Gluttony. Greed. Sloth. Lust. Pride. Envy. Wrath. The Seven Deadly Sins. We have all heard of them and are definitely guilty of one or two of them. But what happens when a serial killer decides to use them as a motive for his victims? Written by Andrew Kevin Walker (The Killer) and Directed by David Fincher (The Social Network), the 1995 movie, Se7en, used that theme, and the results were a suspenseful thriller that won both critical and audience acclaim. As the film celebrates its 30th anniversary, Warner Bros. is releasing a special edition 4K set available for purchase on January 7, 2025.
Detective William Somerset (Morgan Freeman; The Shawshank Redemption) is six days away from retirement when a gruesome case comes into the police station. His replacement Detective David Mills (Brad Pitt) joins him at the scene to find a man tied and forced to eat until he literally explodes. The next day, a prominent attorney is found dead in his office with the word "greed" written in his own blood. Then they find another victim with "sloth" written above his head, and so on until five of the seven sins are revealed. However, when the killer "John Doe" (Kevin Spacey) walks into the precinct, the stakes are raised as his game of cat and mouse has just become personal.
There is so much to love about this film, it is easy to see why it appears on several "top 100 of all time" lists. Fincher beautifully interprets Walker's script, which, in and of itself, is well-written. The cast is excellent from Freeman, Pitt, and Spacey down to a young Gwyneth Paltrow (Iron Man 3), who plays Mills' wife. The cinematography is well done and the editing was nominated for an Academy Award. There isn't much to find fault with in this production.
The same can be said for the 4K transfer sourced from the original negative. Despite the film's muted tones, the video is clean, with a great deal of detail prominently displayed on screen. Again, the color palette is muted, but there are pops of color here and there.
The DTS-HD master audio 5.1 is excellent, but with the film having been released in 7.1 previously, I'm not sure why they chose to use this audio instead. Granted, there is very little difference between the two tracks, but it is merely confusing. As one would expect, the audio is excellent with multiple layers of sound adding plenty of depth.
The biggest disappointment of this entire combo pack may be the exclusion of any new extras. With the director and four main cast members all still living, one would think Warner Bros. could get most of them to sit down for a nostalgic look back on the project. However, such is not the case as all the extras have been previously released. They include:
- Audio Commentaries (various tracks featuring David Fincher, Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman, and others)
- Deleted Scenes
- Alternate Endings (animated storyboards)
- Still Photographs
- Production Design Featurette
- Exploration of the Opening Title Sequence
- Home Theater Mastering Featurette
- Theatrical E.P.K.
Grade: A-
Warner Bros. has done a terrific job with this 30th anniversary 4K release of Se7en. Fans will want to add this to their home video collection as it is a timeless film that will remain an example of excellent filmmaking for generations to come.
