Se7en 4K Ultra HD Review

Estimated reading time: 7 minutes

The 1995 film Se7en, is a psychological thriller and neo-noir from director David Fincher starring Morgan Freeman and Brad Pitt.

When a young, newly promoted Detective David Mills (Pitt) moves from his rural assignment to the city with his wife Tracy (Gwyneth Paltrow), he is partnered with the gruff veteran Detective Lieutenant William Somerset (Freeman) who is one week from retirement. The two find themselves butting heads, but also involved in an investigation of a string of brutal murders as they try to hunt a brilliant and sadistic serial killer basing his crimes on the so-called Seven Deadly Sins.

From the opening scenes, Fincher’s neo-noir gets into your bones. He brilliantly uses chiaroscuro to create an otherworldly, gritty environment that launches the viewer and these detectives on a dangerous and dodgy path. It is worth noting that the film never mentions what city we are supposed to be in; it was shot on location in various places around Los Angeles, but it could very well be Chicago or New York – that is not the point. The point is the crime-ridden city versus the more laid back “country” that Mills finds himself thrown into.

Se7en was nominated for Best Film Editing (Richard Francis-Bruce) at the 68^th Academy Awards and for Best Original Screenplay (Andrew Kevin Walker) at the 49^th BAFTA awards.

Purchase Se7en on 4K Ultra HD + Digital on Amazon.com

The Video

As per David Fincher himself, who oversaw the restoration, in an interview with IndieWire: “’Seven’ was scanned by Warner Bros.’ Motion Picture Imaging from the original camera negative and mastered in 8K by Peter Mavromates, head of Fincher’s post team. All color corrections, retouches, and VFX were also rendered in 8K. However, because there is currently no distribution chain for 8K, it was downsampled to 4K”, which is what we see here in this gorgeous new 2.39:1 HEVC 2160p (4K UHD) HDR10 transfer to 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray from Warner Bros.

Fincher went in and, as part of this restoration, fixed some things in the film that bothered him or were not necessarily visible in the original 35mm prints or even in 1080p, such as unfinished matte painting backgrounds in windows, which he went in and completed for more detail now, or  “little bumps in camera moves that are in the original movie are now gone.” The changes are indeed subtle, unlike changes that a director like George Lucas has made to the original Star Wars trilogy, for example. These changes serve to enhance the experience yet maintain and perfect the original intent.  Now, with the new 8K restoration, the film looks better than ever. One telltale sign this was scanned in 8K is how when there are flashlights used one can see through the stunning highlights – courtesy of the brilliant HDR10 grading – and make out the texture of the glass or plastic and see the shape of the bulbs. This is something I first noticed in the 8K scan of Purple Rain, also from Warner Bros., and how you can see amazing detail in stage lights and headlights in that 4K transfer as well.

There is also a great amount of overall detail that looks natural and organic grain still present even as the film looks clean but not AI’d to death like some recent releases (ahem, James Cameron, ahem). Close-ups show palpable texture in facial features and clothing. The one issue is the slightest hint of black crush, but this is more a feature than a bug, given the overall dim and desaturated look of the film.

The Audio

Se7en comes to 4K with its original home theater 5.1 mix in DTS-HD Master Audio. This audio mix was original remixed and mastered going back to the original stems – or multitrack — and re-EQ’d to optimize it for a home theater setting. With the original 5.1 sound elements restored by Ren Klyce creating a new 5.1 mix.* The results are stunning, with an excellent balance of atmospherics, the discrete sounds, score, and dynamics. The relentless rainstorm that is a feature of the film really surrounds you, but we also hear the din of the city around us and clear and full dialogue plus nicely extended lows.

*Special thanks to 4K Collective for providing corrected information on the new audio remix for this release.

The Supplements

Warner Bros. includes only previously released bonus features with this release, but there are plenty, including three audio commentaries and an alternate ending.

Bonus Features:

• Commentaries:
  • The Stars: David Fincher, Brad Pitt, and Morgan Freeman
  • The Story: Richard Dyer, Andrew Kevin Walker, Richard Francis-Bruce, Michel De Luca, and David Fincher
  • The Picture: Darius Khondji, Arthur Max, Richard Francis-Bruce, Richard Dyer, and David Fincher
  • The Sound: Ren Klyce, Howard Shore, Richard Dyer, and David Fincher
• Deleted Scenes w/Optional Commentary (1080p; 00:10:11):
  • Car Ride in from Gluttony
  • Spare Some Change?
  • My Future
  • Tracy Wakes from Light Sleep
  • Raid on Victor’s
  • Pride
• Alternate Ending w/Optional Commentary (1080p; 00:12:57):
  • Original “Test” Ending
  • Animated Storyboards of Un-shot Ending
• Production Design (1080p; 00:08:56)
• Still Photographs (1080p; 00:41:38):
  • John Doe’s Photographs
  • Victor’s Decomposition
  • Police Crime Scene Photographs
  • Production Photographs
  • The Notebooks
• Theatrical EPK – Promotional Materials (1080p; 00:06:40)
• Mastering for Home Theater (1080p; 00:23:18)
• Exploration of the Opening Title Sequence (in a selection of English DTS HD MA 5.1, stereo audio commentary with designer Kyle Cooper, or stereo audio commentary with Brant Biles & Robert Margouleff) (1080p; 00:08:34):
  • Early Storyboards
  • Rough Version
  • Final Edit

The Final Assessment

One of the best thrillers and neo-noir films to come out of the 1990s, Fincher’s Se7en holds up superbly, with a standout performance from Morgan Freeman, stunning visuals and masterful aural soundscape. The new restoration is brilliance achieved. Highly recommended.

Se7en is out on 4K Ultra HD + Digital January 7, 2025 from Warner Bros.

Purchase Se7en on 4K Ultra HD + Digital on Amazon.com

• Rating Certificate: R (for grisly afterviews of horrific and bizarre killings, and for strong language)
• Studios & Distributors: Arnold Kopelson Productions | Cecchi Gori Pictures | Juno Pix | New Line Cinema | Warner Bros. Home Entertainment
• Director: David Fincher
• Written By: Andrew Kevin Walker
• Run Time: 127 Mins.
• Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1
• Video Format: HEVC 2160p (4K UHD)
• HDR Format: HDR10
• HDR10 Metadata:
  • MaxLL: 549 nits
  • MaxFALL: 97 nits
  • Max. Luminance: 1000 nits
  • Min. Luminance: 0.0001 nits
• Primary Audio: English DTS-HD MA 5.1
• Secondary Audio: English Descriptive Audio | French (Quebecois) DD 2.0 Stereo | French DD 5.1 | German DD 5.1 | Spanish (Castilian) DD 5.1 | Spanish (Latino) DD 5.1 | Czech DD 2.0
• Subtitles: English SDH | French | German SDH | Spanish (Castilian) | Spanish (Latino) | Dutch | Chinese | Korean | Danish | Czech | Finnish | Norwegian | Swedish
• Street Date: 7 January 2025