David Fincher is one of many hot directors (among them Antoine Fuqua, Gore Verbinski, and Spike Jonze) who received his start directing innovative music videos for Propaganda Films in the 1980s. Some of the best video work in history was done during this period, with Fincher’s coming to mind specifically as some of the best. His work on videos for Madonna, Paula Abdul, George Michael, and The Rolling Stones has had enormous influence on MTV artisans in the 90s. His video for Madonna’s “Vogue,” a Vaudevillian fantasy featuring gorgeously shot androgynous model-dancers pulsating like enlivened mannequins, is frequently cited next to Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” as the greatest music video of all time.
The director’s video work (specifically his numerous Paula Abdul videos) was far sunnier and more optimistic than his feature work has been, despite his videos’ occasionally kinky fascinations. His first feature was 1992’s “Alien3,” a notoriously turbulent production that more or less killed the Sigourney Weaver-led franchise. Fincher was brought to the project late in its life (after a whopping 30+ scripts had been recycled), and due to his inexperience and the project’s enormous mounting costs faced constant interference from 20th Century Fox, who were increasingly bothered by the film’s troubles. Ultimately it was a commercial and critical disappointment, paling in comparison to Ridley Scott and James Cameron’s vastly superior “Alien” films, and Fincher has subsequently refused to comment on his experiences with it.
One thing about “Alien 3” though – it was gorgeous. Fincher’s glum visual style was weirdly evocative – everything bathed in darkness, washed-out film stock, vomit-tinged set design, etc. – and showed a virtuoso ability to express mood with color (or lack thereof). This can be seen prominently in Fincher’s far better work that came afterwards. His next film, 1995’s “Se7en,” a serial killer thriller with Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman, and Gwyneth Paltrow, combined a sharp script with Fincher’s uncompromising attention to physical detail to create one of the most unlikely blockbusters in history. His next film, the arguably superior Michael Douglas-starring twist-laden thriller “The Game,” didn’t fare as well with audiences but has since become a cult favorite.
Fincher’s work has stood the test of time with remarkable consistency, particularly his films that weren’t received that well in the first place. “Fight Club,” for example, opened to bad reviews and lackluster box office in 1999, but has since become one of the biggest all-time DVD hits and is firmly planted on IMDB’s Top 50 films. The more conventional but no less entertaining Jodie Foster thrill-a-minute “Panic Room” has followed a similar trajectory, though its popularity isn’t as enormous as “Fight Club.”
Fincher’s latest is “Zodiac,” based on Robert Graysmith’s autobiographical accounting of his hunt for the San Francisco Bay Area ‘Zodiac killer’ in the 70s. Starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Chloë Sevigny, Mark Ruffalo, Robert Downey Jr., and Brian Cox, “Zodiac” has opened to strong reviews that highlight Fincher’s impressively pared-down, less manic style. Instead of the gross-out fever dream of “Se7en,” “Zodiac” is more subdued but no less terrifying. His next will be the F. Scott Fitzgerald adaptation “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” with “Babel” co-stars Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett.