Category: The Fincher Analyst

Glasgow Film Theater – Cinemasters: David Fincher

Glasgow Film
February 15, 2023

After making his name creating iconic music videos for some of the biggest pop stars of the 20th Century, including George Michael, Madonna, and Michael Jackson, David Fincher made his feature film debut to mixed results, directing the third installment in the Alien series in 1992. Our celebration of this exacting filmmaker’s work begins with the film that came next, Se7en (1995), an unforgettable serial killer horror whose influence in style and tone is still felt across film and TV today.

Fincher’s subsequent films have made him one of the most sought-after and critically acclaimed (and occasionally divisive) directors working today. With his new film The Killer, starring Michael Fassbender and Tilda Swinton, scheduled for release in late 2023, we are delighted to offer audiences a chance to dive into Fincher’s dark world on the big screen through March and April at GFT. The season includes several screenings on 35mm, our first chance to screen Fincher’s Oscar-winning Covid-era release Mank, and a special discussion around one of his most enduringly beloved and controversial films entitled ‘Yes, We Are Going to Talk About Fight Club’.

Films in this Season

Se7en: 15 – 19 March
Fight Club: 21 March – 26 March + panel discussion
Panic Room: 5 April
Zodiac: 29 March – 2 April
The Curious Benjamin Button: 9 – 10 April
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo: 23 April
The Social Network: 16 – 19 April
Gone Girl: 26 April
Mank: 30 April – 3 May

CineMasters: David Fincher Ticket deal

Buy tickets to 6 or more different titles in the season and get one of those tickets free. Add all tickets in one transaction and the discount will be automatically applied to your basket at checkout.

Buy tickets

The Fincher Analyst Reporter-at-Large, Joe Frady, will attend and cover the whole season.

Coca-Cola – “Blade Roller” (1993)

In 2021 AD, the futuristic megalopolis of ZERO-CITY is under martial law. When the authorities try to enforce a curfew, a gang of renegade “Blade Rollers” defy it rollerblading daredevil-style through the deserted rain-slicked streets.

For this stylistic homage to Blade Runner (Ridley Scott, 1982), director David Fincher recruited the cinematographer of the classic film, Jordan Cronenweth, ASC, one of his all-time heroes.

It was also the first collaboration between Fincher and Producer Ceán Chaffin.

Watch all the versions of the commercial and read The Fincher Analyst dossier:

1993. Coca-Cola – Blade Roller

Starring… David Fincher

Jodie Foster
“Panic Room” EPK (2002)

STARRING… DAVID FINCHER

SEVEN
David Fincher (1995)
David Fincher as “John Doe” (Promo clip alternative audio)

BEING JOHN MALKOVICH
Spike Jonze (1999)
David Fincher as “Christopher Bing” (Uncredited)

FULL FRONTAL
Steven Soderbergh (2002)
David Fincher as “Film Director”

“We walk in there with a china cup… they want beer mugs!”

DIRT. Season 1, Episode 1
Matthew Carnahan (2007)
David Fincher as “Himself”

LOGORAMA
François Alaux & Hervé de Crécy (2009)
David Fincher as “Pringles Original” / Andrew Kevin Walker as “Pringles Hot & Spicy”

Pressure and Obsession in the Films of David Fincher

Piers McCarthy
February 2012 / November 15, 2018

This dissertation aims to show the recurring themes of pressure and obsession in the work of film director David Fincher. Looking specifically at Seven (David Fincher, New Line Cinema, 1995), Zodiac (David Fincher, Paramount Pictures, 2007) and The Social Network (David Fincher, Columbia Pictures, 2010), I will show the gradual change in style and subject matter while still highlighting the resonance of the two themes under analysis. Furthermore, it will be shown how obsession and pressure link to Fincher’s working method. I will be examining critical, journalistic and academic writings to assess the themes and Fincher’s directorial position. Whereas Seven has had a great deal written about it, Zodiac and The Social Network are more recent films and thus there is less literature on them. For this reason, study on both films should garner more original analysis.

The themes of pressure and obsession differ slightly in all three films, however, there is an overriding sense in each film that the workplace and environment has a pressurizing effect on the characters. What is more, pressure can at times define the notion of obsession. Obsession is mostly shown as a mutation of characters’ personal drive, or an extension of their duties for work. The two themes can at times separate themselves in terms of aesthetic and narrative presentation yet they are mainly one and the same; at times they can even be analyzed in the context of Fincher’s filmmaking practice.

Chapter one gives an overview of contemporary Hollywood, the role of the director, Fincher in relation to both of these, the two themes under analysis and deliberations on auteurist theory – this constitutes the literature review. The second chapter examines the impetus of investigative obsession, along with the presentation of morbidity and tension in Seven. Chapter three looks at the similarity in obsessive personalities along with suspense and drama in Zodiac. Chapter four focuses on The Social Network and obsession effecting status quo. The conclusion will draw on the comparisons and contrasts from chapters two to four. It will also give an overall account of how we may regard Fincher in contemporary Hollywood and in respect to auteur theory.

Read the full dissertation

FincherFanatic (Blog) No More… Long Live FincherFanatic!

For a full decade, since January 2007, the FincherFanatic Blog has been the best source of information and news about one of the best directors of our time, and the unmissable gathering point for fans of exquisite and exciting filmmaking from all over the World.

Run with gentle fanaticism and infectious enthusiasm by FincherFanatic, it has officially ceased its activity due to “life catching up” with his author, who has kindly passed the torch to this site:

FincherFanatic (Blog) No More

Posted by: FincherFanatic
July 6, 2017
fincherfanatic.blogspot.com

Not that this were actually a news-worthy item at this point: Life has caught up, as so often it does, and as I am sure you all have guessed at this point. Time for the fincherfanatic blog there is no more — enthusiasm for Fincher’s work and craft will certainly remain…

I am deeply thankful for you wonderful bunch of fincherfanatics that have assembled here over the years, thank you for all of your emails, sharing your links and resources, and once again: a heartfelt thank you to Mr. Fincher himself for allowing me to meet him for a very generous interviews a few years back. Fincher’s works have been great subjects of study for my own story-telling and film-making efforts. Creating and maintaining this blog for some years was an instructive and very very fun thing to do. […]

That being said, there will be no more updates to this blog. I saw Daryl has set-up a new Fincher blog over at https://thefincheranalyst.com/, which I hereby highly recommend, and I will make sure to drop by there in the future.

Daryl, good luck with that, and thank you for carrying the torch.

To everyone else, thanks for stopping by and sticking around.

It will still remain as an invaluable source of 10 years worth of information, so keep it in your bookmarks or add it if it is not there yet.