Film Excess - Free Ukraine - Stop Putin - End the war NOW!!: The Game (1997) - Douglas shines in Fincher's cool mystery-thriller ride

1/14/2021

The Game (1997) - Douglas shines in Fincher's cool mystery-thriller ride

♥♥♥♥♥

+ Best Big Flop Movie of the Year + Best Thriller of the Year + Costliest Flop of the Year: 26.24 mil. $ range

Star Michael Douglas disintegrates in the shape of a puzzle on this enticing poster for David Fincher's The Game

An arrogant investment banker has his 48th birthday, and he gets a very special gift from his convalescing younger brother; a gift certificate for a mysterious game. One that will change his life.

The Game is written by John Brancato and Michael Ferris (Primeval (2007), both) and directed by great Coloradoan filmmaker David Fincher (Alien 3 (1992))

Michael Douglas (Animal World (2018)) is terribly good (again) in this super-charged mystery thriller, which does rest on a rather fantastical premise, one that may be hard to buy for some, but which shouldn't hold things up, because here is a formidable suspense picture, a ride in the best sense of the word.

Fincher has staged it with extreme command of style and look, (including rocking cinematography by Harris Savides (Illuminata (1998))). From the cast James Rebhorn (Carlito's Way (1993)) is also worth picking out as a great hoax artist here. The Game is a dark major picture, which makes you wonder; can all of your actions actually be anticipated?

David Fincher: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011) - Fincher's Nordic noir is technically astute but overlong and redundant

The Social Network (2010) - Fincher's a-hole biopic leaves me cold (and more anti-Facebook than ever)

1997 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess

Alien 3 (1992) or, The Monsters Go to Jail!

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: 70 mil. $

Box office: 109.4 mil. $

= Big flop (1.56 times its cost)

[The Game premiered 3 September (New York) and runs 128 minutes. The screenplay was a spec script acquisition, which was offered to Fincher on the backside of his success with Se7en (1995). Fincher has described what the film is about as "loss of control." Douglas was paid 20 mil. $ for his performance. Jodie Foster sued production company Polygram for 45 mil. $ for betraying a promise for her to act in the film (for 4.5 mil. $), but the case was settled out of court in 1996, with Foster's Egg Pictures continuing collaboration with Polygram. Shooting took place in Mexico, California, including Los Angeles and San Francisco, from August 1996 - January 1997. It opened #1 to a 14.3 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it spent another 2 weeks in the top 5 (#2-#5) and grossed 48.3 mil. $ (44.1 % of the total gross). Roger Ebert gave the film a 3.5/4 star review, equal in rating to this one. Fincher has later stated that he should have listened to his wife, (who advised him against making the film), because he didn't "figure out the third act". Fincher returned with Fight Club (1999). Douglas returned in A Perfect Murder (1998). The Game is certified fresh at 75 % with a 7.40/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of The Game?

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Donald Sutherland has passed away

Born in Canada, Sutherland battled polio as a child. His first credit was in Suspense (1963, TV-series) and his first film was The Castle of the Living Dead (1964). Later credits in his remarkable career include The Saint (1965-66), The Dirty Dozen (1967), M*A*S*H (1970), Kelly's Heroes (1970), Klute (1971), Don't Look Now (1973), 1900 (1976), Casanova (1976), The Eagle Has Landed (1976), Ordinary People (1980), A Dry White Season (1989), JFK (1991), Outbreak (1995), Fallen (1998), Virus (1999), Fierce People (2005), Pride & Prejudice (2005), Lord of War (2005), The Hunger Games (2012), The Undoing (2020, miniseries) and many more. He passed away at age 88. R.I.P.

Roger Corman has passed away

Born in Detroit, Michigan, Corman had a sprawling, intellectually hungry life as a youth and young man before arriving with his first film in 1955, Five Guns West. He would follow that with titles such as Apache Woman, It Conquered the World, Attack of the Crab Monsters, Teenage Cave Man, A Bucket of Blood, House of Usher, The Little Shop of Horrors, The Pit and the Pendulum, The Intruder, The Raven, The Terror, The Masque of Red Death, The Tomb of Ligeia, The Wild Angels, The Trip, Bloody Mama and many more. As a producer he was behind almost 500 films. Arguably among the most important filmmakers of the 20th century, Corman passed away at age 98. R.I.P.

William Friedkin has died

Born in Chicago, Friedkin accrued TV credits prior to his advance to the big screen as the director of Good TImes (1967), The Birthday Party (1968), The Night They Raided Minsky's (1968) and The Boys in the Band (1970) before his major breakthrough, The French Connection (1971), for which he won his only Oscar. He followed it up with the even bigger smash, The Exorcist (1973), arguably the best horror film of all time, for which he was Oscar-nominated. Later credits include Sorcerer (1977), Cruising (1980), To Live and Die in L.A. (1985), Rampage (1987), Rules of Engagement (2000), Killer Joe (2011) and The Devil and Father Amorth (2017, documentary). Friedkin passed away at age 87. R.I.P.

Louise Fletcher has passed away

Born in Alabama to deaf parents, Fletcher got her first credits in late-1950s TV-series.She took a 10 year-long sabbatical to devote her time to motherhood after the release of A Gathering of Eagles, but then came back and soon saw her career's most important part, as Nurse Ratched in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), for which she won her sole Oscar. Later credits include Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977), The Lucky Star (1980), Brainstorm (1983), Two Moon Junction (1988), Cruel Intentions (1999), A Perfect Man (2013) and many more. Fletcher passed away at age 88. R.I.P.

Jean-Luc Godard has passed away

Born in Paris, France, Godard lived much of his life in Switzerland. He wrote for French film criticism magazine Cahiers du Cinema and became foundational for the New French Wave that inspired new waves in scores of other countries across the world with his Breathless (1960). Later credits include A Woman Is A Woman (1961), Vivre Sa Vie (1962), Le Petit Soldat (1962), Contempt (1963), Alphaville (1965), Pierrot le Fou (1965), 2 or 3 Things I Know About Her (1967), Weekend (1967), Every Man for Himself (1980), King Lear (1987), Century of Cinema (1995, documentary), Goodbye to Language (2014) and many more. Godard died of assisted suicide at age 91. R.I.P.

Wolfgang Petersen has died

James Caan has died

Caan was born the son of Jewish immigrants from Germany in New York. He got his start on TV in the early 1960s. His credits include El Dorado (1966), The Rain People (1969), Brian's Song (1971, TV movie), The Godfather (1972), - for which he earned his only Oscar nomination, - Slither (1973), The Gambler (1974), Funny Lady (1975), Rollerball (1975), Silent Movie (1976), Hide in Plain Sight (1980), - the only film he also directed, - Thief (1981), Misery (1990), Honeymoon in Vegas (1992), Bottle Rocket (1996), Eraser (1996), Dogville (2003), Elf (2003), Las Vegas (2003-07), Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009) and many more. Caan passed away at age 82. R.I.P.

Jean-Louis Trintignant has died

Born in Vaucluse, France, Trintignant's theatrical debut as an actor was in If All the Guys in the World... (1955). Later credits include ...And God Created Woman (1956), The Seven Deadly Sins (1961), Inferno (1964), A Man and A Woman (1966), My Love, My Love (1967), A Man to Kill (1967), The Great Silence (1968), Z (1969), The Assassination (1972), Three Colors: Red (1994), Amour (2012), Happy End (2017) and many more. He also wrote and directed two films in the 1970s. Trintignant passed away at age 91. R.I.P.

Ray Liotta has died

Adopted from an orphenage at a young age, Liotta got hooked on acting in high school. He had various TV credits in the late 1970s and early 80s, with his film debut in The Lonely Lady (1983). Later credits include Something Wild (1986), Field of Dreams (1989), Goodfellas (1990), Cop Land (1997), Hannibal (2001), Blow (2001), Narc (2002), John Q (2002), Identity (2003), Observe and Report (2009), Youth in Revolt (2009), The Details (2011), Killing THem Softly (2012), The Place Beyond the Pines (2012), Shades of Blue (2016-18), The Simpsons (2018, TV-series), Marriage Story (2019), The Many Saints of Newark (2021), Black Bird (2022, TV-series) and many more. Liotta passed away at age 67 in his sleep while on production in the Dominican Republic. R.I.P.

Philip Baker Hall has died

Born in Ohio, Hall didn't start acting until he was 30. His long list of credits include Zabriskie Point (1970), Miami Vice (1987, TV-series), Midnight Run (1988), Ghostbusters II (1989), Cheers (1993, TV-series), Hard Eight (1996), The Rock (1996), Air Force One (1997), Boogie Nights (1997), Seinfeld (1991-98), Rush Hour (1998), The Insider (1999), Magnolia (1999), The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), Bruce Almighty (2003), Dogville (2003), The Zodiac (2005), Zodiac (2007), Curb Your Enthusiasm (2004-09), Mr. Popper's Penguins (2011), Modern Family (2011-12) and many more. Hall passed away at age 90. R.I.P.

Film Excess - Free Ukraine - Stop Putin - End the war NOW!!

Eagerly anticipating this week ... (17-24)

1/14/2021

The Game (1997) - Douglas shines in Fincher's cool mystery-thriller ride

Related posts:

David Fincher: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011) - Fincher's Nordic noir is technically astute but overlong and redundant

The Social Network (2010) - Fincher's a-hole biopic leaves me cold (and more anti-Facebook than ever)

1997 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess

Alien 3 (1992) or, The Monsters Go to Jail!

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Eagerly anticipating this week ... (16-24)

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