Se7en (1995)

Two detectives, a rookie and a veteran, hunt a serial killer who uses the seven deadly sins as his motives.

Director:

David Fincher

Writer:

Andrew Kevin Walker

Stars:

Morgan Freeman, Brad Pitt, Kevin Spacey

Top Rated Movies #20 | Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 26 wins & 38 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Morgan Freeman	...	Somerset
Andrew Kevin Walker	...	Dead Man at 1st Crime Scene (as Andy Walker)
Daniel Zacapa	...	Detective Taylor at First Murder
Brad Pitt	...	Mills
Gwyneth Paltrow	...	Tracy
John Cassini	...	Officer Davis
Bob Mack	...	Gluttony Victim
Peter Crombie	...	Dr. O'Neill
Reg E. Cathey	...	Dr. Santiago
R. Lee Ermey	...	Police Captain
George Christy	...	Workman at Door of Somerset's Office
Endre Hules	...	Cab Driver
Hawthorne James	...	George the Night Guard at the Library
William Davidson	...	First Guard at the Library (as Roscoe Davidson)
Bob Collins	...	Second Guard at the Library

Storyline

A film about two homicide detectives' (Morgan Freeman and Brad Pitt) desperate hunt for a serial killer who justifies his crimes as absolution for the world's ignorance of the Seven Deadly Sins. The movie takes us from the tortured remains of one victim to the next as the sociopathic "John Doe" (Kevin Spacey) sermonizes to Detectives Somerset and Mills -- one sin at a time. The sin of Gluttony comes first and the murderer's terrible capacity is graphically demonstrated in the dark and subdued tones characteristic of film noir. The seasoned and cultured but jaded Somerset researches the Seven Deadly Sins in an effort to understand the killer's modus operandi while the bright but green and impulsive Detective Mills (Pitt) scoffs at his efforts to get inside the mind of a killer...

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Plot Keywords:

seven deadly sins | serial killer | serial murder | human monster | psychological torture | 

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Taglines:

Detective Somerset is looking for a way out. Detective David Mills is looking for a way in. Now, they're caught in a game with a price of sin is death.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for grisly afterviews of horrific and bizarre killings, and for strong language

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 September 1995 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Seven Deadly Sins

Filming Locations:

Pacific Electric Building, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$33,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$100,125,643

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$327,311,859

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cecchi Gori Pictures, Juno Pix, New Line Cinema

Technical Specs

Runtime:

127 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Andrew Kevin Walker named William Somerset after his favorite author, W. Somerset Maugham.

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Goofs

When the detectives are at the door of John Doe's apartment, John walks into the hallway. He sees them, drops his bag of groceries, pulls a gun, shoots, and runs. The bag is now on the floor, with its contents spilled out. When Mills gives chase, he runs down the same hallway. The dropped bag of groceries has vanished.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Detective Taylor: Neighbors heard them screaming at each other, like for two hours, and it was nothing new. Then they heard the gun go off, both barrels. Crime of passion.
William Somerset: Yeah, just look at all the passion on that wall.

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Crazy Credits

SPOILER: Kevin Spacey's name is not included in the opening titles to keep the John Doe intrigue going. To compensate, he is listed twice in the closing credits: once before the credits start rolling and once in the rolling credits in order of appearance.

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Alternate Versions

A few hundred of the 2,500 first-run prints released theatrically were created using a silver retention process called CCE. With silver retention the silver leached out during conventional film processing is rebonded to the print, thus greatly increasing luminosity in the light portions of the image and the density of the dark tones.

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Connections

References The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

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Soundtracks

Lust
Written and Performed by Ren Klyce and Steve Boeddeker (as Steve Boedekker)

User Reviews

Outstanding Performances / Great Storytelling

This movie is from start to finish a well produced and directed film. The performances in this movie are outstanding. Brad Pitt, once again, makes his role a stand-out performance by putting his versatile acting skills into his interpretation of Detective David Mills. Morgan Freeman is well-cast. His brooding acting style fits the character (Detective William Somerset) like a glove, and Gwyneth Paltrow gives her best performance EVER in the role of Brad Pitt's supportive wife/lover (Tracy Mills). And of course, Kevin Spacey who plays the diabolical yet misunderstood serial killer.

The movie is suspenseful and in parts very exciting. There is a "Pseudo-Noir" quality to this movie that really fits in well with the content of the film (Serial Killing). It has it's philosophical moments that anyone who thinks a lot about the state of the world today can appreciate. It makes subtle moral judgements without insulting any beliefs that the viewer may have and it also generates debate for any post-film coffee/drinks gathering.

Andrew Kevin Walker (Screenplay) has taken the subject of the Seven Deadly Sins and he really puts a great new twist on these themes. As a writer, I really could appreciate the depth that he goes into with these ideas. The movie gives us just enough information to be entertained and informed yet not bombarded and made bored with too much philosophy. In this respect, the film doesn't "preach" any special meaning even though the film's moral statements are still maintained. This film can be enjoyed on so many levels and I really enjoyed the third act. One of the best pieces of storytelling and scriptwriting ever.

Outstanding performances from everyone involved (And yes, of course, David Fincher does a wonderful job) Say no more. *****