Before Criterion was blowing us away with groundbreaking restorations of classics, art films, and foreign treasures on Blu Ray and DVD, they had humble beginnings with the Laserdisc format. Their library spanned over three hundred releases, and they paved the foundation for ideas such as special features, and widescreen letterboxing to preserve the original intent of the filmmakers. They pushed for preservation and celebration in a time when most studios were fine throwing out a movie on VHS or Laserdisc with mono sound, and pan and scan picture to make a quick buck off of the unsuspecting masses with little fan fare. As a result, their reputation among filmmakers was incredible, and because of that they were able to license not only forgotten classics and whatnot, but also major studio films from the likes of Stephen Spielberg, and David Lean. They covered everything from 8 1/2, to Armageddon over the course of fifteen years. This series looks at the Criterion Collection through its origin: the Laserdisc releases.
This week we take a look at one of David Fincher's earliest and most popular works, Se7en, spine #298 in the Laserdisc collection.
The Movie:
I may not be a huge Fincher fan, as I usually find his movies to be very cold and uninviting in terms of their visual style and storytelling techniques, but I'll be damned if I don't find Se7en to be a thrilling, and incredibly satisfying movie.
The story, as many of you know, follows two detecives, Sommerset and Mills, as they attempt to find a man who is enacting murders based off of the seven deadly sins of the bible. Throughout the film they encounter various interpretations of all seven sins, most of which tend to be incredibly brutal and sadistic in nature. The hunt for the serial killer leads into a devastatingly personal conclusion that can only be described as an explosion of sorts.
It doesn't really do anything new though, and in that there is a sense of comfort. The depicted killings are brutal, but rather than inspire disgust, the care and artistry put into each one inspires you to want to know more, as a good detective story should. They lightly, and by lightly, I mean like one scene, touch on the idea that cops aren't entirely ethical when they do their business, keeping politics to a minimum to allow the story to move on. They even threw an intense and exciting SWAT team-esque scene in which police charge into an apartment in full armor with live weapons. Nothing entirely new, but done with such a finesse that makes it tough to criticize it for retreading old ideas out.
A lot of the movie's success can be derived from Fincher and Darius Khondji's aggressive visual style. The movie's cinematography is incredibly sharp, yet cold and dark, giving way to a moody, tense design for the film. It's a style that Fincher brought to the table when he directed Alien 3, and a style that he's brought back again and again in later movies such a Fight Club, Panic Room, and The Girl with the Dragoon Tattoo. Its a style that seems to work for him and the material he brings to the table. The style is dark and dreary, yet not so oppressive as to inspire hopelessness, as I've seen in other movies.
Overall, the movie is excellent. Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman are wonderful as screen partners, as they dive deeper and deeper into the dark depths of the crime they're investigating. The movie is well paced, and a good piece of satisfying, dark, moody cinema from the hands of one of the more famous modern directors.
Packaging:
The Criterion Packaging for Se7en of course, is a standard size Laserdisc box set, pitch black with a rather minimal design for a front cover. The back of the box features credits as you would see them on a theatrical poster, a short description of the movie, and a list of the features included in the box set. The box itself holds 4 discs, all 4 presented in full frame CAV format, minus side 7, which is CLV extended play format.
A thick card stock fold out book style pamphlet inspired by the writings of the serial killer. The pamphlet contains a description of the process used to transfer the movie to standard definition home video, as well as extensive information about the audio and video transfers of the film, the chapters for all seven sides of the film, and cast credits for both the movie and the Laserdisc production. A complete album of the pamphlet can be found here: http://imgur.com/a/iN4WY
Features:
Criterion's Laserdisc release of Se7en comes with two sides, one CAV and one CLV of extras.
Side six of disc three features an extensive amount of behind the scenes stills, story boards, trailers and TV spots, and a deleted scene from the finished film.
The side begins with the theatrical trailer for the film. followed by several TV spots that were apparently made for broadcast in Canada. These are nothing too special, but unlike modern trailers, there is an extreme amount of restraint shown here. Many clips from the film are shown in brief flashes, and the trailers give you just enough of a taste of the world of the film that make you want to fill in the blanks. The TV spots do the same with much less footage, although there are a few shots scattered throughout the TV spots that look like they were shot on 30fps video, which is really strange. I'm talking like 3 or 4 shots from all 6 or so TV spots that look like this. Its really off-putting, honestly.
The trailers are followed with a wealth of publicity and production stills, starting with a crazy amount of promotional material designs. There's posters of all shapes and sizes, featuring floating heads of our two main leads, weird distortion effects to make them look strange, and even a few posters that look like someone took major inspiration from Saul Bass. Following the promotional material, we get some promotional shots of the main cast and crew, nothing too glamorous or exciting, mostly portrait shots of their faces.
Once this is through, you get a huge gallery of production stills from the movie. This is by far the most interesting part of the first side of extras. You get to see tons of shots that feature camera setups, and the crew at work designing the the different make up effects that eventually become the murders in the film. There is a wealth of shots of all different sizes, really giving you a good idea of the atmosphere on the set during production.
Also featured is an alternate opening to the film, in which Detective Sommerset is shown purchasing a house in the country, and talking with a realtor, as well as an alternate opening title sequence, that frankly, isn't anything too special. No wonder they decided not to use it.
To round out side six of the set, there is a comprehensive collection of all of the polaroids and photographs that were taken to represent John Doe's photography of his victims. You see all sorts of pictures from various angles and stages of the murder, a very gruesome way to spend your afternoon. Finally, there is a storyboard for an unshot alternate ending, in which Detective Sommerset kills John Doe instead of Mills, allowing Mills to go on and replace Sommerset after he retires.
Side seven on disc 4 is mostly dailies from the film, in an attempt to show a contrast between the Silver-retention print used to make the film's video transfer and the original look of the film dailies. Honestly, other than a warmer color timing for the brighter scenes in the movies. Maybe its just my display, a 24 inch Sony WEGA TV, but I found minor, if inconsequential differences between the look of the finished film and the dailies for the most part. Maybe I just don't have an eye for these things.
The other half of side 7 is large selection of scenes from the film, mostly murder sequences and the an autopsy, with full commentary from Rob Bottin, the guy in charge of the make up effects for the entire film. Very insightful, and very entertaining. The guy is very enthusiastic about his work, and it makes for a very engaging bit to round out the set's special features.
Also included in a scene specific commentary for the feature film, but due to some technical limitations in terms of not having enough RCA cables, I was not able to listen to any portion of the commentary, as it is contained in the analog left soundtrack. My player is only currently rigged to handle digital via Coax and AC-3 via Coax. I'll have the analog situation worked out by next week's feature.
The Video:
Fincher's style generally leans towards somethning dark, cold, and sharp in terms of set design, lighting, and and framing. Unfortunately, a dark style such as that of Se7en is the kind of style that Laserdisc suffers the most from. With most Laserdiscs that take place primarily at night, most, if not all detail gets lost in the shadows, and for the most part, image quality is unbearably bad. Studios like Warner are by far the worst when it comes to dark and murky Laserdisc transfers, luckily New Line Cinema at the time wasn't a part of Warner Bros. as they are now.
The video transfer of Se7en is rock solid, featuring an average amount of detail, and good looking color throughout the film. The film takes place in dark, rainy, mostly night time sequences, and it never really feels like detail gets lost into the shadows. Instead of a murky mess, we get a rather sharp, and good looking transfer without any major signs of damage whatsoever.
It is interesting to note that this video master was prepared using an approximation of a silver retention print, a process that adds previous leeched out silver onto theatrical prints to give better luminosity, and increased print density in the dark scenes. Fincher talks about this process more in the commentary, which I, at this time, cannot listen to. They seem to make a big deal out of the fact that Criterion worked specifically with Fincher for weeks to recreate the look of the retention process. As a reference, I dropped in the last side of the two disc standard edition of the film from New Line Home Video as a comparison,
What I found after watching the desert sequence of the film in both versions is that they look pretty much the same in terms of color, but the detail is a little more crushed even though it is presented in CAV, the same as the Criterion release. The noise level in the standard transfer is higher, and overall the Criterion presentation is more desirable, but I get the feeling that they both use the same "silver retention emulation" that Criterion prepared for home video. Rumor is that the same transfer was used for the first generation DVD as well, which was non-anamorphic.
This is the only home video master that attempted to approximate the theatrical screening qualities that theater goers saw in 1995, as Fincher retransfered the film in 1080i in 2000 to prepare a new DVD for New Line. He color graded the film drastically, and made it look less like it did in 95, and more like an early 2000s green and grey sort of movie. Therefore the Criterion/New Line release retains its relevance as a standard of what the film originally looked like.
Audio:
Criterion's release of the Se7en features both the film's sound in 4 track matrixed Dolby Surround, and 5.1 Dolby Digital on the right analog track. For reference, I viewed the film using the 5.1 Dolby Digital track processed through my Marantz DP-870 AC-3 Demodulator at reference levels that I've watched every film at since 2011.
The track is standard, with good directionality, and solid separation of the channels. The score bounces between the left and rights, filling in the spaces that aren't consumed by what's on screen. The bass however, was a tad bit aggressive, and I found myself turning down the bass knob on my DP-870 to compensate.
Overall, this film sounds pretty good on Laserdisc, but it isn't anything groundbreaking. Nothing gets lost in the mix, and I enjoyed listening to the AC-3 5.1 surround track. Take that as you will.
Overall:
Se7en is a pretty solid, fast paced, engaging crime thriller. Bolstered by Fincher's aggressive visual style, the film looks great, and sounds pretty good as well on Laserdisc. The box set overall is comprehensive, with a large amount of special features that give a detailed insight into how the film was made, and how much effort was put into making the film feel authentic. Criterion has treated the film with respect, and has crafted a definitive box set that presents the films as it was shown in theaters in 1995. For $124.99 in 1996, I'm not sure I would've been willing to pick up the set, but in 2015, for like 20-30 bucks, I wouldn't hesitate in the slightest if you have a chance. This is a great set that matches a great movie.
This week we take a look at one of David Fincher's earliest and most popular works, Se7en, spine #298 in the Laserdisc collection.
The Movie:
I may not be a huge Fincher fan, as I usually find his movies to be very cold and uninviting in terms of their visual style and storytelling techniques, but I'll be damned if I don't find Se7en to be a thrilling, and incredibly satisfying movie.
The story, as many of you know, follows two detecives, Sommerset and Mills, as they attempt to find a man who is enacting murders based off of the seven deadly sins of the bible. Throughout the film they encounter various interpretations of all seven sins, most of which tend to be incredibly brutal and sadistic in nature. The hunt for the serial killer leads into a devastatingly personal conclusion that can only be described as an explosion of sorts.
It doesn't really do anything new though, and in that there is a sense of comfort. The depicted killings are brutal, but rather than inspire disgust, the care and artistry put into each one inspires you to want to know more, as a good detective story should. They lightly, and by lightly, I mean like one scene, touch on the idea that cops aren't entirely ethical when they do their business, keeping politics to a minimum to allow the story to move on. They even threw an intense and exciting SWAT team-esque scene in which police charge into an apartment in full armor with live weapons. Nothing entirely new, but done with such a finesse that makes it tough to criticize it for retreading old ideas out.
A lot of the movie's success can be derived from Fincher and Darius Khondji's aggressive visual style. The movie's cinematography is incredibly sharp, yet cold and dark, giving way to a moody, tense design for the film. It's a style that Fincher brought to the table when he directed Alien 3, and a style that he's brought back again and again in later movies such a Fight Club, Panic Room, and The Girl with the Dragoon Tattoo. Its a style that seems to work for him and the material he brings to the table. The style is dark and dreary, yet not so oppressive as to inspire hopelessness, as I've seen in other movies.
Overall, the movie is excellent. Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman are wonderful as screen partners, as they dive deeper and deeper into the dark depths of the crime they're investigating. The movie is well paced, and a good piece of satisfying, dark, moody cinema from the hands of one of the more famous modern directors.
Packaging:
A thick card stock fold out book style pamphlet inspired by the writings of the serial killer. The pamphlet contains a description of the process used to transfer the movie to standard definition home video, as well as extensive information about the audio and video transfers of the film, the chapters for all seven sides of the film, and cast credits for both the movie and the Laserdisc production. A complete album of the pamphlet can be found here: http://imgur.com/a/iN4WY
Features:
Criterion's Laserdisc release of Se7en comes with two sides, one CAV and one CLV of extras.
Side six of disc three features an extensive amount of behind the scenes stills, story boards, trailers and TV spots, and a deleted scene from the finished film.
The side begins with the theatrical trailer for the film. followed by several TV spots that were apparently made for broadcast in Canada. These are nothing too special, but unlike modern trailers, there is an extreme amount of restraint shown here. Many clips from the film are shown in brief flashes, and the trailers give you just enough of a taste of the world of the film that make you want to fill in the blanks. The TV spots do the same with much less footage, although there are a few shots scattered throughout the TV spots that look like they were shot on 30fps video, which is really strange. I'm talking like 3 or 4 shots from all 6 or so TV spots that look like this. Its really off-putting, honestly.
The trailers are followed with a wealth of publicity and production stills, starting with a crazy amount of promotional material designs. There's posters of all shapes and sizes, featuring floating heads of our two main leads, weird distortion effects to make them look strange, and even a few posters that look like someone took major inspiration from Saul Bass. Following the promotional material, we get some promotional shots of the main cast and crew, nothing too glamorous or exciting, mostly portrait shots of their faces.
Once this is through, you get a huge gallery of production stills from the movie. This is by far the most interesting part of the first side of extras. You get to see tons of shots that feature camera setups, and the crew at work designing the the different make up effects that eventually become the murders in the film. There is a wealth of shots of all different sizes, really giving you a good idea of the atmosphere on the set during production.
Also featured is an alternate opening to the film, in which Detective Sommerset is shown purchasing a house in the country, and talking with a realtor, as well as an alternate opening title sequence, that frankly, isn't anything too special. No wonder they decided not to use it.
To round out side six of the set, there is a comprehensive collection of all of the polaroids and photographs that were taken to represent John Doe's photography of his victims. You see all sorts of pictures from various angles and stages of the murder, a very gruesome way to spend your afternoon. Finally, there is a storyboard for an unshot alternate ending, in which Detective Sommerset kills John Doe instead of Mills, allowing Mills to go on and replace Sommerset after he retires.
Side seven on disc 4 is mostly dailies from the film, in an attempt to show a contrast between the Silver-retention print used to make the film's video transfer and the original look of the film dailies. Honestly, other than a warmer color timing for the brighter scenes in the movies. Maybe its just my display, a 24 inch Sony WEGA TV, but I found minor, if inconsequential differences between the look of the finished film and the dailies for the most part. Maybe I just don't have an eye for these things.
The other half of side 7 is large selection of scenes from the film, mostly murder sequences and the an autopsy, with full commentary from Rob Bottin, the guy in charge of the make up effects for the entire film. Very insightful, and very entertaining. The guy is very enthusiastic about his work, and it makes for a very engaging bit to round out the set's special features.
Also included in a scene specific commentary for the feature film, but due to some technical limitations in terms of not having enough RCA cables, I was not able to listen to any portion of the commentary, as it is contained in the analog left soundtrack. My player is only currently rigged to handle digital via Coax and AC-3 via Coax. I'll have the analog situation worked out by next week's feature.
The Video:
Fincher's style generally leans towards somethning dark, cold, and sharp in terms of set design, lighting, and and framing. Unfortunately, a dark style such as that of Se7en is the kind of style that Laserdisc suffers the most from. With most Laserdiscs that take place primarily at night, most, if not all detail gets lost in the shadows, and for the most part, image quality is unbearably bad. Studios like Warner are by far the worst when it comes to dark and murky Laserdisc transfers, luckily New Line Cinema at the time wasn't a part of Warner Bros. as they are now.
The video transfer of Se7en is rock solid, featuring an average amount of detail, and good looking color throughout the film. The film takes place in dark, rainy, mostly night time sequences, and it never really feels like detail gets lost into the shadows. Instead of a murky mess, we get a rather sharp, and good looking transfer without any major signs of damage whatsoever.
It is interesting to note that this video master was prepared using an approximation of a silver retention print, a process that adds previous leeched out silver onto theatrical prints to give better luminosity, and increased print density in the dark scenes. Fincher talks about this process more in the commentary, which I, at this time, cannot listen to. They seem to make a big deal out of the fact that Criterion worked specifically with Fincher for weeks to recreate the look of the retention process. As a reference, I dropped in the last side of the two disc standard edition of the film from New Line Home Video as a comparison,
 |
| The standard home video Laserdisc release. |
What I found after watching the desert sequence of the film in both versions is that they look pretty much the same in terms of color, but the detail is a little more crushed even though it is presented in CAV, the same as the Criterion release. The noise level in the standard transfer is higher, and overall the Criterion presentation is more desirable, but I get the feeling that they both use the same "silver retention emulation" that Criterion prepared for home video. Rumor is that the same transfer was used for the first generation DVD as well, which was non-anamorphic.
This is the only home video master that attempted to approximate the theatrical screening qualities that theater goers saw in 1995, as Fincher retransfered the film in 1080i in 2000 to prepare a new DVD for New Line. He color graded the film drastically, and made it look less like it did in 95, and more like an early 2000s green and grey sort of movie. Therefore the Criterion/New Line release retains its relevance as a standard of what the film originally looked like.
Audio:
Criterion's release of the Se7en features both the film's sound in 4 track matrixed Dolby Surround, and 5.1 Dolby Digital on the right analog track. For reference, I viewed the film using the 5.1 Dolby Digital track processed through my Marantz DP-870 AC-3 Demodulator at reference levels that I've watched every film at since 2011.
The track is standard, with good directionality, and solid separation of the channels. The score bounces between the left and rights, filling in the spaces that aren't consumed by what's on screen. The bass however, was a tad bit aggressive, and I found myself turning down the bass knob on my DP-870 to compensate.
Overall, this film sounds pretty good on Laserdisc, but it isn't anything groundbreaking. Nothing gets lost in the mix, and I enjoyed listening to the AC-3 5.1 surround track. Take that as you will.
Overall:
Se7en is a pretty solid, fast paced, engaging crime thriller. Bolstered by Fincher's aggressive visual style, the film looks great, and sounds pretty good as well on Laserdisc. The box set overall is comprehensive, with a large amount of special features that give a detailed insight into how the film was made, and how much effort was put into making the film feel authentic. Criterion has treated the film with respect, and has crafted a definitive box set that presents the films as it was shown in theaters in 1995. For $124.99 in 1996, I'm not sure I would've been willing to pick up the set, but in 2015, for like 20-30 bucks, I wouldn't hesitate in the slightest if you have a chance. This is a great set that matches a great movie.
This was an awesome review!
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