Barnes & Noble

A murky, claustrophobic whodunit distinguished by its unusually literate script, stylized production design, masterful performances, and directorial virtuosity, Seven pits detectives Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman against an unknown serial killer in a desperate race against time. Seemingly random murders, readily identifiable as the work of one man, suggest a master plan of some sort, and the pressure to divine it begins to alienate Pitt from his devoted wife, Gywneth Paltrow, herself a possible target of the phantom menace. No effect in this gut-wrenching thriller, visual or dramatic, was achieved by accident, as viewers of New Line's Platinum series two-disc DVD will learn. Four audio commentaries -- including analysis by Pitt, Freeman, and director David Fincher (Fight Club) -- plus a plethora of supplemental features outline the creative processes employed for Seven. Practically every scene, including an alternate ending and others deleted from the final cut, undergoes dissection in one way or another here. As this elaborate DVD package demonstrates, Seven has no equal among neo-noir thrillers. It is a viewing experience of almost unendurable intensity, and a textbook example of classic collaborative filmmaking. Ed Hulse

All Movie Guide

Director David Fincher's dark, stylish thriller ranks as one of the decade's most influential box-office successes. Set in a hellish vision of a New York-like city, where it is always raining and the air crackles with impending death, the film concerns Det. William Somerset (Morgan Freeman), a homicide specialist just one week from a well-deserved retirement. Every minute of his 32 years on the job is evident in Somerset's worn, exhausted face, and his soul aches with the pain that can only come from having seen and felt far too much. But Somerset's retirement must wait for one last case, for which he is teamed with young hotshot David Mills (Brad Pitt), the fiery detective set to replace him at the end of the week. Mills has talked his reluctant wife, Tracy (Gwyneth Paltrow), into moving to the big city so that he can tackle important cases, but his first and Somerset's last are more than either man has bargained for. A diabolical serial killer is staging grisly murders, choosing victims representing the seven deadly sins. First, an obese man is forced to eat until his stomach ruptures to represent gluttony, then a wealthy defense lawyer is made to cut off a pound of his own flesh as penance for greed. Somerset initially refuses to take the case, realizing that there will be five more murders, ghastly sermons about lust, sloth, pride, wrath, and envy presented by a madman to a sinful world. Somerset is correct, and something within him cannot let the case go, forcing the weary detective to team with Mills and see the case to its almost unspeakably horrible conclusion. The moody photography is by Darius Khondji; the nauseatingly vivid special effects are by makeup artist Rob Bottin, best known for more fantasy-oriented work in films like The Howling (1981). Robert Firsching

Product Details

• UPC: 794043698927
• Source: NEW LINE HOME VIDEO
• Region Code: 1
• Aspect Ratio: Theatre Wide-Screen (1.85.1)
• Presentation: Wide Screen
• Sound: Dolby Digital Surround, Dolby Digital Surround EX, Digital Theater Systems
• Language: English
• Subtitles: English, Français
• Time: 2:07:00
• Sales Rank: 1,946

This DVD is also available as part of a box set:

• New Line Cinema's 40th Anniversary Collection

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