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Virgin Radio
25 Jan 2022, 14:41
Credit: Rex
A new version of David Fincher's 1999 cult classic has been released in China, but the film has been edited to create one pretty important difference to the plot. In it, the authorities win!
In the original movie, an unnamed insomniac (‘The Narrator’ played by Edward Norton) finds himself increasingly unhappy with his capitalistic lifestyle, and makes friends with an infinitely cooler soap salesman called Tyler (played by Brad Pitt). They form an underground fight club, and The Narrator becomes embroiled in a relationship with a destitute woman, Marla Singer (played by Bonham Carter).
If you haven’t seen the iconic film, firstly, where have you been for the past couple of decades? And secondly, you night want to look away to avoid spoilers regarding its ending.
In the movie, things unravel pretty quickly, and it becomes clear that Tyler plans to erase debt by destroying buildings that contain credit card records. This is something that The Narrator tries to stop happening.
As the film reaches its conclusion, with Tyler holding him at gunpoint, Edward Norton’s character realises that… hold on a minute… he and Tyler are the same person, and he has been projecting him the whole time. He’s actually the one holding the gun, and so he fires it into his own mouth, shooting through his cheek.
This action causes Tyler - the narrator’s alter-ego - to die. The film ends with The Narrator watching a skyline full of skyscrapers exploding, suggesting that Tyler’s (his) plan to destroy capitalist society is well and truly underway.
However, if you watch the film via the Tencent Video streaming service in China, you’ll see something rather different happening. In this newly edited version, the action fades to black after The Narrator gets rid of Durden by shooting himself in the head, but - crucially - before a single building explodes.
In lieu of the spectacular explosions in the original version of the film, a message appears that reads: “Through the clue provided by Tyler, the police rapidly figured out the whole plan and arrested all criminals, successfully preventing the bomb from exploding.”
The message goes on to read: “After the trial, Tyler was sent to a lunatic asylum receiving psychiatric treatment. He was discharged from the hospital in 2012.”
This addition to the plot is a bit odd really, considering Tyler was entirely imaginary!
China is known for its restrictive censorship rules. For instance, in 2019, scenes in the film Bohemian Rhapsody which referenced Freddie Mercury’s sexuality were dropped, despite it being a vital part of the story.
It seems that, in this instance, the first rule of Fight Club in China is that the police win!
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