The Game

( 10 )

Overview

Director David Fincher followed the success of his dark and atmospheric crime thriller Seven 1995 with another exercise in stylish film noir, this time lifting the pallid atmosphere a notch to indulge in a fast-paced trip through the cinematic funhouse. Michael Douglas plays Nicholas Van Orton, a Scrooge-like San Francisco investment banker following in his father's Scrooge-like footsteps. On Nicholas's 48th birthday the age at which his father committed suicide, his younger, free-spirited brother Conrad Sean ...
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Overview

Director David Fincher followed the success of his dark and atmospheric crime thriller Seven 1995 with another exercise in stylish film noir, this time lifting the pallid atmosphere a notch to indulge in a fast-paced trip through the cinematic funhouse. Michael Douglas plays Nicholas Van Orton, a Scrooge-like San Francisco investment banker following in his father's Scrooge-like footsteps. On Nicholas's 48th birthday the age at which his father committed suicide, his younger, free-spirited brother Conrad Sean Penn blows into town and gives Nicholas a special gift for "the man who has everything" -- a ticket to CRS Consumer Recreation Services, a company that constructs games custom-fit for each participant to provide, as CRS salesman Jim Feingold James Rebhorn cryptically puts it, "whatever is lacking." Nicholas's secure life begins a downhill slide as CRS masterminds a series of elaborate pranks, harmless at first, that quickly become malicious and life-threatening. Stripped of financial resources and convinced that he can trust no one, Nicholas begins to wonder if CRS is a front for a more covert operation, and if the game is in fact an attempt to steal his fortune and leave him for dead. Determined to fight back alone, Nicholas infiltrates CRS in order to "pull back the curtain and meet the wizard."
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Editorial Reviews

All Movie Guide - Karl Williams
Another superb thriller from the writing team behind The Net (1995) and director David Fincher, who once again turns even the most static, mundane sequences into visually arresting blitzkriegs of sound, motion, and composition. Michael Douglas is his typically solid self as a privileged, powerful white man whose old boy network entitlements are stripped away, a role he's played before and is starting to buff to a well-oiled sheen. He gets able supporting work from Sean Penn, who really only has two scenes in which he can shine, and Deborah Kara Unger as the under-realized love interest who, to be fair, really can't be better delineated without spoiling the surprise ending. The complex script folds in on itself in satisfying fashion, with a few glaring questions lingering (the result of a third act fall off a skyscraper begs some further explanation), but not to such a degree that the film is spoiled. Where the film achieves "underrated classic" status, however, is in Fincher's relentlessly interesting direction. He seems to combine the drive of Oliver Stone with the class and flair of Alfred Hitchcock, all funneled through the sensibilities of MTV and Generation X. Fincher has the artistic chops to be one of the top shooters alive, but he has the good grace and wisdom to let his script be his guide. The Game (1997) is, just like the film that would follow it, 1999's Fight Club, a superior genre film that deserves more respect.
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Product Details

  • Release Date: 8/27/2002
  • UPC: 096896077936
  • Original Release: 1997

    • Rating:

  • Source: Universal Studios
  • Format: VHS

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits
Michael Douglas Nicholas Van Orton
Sean Penn Conrad
Deborah Kara Unger Christine
James Rebhorn Jim Feingold
Peter Donat Samuel Sutherland
Carroll Baker Ilsa
Anna Katarina Elizabeth
Armin Mueller-Stahl Anson Baer
Tommy Flanagan
Harrison Young
Technical Credits
David Fincher Director
Jeffrey Beecroft Production Designer
Yudi Bennett Asst. Director
John Brancato Co-producer, Screenwriter
Willie D. Burton Sound/Sound Designer
Jackie Carr Set Decoration/Design
Ceán Chaffin Producer
Jeff Cronenweth Camera Operator
Michael Ferris Co-producer, Screenwriter
Steve Golin Producer
James Haygood Editor
Michael Kaplan Costumes/Costume Designer
Alan S. Kaye Set Decoration/Design
Ren Klyce Sound/Sound Designer
Jonathan Mostow Executive Producer
Don Phillips Casting
Steven A. Saklad Art Director
Harris Savides Cinematographer
Howard Shore Score Composer
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Customer Reviews

Average Rating 4.5
( 10 )
Rating Distribution

5 Star

(6)

4 Star

(3)

3 Star

(0)

2 Star

(0)

1 Star

(1)

Your Rating:

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Sort by: Showing all of 10 Customer Reviews

  • Posted November 10, 2012

    Simply one of the worst films I have ever seen, I'm sad to say.

    Simply one of the worst films I have ever seen, I'm sad to say. I really wanted to like it because I LOVE Fincher's 90s films, but this just aggravated me to no end. I'm shocked, to be honest, that it got a Criterion release.

    1 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted October 1, 2010

    Best Movie I have ever seen...

    This is the best movie I have ever seen... It will keep you awake for the whole time and you can't guess what's gonna happen next. Highly recommended!!!!

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted October 1, 2010

    What Goes Around Comes Around...

    Do un to others, what others would want to be done to u.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted October 1, 2010

    If you like games, you'll like this.

    The Game features a great cast lead by Michael Douglas in which movie watchers are led through a mind-twisting, suspenseful, incredibly fun movie ride.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted October 1, 2010

    The ultimate game

    When you add a successful, smart, Handsome, educated man A.K.A Michael Douglas in one of his TM roles, a game given to him by a sibling, infuriating events, and one helluva hot chick, you get The Game. David Fincher's amazing suspense thriller that keeps you guessing from the first end of the movie to the end. Which begs the question: Are we all in a game? ---Joe.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted October 1, 2010

    Compelling, Mysterious, and Altogether Wonderful

    This has been my fav movie since the first time I saw it. The surprise ending makes such a great twist on the plot that it will make your head spin. Also, majorly mysterious and head turning. This is easily one of the greatest movies of all time. Definately worth seeing.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted January 17, 2010

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted May 27, 2009

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted July 24, 2010

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted October 27, 2008

    No text was provided for this review.

Sort by: Showing all of 10 Customer Reviews