Plot: What’s it about?
Detective William Somerset (Morgan Freeman) has one week left until his retirement, which is an event he is much looking forward to. His captain (R. Lee Ermey) thinks he will remain on the force after all, but Somerset is determined to escape the city, which has become too corrupt in his eyes. He has seen the violence and loss his entire life, but has never become immune and looks to the day when he can leave it all behind him. His new partner (and perhaps replacement) has arrived in the form of David Mills (Brad Pitt), a detective who requested the transfer to this department. The two venture off to an unusual crime scene soon, where it seems as though a man has been force fed until his stomach exploded. After some intense research from Somerset, the discovery is made that this crime was more than a simple murder. As they’re working on that case, a famous trial lawyer is found bled to death, with the word “greed” scrawled across the floor in blood. Afterwards, Somerset returns to the scene of the first crime, where some work yields the hidden scribbling of “gluttony” on the wall in grease, which Somerset knows is bad news. With five days until his retirement, an ongoing hassle with Mills, and his own personal issues to resolve, this patterns of murders is the last thing Somerset wants to deal with.
I wanted to love this film when it was first released, but I was let down by what I saw. I’ve seen the movie more than a few times since and have started to warm up more, but I still think it falls short of the true potential. Director David Fincher and his crew conjure some excellent visuals and locations, while Morgan Freeman leads a more than decent cast. I think Se7en is one of the better serial killers out there, so genre fans will want to make sure to own this flick, especially in this new two disc edition. New Line first issued Se7en in a bare bones, non anamorphic disc back in the wee hours of DVD, but now we have a new, loaded release that brings back some of the original featurettes. In addition to the aforementioned problems, that first issue also had to be flipped halfway through the film, which has been solved in this edition.
I like the films of David Fincher a lot and even though I consider this his weakest film, it is loaded with intense visuals and is very well made. I know a lot of you will disagree with me, but I feel this is Fincher’s most mainstream work, thought it is not bad in the least. It seems to try too hard at times to shock or be offbeat, but thanks to an excellent production design team, the negatives are well counter balanced. Fincher’s usual dark approach works to perfection with this storyline, so there seems to be a natural mesh process from the start. This isn’t his finest film by any means, but as usual, Fincher is more than up to the task.
Video: How does it look?
The film has a very unique look about it and I remember watching a “vintage” feature about how some of the scenes are graded (this feature is present on the disc, by the way). Having said that, we do get a new 4K transfer for this mid 90’s classic. About the only thing that really jumped out at me was the fine detail delineation. The film immediately just felt “sharper” to me, giving it more definition. Colors are all over the place and there was even a segment that showed how a filmed scene was tweaked in post production to give it a very polarized edge to it. Though the movie is a fifteen years old, we still see every wrinkle on Morgan Freeman’s face and though Brad Pitt didn’t really have wrinkles at the time, we see his five o’clock shadow and the various cuts that occur over the course of the film. As “interesting” a transfer as Se7en is, it looks that much better in 4K.
Audio: How does it sound?
At first glance, it would seem that an opportunity was missed when it came to the audio mix – No Dolby Atmos. And upon further inspection, we find a DTS HD Master Audio track but it isn’t the one that appeared on the previously-released Blu-ray. That one had 7.1 channels, this has 5.1. A downgrade? Think again. This isn’t to say that the new track makes all the difference in the world; rather it just adds some substance and depth to the movie. Dialogue is, of course, very rich and full with no distortion in the least. Surrounds are constantly humming along and are there to add some ambiance in a number of scenes. The majority of the action takes place in the front stage, but little things like gunshots, the helicopter scene and even a car chase all sound that much better here.
Supplements: What are the extras?
I remember first receiving the New Line Platinum Series DVD back in 2000 and taking the better part of a day to go through the supplements. Most of those are present here and there’s a lot to digest so let’s get started.
- Audio Commentaries – Four, count ’em, four in all. If you’re a fan of the film, this will give you over 8 hours of the respective spoken words from all angles.
- The Stars: David Fincher, Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman – The first track features Morgan Freeman, David Fincher, and Brad Pitt, who discuss general behind the scenes stuff and their thoughts on the character/film. This is a new track and not the same one found in Criterion’s edition, but it is still an informative and engaging experience.
- The Story: Richard Dyer, Andrew Kevin Walker, Richard Francis-Bruce, Michael De Luca, David Fincher – Next is a focus on the writing aspects of the film, with Fincher being joined by the screenwriter, editor, and Vice President of New Line. This is, again a very informative track and I think my choice as the best of those found on this disc.
- The Picture: Darius Khondji, Arthur Max, Richard Francis-Bruce, Richard Dyer, David Fincher – Fincher is back in the third track as well, which looks at the visuals of Se7en and features the director of photography and production designer as well. Another fine track that gives insight into another facet of the film, which is always welcome in my book.
- The Sound: Ren Klyce, Howard Shore, Richard Dyer, David Fincher – The final track covers the audio of Se7en and yes, Fincher is back and here we also find the composer and sound designer. In between comments, we’re treated to the isolated musical score, which is a nice touch.
- Deleted Scenes – A selection of deleted and extended sequences, which include an alternate opening and two alternate endings. You can also choose to hear Fincher’s comments on these sequences as he explains why the scenes were axed from the final version.
- Car Ride in from Gluttony
- My Future
- Raid on Victor’s
- Spare Some Change?
- Tracy Wakes from Light Sleep
- Pride
- Alternate endings – Two total, one is the original test ending with the other in storyboard format.
- Animated storyboards of un-shot ending
- Original “Test” ending
- Still Photographs (featurettes) – Several short featurettes are included that give us some sights we wish we could unsee. If you’ve ever wanted to be a C.S.I. this might make you think again.
- John Doe’s Photographs
- Victor’s Decomposition
- Police Crime Scene Photographs
- Production Photographs
- The Notebooks
- Production Design – A brief segment that gives us the look and feel of the film.
- Mastering for the Home Theater – Admittedly it’s a bit antiquated and if you really want or need a reference disc, use Digital Home Essentials instead.
- Exploration of the Opening Title Sequence: Early Storyboards
- Exploration of the Opening Title Sequence: Rough Version
- Exploration of the Opening Title Sequence: Final Edit
- Exploration of the Opening Title Sequence: Stereo Audio Commentary One – The Concept – Designer Kyle Cooper (featurette)
- Exploration of the Opening Title Sequence: Stereo Audio Commentary Two – The Sound – Brant Biles & Robert Margouleff (featurette)
- Theatrical EPK – Another short segment that tells us what we’ve already seen.
The Bottom Line
Three decades later Se7en still holds up as a top notch thriller. While it might not be for all audiences, those who’ve seen it will enjoy the updated audio and video specs as well as a bevy of supplmental features. This is what essentially solidified Brad Pitt as a moviestar and a worthwhile follow-up to Legends of the Fall.
