Review: The Game

The Game is a 1997 film directed by David Fincher, and made after his major success, Se7en. It's a shame in a way that directors get 'type cast' in the sense that through most of The Game you're waiting for some big revelation or shock moment to occur, as in Se7en  with the man who died of starvation or the 'what's in the box' question, but it never really happens. M Night Shyamalan suffers from the same problem, that following The Sixth Sense everyone expected all his films to have the same 'shock surprise' ending.



But on to The Game. It stars Michael Douglas as Nicholas Van Orton, a wealthy investment banker-type, who is given by his brother Conrad (Sean Penn) a voucher for an experience called 'The Game' - basically a company which will constantly surprise you and make your life 'interesting'.  So as he is basically bored with pretty much everything, he visits their offices, fills in all the paperwork, and waits ...

Then things start to happen. A waitress (Deborah Kara Unger) spills drink all over him in a restaurant and he gets a message to not let her go, so he follows her. They are then followed by gunmen and a chase ensues ... and so on ...

The film then progresses on this basis, with Nicholas being involved in all manner of escapades, resulting in him trying to find the company again to get them to stop - but they have vanished. He also realises that the man he saw was an actor and so he tries to track them down. The film ends in a climactic rooftop battle and ... but I don't want to spoil it ...



The problem with the film is that it contains way too many coincidences (or plot holes). Things 'set up' by the company for Nicholas to stumble over are such that all it needed was him to make one different decision about something - which direction to go in etc - and none of it would work - the ending is perhaps most at fault for this ...



Overall the film seems somewhat slow and leaden by today's standards. Douglas seems to phone in his performance for some of it, but overall, and given that he is - I think - literally in every scene - does pretty well. He manages to display the slow burn from ennui to broken insanity with effective believability, and indeed, it's as much a showcase for his talent as it is for Fincher.



Overall this is an interesting film, and probably well overdue a reissue from Arrow, which comes with the customary slew of extras.









TWO-DISC LIMITED DELUXE EDITION CONTENTS



Limited to only 3,000 units
Deluxe packaging including a 200-page hardback book housed in a
rigid slipcase, illustrated with newly commissioned artwork by Corey
Brickley
200-page book exclusive to this edition includes a
newly-commissioned full-length monograph by Bilge Ebiri, and selected
archive materials, including an American Cinematographer article from
1997, a 2004 interview with Harris Savides by Alexander Ballinger, and
the chapter on the film from Dark Eye: The Films of David Fincher by
James Swallow
Arrow Academy Blu-ray including new bonus features and UK home video premiere of director-approved 2K restoration
Universal Special Edition DVD featuring archive extras with cast and crew

DISC ONE – BLU-RAY



2K restoration from the original negative by The Criterion
Collection supervised and approved by director David Fincher and
cinematographer Harris Savides
High Definition Blu-ray™ (1080p) presentation
Original 5.1 & 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio
Isolated Music & Effects track
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
New audio commentary by critic and programmer Nick Pinkerton
Fool's Week: Developing The Game, a newly filmed interview with co-writer John Brancato
Men On The Chessboard: The Hidden Pleasures of The Game, a new visual essay by critic Neil Young
Archive promotional interview with star Michael Douglas from 1997
Alternatively-framed 4:3 version prepared for home video (SD only),
with new introduction discussing Fincher’s use of the Super 35 shooting
format
Theatrical trailer
Teaser trailer
Image gallery

DISC TWO – DVD



Standard definition DVD (PAL) presentation
5.1 Dolby Digital audio
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
Audio commentary with director David Fincher, actor Michael Douglas,
screenwriters John Brancato and Michael Ferris, director of photography
Harris Savides, production designer Jeffrey Beecroft and visual effects
supervisor Kevin Haug
Behind The Scenes featurettes - Dog Chase, The Taxi, Christine’s
House, The Fall (with optional commentary by Fincher, Douglas, Savides,
Beecroft and Haug)
On Location featurettes – Exterior Parking Lot: Blue Screen Shot,
Exterior Fioli Mansion: Father’s Death, Interior CRS Lobby and Offices,
Interior Fioli Mansion: Vandalism, Exterior Mexican Cemetary (with
optional commentary by Fincher, Savides, Beecroft and Haug)
Theatrical trailer (with optional commentary by Fincher)
Teaser trailer
Teaser trailer CGI test footage (with optional commentary by designer/animator Richard Baily)
Alternate ending
Production design and storyboard galleries