Let's talk about David Fincher

[AGGAMEMNON66]

He is as good as you say he is.

It's too bad he was so handcuffed by studio bullshit with Alien 3, or it might have been really good.

Seven and Zodiac are fantastic movies.

Aside from a small amount of things -I actually really dig Alien 3


Fincher is terrific, hope he gets around to finally making 'Torso' some day just as I hope the Coen Bros get around to 'Blood Meridian'

 

[BisexualMMA]

Aside from a small amount of things -I actually really dig Alien 3

I have grown to like Alien 3 all right, and to really appreciate it given what Fincher had to deal with and that it was basically written on the fly to conform to a set that had already been built.

Even with his hands tied, Fincher achieved what he was going for with that film, just a neverending bombardment of bleak depression and despair. I just didn't really feel like that was the way to go for a third Alien film. It wasn't the story I wanted to see, which is different from it failing as a film.

I also thought all the prisoners, with the exception of a couple, were really interchangeable. I never cared about anyone but Charles Dance and maybe Charles S. Dutton, whereas I cared about at least 6 or 7 people in each of the first two.

 

[minute bull]

Morse, David, and 85 FTW.

WELL I'M OUT OF IDEAS!!

I don't agree that ALIEN3 is terrible, and I don't think killing off those characters was a bad idea nor did it invalidate what occurred in ALIENS. It was a great point to kicking off a new leg to the franchise and there were so many comics that lent themselves to a film without any of the original casts. ALIEN STRONGHOLD and ALIEN LABYRINTH were two mini-series dealing with trying to exploit the aliens, which would have been a better progression than RESURRECTION.

 

[BisexualMMA]

Morse, David, and 85 FTW.

WELL I'M OUT OF IDEAS!!

I don't agree that ALIEN3 is terrible, and I don't think killing off those characters was a bad idea nor did it invalidate what occurred in ALIENS. It was a great point to kicking off a new leg to the franchise and there were so many comics that lent themselves to a film without any of the original casts. ALIEN STRONGHOLD and ALIEN LABYRINTH were two mini-series dealing with trying to exploit the aliens, which would have been a better progression than RESURRECTION.

I just felt like if we were going to lose those characters anyway, and David Fincher and company just wanted to depress us, then have them die over the course of the film, lose them one at a time and watch hope erode with the loss of the remaining cast.

It was wasted effort making us meet all these new characters (who also all die) when we are already invested in a couple. If Newt started the movie alive, we'd have all assumed she was going to make it to the end, and it would have been heart-wrenching to lose her along the way.

Instead, they were just gone before the opening credits in a two-for-one and...it made a lot of people angry at the movie rather than sad. They wouldn't have been pissed off if Hicks had died in action and Newt had died near the end and Ripley had to watch.

It would have made the despair that much stronger for the audience.

 

[Guestx]

On a mostly unrelated note, since there's so much talk of the Alien franchise up in here, I've heard that the Alien novelization by Alan Dean Foster is one of the best novelizations ever written. I intend to read it eventually.

 

[BisexualMMA]

On a mostly unrelated note, since there's so much talk of the Alien franchise up in here, I've heard that the Alien novelization by Alan Dean Foster is one of the best novelizations ever written. I intend to read it eventually.

First I've heard of it. I've never gotten a whole lot out of novelized versions of movies, so I mostly gave up on them years ago. But my interest has been piqued...

I'm somewhat optimistic about the Alien 5 (aka Alien 2.5) that's supposedly happening with Neil Blomkamp. I think he'll probably screw it up, but...can't be worse than Indiana Jones 4.

 

[BangersAndSmash]

No one has mentioned The Game (1997) which was a great film in its own right. It was a pure thriller, probably the film of his that was most inspired by Hitchcock (Rear Window is one of his favorite films), and the "twist" ending in it worked fine for me.

Many people are asking about directors who have a similar visual style to him so here's a quick list:
Micheal Mann: Manhunter (1986), Heat (1996), and Collateral (2005)
David Cronenberg: Videodrome (1983), the Fly (1986), and Crash (1996)
Ridley Scott: Alien (1979) and Bladerunner (1982)
Darren Arronofsky: Pi (1998) and Requiem for a Dream (2000)
Alex Proyas: The Crow (1994) and Dark City (1998)

 

[Guestx]

First I've heard of it. I've never gotten a whole lot out of novelized versions of movies, so I mostly gave up on them years ago. But my interest has been piqued...

It took the top spot in this list of movie novelizations that are actually worth reading:

It may seem biased to give Foster the top two slots in the list, but he totally deserves it. His novelization of Alien is the only entry on this list that actually tops the movie that birthed it. Considering that Alien remains one of the most powerful and influential sci fi and horror films ever made, that is saying something.

Like with Star Wars, Foster included a wealth of deleted scenes seamlessly into the novel, and also explored the nature of the stasis tubes and dozens of other minor bits of incidental wonder. We've read this book to tatters, and only watched the movie four or five times. That should give you an indication of just how talented Alan Dean Foster is.

 

[BisexualMMA]

I'd also put Fincher in the class with Brian DePalma (RAISING CAIN, SNAKE EYES), Jonathan Demme (SILENCE OF THE LAMBS), and Robert Zemeckis (WHAT LIES BENEATH). The former two do the "looking directly at the camera" a bit too much, though. But these are all wizards at moving the camera around.

This is the first time I have seen anyone use Raising Cain and Snake Eyes to remind people who Brian DePalma is.

Or What Lies Beneath for Zemeckis, for that matter.

 

[BisexualMMA]

It took the top spot in this list of movie novelizations that are actually worth reading:

I've read Total Recall. It was good. The novelization of Star Wars was decent.

 

[minute bull]

FWIW, my favorite Danny Boyle film is MILLIONS.

This is the first time I have seen anyone use Raising Cain and Snake Eyes to remind people who Brian DePalma is.

Or What Lies Beneath for Zemeckis, for that matter.

UNTOUCHABLES and WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT didn't strike me as appropriate comparisons.

 

[Guestx]

This is the first time I have seen anyone use Raising Cain and Snake Eyes to remind people who Brian DePalma is.

Or What Lies Beneath for Zemeckis, for that matter.

My thoughts exactly. I was like, Snake Eyes?

And I'm kind surprised anyone even REMEMBERS What Lies Beneath. (Decent movie though, actually.)

 

[BisexualMMA]

My thoughts exactly. I was like, Snake Eyes?

And I'm kind surprised anyone even REMEMBERS What Lies Beneath. (Decent movie though, actually.)

I only remember it because it was the first time I ever saw Harrison Ford play a villain. He had actually said a few years earlier that it was something he would never do.

 

[Guestx]

I only remember it because it was the first time I ever saw Harrison Ford play a villain. He had actually said a few years earlier that it was something he would never do.

I actually remember going with my girlfriend to see it in the theater during my senior year of high school. For some reason.

Haven't seen it in YEARS at this point though. Maybe it's due for a re-watch.

And yeah, it was interesting to see Ford play against type. He did well. Has he ever even done that again?

 

[mygoddotcom]

One of the best careers of the last twenty years.
Some classics in his resumee.
He set the new trend on color palete for telecine or Tk with fightclub, and became influencial on cinema for that. Even S. Spielverg wanted some Fincher soul, he used half the crew from fightclub to shoot minority report.

 

[Guestx]

Even S. Spielverg wanted some Fincher soul, he used half the crew from fightclub to shoot minority report.

No shit. Well that's interesting.

 

[mygoddotcom]

No shit. Well that's interesting.

Not really half the crew, but some important positions. I cant remember, but at least the DoP, production designer, some producer.... enough to get the feeling.
I remember watching minority report at the cinema and thinking, wow, he has gonne fisher. Months later watching some making of... I understood.

 

[Guestx]

Not really half the crew, but some important positions. I cant remember, but at least the DoP, production designer, some producer.... enough to get the feeling.
I remember watching minority report at the cinema and thinking, wow, he has gonne fisher. Months later watching some making of... I understood.

I should probably rewatch it now with this in mind.

 

[speakhandsforme]

I think a lot of his movies, particularly Fight Club and Se7en, are overrated. But Gone Girl was a directorial tour de force.

I'd still take Darren Aronofsky over him any day.

 

[BisexualMMA]

And yeah, it was interesting to see Ford play against type. He did well. Has he ever even done that again?

Nothing I've seen.

Unless you count his role in Indiana Jones 4 as villainous to the previous three films.