10 Amazing Films From Directors Who Stopped Giving A Damn

David Fincher's first decade as a Hollywood film director had its highs and lows. His first feature, 1992's Alien³, was by all accounts a very unhappy experience for the seasoned commercial and music video veteran, but he came back with a vengeance on 1995's Seven. After that, 1997's The Game met a warm but comparatively muted response.

So when the time came for Fincher to helm his adaptation of Chuck Palahniuk's novel Fight Club, Fincher was determined to pull out all the stops. The result was an aggressive, in-your-face attack on 1990s America which actors Brad Pitt and Edward Norton both declared the best film they'd ever made.

With a $63 million budget, Fight Club was an expensive risk for 20th Century Fox, and not one that paid off in the short term, as it only took $100 million at the worldwide box office. As a result, Fox fired their head of production Bill Mechanic, and Fincher wouldn't make another film for the studio until 2014's Gone Girl.

Still, almost two decades later most would agree it ranks among the best work of all involved, though it continues to prompt mixed readings and controversy to this day.