You can expect a very different ending if you stream Fight Club in China, with law enforcement saving the day.
The creators of Fight Club should have added a ninth rule to the list of regulations featured in the film: “You do not change the ending of Fight Club.” Because that’s exactly what China has gone and done, cutting the film short to make sure the ‘good guys’ win.
If you’ve waited 22 whole years to watch the David Fincher classic, you have no right to be annoyed about spoilers. But here’s a warning anyway: this article does contain spoilers so read at your own risk.
Originally, Fight Club ends with Edward Norton’s character realising that Tyler Durden isn’t real, but rather an alter-ego of himself. Norton’s character then shoots himself to kill Tyler, then watches on as Project Mayhem (members of the fight club) detonate bombs to blow up multiple buildings.
But as you could imagine, the themes of anarchy didn’t sit well with China’s censorship authorities, and the entire scene featuring the exploding buildings was removed.
Instead, the movie cuts to a title card that reads, “The police rapidly figured out the whole plan and arrested all criminals, successfully preventing the bomb from exploding,” according to Variety.
The title card continues, “After the trial, Tyler was sent to lunatic asylum [sic] receiving psychological treatment. He was discharged from the hospital in 2012.”
We wonder how believable the censored version is, considering the character’s name isn’t even Tyler and the viewer would have just found that out.
