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 #21 | 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...

---

Plot Keywords:

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

---

Taglines:

Earnest Hemingway once wrote, "The world is a fine place and worth fighting for." I believe the second part.

---

Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

---

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:

Se7en

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:

2.40 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

All of John Doe's books were real books, written for the film. They took two months to complete, and cost 15,000 dollars. According to Somerset (Morgan Freeman), two months is also the time it would take the police to read all the books.

---

Goofs

While it is raining on the car, the people on the street are not using umbrellas or other devices to shield themselves from rain.

---

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.

---

Crazy Credits

Credits roll down instead of up, contrary to common movie procedure.

---

Alternate Versions

USA laserdisc edition adds a few scenes deleted from theatrical release as a bonus at the end of the program, including: a prologue where Somerset (Morgan Freeman) is going to buy a country house. He uses his switchblade (seen many times in the final cut, but not explained) to cut out a small piece of wallpaper. There is an extended scene at the Mills' when David (Brad Pitt) is playing with his dogs, and Somerset talks to Tracy. He tells her about the house and shows her the wallpaper. She tells him that it wouldn't be such a good idea to show it to David, saying "He wouldn't understand.". These two scenes establish Somerset's characters better, and the second one helps the viewer understand why the wife chooses Somerset to talk to when she gets pregnant. She knows that Somerset is much more sensible than her husband, and will understand her. The second one however was probably dumped earlier since it is included among the dailies and outtakes and the first one appears as a deleted scene.

---

Connections

Featured in The House That Freddy Built (2006)

---

Soundtracks

Speaking of Happiness
Written by Jimmy Radcliffe and Buddy Scott
Performed by Gloria Lynne
Courtesy of Black Patch Productions

User Reviews

"Se7en is well crafted and ingeniously clever, making it one of the greatest films of the 90's"

The movie, "Se7en", starring Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman, and Gwyneth Paltrow, is by far one of the most inventive, well-written, and cerebral films in recent history. The film, blending a well put together combination of dark visual style, intense plot development, and polished acting, remains tight and focused throughout, from beginning to end, never straying outwards into unimportant issues, or resorting to typical Hollywood clichés. Se7en is uniquely on its own for suspense dramas as it both fuels the need of the audience to be drawn in and entertained by the events unfolding, and remain uncompromising and shocking, thus satisfying the initial vision of the director, David Fincher.

The story surrounds the hunt for a serial killer, who, inspired by Dante Alighieri's seven deadly sins from "The Divine Comedy", sets out to, "preach" about man's impurity, and does so by targeting victims, then torturing them by pitting their own underlining sins against them. Se7en seemingly starts out as a typical cat and mouse detective story, however, it quickly develops into of a sort of modern-myth, with good and evil taking centre stage. The story is original on all counts, and thrilling on all levels. The most important aspect of Se7en, however, is that it keeps the audience numerous steps behind its story, as oppose to other thrillers, which become predictable and bland by the end. By keeping the audience in the dark, the film remains fresh and original as it progresses. Se7en even dramatically turns the tide at one point, just as the audience is finally getting comfortable and asserted into the gloomy atmosphere, thus creating as much as fear and uncertainty in the audience as it is with the characters involved. By the film's conclusion, the audience is as much apart of the film as the characters themselves, and arrive at Se7en's surprise ending without a single clue of it, prior to it occurring. Se7en's poetic ending(which will not be given away) says a lot for the people behind the movie, showing they are not afraid of going against the grain. A rarity with films so nowadays.

Directed brilliantly by David Fincher, and skillfully written by Andrew Kevin Walker, Se7en is well crafted and ingeniously clever, making it one of the greatest films of the 90's. While Se7en may not have garnered critical acclaim as such films as Silence of the Lambs, Se7en is, undoubtedly, as influential as any film to date.

Score 10/10