The ending to cult 1999 US film Fight Club has been removed for viewers in China, and replaced by a screen with a message saying the authorities won. The original ending saw Edward Norton's narrator killing his imaginary alter-ego Tyler Durden, played by Brad Pitt, before bombs destroyed buildings in the climax to a subversive plot to reorder society, dubbed Project Mayhem. In China, before the explosions, a message now says the police foiled the plot, arrested the criminals and sent Durden to a "lunatic asylum". The new finale tells viewers: "Through the clue provided by Tyler, the police rapidly figured out the whole plan and arrested all criminals, successfully preventing the bomb from exploding. "After the trial, Tyler was sent to lunatic asylum receiving psychological treatment. He was discharged from the hospital in 2012." Director David Fincher's film has recently been added to streaming platform Tencent Video, and Human Rights Watch described the changes as "dystopian". Brad Pitt played the anarchic Tyler Durden in Fight Club Dissident artist Ai Weiwei also posted a link to a story about the changes, with the question: "What Would Tyler Durden Say?" Chuck Palahniuk, who wrote the 1996 novel that Fight Club was adapted from, wrote sarcastically on Twitter: "This is SUPER wonderful! Everyone gets a happy ending in China!" The author added on Substack: "How amazing. I'd no idea! Justice always wins. Nothing ever exploded. Fini." US senator Ted Cruz, a Republican representing Texas, wrote: "The second rule of Fight Club is 'we will do and say whatever the Chinese communist censors tell us to do and say.'" The changes were flagged up on social media by outraged viewers who had previously seen pirated copies of the original. It's not uncommon for Chinese censor to make cuts to Western films, but it's more rare for them to change an ending. Some social media users made light of the new Fight Club ending View original tweet on Twitter Others took the opportunity to suggest their own alternative endings. View original tweet on Twitter
Yah, like Enter the Dragon and the other hundred hands of kung fuey films he did for some high ass Hollywood mofos back in the day. I know Bruce Lee, just confused on the link... Reminds me of his son Brandon Lee and how he got killed on the Crow back in the nineties, I hate knowing this stuff but... Can't escape it living on west coast US. Like a plague... Of useless knowledge. Anyways yah. fact he's like long dead. I know I don't click on every link in every post just confused..so if it was in one of the media clips maybe I missed it and any humor now long sucked dry from a joke you probably made by my lazy idiosyncratic quick retort nature. I mean besides China. I lost the link. Interesting I didn't know he was actually born in San Francisco, though, one more useless bit to add. Lol. Oh the internet.
China's Tencent restores Fight Club ending after backlash Brad Pitt played the anarchic Tyler Durden in Fight Club Chinese streaming giant Tencent has reinstated the original ending of a Hollywood movie after a censored version last month sparked backlash. (see above lol) The original ending to the 1999 film Fight Club, starring Brad Pitt, shows scenes of explosions and relentless fighting. But China's version simply showed a message on screen saying the authorities won and saved the day. The change ignited intense debate about cinematic censorship in China. Warning: There are plot spoilers ahead. The latest version on Tencent reportedly restores about 11 of the 12 minutes that were cut. According to news site SCMP, the scenes still missing are those featuring nudity. The cult classic, directed by David Fincher, stars Edward Norton as the narrator and Brad Pitt as his imaginary alter ego, Tyler Durden. The film's original finale shows Norton's character killing his alter ego, before bombs destroy buildings in a subversive plot to reorder society. China's version of the film, which was only released last month, cut all those scenes, and instead explained that the police foiled the plot, arrested the criminals and sent Durden to a "lunatic asylum". "Through the clue provided by Tyler, the police rapidly figured out the whole plan and arrested all criminals, successfully preventing the bomb from exploding," it said. The censored ending was ridiculed online and criticised by both human rights groups and Chinese viewers who had previously seen pirated versions of the original. Human Rights Watch described the changes as "dystopian". Chuck Palahniuk, who wrote the 1996 novel that Fight Club was adapted from, wrote sarcastically on Twitter: "This is SUPER wonderful! Everyone gets a happy ending in China!" The author also wrote on the online platform, Substack: "How amazing. I'd no idea! Justice always wins. Nothing ever exploded. Fini." It is not uncommon for Chinese broadcasters to censor anything that may be deemed politically or culturally sensitive. Last year's Friends: The Reunion special saw several cuts being made by Chinese censors, including scenes with Lady Gaga. The pop star's repertoire was banned from mainland China after she met the Dalai Lama in June, who is considered a separatist by Chinese authorities. However, it is less common for them to change an ending, and rarer still to see those cuts reversed.
This is the case with all movies for the Chinese market. The state always has to win, and you shouldn't even think otherwise