Customer Reviews

Seven (Two-Disc Special Edition)

5 star:		(236)
4 star:		(46)
3 star:		(19)
2 star:		(18)
1 star:		(15)

 

 

I was excited to be able to purchase this fine film on blu-ray and viewed it right away when it arrived. I was upset to see that the origional aspect radio was no intact. As a true movie buff I want to see any movie in the correct aspect ratio how it was meant to be seen. The PQ is far superior to the old school two sided non-anamorphic ws dvd I have owned for years. I must say though that the adjusted aspect ratio is a most unwelcomed change. I will likley purchase a blu-ray copy of this film again when the correct aspect ratio becomes available.

The price was right,that's the reason I justify buying this Blu-ray....No special features,no subtitles and the incorrect aspect ratio.It is presented in full screen NOT widescreen.A very slight increase in picture quality due to the Blu-ray format but not much else...Still a good movie,but irritating to watch in this format.Wait for a reputable studio release,save a few bucks buying this version...DON'T!

I had an important DVD delivered through Express Canada Post from Ontario to Vancouver BC in less than twenty-four hours!
Hooray!!

Thank you Gerry!

In 1995, Director David Fincher joined Morgan Freeman and Brad Pitt in
the years most disgusting, tense and talked about films. Seven is a
look into a persons liking for gore and blood, all done through the
theme of the 7 deadly sins. Unlike Fight Club, another Fincher film,
Seven was made right before the DVD format was introduced. The
initial release of Seven on DVD was less then spectacular. The New
Line Platinum series is visually one of the most stunning releases to
come along in a while. Sonically, this release will surround you with
sound elements of such clarity and depth, it may seem too real at
times. The 2 disc package is similar to the Fight Club package. It
has two nicely designed discs in an attractive package. The menu
design on the discs are very impressive. What may seem confusing at
first becomes quickly understandable and easy to navigate throughout.
Disc 1 has the movie along with commentary by David Fincher, Morgan
Freeman and Brad Pitt. It also has commentary by the Screenwriter,
the Editor, a Professor of Film Studies and the new Line President of
Production. These commentaries are very insightful, informative and
entertaining to listen to. The scene selections are nice, shown with
still pictures and a title of each sequence. Disc 1 also has a simple
'color bars' setup. Picture quality of this movie is outstanding to
say the least, especially if you compare this release with the
previous DVD release. The original negative was used this time, and
the darkness of this film has never looked so incredibly clear.
Contrast and colors are beautiful...not too saturated for this type of
film, but quite stunning. Sharpness is well executed throughout the
film and I found it hard to see any grain or dirt on the picture.
This is obviously a first class transfer and the anamorphic widescreen
picture is superb. Sound quality is even more amazing. When you go
to your setup in the menu, you have a choice of English or French
subtitles. You also have a choice of stereo Surround Sound, Dolby EX
Surround Sound or DTS ES Surround Sound. Whatever type of system you
have, this film shines. If you have a surround system with a great
subwoofer, you will not believe your ears. This film has been rebuilt
from the ground up and remixed for DVD. Effects elements and
atmospheric sound effects will simply blow your mind. Dialogue is
clean and clear. The sound department responsible for this soundtrack
should be applauded. They did a superb job. Disc 2 has a bunch of
extras that will keep you busy for quite a while. The first extra on
the disc is an "exploration of the opening title sequence."
You get to choose from different angles and different audio options
while watching this sequence. You can watch an early storyboard
drawing of the title sequence, a rough version of the opening and the
final version of the opening title sequence. You can choose from a
surround mix, a Dolby EX mix that was made just for this DVD, or a
high quality 24bit/96Khz stereo mix. It's amazing how many options
you get to pick from just to watch something about the opening title
sequence! You can also listen to commentary by designer Kyle Cooper
or the Sound Engineers Brent Biles and Robert Margouleff. Wow! The
next pick on Disc 2 is where you get to see "Deleted Scenes"
and "Extended Takes" from the film, all with or without
David Finchers commentary. There are seven scenes to choose from and
are all fascinating to watch while listening to the commentary. The
next pick on Disc 2 are the "Alternate Endings." You have
your choice of the original "test" ending with or without
David Finchers commentary. You also can look at an animated
storyboard of an unshot ending. This was done really well and both
offer subtle differences and insight into the ending that is in the
film. Next, you can look at a bunch of Production Design stills with
commentary. This was also done very well, considering how amazing the
Production Design really is for this film. You next have choices of a
bunch of other still photographs from the film, including John Doe's
photographs, Victor's decomposition, police crime scene photographs
and production photographs. These come all with commentary, and this
is the first disc where I actually enjoyed still photos on a
DVD....very well done. Another choice you have on Disc 2 is called
'The Notebooks." This is a very informative sequence of stills
with commentary on how those infamous notebooks were created. When
you choose "Promotional Materials," you can watch the
theatrical EPK or the movie trailer. As with most DVD's, you can
choose "Filmographies" where you can see the resume's of all
the actors and many crew members. Finally, for all you technical
people out there, you can choose "Mastering for the Home
Theatre." This is a fantastic look into the film to video
transfer of Seven, as well as the color correcting, telecine, audio
mastering and mixing of Seven for the theatre as well as the remixing
for the DVD. All are played with scenes from the film comparing the
last release and this release of Seven. The commentary is both
educational and entertaining to listen to. In conclusion, Seven is a
must have DVD. Picture quality is outstanding. Audio quality is
fantastic, and the extras are wonderful. If you loved Seven in the
movies, or want to replace your old DVD release with this one, buy
Seven and prepare yourself for 2 hours of amazement. If you are a
lover of crime thrillers then get this disc. If you enjoy Morgan
Freeman, Brad Pitt or David Fincher then get this disc. It would be a
sin NOT to get this DVD! Enjoy!

This Blu-Ray disc of "Seven" is a bare bones imported release of the film only, with no menus or extras, that features only DTS English, Dolby 5.1 English, and Dolby 2.0 French audio tracks, and no subtitles. It is framed at 1:78, cropped in from the original 2:35 aspect ratio, and is in 1080i/60 not 1080p/24 with an AVC codec.

It appears to be a release, in the Canadian market, of a transfer originally made, one might guess, for HDTV pay per view, or some such thing. That said, contrary to what some disgruntled reviewers have written, the image is outstanding, within the limits mentioned above, with good luminance, which is very superior to the DVD version, excellent color and very sharp detail. The text of the opening credits have been repositioned to appear correctly in the reduced aspect ratio, which supports the idea that the transfer was originally made by the studio for HDTV.

Obviously, the are some compromises here. But considering that this is a fantastic film, that is currently unavailable in the US market, and which has not been announced for the US market any time soon, this is a great Blu-Ray disc to have of this film. Obviously, some overseas distributors are interpreting their contracts with the US studios to mean that if they can issue a DVD of a title in their territory then they can issue a Blu-Ray too. I would imagine there may have been some lively conversations about this implied right between the parties involved. Nevertheless, I would recommend this edition of "Seven" until an authorized US version comes along with menus, the complete extras, and all the audio/subtitle tracks.

Funny how everyone is up in arms over the 1080i misprint. More importantly, the aspect ratio is WRONG. Alliance has decided to present Seven in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1 (the OAR is 2.35:1). Huge mistake Alliance and shame on you for the error...

"At first sin is a stranger in the soul; then it becomes a guest; and when we are habituated to it, it becomes as if the master of the house." - Tolstoy.

Although not originating from the bible, the concept of deadly sins is almost as old as Christian doctrine itself. Theologians like 4th century Greek monk Evagrius of Pontus first compiled catalogues of deadly offenses against the divine order, which 6th century pope Gregory the Great consolidated into a list of seven sins, which in turn formed the basis of the works of medieval/renaissance writers like St. Thomas Aquinas ("Summa Theologiae"), Geoffrey Chaucer ("Canterbury Tales"), Christopher Marlowe ("Dr. Faustus"), Edmund Spenser ("The Faerie Queene") and Dante Alighieri ("Commedia Divina"/"Purgatorio"). And in times when the ability to read was a privilege rather than a basic skill, the depiction of sin in paintings wasn't far behind; particularly resulting from the 16th century's reformulation of church doctrine, the works of artists like Hieronymus Bosch and Pieter Bruegel the Elder brought the horrific results of humankind's penchant to indulge in vice back into general consciousness with surrealistic eloquence, reminding their viewers that no sin goes unseen (Bosch, "The Seven Deadly Sins") and that its commission leads straight into a hell reigned by gruesome, grotesque demons and devils whose sole purpose is to torture those fallen into their hands (Bosch, "The Hay-Wagon" and "The Last Judgment;" Bruegel, "The Triumph of Death" and "The Tower of Babel").

More recently, the seven deadly sins have been the subject of Stephen Sondheim's play "Getting Away With Murder" and a ballet by George Balanchine ("Seven Deadly Sins"); and on the silver screen the topic has been addressed almost since the beginning of filmmaking (Cabiria [1914], Intolerance [1916]). Thus, "Se7en" builds on a solid tradition both in its own domain and in other art forms, topically as well as in its approach, denouncing society's apathy towards vice and crime. Yet - and although expressly referencing the writings of St. Thomas Aquinas, Chaucer and Dante - David Fincher's movie eschews well-trodden paths and grabs the viewer's attention from the beginning; and it does so not merely by the depiction of serial killer John Doe's (Kevin Spacey's) crimes, which could easily degenerate into a mindless bloodfest that would defeat the movie's purpose. (Not that there isn't a fair share of blood and gore on display; both visually and in the characters' dialogue regarding those details not actually shown; but Fincher uses the crimes' gruesome nature to create a sense of stark realism, rather than for shock value alone.) In addition, Doe's mindset is painstakingly presented by the opening credits' jumpy nature, his "lair"'s apocalyptic makeup and his notebooks, all of which were actually written out (at considerable expense), and whose compilation is shown underlying the credits. The movie's atmosphere of unrelenting doom is further underscored by a color scheme dominated by brown, gray and only subdued hues of other colors, and by the fact that almost every outdoors scene is set in rain. Moreover, although screenwriter Andrew Kevin Walker explains on the DVD that the story was inspired by his observations in New York (and the movie was shot partly there, partly in L.A.), it is set in a faceless, nameless city, thus emphasizing that its concern isn't a specific location but society generally.

Central to the movie is the contrast between world-weary Detective Somerset (Morgan Freeman) who, while decrying the rampant occurrence of violence in society, for much of the movie seems to have resigned himself to his inability to do something meaningful about this (and therefore seems to accept apathy for himself, too, until his reluctant final turnaround), and younger Detective Mills (Brad Pitt), who fought for a reassignment to this particular location, perhaps naively expecting his contributions to actually make a difference; only to become a pawn in Doe's scheme instead and thus show that, given the right trigger, nobody is beyond temptation. As such, Somerset and Mills are not merely another incarnation of the well-known old-cop-young-cop pairing. Rather, their characters' development over the course of the film forces each viewer to examine his/her own stance towards vice.

Morgan Freeman and Brad Pitt perfectly portray the two detectives; while Freeman imbues his Will Somerset with a quiet dignity, professionalism and learning, muted by profound but not yet wholly irreversible resignation, Pitt's David Mills is a brash everyman from the suburbs with an undeniable streak of prejudice, a penchant for quick judgment and a thorough lack of sophistication, both personally and culturally. Notable are also the appearances of Gwyneth Paltrow (significantly Brad Pitt's real-life girlfriend at the time) as Mills's wife Tracy and ex-marine R. Lee Ermey as the police captain. Yet, from his very first appearance onwards, this is entirely Kevin Spacey's film. Reportedly, Brad Pitt especially fought hard for his casting; and it is indeed hard to imagine "Se7en" with anybody other than the guy who, that same year, also won an Oscar for portraying devilish Keyser Soze in "The Usual Suspects": No living actor has Spacey's ability to simultaneously express spine-chilling villainy, laconic indifference and limitless superiority with merely a few gestures and vocal inflections.

While "Se7en" can certainly claim the "sledgehammer" effect on its viewers sought by its fictional killer, the punishment meted out to Doe's victims - taking their perceived sins to the extreme - pales in comparison to that awaiting sinners according to medieval teachings. (Inter alia, gluttons would thus be forced to eat vermin, toads and snakes, greed-mongers put in cauldrons of boiling oil and those guilty of lust smothered in fire and brimstone.) Most serial killers have decidedly more mundane motivations than Doe. And after all, this is only a movie.

Right?

"Sin ... engenders vice by repetition of the same acts, [clouding the conscience and corrupting the judgment.] Thus sin tends to reproduce ... and reinforce itself, but it cannot destroy the moral sense at its root." - Catechism of the Catholic Church (1994).

After Legends of the Fall, Brad Pitt has been rumoured to have thrown a bit of a wobbler, wanting to be taken seriously as an actor and not just be seen as a teenage heart-throb. He cut off his blond locks and, for his next film, chose a much darker and sinister detective story that the teenage girls would have trouble getting into the cinema to see. What followed this decision is a cinematic masterpiece, a truly nightmarish tale that at times is hard to watch.

We are presented with a vision of a city that is so bleak and cruel that no one ever mentions its name. Two detectives--the cynical older detective (Freeman) and the ambitious young detective (Pitt)--are investigating the vilest series of murders that a cinema-going public can cope with. Each murder is based on one of the seven deadly sins everything from greed to, tragically at the climax of the film, wrath. Be thankful for one thing--that these murders were never shown to us; all we see is the bloody aftermath of these violent and unthinkable crimes. This is the master stroke of the film, for it catapults it from a gory slasher flick into cinematic art. It is a bleak, terrifying vision of the world we live in, and leaves you thinking, even hoping, that this is entirely a tale of fiction and such a place does not exist.

As stated, my LCD tele is putting out 1080i, just like the back of the DVD case says. i had to do a double take, but oh well. this is still an amazing movie, and i understand that you can't get extreme clarity from a movie that is 14 yrs old.
watched it, just a moving and disturbing as the first time i saw it.

warning:if you choose to watch this movie,know that you will enter on a
dark and twisted journey.David Fincher directs this film,which concerns
a serial killer who executes people,using the seven deadly sins as
justification.though there are some horrific and graphic images
here,there real genius of this movie is it's implied horror.this movie
will leave you with an impact long after the end credits have
rolled.David Fincher directs this intense psychological suspense
thriller.Morgan Freeman and Brad Pitt play two detectives on the trail
of the killer.Freeman plays veteran Detective Lt. William Somerset,on
the verge of retirement,after this case.Pitt plays rookie detective
Detective David Mills.Kevin Spacey also stars in a powerful performance
that is mesmerizing.this is one of the best movies of this genre i have
seen so far.if you are not affected by this movie,i'd be surprised.for
me,Se7en is easily a 5/5