The Game – Das Geschenk seines Lebens (1997)

The Game – Das Geschenk seines Lebens: Directed by David Fincher. With Michael Douglas, Sean Penn, Deborah Kara Unger, James Rebhorn. After a wealthy banker is given an opportunity to participate in a mysterious game, his life is turned upside down when he becomes unable to distinguish between the game and reality.

“After the great success, both with critics and with the public, of u0026quot;Sevenu0026quot;, Director David Fincher turned to this film. It has often been said that this movie was one heu0026#39;d wanted to make for a long time and upon viewing you can really see his belief in both characters and the story- overall an excellently directed movie.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAlthough several people argued that u0026quot;Sevenu0026quot; was gory, in my opinion it wasnu0026#39;t, for example, there is a total lack of blood in the Lust scene, something which I particularly admired- the fact that a director could make a chilling and shocking movie without resorting to piling tons of blood onto the screen. Fincher continues this streak in u0026quot;The Gameu0026quot; by drawing the tension and shocks of the film by using psychological terror.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eUnfortunately, the movie could not parallel the success of u0026quot;sevenu0026quot; upon its release and also received mixed critical reviews, however since then it has become somewhat of a cult movie with far more success on DVD than in the box office.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003ePerhaps most notable about the film is the fact that (apparently) Fincher himself often seems to direct his actors in a detached way, the way one might move around chess pieces in a game. Whether this is 100% true or not his direction, the acting and just about everything else is superb.”