Brad Pitt received mixed reviews, and many were critical of Pitt's performance. According to Mick LaSalle of the "San Francisco Chronicle", Pitt was unable to "make an audience believe that he knows all the mysteries of death and eternity." Roger Ebert stated "Pitt is a fine actor, but this performance is a miscalculation." In 1999, Pitt portrayed Tyler Durden in "Fight Club", a film adaptation of Chuck Palahniuk's novel of the same name, directed by David Fincher. Pitt prepared for the part with lessons in boxing, taekwondo, and grappling. To look the part, Pitt consented to the removal of pieces of his
Victory (1996 film) Victory (1996 film) Victory is a 1996 French-German drama suspense film written and directed by Mark Peploe and starring Willem Dafoe, Irène Jacob, Sam Neill and Rufus Sewell. It is based on the novel of the same name by Joseph Conrad. The novel had been adapted into film on multiple previous occasions, including a 1919 silent version directed by Maurice Tourneur and featuring Jack Holt, Seena Owen, Lon Chaney, Sr., and Wallace Beery; the 1930 William Wellman directed "Dangerous Paradise", starring Nancy Carroll, Richard Arlen and Warner Oland; and the 1940 version, featuring Fredric March, Betty Field, and Sir Cedric