Warner Home Video has brought out one of David Fincher’s classics (sorry folks, he has classics) in a suspense driven, gross fest called Seven.
For those of you living under a rock….
Detective Lt. William Somerset (Morgan Freeman) has seen it all and because of that he is nearing retirement. His replacement is Detective David Mills (Brad Pitt) is shadowing him on his last week of work to take over when Somerset retires. The two detectives think things will be smooth sailing until they happen upon a murder that seems less like a single incident and more like the beginning of a serial killer. Armed with instinct and research, the two detectives set off on a wild goose chase against a killer that kills in accordance with the seven deadly sins. Somerset and Mills must find a way to stop him before he finishes the list.
In terms of suspense thrillers this movie is unrivaled in the 90s and possibly even the last ten years. There are few movies out there where the hero (or in this case, heroes) seem to be so close to cracking the mystery only to find themselves two steps behind. This type of risk taking for first time filmmaker David Fincher was either a make or break moment for his career. Thankfully, the ultimate tragedy of the film turns out to be the best part of the film; which is sick, but beautiful (and no, I’m not going to tell you how it ends). What I particularly enjoy about Seven is how well the story is crafted and how it never gets off track even after several plot points that seem unnecessary (they come back together at the end). Credit Andrew Kevin Walker’s screenplay for keeping things going when it comes to a very steady story from beginning to end.
Also, you have to give credit to the two lead actors that were perfectly cast for their respective roles. Morgan Freeman’s Somerset was perfect for the veteran actor. They needed someone who had been around the block in this particularly cruel, unnamed city. Freeman took every opportunity onscreen to let Pitt’s Mills understand how much he knew and what methods to use to keep you sane in regards to a murder investigation. Opposite of Freeman was Brad Pitt. Up to this point I hadn’t given Brad Pitt much thought thanks to movies like Legends of the Fall. Sure he had been in movies before, but his sole purpose as an actor prior to Seven was to be a gorgeous piece of work; sad, but true. Pitt took a chance with Mills and shed his pretty boy looks and his intelligent smile in exchange for a character who was impatient, sloppy and driven by his emotions; again, not even close to the methodical thinking of Somerset. Together they provided some perfect onscreen chemistry that translated to an intense progression during the film.
Two other factors contributed to the success of the film. The first factor was the location. The movie was based in an unnamed city that constantly looked beat-up, trashy and surprisingly always under a thunderstorm warning (until the end). Having an atmosphere where you’ve got worn down locations and scummy looking buildings and people sets up a serial killing perfectly.
The second factor that helped out is that you don’t know who the killer is. They never credited the actor during the opening credits, so it sets up that atmosphere of uncertainty. You, the audience, are in the same boat with the two detectives. You won’t know who the killer is until they discover him. It really makes for an intense movie experience.
In the end, Seven is one of the best movies to come out of the 90s and still stays strong this year…. especially on Blu-ray.
Warner Home Video has excelled in the past two years with providing what I consider the highest quality of Blu-ray available. Much like my review of Hamlet, I think that WHV puts some of the best material in with their Blu-rays and some of the best cleaned up video on HD.
Starting with the video, Seven is one of those films that regretfully benefits from an HD upgrade. You get all the grotesque features of the murders magnified nauseously well. For example, when the police break into the third victim’s home to find a decaying body latched onto a worn out bed you’ll see exactly what I mean by ‘magnified nauseously’ as texture of the rotting skin and worn out eyes comes through all too well. As much as I hate looking at it, I certainly appreciate it. On top of this you get some great audio to make the visuals that more intense. For example, when Mills is running after the serial killer in the middle of the movie and takes a fall from the fire escape ladder to broken bottles and trash bags you get some of the most painful sounds coming through your 5.1-7.1 set up. Credit Warner’s remastering process, which I would love to know.
In terms of features they’re broken up into two categories. The first is the actual ‘special features’ included on the disc. You get some old stuff that you’ve seen before as well as some new stuff. You get commentary from actors and directors (really excellent stuff for the budding filmmakers in your household), additional and extended scenes, an alternate ending (glad they didn’t do it this way), a very cool featurette on The Notebooks that John Doe (the killer) writes into and some other things that make the special features worth your time.
Finally, you get a very cool hardback booklet for the Blu-ray case. The booklet is full of information about the director, actors and the process that the filmmakers went through. Also, compared to other booklet Blu-rays that Warner Home Video released, the pages for this seem to be higher quality. I’m not sure why, but it’s a welcomed addition (though minor).