Fight Club Lighting Analysis

David Fincher’s Fight Club is probably best known for its unique lighting. Cinematographer Jeff Cronenweth combined cinematographic styles from Fincher’s past films such as Seven and The Game for Fight Club. The cinematography throughout the film is what attracted audiences and really made the film stand out.

Low key lighting was used for most of the film, while the only high key lighting was used during scenes with just the narrator. The high key lighting during these scenes gave it a realistic feel. On the other hand when Tyler Durden was in the scenes with the narrator the lighting was low key to give off and unrealistic vibe. More than half of the film was shot at night, but even the daylight scenes are somewhat shadowed and dark. All of the scenes throughout the film seem to be not heavily lit.

A color theme of desaturated colors was used throughout the film. This technique made the characters look shiny, dark and unrealistic. Most of the film has green yellow tint, very dark, under exposed and unnatural colors. The lighting was used as a visual metaphor for the unrealistic, negative life of the narrator.

Adding all the elements of the lighting together, the dark, desaturated and unnatural colors visually give emphasis to the plot of the film. The cinematographic techniques throughout the film gave the audience a unique experience.