Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4767 in DVD
• Released on: 2001-12-24
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Anamorphic, Dubbed, PAL, Widescreen
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English, French, Dutch
• Dubbed in: French, German, Spanish
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 123 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
It's not quite as clever as it tries to be, but The Game does a tremendous job of presenting the story of a rigid control freak trapped in circumstances that are increasingly beyond his control. Michael Douglas plays a rich, divorced, and dreadful investment banker whose 48th birthday reminds him of his father's suicide at the same age. He's locked in the cage of his own misery until his rebellious younger brother (Sean Penn) presents him with a birthday invitation to play "The Game" (described as "an experiential Book of the Month Club")--a mysterious offering from a company called Consumer Recreation Services. Before he knows the game has even begun, Douglas is caught up in a series of unexplained events designed to strip him of his tenuous security and cast him into a maelstrom of chaos. How do you play a game that hasn't any rules? That's what Douglas has to figure out, and he can't always rely on his intelligence to form logic out of what's happening to him. Seemingly cast as the fall guy in a conspiracy thriller, he encounters a waitress (Deborah Unger) who may or may not be trustworthy, and nothing can be taken at face value in a world turned upside down. Douglas is great at conveying the sheer panic of his character's dilemma, and despite some lapses in credibility and an anticlimactic ending, The Game remains a thinking person's thriller that grabs and holds your attention. Thematic resonance abounds between this and Seven and Fight Club, two of the other films by The Game 's director David Fincher. -- Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com

Special Features
16:9 Wide Screen
French\German\Spanish
English
English
Region 2
Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround English French German Spanish
Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
Dutch\French\German\Spanish

Synopsis
For the follow-up to his dark crime thriller SEVEN, director David Fincher decided to remain in a film noir vein. The result is THE GAME, a fast-paced cinematic roller-coaster ride that stars Michael Douglas as Nicholas Van Orton, a joyless San Francisco investment banker who receives an unusual birthday present from his estranged younger brother, Conrad (Sean Penn). The gift enrolls Nicholas in CRS (Consumer Recreation Services), a company that designs elaborate real-life games for each specific participant. As the game begins, the reluctant Nicholas becomes the victim of a series of pranks that quickly turn malicious and dangerous. Stripped of his finances and convinced that he can trust no one, Nicholas realizes that this game may be an attempt to steal his fortune and leave him for dead. In a desperate bid to regain his life, Nicholas infiltrates CRS in order to uncover the secrets of the mysterious organization.
Douglas is perfect playing the uptight businessman Nicholas, cleverly riffing on his Oscar-winning performance as the cold-blooded Gordon Gekko in WALL STREET. Fincher's Kafkaesque carnival show is an exercise in taut filmmaking that mischievously pulls a seemingly endless supply of rugs out from under both Nicholas and, even more impressive, the viewer.

Customer Reviews

more than just a "thriller"...
It goes without saying that David Fincher has unique visions when it comes to filmmaking, steering clear of any traditional styles. We saw this in "Se7en", "Fight Club", "Alien³", and even "Panic Room". Here, we have another interesting work from his cliché-free point of view.

The movie is organized and shot impeccably; the plot is imaginative and complicated as well as entertaining, pulling you immediately in. Sometimes the story drags on and next move seems visible, but this is not a big deal. The acting of Douglas, Penn, Unger and and even minor roles is satisfying.

Nicholas Van Orton, a workaholic investment banker, is such a hotshot that Michael Douglas was born to play: powerful, wealthy & brainy as well as cocky, mighty & haughty. Initially cool and reserved, then gradually less and less sure of himself, more and more perplexed when the things go awry. What a perfect character for Douglas as an actor...

Overwhelmed by his father's suicide and his divorce, he built a psychological & emotional cocoon around himself. But his life began changing entirely when he became enmeshed in an outstandingly elaborate real-life game, given as a birthday present by his brother Conrad. The game, arranged by a sinister outfit called CRS, is a bizzare one: no defined rules & no specified beginning or end. The aim of the game is to give Van Orton what he's lacking in real life. Actually, he starts out DEAD but the game brings something in him to life. After multitudes of twists, turns and near-death experiences arranged by CRS agents and allies, the cocoon is shattered and he turns into what he was made to be: A HUMAN BEING.

This is a film that will make you wish that you could play such a game in real life...

Amazing-has to be seen to be believed
Plot summary-
A workaholic millionaire businessman (Douglas), is given a birthday present of a ticket for 'The Game' by his Brother (Sean Penn). He tells him it will 'change his life'. So Douglas signs up for this 'game' but is informed he has been rejected - but the game has only just begun.

My thoughts-
This is an outstanding psychological mystery/thriller with Micheal Douglas giving an outstanding performance as the control freak workaholic who has everything to a man no longer in control, with various strange events going on as he asks several questions including 'What is the game?' and 'who is in control'. He gives a fantastic performance as he slowly loses control because he loses his fortune and is implicated in a murder, while coming to see whils't before he had everything, this is the first time he has really lives.
I don't think there has been anything else like it and with its tension and strange events will keep you guessing right up to the end.
The script and Douglas' performances are exceptional, and they are backed up by a good supporting cast and good direction, and they make one of the best and most original films of modern times.

RATING: 5 STARS *****

An oft-overlooked masterpiece
Ah, 'The Game' - aka 'The Other David Fincher Movie'. People often forget about this when discussing Fincher's career, often opting on concentrate on the (unfairly, in my opinion) maligned Alien 3, the 'return to form' Se7en and the career high for all concerned Fight Club. If you ask me this is a mistake, cos 'The Game' is a real thriller. The direction, as with all Fincher's movies, is taught and claustrophobic, and the top-notch script is littered with more twists and red herrings than even the likes of 'Wild Things'. Douglas and Penn wheel out their respective trademark 'disillusioned fat cat' and 'paranoid guy with ropey past' performances, but hey, if it broke don't fix it. Just don't let the person you're watching it with reveal the ending!