The Ending

Well, yes. It gave it a totally different feel. In the movie he was freed of Tyler in a way he wasn't in the book and he got the girl, sort-of. He beat the system and he took control of Project Myhem.

In the book he didn't do any of that. He killed Tyler for the moment, perhaps, but wound up in an sanitarium surrounded by his own mad creations. It was creepy in the book and happy in the film.

Ever see Swordfish? Quoting John Travolta's character, "Audiences like happy endings." Well, not this girl. I found it horribly unsatisfying. Or, maybe that's just because I read the book first.

[QUOTE=elrobotico]Ever see Swordfish? Quoting John Travolta's character, "Audiences like happy endings." Well, not this girl. I found it horribly unsatisfying. Or, maybe that's just because I read the book first.[/QUOTE]

I read the book first as well. When it first came out and many times since. But the film had a more freewheeling attitude than the book, and for that I didn't mind the stylized ending. It was almost a comment on happy endings, pomo, you know?

After a fashion...

Oh, by the way. People shouldn't quote Swordfish. That's just wrong.

Yeah, I totally get it. That 'freewheeling attitude' was just taken to a bit more in the movie.

And I'm very sorry about Swordfish. I saw it again today, and it came to mind. It is rather cretinish for a 'techie' film (if you can even call it that).

Personally, I think the different feel from the ending of the movie v. the book is that the movie leaves audiences with the idea that now that Tyler is gone the narrator's life will be just fine.

The cops know that Robert Paulson is buried in the garden of his house.
The cops know that he was the leader of the group that was going to blow up those buildings.
They'll have the evidence on him (I'm sure comparing the residue from the explosions to the residue in the bathtubs will be easy enough).
Plus the space monkeys all still think he's Tyler.

It could make for some interesting Fan Fiction. Something along the lines of Tyler's plan working and the narrator becoming the god and creator of this new world. Could look at the "god's unwanted children" thing from the god's perspective. It might make an interesting short story but I believe that there, thankfully, isn't enough material there for them to attempt a movie sequel.

I am more than thankful. We'd end up with a bad Exorcist-style sequel. And we suffered enough after that. I would only consider seeing a sequel if there was a sequel to the book, which I'm not expecting. EVER.

[QUOTE=elrobotico]Ever see Swordfish? Quoting John Travolta's character, "Audiences like happy endings." Well, not this girl. I found it horribly unsatisfying. Or, maybe that's just because I read the book first.[/QUOTE]
GIRL!?

Uh, last time I checked.

[QUOTE=elrobotico]Uh, last time I checked.[/QUOTE]
yeah but how long ago was that?

Okay, this thread is headed in a weird direction...

i dont know maybe someone can help me with something, i always change my mind when i think about this. in the end of the movie, are they in a different building than when tyler is kicking jacks ass in the basement, cause if they arent then him and marla die not to mention the plan was to have the spacemonkeys there too and they would die along with tyler and jack, killing everyone, project mayhem, but then again tyler never wanted a bunch of people following him, so i guess he wanted to end it. i dont know i can be a big idiot sometimes

Yep, according to the commentary, I think it was the Palahniuk/Uhls one, where they clear it all up. They were in a different building.

oh yeah i remember
havent listened to that commentary in a long time
thanks

[QUOTE=elrobotico]I am more than thankful. We'd end up with a bad Exorcist-style sequel. And we suffered enough after that. I would only consider seeing a sequel if there was a sequel to the book, which I'm not expecting. EVER.[/QUOTE]

Maybe Fred Durst will star in it like he does the game.

I remember being really upset when I saw FC in theaters because they molested the ending so much. I liked the ambiguity of the novel's ending, but found the happy Hollywood ending pretty boring. Jack gets the girl and they ride off into the sunset happily ever after. Bleh. It's probably true that an audience wouldn't have liked the ending that's in the book, but it's still disappointing that they made such a drastic change.

[QUOTE=Fake_Self]I remember being really upset when I saw FC in theaters because they molested the ending so much. I liked the ambiguity of the novel's ending, but found the happy Hollywood ending pretty boring. Jack gets the girl and they ride off into the sunset happily ever after. Bleh. It's probably true that an audience wouldn't have liked the ending that's in the book, but it's still disappointing that they made such a drastic change.[/QUOTE]
You, see this:

[QUOTE=MaceQuantex]The cops know that Robert Paulson is buried in the garden of his house.
The cops know that he was the leader of the group that was going to blow up those buildings.
They'll have the evidence on him (I'm sure comparing the residue from the explosions to the residue in the bathtubs will be easy enough).
Plus the space monkeys all still think he's Tyler.[/QUOTE]
Still think it's such a happy ending?

The movie ending makes more sense. It leaves you with a better feeling, letting you knowing Tyler really won after all. The Narrator is screwed. The buildings blew up and Narrator=Tyler in everyone's eyes. He will become legend like Tyler said. The book ending is just some half-assed copout. Oh, he was just a crazy person. Now he's in a mental institution where he belongs.

Maybe I'm not as quick witted as you are but the movie certainly doesn't let "you know that Tyler won after all." It may be loosely implied, but the movie may as well end with the camera fading to black in one of those heart shaped fade-outs like they used to use in old tv shows and cartoons. Even if all of your assumptions come to pass the movie still ends on the upstroke: Awww he's better, look how happy he will be. "But, I'm okay... I'm fine...I'm sorry... you met me at a very strange time in my life."

As far as film is concerned, if they didn't show it: it didn't/doesn't happen. If the filmmakers wanted you to think Jack was in for it they'd have at least showed some cops heading to the building, but they didn't. Tyler is defeated and Jack will live happily ever after. Besides if the attack went off as planned won't the greater chaos cover the narrator's ass?

Fake Self, you're contradicting yourself. How do you know that "Jack" will live happily ever after when they didn't show it? Regardless, I actually agree with you. Although all of that other stuff is there, the movie still ends on a "Tyler's gone, Jack gets Marla, everything is OK" note.

I truly prefer the ending in the book. He's every bit as screwed in that ending as he is in the movie (possibly even more so).

I liked both endings. Two different endings.

And would i call it a happy ending to the movie?

I suppose. But what really struck me about the ending was the idea that.. the revolution is working. Things are changing. Its a new beginning. We can build anything. (Reminiscent of Chokes ending). Its a tranformation of a culture, just like a transformation that Jack went through, as Tyler.

And the flash of the dick at the end of the movie was classic.

I really think the Fight Club movie is well done. Its one of my favourite movies. You cant always get what you want, but sometimes you just might find you get what you need. And i got what i needed from the movie. I loved the dead pan narration, the black humour, the grittyness of it all. Basically saying.. Yea we are dirty filthy and grosss.. but so are you.

Sure bash the movie... OMG THE BOOK IS SO MUCH BETTERS!!!*%^@$!$&!!one!*&!$@$!

good for you than. The book is the book, the movie is the movie.

Both rock in their own way. And really was it such a happy ending with a flash of dick?

EDIT: to fake self... how do you know its happily ever after?

its just the beginning of a revolution. Is it happy for the credit card companies, is happy for the white collars?

No. Its just the beginning. The ending to me begged the question.. Where do we go from here? And the song fit it too.

DO NOT... FUCK WITH US!

I don't know for a fact that everything ends peachy keen any more than anyone knows for a fact that everything ends horribly, with tyler winning etc, that's the point. They don't tell us anything more than the sigh of relief happy ending.

They don't have to tell us. What's more logical: that just because the Narrator killed his imaginary friend that NO ONE else even knew about that he's going to walk away scot free? Or that because the buildings blew up (which was THE plan) and because the Narrator already turned himself earlier, gave the cops legit information which they verified, then escaped police custody, that he's screwed. All those things ARE in the movie, and that's all they have to tell us. Having a police raid at the end would just be a dumbed-down ending. We're supposed to be able to figure out that it's a false happy ending.

Since I can't tell who MockyMockins is talking to I just wish to point out that if it weren't for The Shawshank Redemption, Fight Club would be my favorite movie of all time. Bue because of Shawshank, Fight Club has to settle for "close second".

I love the movie's ending. I didn't read the book first, so first impressions probably have a lot to do with that. After reading the book, I almost prefer the movie ending. It was strange, because the movie lightened up a lot of the content. There were no crowds suffering through a hailstorm of office furniture. The pranks were all toned down a bit. But the ending? In the book, the target is a museum and only one building will be blown up. In the movie, they go after credit card companies and blow up a whole city. The movie, in my opinion, upped the ante at the end.

It's not really a happy or a sad ending. You have to stop looking at in terms of "Tyler won" or "The narrator won". There is so much left unresolved at the end, and that's how it should be. Tyler's gone, but not really. He was always part of the narrator. You can see a glimmer of his mischeif is still there when the narrator says "You've met me at a very strange time in my life." He even talks a little more like Tyler than usual.

Some people think that the climax of the movie is the revlelation of who Tyler really is. Or perhaps the Tyler/narrator fight scene in the parking lot. But for my money, that closing shot of Marla and the narrator watching those buildings crumble is the real climax. Everything that everyone in that movie did led up to that moment. There are infinite possibilities after that moment, and they all share one thing: they don't matter. This bizarrely tender shot of Marla and the narrator holding hands and watching the beginning of the end, it's pure beauty.

Everything else will be downhill from that moment on for the narrator, Marla, and probably the human race. It's the perfect moment to end the story, because nothing that any of them ever do will ever matter as much as that moment. Seeing the look in their eyes, you can tell that they KNOW that this is the defining moment of their lives, and unlike most people, they are appreciating it while it happens.

As far as the whole "getting the girl" aspect, don't forget that in the book Marla comes running after the narrator with an army of people who care for him. Even though they don't hold hands and watch the world end, he still gets the girl. The fact that he decides to try and blow his head off is irrelevant. He is still just as loved.

The book ending is different, because the last "assignment" was a failure. As such, the possibilities to come are still relevant. There could be greater things to come, and if you let your imagination run with it, it's a lot of fun. As a discussion piece, the ending of the book wins. But as an "ending", for my money, the movie wins.

Cheers,

finally, another person who actually understands it. but dont overwork it. well...actually it was perfect.

Long story short, I don't think that the book-end would have worked in a movie. As we all know books and movies are two very different mediums. What works in one, doesn't have to work in the other. I think Fincher did a great job converting the book into a film.

[QUOTE=Parkaboy]Well, yes. It gave it a totally different feel. In the movie he was freed of Tyler in a way he wasn't in the book and he got the girl, sort-of. He beat the system and he took control of Project Myhem.

In the book he didn't do any of that. He killed Tyler for the moment, perhaps, but wound up in an sanitarium surrounded by his own mad creations. It was creepy in the book and happy in the film.[/QUOTE]
the book is always better..........

[QUOTE=Space Monkey]Long story short, I don't think that the book-end would have worked in a movie. As we all know books and movies are two very different mediums. What works in one, doesn't have to work in the other. I think Fincher did a great job converting the book into a film.[/QUOTE]
i love that sig SM