Se7en (Digipak) [4K Ultra HD]

Director: David Fincher

Cast: Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman, Gwyneth Paltrow

Release Date: January 7, 2025

A Review By: Kevin Lovell

Disc Rating: 9/10

Synopsis:

Two cops (Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman) track a brilliant and elusive killer who orchestrates a string of horrific murders, each kill targeting a practitioner of one of the Seven Deadly Sins. Gwyneth Paltrow also stars in this acclaimed thriller set in a dour, drizzly city sick with pain and blight. David Fincher (Fight Club, Zodiac, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button) guides the action – physical, mental and spiritual – with a sure understanding of what terrifies us, right up to a stunning denouement that will rip the scar tissue off the most hardened soul.

‘Se7en’ tells the haunting tale of two detectives who must learn to work together while trying to piece together the clues revolving around a murderer killing people by way of the seven deadly sins. As these two detectives one new to the city and one preparing to retire must attempt to decipher the codes and hints left behind by the clever killer, they repeatedly seem to end up one step behind the madman. As the two finally get a hint of a break, the near miss soon causes the killer to step up his game, with the two cops set to play a part in his madness, albeit unbeknownst to them.

The iconic thriller is directed by David Fincher (Fight Club, The Social Network) from a screenplay written by Andrew Kevin Walker who recently reteamed with Fincher after all of these years on the Netflix film ‘The Killer’. Fincher does a marvelous job guiding along ‘Se7en’ and his work behind the camera is only perfectly complemented by noteworthy performances from the talented cast which includes Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman, Gwyneth Paltrow, John C. McGinley, R. Lee Ermey and Kevin Spacey.

‘Se7en’ is the perfect example of a flawless thriller that blurs the line between genres, while only benefiting from its unique style and approach in just about every manner imaginable, all while further enhanced by plenty of eerie and unsettling visuals along the way and powerhouse performances by the talented cast. The film was initially released in 1995 and still manages to deliver a rich, gorgeous and unforgettable experience today, a shocking thirty years after it was first released.

Everything about ‘Se7en’ just works from the horror-ish elements to the relationship between the two detectives and all the way through until the gripping conclusion that’s gone down in history like very few before it due to its unforgettable and riveting nature, not to mention some perfect pacing and shooting styles which all compile into something truly special that many may try to replicate to a degree but typically fall somewhat short. It’s certainly no surprise that filmmaker David Fincher has acquired the respect and fan base he has following this film and if you somehow have never had the pleasure of this one I would say it’s time to rectify that as soon as possible because it’s definitely not to be missed.

David Fincher’s masterpiece ‘Se7en’ arrives home on 4K Ultra HD for the first time ever courtesy of Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment in celebration if its 30^th Anniversary. The film makes its UHD debut featuring a quite gorgeous new Ultra High definition presentation with HDR-10 which was restored from the original camera negative and overseen by Fincher himself. The notable new 4K presentation is nicely boosted by a fully capable 5.1 DTS-HD MA soundtrack remixed to largely resemble its original theatrical presentation and also features a nice helping of bonus content, compiling extras from numerous previous format releases of the film over the years.

The new 4K UHD release arrives home in a nice, sturdy and standout Digipak that opens up to showcase various stills from the film with the disc tucked into a cardboard opening on the far right side of the unfolded packaging. While the look of it certainly stands out and even impresses, it is unfortunately also the one key complaint I had with the release as the disc was already plagued with numerous scratches the first time I took it out and is anything but easy to remove from the case and return; somewhat surprisingly the disc still played through without any issues but it’s a disappointing factor worth noting nonetheless, and might just be a good reason to go with the Steelbook option over the DigiPak if possible. Otherwise, this new 4K Ultra HD release is quite nice and recommended for any fans that are already considering a purchase.

VIDEO:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release of ‘Se7en’ features a full 2160p Ultra High Definition presentation with HDR-10 presented in the film’s original 2.39:1 Aspect Ratio. The news release for this 4K edition included the following information regarding the transfer:

“The 4K restoration of Se7en was completed at Warner Bros. Discovery’s Motion Picture Imaging (MPI) and was sourced from the original camera negative.  The restoration was overseen by director David Fincher.”

The video presentation looks pretty fantastic as a whole and provides a sharp, clean and filmic presentation that stays largely faithful to the source material, complete with noticeable grain present throughout (although Fincher and the restoration team did update and enhance a few tidbits such as correcting a burnt out light bulb, although certainly nothing on the level of other films that have been tampered with) and never suffering from any unexpected issues or glitches along the way. Detail is outstanding on everything from character specifics to backgrounds, interiors and the gloomy, often shadowy scenes which typically see the most noticeable upgrade in clarity and detail (not to mention black levels). The HDR complements much of the content throughout including standout colors on pieces of clothing and surroundings, while black levels are deep, clean and problem free. Overall, this is a great new Ultra High Definition presentation that should largely thrill the film’s diehard fans who have been awaiting its eventual UHD debut.

AUDIO:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release features a 5.1 channel DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack. This multichannel soundtrack does its job well and delivers a clean, crisp and fairly aggressive audio presentation throughout. While some fans may be understandably disappointed by the downgrade of channels (seeing as the Blu-ray release featured a 7.1 DTS-HD MA soundtrack, the DVD 6.1 DTS and this release 5.1) it in fact actually returns the soundtrack closer to its original theatrical presentation after it was reworked for previous home video releases and it holds up quite well. The audio presentation utilizes all five available channels pretty frequently throughout in order to send music, rain pouring, bits of crowd chatter and more moving throughout the various speakers whenever appropriate and never conflicting with or negatively affecting any additional dialogue or audio elements that might be occurring simultaneously. Overall, this is a solid 5.1 DTS-HD MA soundtrack that does its job capably and should not disappoint.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release of ‘Se7en’ features a nice offering of previously released supplements beginning with ‘4 Audio Commentaries’; they include ‘The Stars: David Fincher, Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman’, ‘The Story: Richard Dyer, Andrew Kevin Walker, Richard Francis-Bruce, Michael De Luca, David Fincher’, ‘The Picture: Darius Khondji, Arthur Max, Richard Francis-Bruce, Richard Dyer, David Fincher’ and ‘The Sound: Ren Klyce, Howard Shore, Richard Dyer, David Fincher’. The release also features a collection of ‘Deleted Scenes’ from the film both with and without Commentary (running approximately 10 minutes in length altogether), ‘2 Alternate Endings’ also with or without commentary including an ‘Original “Test” Ending’ and ‘Animated Storyboards of Un-shot Ending’ (running approximately 13 minutes together), in addition to a Featurette for ‘Production Design’ (approximately 9 minutes) and 5 sets of ‘Still Photographs’ with Commentary by different individuals accompanying each set. Also included is the ‘Theatrical EPK – Promotional Materials’ promo video (running approximately 7 minutes) and an old Featurette on ‘Mastering for Home Theater’ (23 minutes) that explores the process of initially mastering the film for the DVD edition many years back. An ‘Exploration of the Opening Title Sequence’ with two optional commentary choices is also included (approximately 8 minutes altogether).

*Please note that the above images are taken from a previously released Blu-Ray disc and resized. They do not represent the quality of the 4K Ultra HD disc itself and will additionally suffer quality loss as a result of .jpg compression. Larger versions of each image can be viewed by clicking on the image. All images and content included on the 4K UHD & Blu-Ray release are the property of their respective owners.

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Disc Rating: 9/10

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David Fincher’s ‘Se7en’ is Now Available to Own on 4K Ultra HD & Digital from Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment

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You can purchase ‘Se7en’ on 4K UHD at Amazon HERE!

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