The Movie
A story that begins as another pair of mismatched detectives on the trail of a cold-blooded killer quickly develops into one of the most intelligent and terrifying thrillers ever made. Se7en commands the attention of the audience, lest we fall behind in the pursuit of a madman who has begun a series of seven murders to be revealed over the course of seven days, each inspired by one of the seven deadly sins: Gluttony, Greed, Sloth, Wrath, Pride, Lust and Envy.
Yes, Detectives Somerset and Mills (Morgan Freeman and Brad Pitt) butt heads repeatedly, and yes one of them is only a week away from retirement, but there are no car chases and no one admits to being "too old for this shit." Instead, they need to dig deep for clues, finding a series of the most gruesome corpses ever caught on film, while attempting to get inside the perp's head by studying the different interpretations of the sins. But ultimately it's the killer's show, leading to a climax that still shocks a decade-and-a-half later.
The Picture
Director David Fincher's 2.4:1 canvas is unremittingly bleak, visually, which underscores the dramatic intent perfectly, and yet his visions are hypnotic as well, to the point that we can't look away even when we want to. The clean glow of a flashlight in the dark is an indication of the sublime quality of this new, Fincher-approved edition. Blacks are delicious, detailed, and most important natural-looking in every scene, while detail is sharper than I have ever seen for this film. A hint of grain is visible, along with a very slight twitch to some fine clothing patterns/textures, and minor haloing in a couple of shots, but all in all this glorious remaster was worth the wait.
The Sound
The sound too has been addressed anew, for high-resolution DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1. Whatever unnamed city this is, it is noisy as hell, bustling, with plenty of angry, frightened, and frightening voices, all part of a seamless mix with plenty of bass and really aggressive surrounds for the many active environments, The pounding rain doesn't let up for much of the movie, and then when we're in an autopsy room, a drain pipe is gurgling just to remind us of the constant deluge outside. Music weaves in and out most effectively, and the result is an appropriately unsettling sonic accompaniment.
The Extras
The disc does an admirable job of maintaining the bonus material of the Platinum Series DVD, some of which was interactive and quite advanced for its day. Up first are four different full running audio commentaries, all featuring David Fincher. "The Stars" track adds Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman; "The Story" includes academic/expert Richard Dyer, writer Andrew Kevin Walker, film editor Richard Francis-Bruce and former New Line Cinema President of Production Michael DeLuca; "The Picture" rounds up director of photography Darius Khondji and production designer Arthur Max, along with Francis-Bruce and Dyer again; and "The Sound" brings together sound designer/sound effects editor/sound effects supervisor Ren Klyce, composer Howard Shore and Mr. Dyer one more time.
The Theatrical EPK (electronic press kit, video assembled to promote the original release of the film) is archived here, along with multiple still-frame galleries. The Telecine Gallery allows us to toggle between 1997 and 2000 audio and video for three scenes, and segments on Mastering for the Home Theater explain the technical approach to three key aspects of post-production, each with its own expert commentary. There are eight deleted scenes and extended takes, an alternate ending, and featurettes on the production design and the creation of John Doe's notebooks.
The exploration of the opening title sequence allows us to analyze it from three angles and with six different audio options. All of the video here is a low-bitrate VC-1 that resembles the MPEG-2 of a standard DVD. There is no new bonus content provided for this edition, and some old content, like the printable DVD-ROM screenplay that links back to the finished movie, is now gone. The single Blu-ray disc comes packed inside a beautifully designed little hardcover book.
Final Thoughts
There had been plenty of serial killer thrillers before Se7en, and perhaps too many since, but none can match its brains, guts and audio/visual style. Book packaging notwithstanding, it's the high-def picture and sound that's new for Blu here, and they're enough to make this one a keeper.
Product Details
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