cult films

a collection of twentysomethings try to cope with relationships, loneliness, desire and their individual neuroses.

dir.: risa bramon garcia

comedy / drama
1999

cameo by elvis costello

soundtrack:
- “cruel to be kind” by nick lowe
- “in the flesh” by blondie
- “just what i needed” by the cars
- “our lips are sealed” by the go-go’s
- “i want candy” by bow wow wow
- “i don’t care” by the ramones
- “boogie wonderland” by girls against boys
- “ladies night” by kool & the gang
- “it’s different for girls” by joe jackson
- “nowhere girl” by b. movie
- “more than this” by roxy music
- “romeo and juliet” by dire straits
- “peace, love and understanding” by elvis costello
- “medley: rapture/maria/no exit” by blondie

amongst other shots of famous 80’s music

+: imdb

“if you only remember one thing I’ve said, remember this; james brown is the baddest motherfucker in show business.”

how much can you know about yourself if you’ve never been in a fight?

dir.: david fincher
crime/drama/thriller
1999
brad pitt / edward norton / helena bonham carter

facts:
- tyler durden was originally going to recite a workable recipe for home-made explosives as he does in the novel. but in the interest of public safety, the filmmakers decided to substitute fictional recipes for the real ones.
- author chuck palahniuk has stated that he found the film to be an improvement on his novel.
- the reverse-tracking shot out of the trash can, an elaborate digitally animated sequence, was the very last shot to be added to the film. the entire shot took 3 weeks to render. 
- in the short scene when tyler durden and the narrator are drunk and hitting golf balls, brad pitt and edward norton really are drunk, and the golf balls are sailing directly into the side of the catering truck.
- during rehearsals, brad pitt and edward norton found out that they both hated the new volkswagen beetle with a passion, and for the scene where tyler and the narrator are hitting cars with baseball bats, pitt and norton insisted that one of the cars be a beetle. as norton explains, he hates the car because the beetle was one of the primary symbols of 60s youth culture and freedom. however, the youth of the 60s had become the corporate bosses of the 90s, and had repackaged the symbol of their own youth, selling it to the youth of another generation as if it didn’t mean anything. both norton and pitt felt that this kind of corporate selling out was exactly what the film was railing against, hence the inclusion of the car; “it’s a perfect example of the baby boomer generation marketing its youth culture to us. as if our happiness is going to come by buying the symbol of their youth movement, even with the little flower holder in the plastic molding. it’s appalling to me. i hate it.”.
- the typeface used for the titles and logo is named “fight this”.
- david fincher took 12 takes of the stuntman rolling down the stairs for the fight between the narrator and tyler at the end of the film. the take used in the movie is the very first one. (hehehe)- the phrase, “you’re the all-singing, all-dancing crap of the world” is inspired by the book “also sprach zarathustra” by the german philosopher friedrich nietzsche.
- tyler appears in the film five times before we clearly see him on the moving walkway at the airport. in the first four appearances, he flashes on screen for a single frame (1/24 of a second) and only when the narrator has insomnia:
- at the photocopier at work;
- in the corridor outside the doctor’s office, when the narrator learns about the testicular cancer support group;
- at that group’s meeting;
- as the narrator sees marla leaving a meeting but doesn’t follow her.
- he can also be seen as a waiter in the presentation video of the hotel (he is the furthest waiter on the right).
- after the copyright warning, there is another warning on the dvd. this warning is from tyler durden, and is only there for a second:

“if you are reading this then this warning is for you.
every word you read of this is useless fine print is another second off your life.
don’t you have other things to do?
is your life so empty that you honestly can’t think of a better way to spend these moments?
or are you so impressed with authority that you give respect and credence to all who claim it?
do you read everything you’re supposed to read?
do you think everything you’re supposed to think?
buy what you’re told you should want?
get out of your apartment.
meet a member of the opposite sex.
stop the excessive shopping and masturbation.
quit your job.
start a fight.
prove you’re alive.
if you don’t claim your humanity you will become a statistic.
you have been warned…
tyler”. 

fraternal twins set out to rid boston of the evil men operating there while being tracked down by an fbi agent.

action / crime / drama / thriller
dir.: troy duffy
1999

willem dafoe as paul smecker
sean patric flanery as conner macmanus
norman reedus as murphy macmanus
david della rocco as david della ‘roc / funny man’ rocco
billy connolly as il duce

facts:

- patrick swayze, stephen dorff and robert de niro each passed to act in the film.
- the word “fuck” and its derivatives are used a total of 246 times.
- the character “david della rocco” is named after the actor who plays him, because the character was based on and written for him.
- the tattoo that connor has on his left hand/index finger says, “veritas” (latin for “truth”). murphy also has a tattoo in the same place but on his right hand, that says, “aequitas” (latin for “justice/equality”).
- shot in 32 days.
- kevin spacey was the original choice for paul smecker.
- the woman that the priest refers to in the opening scene of the film, kitty genovese, was an actual person. she was raped and murdered by a serial rapist in 1964 outside her home in queens while 13 eyewitnesses did nothing to save her. this apathetic bystander phenomenon is now referred to as genovese syndrome.
- when first entering the sin bin the words “abandon all hope, ye who enter,” are painted on the door. this is a reference to literary masterpiece “the divine comedy” by dante alighieri (when dante enters hell, the same words are carved at the entrance).
- the kitty genovese story told by the priest that inspires the brothers, also inspires rorschach, a character from watchmen (2009), to become a masked hero in the graphic novel.