The Game

"What do you get for the man who has everything...?"

1997 2h 9m EN

🙌

7.6

BANGER

🍅

77%

FRESH

👌

METACRITIC

⭐

7.7

IMDB

★7.6TMDB · 7,638🍅77%Rotten Tomatoes●63Metacritic★7.7IMDB · 465,745

DramaThrillerMystery

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

In honor of his birthday, San Francisco banker Nicholas Van Orton, a financial genius and a cold-hearted loner, receives an unusual present from his younger brother, Conrad: a gift certificate to play a unique kind of game. In nary a nanosecond, Nicholas finds himself consumed by a dangerous set of ever-changing rules, unable to distinguish where the charade ends and reality begins.

“What do you get for the man who has everything...?”

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Cast

Michael Douglas
Nicholas Van Orton
Sean Penn
Conrad Van Orton
Deborah Kara Unger
Christine
James Rebhorn
Jim Feingold
Peter Donat
Samuel Sutherland
Carroll Baker
Ilsa
Anna Katarina
Elizabeth
Armin Mueller-Stahl
Anson Baer

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: David Fincher
Writers: John Brancato, Michael Ferris, Robert Consing
Languages: Cantonese, German, English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Mid-budget at $50M — the now-extinct middle tier of Hollywood.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

29 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 3 languages: Cantonese, German, English.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

CAST

Did you know

208+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by David Fincher, shot by Harris Savides. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Howard Shore. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor James Haygood shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Michael Douglas and Sean Penn and Deborah Kara Unger carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

David Fincher directs. Harris Savides behind the camera. Howard Shore scores. James Haygood cuts. Profitable at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in Cantonese, German, English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Mid-budget at $50M — the now-extinct middle tier of Hollywood.
229 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3Dialogue crosses 3 languages: Cantonese, German, English.
4208+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.
5Directed by David Fincher, shot by Harris Savides. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Howard Shore. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor James Haygood shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Michael Douglas and Sean Penn and Deborah Kara Unger carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "What do you get for the man who has everything...?".
10IMDB entry: tt0119174 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
11Released under 12 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Harris Savides
Original score: Howard Shore
Editing: James Haygood
Production design: Jeffrey Beecroft
Costume design: Michael Kaplan
Makeup / hair: Bridget Bergman
VFX supervisor: Alex Frisch
Sound: Ren Klyce
Stunt coordinator: Michael Runyard
Runtime: 129 min · 2h 9m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.78:1 (16:9)
Status: Released
Budget: $50,000,000
Box office: $109,423,648
Return: 219% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: The Game (1997)
Rotten Tomatoes: 77% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 63/100
IMDB rating: 7.7/10 · 465,745 votes
MPAA: R

Awards

1 nomination total

Also by

David Fincher

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

tmdb440066252019-03-09
★ 8/10
The Game is one of David Fincher's lesser known films (made right in between Se7en and Fight Club). But it's every bit as great as the ones for which he's received copious amounts of praise. This intricately plotted morality tale disguised as mystery thriller is exciting, nuanced, beautiful to look at, expertly acted, and engaging. I refuse to tell you anything about the story, only that you've never seen anything like it. I loved this movie!

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