No one straddles the line between artistic integrity and mercenary profit like David Fincher. The man has adapted novels, comic books, and nonfiction, been a hired gun for the Alien franchise, made Madonna’s music videos, and, of course, given the world Mank, all while developing a reputation as one of his generation’s finest directors. This year, we’re expecting The Adventures of Cliff Booth, Fincher’s spinoff of Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. And while “Quentin Tarantino spinoff” might be an ominous phrase in most contexts, David Fincher’s work is always good for a few thrills no matter where his whims take him.
That wasn’t obvious in 1995, when Fincher released Seven (or Se7en, if you want to stretch the limits of what a ‘v’ looks like). A gritty thriller from the man who’d just butchered a beloved franchise with Alien 3 (or ALIEN3, if you want to stretch the limits of what a movie title looks like)? Starring pretty boy Brad Pitt (or William Bradly Pitt, if you want to stretch the limits of what this joke looks like)? It would never work.
But here, in the future, we know that Seven was a smash hit. And since its 4K Blu-ray release just got a refresh, now’s the perfect time to revisit the film that not only put Fincher on the map, but set him up for a career that allows us to write “director of an anticipated Tarantino spinoff” with a straight face.
How Was Se7en Received?
With trepidation. The response from test audiences was mixed; Fincher claims one woman said “the people who made that movie should be killed,” a response he attributes to the audience being recruited by connecting Pitt and co-star Morgan Freeman to the far tamer Legends of the Fall and Driving Miss Daisy.
Beyond its bleak subject matter, Seven had been through development hell and back. The tale of hothead detective David Mills and disillusioned veteran William Somerset trying to stop a serial killer in the world’s grimiest city builds to an infamous ending; even if you’ve never seen Seven, you’ve heard “What’s in the box?” and can probably make an educated guess as to the answer. But that iconic finale was endangered since the days when the project was courting the director of National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation.
Most studio bigwigs wanted a conventional, less-boxy ending where the killer was simply caught or killed, a demand that hadn’t changed by the time Fincher was brought on. But Fincher liked the original ending (the story goes that he only signed in the first place because New Line Cinema accidentally sent him an earlier script draft), he had some supporters on the production team, and Pitt was an enthusiastic box believer too. With the cast shaping up and the movie needing to actually be made at some point, Fincher’s stubbornness won out.
New Line’s faith in Fincher, then still known for music videos and the infamous Alien 3 boondoggle, was rewarded with over $327 million, nearly 10 times’ Seven’s budget. The critical reception was mostly positive too; while executives were correct in predicting that the gory murders and relentless dreariness would prove too much for some viewers, it was generally seen as a well-made thriller with a mesmerizingly dour style. The ending, in the end, didn’t go over terribly well — critic Owen Gleiberman called it “an act of treachery against the viewer” — but today, that ending is why Seven remains one of the most well-remembered thrillers of the ‘90s.
Mills and Somerset aren’t your typical cop duo.
Why is it Important to Watch Se7en Now?
Because it shows Fincher’s ability to strut across a tonal tightrope. In lesser hands, Seven could have easily veered into bathos. It’s almost comically dark in places, a byproduct of writer Andrew Kevin Walker’s desire to upend the conventions of Hollywood thrillers: the shootouts, the high-octane chases, the last-second heroism. But Fincher makes it work, and he’s been throwing the same curveballs ever since.
John Doe’s (Kevin Spacey, somehow convincingly playing a creep) plan to commit murders based on the seven deadly sins is high concept, and some critics, not unreasonably, called Seven out for not being nearly as insightful in its examination of evil as it thought it was. But if you can accept a degree of pretension and let yourself sink into Seven’s rainy world, it remains a tense thriller.
It also remains an influential one. Seven has been credited with reviving everything from punchy title sequences and religiously tinged horror to Pitt’s career, and it accordingly features in a wide variety of best-of-the-decade/century/ever lists. But above all else, Seven is a skeleton key for Fincher’s filmography. Its success allowed him to make movies like Fight Club, Zodiac, and Gone Girl, and Seven’s thematic and stylistic influence is evident in all of them. Seven may not be Fincher’s best movie, but if you enjoy his work, you need to know the film that made him who he is. And if you’ve never seen it, isn’t it about time you learned what’s in the box?
What New Features Does the Se7en 4K Blu-Ray Have?
Aside from the 4K remaster, there are, unfortunately, no new special features. However, the list of features ported over from previous releases is extensive, and should keep Se7enheads engaged for quite some time. Most notable is a commentary track with Fincher, Pitt, and Freeman, while three additional commentary tracks, all of which include Fincher, cover the film’s story, sound, and visuals. The full feature list includes:
- Four Commentary Tracks
- Six Deleted Scenes
- Animated storyboards of un-shot ending
- Original “Test” ending
- Still Photographs
- Production Design (featurette)
- Mastering for the Home Theater (featurette)
- Exploration of the Opening Title Sequence: Early Storyboards (featurette)
- Exploration of the Opening Title Sequence: Rough Version (featurette)
- Exploration of the Opening Title Sequence: Final Edit (featurette)
- 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 Press Kit
