American director David Fincher has one good quality: he only makes movies that he likes himself. Fincher doesn’t chase the quantity, but he brings each film to perfection. Every film is a masterpiece.
His work makes you think, the visual range is above all praise, and literary sources are perfect. Discover the world of quality cinema, enjoy one of the great films of the cult director.
The Killer
- Genre: Action, thriller, drama, crime, detective, adventure
- USA production / 2023
- Directed by David Fincher
- Cast: Michael Fassbender, Charles Parnell, Tilda Swinton, Lacey Dover, Arliss Howard, Monique Genderton, Sala Baker, Carrie O’Malley, Victoria Harris, Monica Gossmann
He is a true professional whose job is to bring death. The cold-blooded killer accurately and methodically tracks down and eliminates targets. But, as it turns out, nothing human is alien to him. And killers have crises and nervous breakdowns. The killer begins to ask himself questions, the answers to which drive him crazy.
David Fincher’s new hitman movie is based on the noir comic book of the same name by Frenchman Alexis Knowlent. The film will premiere on Netflix on November 10, 2023. David Fincher had already planned to make a film based on Knowlent’s comic book more than ten years ago at Paramount, but for unknown reasons the project did not take place.
Mank
- Rating IMDB – 6.8
- Genre: Biography, drama
- USA production / 2020
- Worldwide gross: $83 469
- Directed by David Fincher
- Cast: Gary Oldman, Amanda Seifred, Lily Collins, Tom Pelfrey, Arliss Howard, Tuppence Middleton, Monica Gossmann, Joseph Cross, Sam Troughton, Toby Leonard Moore
A dramatic biopic about the brilliant Hollywood screenwriter Herman Mankiewicz. 1940. The young director Orson Welles, famous for his legendary radio play based on the novel “The War of the Worlds” by Herbert Welles, receives carte blanche from a film studio to make his first film.
The director offers cooperation to the talented Herman Mankiewicz on the condition that his name not appear in the credits of the future motion picture. Mankiewicz, suffering from alcoholism, goes to a secluded cabin in the Mojave Desert, where in a few months he creates the script of the iconic «Citizen Kane».
«Citizen Kane» is a 1941 drama starring Orson Welles as director, producer, screenwriter, and lead actor. In 1942 the film was nominated for an Academy Award in nine categories and won Best Screenplay. According to polls of professional film critics, it is «the best film of all time».
Gone Girl
- Rating IMDB – 8.1
- Genre: Thriller, drama, detective
- USA production / 2014
- Budget: $61 000 000
- Worldwide gross: $369 330 363
- Directed by David Fincher
- Cast: Ben Affleck, Rosamund Pike, Neil Patrick Harris, Tyler Perry, Carrie Coon, Kim Dickens, Patrick Fugit, David Clennon, Lisa Baines, Missy Pyle
For every anniversary of marriage, Amy Elliott-Dunn prepares a surprise «treasure hunt» game for her beloved husband, Nicholas. The man, using clues, must discover the gift.
But this time, Nicholas, returning home, instead of a pleasant surprise, found his wife missing. The police believe that Nicholas himself is to blame for the girl’s disappearance. To prove his innocence, the man will have to use the clues left by Amy before her disappearance.
Work on the drama thriller had to be interrupted for four days because the main character Ben Affleck refused to wear a baseball cap with the logo of the New York Yankees. The thing is that Affleck is an avid fan of the Yankees’ rival Red Sox team. After negotiations, both sides reached a compromise, and on the head of the main character of the movie appeared a baseball cap Mets.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
- Rating IMDB – 7.8
- Genre: Detective, thriller, drama, crime
- USA, Sweden, Norway production / 2011
- Budget: $90 000 000
- Worldwide gross: $232 617 430
- Directed by David Fincher
- Cast: Daniel Craig, Rooney Mara, Christopher Plummer, Stellan Skarsgard, Steven Berkoff, Robin Wright, Jorik van Wageningen, Joely Richardson, Geraldine James, Goran Vishnich
Swedish journalist Mikael Blomkvist is forced to take up the case of the disappearance of Harriet Vanger due to money troubles. The 16-year-old girl disappeared without a trace forty years ago from a small island belonging to the powerful Vanger family. Blomkvist takes as his assistant Lisbeth Salander, a hacker girl with a complicated life story.
Actress Rooney Mara, performing the role of Lis Salander, did her best to live up to the image of the rebellious heroine. She not only shaved her head, bleached her eyebrows and did real piercings, but also took motorcycle courses, and took skateboarding lessons.
The Social Network
- Rating IMDB – 7.8
- Genre: Drama, biography
- USA production / 2010
- Budget: $50 000 000
- Worldwide gross: $224 920 315
- Directed by David Fincher
- Cast: Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, Justin Timberlake, Armie Hammer, Max Minghella, Rashida Jones, Brenda Song, Rooney Mara, Brian Barter, Joseph Mazzello
The story of the world’s youngest billionaire Mark Zuckerberg. After breaking up with his girlfriend, the 19-year-old Harvard University student created a website in just one night to rank female students by attractiveness.
Becoming instantly popular, the site not only crashed the university server, but also attracted the attention of influential investors to the talented programmer. Thus was born one of the first social networks, the legendary Facebook.
Mark Zuckerberg himself did not intend to watch the movie, but he did it anyway. The prototype of the main character discreetly praised the film and especially noted the match between the character’s clothing style and his own. In fact, all the clothes worn by actor Jesse Eisenberg were taken from real photos of Zuckerberg.
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
- Rating IMDB – 7.8
- Genre: Drama, fantasy
- USA production / 2008
- Budget: $150 000 000
- Worldwide gross: $333 932 083
- Directed by David Fincher
- Cast: Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Julia Ormond, Taraji P. Henson, Jason Fleming, Jared Harris, Tilda Swinton, Mahershala Ali, Elle Fanning, Elias Coteas
A person’s age is just numbers, and youth and old age are concepts that have more to do with psychology than chronology. A philosophical parable about the enigmatic Benjamin Button, who lived his life in reverse. From birth he was trapped in the body of an 84-year-old old man, and died as an infant, fully grasping the meaning of life.
The plot of one of director David Fincher’s best films is based on a short story of the same name by American classic Francis Scott Fitzgerald. The drama was nominated for an Oscar in thirteen nominations and won three of them.
Zodiac
- Rating IMDB – 7.7
- Genre: Thriller, Detective, Drama, Crime
- USA production / 2007
- Budget: $65 000 000
- Worldwide gross: $84 785 914
- Directed by David Fincher
- Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Mark Ruffalo, Anthony Edwards, Robert Downey Jr, Chloë Sevigny, John Carroll Lynch, Brian Cox, Elias Coteas, Dermot Mulrooney, Donal Logue
Some crimes remain unsolved. The end of the 1960s. California is plagued by bloody murders perpetrated by a maniac nicknamed «Zodiac». He not only massacres innocent victims but also bullies the police in the process.
The Zodiac craves popularity and sends letters of confession to local publications. In addition to the law-enforcement officers, concerned journalists take over the investigation of high-profile crimes.
The crime drama is based on real events. An unidentified killer nicknamed «Zodiac» claimed responsibility for 37 murders. A large number of men came under suspicion during the years-long investigation. The Zodiac case, however, is still open. The latest version is that the Zodiac was one Gary Francis Post, who died in 2018.
Panic Room
- Rating IMDB – 6.8
- Genre: Thriller, Drama, Crime
- USA production / 2002
- Budget: $48 000 000
- Worldwide gross: $196 397 415
- Directed by David Fincher
- Cast: Jodie Foster, Kristen Stewart, Forest Whitaker, Dwight Yoakam, Jared Leto, Patrick Beauchot, Anne Magnuson, Ian Buchanan, Mel Rodriguez, Paul Schultz
Meg Altman, who has moved into a new house with her daughter Sarah, discovers a hidden room, the so-called «panic room». The room, equipped with communication and bathroom facilities, can be used as a hiding place when criminals break into the house.
And on the first night, Meg and Sara had to use it. Intruders have broken into the house. They want to take the bonds hidden in the safe for a large sum of money. The problem is that the money is in the «panic room» where the frightened mother and daughter have taken refuge.
After filming «Fight Club,» which takes place in more than 150 locations, director David Fincher was looking for a story with a simpler production. And the script was found. The whole action of the dramatic thriller takes place in one house.
Fight Club
- Rating IMDB – 8.8
- Genre: Thriller, Drama, Crime
- USA, Germany production / 1999
- Budget: $63 000 000
- Worldwide gross: $100 853 753
- Directed by David Fincher
- Cast: Edward Norton, Brad Pitt, Helena Bonham Carter, Mit Loaf, Zack Grenier, Holt McCallany, Jared Leto, Aion Bailey, Richmond Arquette, David Andrews
The protagonist of David Fincher’s intellectual thriller, the nameless Narrator, is a typical representative of the office plankton. He is tormented by depression and the meaninglessness of existence.
One day on an airplane, the Narrator meets a soap salesman named Tyler Durden, who is the exact opposite of him. Together with his new buddy, the Narrator creates a Fight Club, where anyone can vent their aggression. Gradually the Fight Club turns into a terrorist group that wants to destroy the world of consumption and stuff.
One of David Fincher’s films, which has rightfully earned the title of a cult film. Leonardo DiCaprio took part in the making of the film, unknowingly. In the scene where the main character, played by Edward Norton appears in the cave, the steam from his mouth belongs to DiCaprio. Special effects specialists mounted it from shots of the legendary «Titanic» in 1997.
The Game
- Rating IMDB – 7.7
- Genre: Thriller, drama, detective, adventure
- USA production / 1997
- Budget: $50 000 000
- Worldwide gross: $109 423 648
- Directed by David Fincher
- Cast: Michael Douglas, Sean Penn, Deborah Kara Unger, James Rebhorn, Peter Donat, Carroll Baker, Anna Katarina, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Charles Martinet, Scott Hunter McGuire
A successful but terminally bored banker named Nicholas Van Orton is intrigued. His brother presents him with a gift – a certificate to play at an entertainment service firm. Taking advantage of it, Nicholas undergoes a host of medical tests and is denied services by the firm.
But soon strange things begin to happen around the banker, for which he blames the «Entertainment Service». And indeed, the game has already begun, and Nicholas’ life will never be the same again.
The Penrose triangle is used as the logo of the «Entertainment Service» company. This is one of the optical illusions, which at first glance is a projection of an ordinary three-dimensional object.
Se7en
- Rating IMDB – 8.6
- Genre: Thriller, drama, crime, detective
- USA production / 1995
- Budget: $33 000 000
- Worldwide gross: $327 311 859
- Directed by David Fincher
- Cast: Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kevin Spacey, R. Lee Ermey, John C. McGinley, Richard Schiff, Richard Roundtree, Mark Boone Jr. Katie
Cop partners William Somerset and David Mills confront crimes committed with particular sophistication. A criminal named John Doe punishes his victims by «punishing» them for their seven deadly sins with their own vices.
The first was Gluttony: an unbelievable fat man was literally fed to death. Next in line: Lust, Greed, Idleness, Pride, Anger, and Envy. Can the detectives solve the riddles posed to them by a criminal who fancies himself a weapon of God?
John Doe in Anglo-Saxon law is the designation of the male party in a lawsuit when the real plaintiff is unknown or anonymous. Nowadays this name is also given to unidentified male bodies. Bodies of women are referred to as Jane Does.
Alien³
- Rating IMDB – 6.4
- Genre: Horror, sci-fi, action, thriller
- USA production / 1992
- Budget: $50 000 000
- Worldwide gross: $159 814 498
- Directed by David Fincher
- Cast: Sigourney Weaver, Charles S. Dutton, Charles Dance, Paul McGann, Brian Glover, Ralph Brown, Daniel Webb, Christopher John Fields, Holt McCallany, Lance Henriksen
After fleeing from the planet of Aliens, the ship «Sulaco» with the few survivors on board heads for Earth. But one of the xenomorphs survives and causes a fire on the Sulaco. The rescue shuttle is stranded on the planet Fiorina 161, home to the worst prison in the universe. Sergeant Ripley is the only survivor. The woman must once again engage in an unequal struggle with the Aliens.
David Fincher’s feature directorial debut, which «launched» his successful film career. Because of numerous disagreements with the producers, the director left the project immediately after shooting, without taking part either in the editing or in the promotion of the picture.
