMS!!!! .... If you are wondering which 2 films I speak of I am refering to (bright lights big city) and (valley girl) their were others HOWEVER I CANNOT DITCH MY VCR FOREVER TILL I HAVE THESE 2 FILMS ....I can only now wait till MAY and the release of this DVD. Oh yes it is all coming together now..HA HA HA HAAA!!!

I want everyone (reading this) to know....
This is the best film I've seen in a LONG time. (about a year or so). I honestly don't participate in many reviews, but i just finished viewing this film and felt that it deserves a review. I bought this film on Amazon (used) for a couple bucks (about 8 bucks incl. s+h) based on the positive reviews from viewers, and let me tell you it was WELL worth every cent. (I would of paid 3 times that price...even used !!) If you like quirky, off-beat characters, good dialogue, dark humor, romance, emotionally driven, road TRIPping kind of flicks....look no further than this little gem of a film. Trust me, I love ALL KINDS of films and I have seen (roughly) about 300 or so, and I can gladly say that this one definately ranks up there in the top 30 of my all time favorites. I'm not even going to tell you anything specific about the film because I already told you the jest of it all. No matter what films you have seen in a LONG time, I'm sure you will appreciate the splendid beauty of Dream With the Fishes. Even if you don't care too much for David Arquette, (I don't) give him a chance in this one because this has to be his strongest, most serious performance of his life, playing a seriously suicidal, yet deeply compassionate character. Brad Hunt is a newcomer to me, but his comical, yet serious performance drove this flick to perfection, not to mention the beautiful Katherine Erbe as the confused struggling girlfriend of Brad Hunts' character. Do yoursef a favor and check this one out if you haven't already. Better yet, just buy it here at Amazon. You can get it used at a decent price. Too bad it's not available on dvd, but hopefully will be soon. This film is very entertaining and you probably won't even want to leave your seat until the credits are over. Highly recommended for fans of indie films or fans of just plain good cinema. Do not hesitate to rent or even BUY this extraordinary film, and you can even get it in widescreen here at Amazon for a few more dollars, but it's WELL worh it. Hope you like it.....Actually I am going to view it again right now.....

This is strange
This is REALLY strange. when they were driving into Pescadero, First they start out on Highway 1, then they should have turned on to Pescadero Road but they are on, i think, highway 84 or pescadero road going towards the pacific ocean, then on pescadero road going towards the pacific ocean more between loma mar and pescadero, then they are on bean hollow road coming from highway 1 coming from santa cruz, then they are going towards south-like on Stage Road and these roads don't connect together that way, other than that and the Pacifica Cab it was a good movie, it gave a laugh or two when it needed it

very good stuff
I saw this at college. It took a while to warm up to it. But by the end, the movie really earned my attention. Has an impact that takes a little while to catch up on. Im glad I saw it and want to catch it on video too. By the way, nothing like you'd expect from David Arquette from the commercials. It's a very sympathetic art film. ... Read more

Description

Based on a true story that occured on the 1930s.A young, inexperienced public defender is assigned to defend a hard-core prisoninmate accused of committing murder while behind bars. ... Read more

Reviews (35)

I don't really have a subject
Well lets see. I have seen many Kevin Bacon movies. "The River Wild" "Stir Of Echos" the list goes on and on. This movie Murder in the first was one of his best. The movie is completely disturbing. the first 30 minutes of the movie is completely disturbing. Young (Bacon) is jailed for stealing $5 to help his sister and him live. He is sent to Alcatraz. and sent into solitary confinement IMMEDIATELY. he gets out 3 years and 2 months later after being tortured and abused with blackjacks and whips. (I think that bacon was a little retarded in the movie but I am not too sure) The ending was great. When he finally stood up to the warden and when he was walking back to solitary right after he told the warden off. I felt shivers go down my spine! Itz a good movie

The Gripping True Story...
...of the trial the ultimately put Alcatraz out of commision. Kevin Bacon gives one of his finest roles as a man who has spent three torturous years in solitary confinement on Alcatraz, let out for exercise for a half hour per year and viciously tortured and beaten by the Warren.

All of the acting in the movie is good, and the drama and suspense building is masterful. During the movie, you can really feel for and empathize with the characters, and even though its not a cool jail movie like Shawshank Redemption, it is every bit as good, especially in that it is a true story.

This is also an incredibly hard movie to watch at times. When the guy being slashed with a razor, or digging a spoon into a guys throat, or even just sobbing pitifully because his organ isn't working right after three years of malnutritioned hell, this movie has the capability of leaving you wincing in your seat.

This is not a movie to sit back, relax and enjoy, but rather one which you should watch and learn from.

"You can't handle the truth!"
Upon seeing Burt Lancaster in "The Birdman of Alcatraz," a young boy wrote a letter to the warden pleading for his release. One of the things left out of the film, of course, was that in addition to ornithology, the real Birdman had another hobby -- writing pornographic stories for other inmates involving young boys about the same age as the one who wrote the letter....

"Murder in the First" is yet another example of how, when one sees the words "basedon/inspiredby a true story" used to describe a book or film, what it really means is "at most maybe 2-5% is true, and the rest is BS."

Some say that it is unfair to criticize a film for not being 100% true to the events and characters it purports to portray. But I find it hard to approve of a film that must alter reality in order to get me to buy into its message. If you're going to fictionalize, then go all the way. Don't try to claim that this really happened when it in fact did not! And if you don't like the prison system, then try to persuade me to change it by using rational, well-reasoned logical arguments, instead of creating a piece of cinematic propaganda -- effective propaganda, at that, considering some of the other reviews on this page. Reviewer after reviewer has mindlessly repeated the BS from the blurbs on the box, in spite of how demonstrably the film's press kit contradicts the facts.

This film suffers from the same tragic flaw almost all prison films suffer from. Put stereotypically innocent prisoners and stereotypically abusive, brutal, and sadistic guards together, and then expect the audience to see that it is in fact the system and society that are truly to blame. Golly, I never realized that by NOT lying, NOT cheating, NOT stealing, and NOT killing, I was in fact the one truly to blame for crime! It was I that drove them to it! Down with democracy! Down with capitalism! Up with socialism!

Even if taken as the TOTAL work of fiction that it is -- and should be labeled as -- this film doesn't work. Even good performances by Bacon, Oldman and Slater cannot rescue this stupidly stereotypical script. I have irrevocably lost respect for anyone associated with this film, as I have with anyone involved with Oliver Stone's perverse exercise in the post-modern concept of "mythic truth" being more important than "historical fact," "JFK." It's like asking me to excuse the fact that Leni Riefenstahl's Nazi propaganda was commissioned by Hitler just because, in all honesty, she DID have great directorial talent.

I believe in capital punishment for ALL violent crime, but I also believe that NO ONE, no matter what their crime, should be abused or brutalized in any way, shape or form, so, in that respect, I despise the prison system, too. But it wasn't a piece of Hollywood propaganda like "Murder in the First" that led me to that point of view.

It's films like this that make it seem so disengenuous when people in Hollywood act shocked and amazed that they are seen as dogmatically liberal and leftist....

One of the best movies I've had the honor of seeing.
It's currently Dec. 8, 2003. I was watching my usual line up, which includes some "Comedy Central" and the "NFL Network". I had just finished watching "A Few Good Men", a masterpiece in my opinion, and the next movie to be shown was one called "Murder in the First". I was about to change the channel to one of the above I listed earlier, until something told me to watch it. A feeling I had, said this one was a winner. Well, I was right.

"Murder in the First" is one of the best movies around. It hooked me from the beginning and I was compelled to watch to it's finale. I'll get one thing out of the way now. If Keven Bacon didn't get an oscar for this movie, than the Academy doesn't know talent or a good performance when they see it. I was deeply moved by this movie about the cruel treatment of an attempted escapee from Alcatraz. The only reason the escape attempt was not successful was that the man who was escaping with Henry, snitched to the warden and thus we have the beginnings of a great movie. In the law books at this point in history, a prisoner could spend no more than 19 consecutive days in solitary confinement. Keven Bacon's character, Henry Young, was kept in Solitary on Alcatraz for 3 years. He was let out on christmas day in each of those years for 30 minutes of exercise. Henry's mistreatment was barbaric and seemed reminicient of torture from hundreds of years ago. The assistant warden of alcatraz, played by Gary Oldman, would constantly brutalize and cause the suffering of Mr. Young, even going as far to slice open his ankle with a razor.

Without giving away too much of the plot I will be brief. Christain Slater's character was assigned to Young's case, he had been accused of murdering the man who snitched on him, which he did. Now, Christian Slater's character was suppose to go to trial and basically not try to save this man or defend him at all. It appeared an open and shut case, but that's when the fireworks start.

Other reviews will basically tell you the whole plot, and what happened throughout. All I can tell you, apart from the above mentioned, is that this is a must see movie. Sure, among the reviews are ones that complain about the movie, and say how hollywood it is, or that it's easy to figure out where the movie is going (this isn't a mystery movie people), or that "Escape from Alcatraz" was a better movie about the world of Alcatraz. People, if you wanted nitpicking, you would pick up a "Rolling Stone" magazine or watch "Ebert and Roeper at the Movies", but this is something that they won't tell you. That this movie is excellent. Why won't the afore mentioned tell you that? Because picking a movie apart is what they do. Comparing movies like this one to classics. Such nonsense. You can't compare every movie to "Casablanca". Which is what some people will do. This movie is not "Citizen Kane". Nor will it ever be an "Amadeus". These are not fair comparisans. This movie is good, because it is. If I had to compare it to another movie, in the field of how deep it is, or how powerful it is. I would put it in it's own league, which is where my favorite movie of all time, "SE7EN", resides. Don't compare this movie to anything else, just enjoy it for what it is. Let the people who gets paid to nitpick, nitpick. Just sit back, grab the tissues, and enjoy this work of cinematic genius.

AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!
MY USUAL TASTE IN FILMS RARELY INCLUDE ANYTHING OUTSIDE OF COMEDY. I USUALLY GET BORED AND UNINTERESTED IN DRAMA. THIS MOVIE IS AWESOME FROM SCENE ONE UNTIL THE CREDITS ROLL. KEVIN BACON'S PERFORMANCE SHOULD WIN HIM AWARDS FOR HIS PROTRAYAL OF HENRY YOUNG UNTIL THE END OF TIME!!!!! THE MOVIE, OVERALL, IS A GREAT PEICE OF CINEMA. I CAN WATCH THIS MOVIE EVERYDAY AND STILL STARE AT THE SCENE IN AWE. WHATEVER YOU HAVE TO DO TO GET THIS MOVIE, IT'S WORTH IT!!!!! BUTTERFLY26@VERIZON ... Read more