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.

Theatrical release: September 12, 1997.

Filmed at various locations in California and Baja California, Mexico.

Sean Penn appeared in three major films in 1997--THE GAME, SHE'S SO LOVELY, and U-TURN. Before these films, his only screen appearance since 1993 was his Oscar-nominated performance as a death-row inmate in DEAD MAN WALKING.

Jodie Foster was originally going to appear in the film, but complications with another commitment led to her dropping out. A few year later, however, Foster signed on to star in Fincher's THE PANIC ROOM after Nicole Kidman left the project because of an injury.

Director-actor Spike Jonze appears briefly as an emergency medical technician. In return, David Fincher makes a cameo in Jonze's BEING JOHN MALKOVICH.

Excerpt: "What do you get for the man who has everything?"--Conrad Van Orton (Sean Penn) to his brother, Nicholas Van Orton (Michael Douglas)
"'Consumer Recreation Services.' Well, I do have golf clubs...."--Nicholas
"Call that number."--Conrad
"Why?"--Nicholas
"Make your life...fun."--Conrad
"Fun."--Nicholas
"You know what that is...you've seen other people have it."--Conrad

"I'm being toyed with by a bunch of depraved children."--Nicholas

"I don't care about the money. I'm pulling back the curtain. I want to meet the wizard."--Nicholas

DVD Features:

Region 1
Keep Case
Letterbox - 2.35
Widescreen - 2.35
Audio:
Dolby Digital - 5.1 - English
Dolby Digital - 5.1 - French
Additional Release Material:
Filmmaker and Cast Biographies
Multiple Languages/Subtitles
Interactive Features:
Interactive Menus

Michael Douglas: Actor, THE STREETS OF SAN FRANCISCO/WALL STREET
Sean Penn: Actor, Director
Deborah Kara Unger: Canadian Actress
James Rebhorn: Supporting Actor
Anna Katerina: 
Peter Donat: Actor/Nephew Of Robert
Carroll Baker: American Actress
Armin Mueller-Stahl: German actor, working in USA
Charles Martinet: 
Scott Hunter McGuire: 
Jarion Monroe: 
Aaron Thomas Luchich: 
Victor Talmadge: 
Andre Brazen: 
Carlos Hey: 
Edward Campbell: 
Sean Lanthier: 
Esan Pena: 
James Brooks: Character actor, NOT Producer/Director
Terence Ford: 
Anni Long: 
Bob Scott: Character actor, mostly television movies
Keena Turner: 
Jeffery Michael Young: 
Kimberly Russell: Actress
Elizabeth Dennehy: 
Caroline Barclay: Actress
Florentine Mocan: 
John Aprea: Actor/"Savage Beach"
Harrison Young: 
 Tommy Flanagan Trio: Jazz Musicians
John Cassini: Canadian Actor
Kathryn Jean Harris: 
Christopher Cory: 
Yuji Okumoto: Actor/Male
Owen Masterson: 
Rachel Schadt: 
Mark Junior Boone: 
Joy Ann Ryan: 
Jack Kehoe: American Supporting Actor
Christopher John Fields: American Supporting Actor
Linda Manz: American Actress
Victor Ferrerira: 
Duffy Gaver: 
Robert J. Stephenson: 
Sean Maloney: 
Faustina Alcantar: 
Heriberto Norzagary: 
John Hammil: 
Tracie May: 
Rachel Steinberg: 
George Maguire: 
Sara Davallon: 
Trish Sommerville: 
Jason Kristopher: 
Soh Froehlich: 
Charles Brankira: 
Tammy Koehlev: 
Alex Lynwood: 
Michael Lynwood: 
Stephen Cowee: 
Daniel Schorr: 
Marc Siegler: 
Gerry Becker: SUPPORTING ACTOR
Pete Davidian: 
Bill Flannery: 
Harris Savides: 
Joe Frank: 
Jamie Midgley: 
Hideo Kimura: 
Tom Crowl: 
Jay Gordon: 
Curtis Vanterpool: 
Spike Jonze: Filmmaker/Actor

David Fincher: American director

Ceán Chaffin: 
Steve Golin: American Producer

John Brancato: Screenwriter
Michael Ferris: Screenwriter/V.P. Young Inventors

Howard Shore: 

Jim Haygood: 

"...The movie's thriller elements are given an additional gloss by the skill of the technical credits, and the wicked wit of the dialogue..."
"...Douglas gives a potentially clinical plot credibility and heart, while Fincher buffs can marvel at the sheer visual drama..."
4 stars out of 5 -- "[I]f you're interested in filmmaking craft, there's gristle here, while the main feature retains its power to needle and unnerve."
"...Michael Douglas again proves himself one of the most watchable actors on the big screen in THE GAME..."
"...[Mr. Fincher] has made THE GAME with impressive craftsmanship and a very high gloss....This film sustains visual allure on several levels..."
"...A brain-twisting thriller....Fincher has the touch of Hitchcock when it comes to creating tension and suspense..."