|
By
NICK ZEGARAC
David Fincher's "Se7en" is a
psychological thriller that pits rooky detective
David Mills (Brad Pitt) with vintage pro, and
almost retired, William Somerset (Morgan Freeman).
The two are on the prowl for a serial killer
(Kevin Spacey) who chooses his victims according
to the seven deadly sins.
Much has been written to both ballyhoo and
criticize this disturbing thriller. In point of
fact, there's not much to the story but hey, style
goes a long, long way and this movie has style
down pat. There's something unsettling in the
dreary, dark and haunted cinematography that makes
even a public library seem like the most
frightening place on earth. The chemistry between
Freeman and Pitt is highly toxic and the rather
laconic narrative becomes taut and tantalizing
after the killer appears to surrender to the
authorities, but with a catch. Gwyneth Paltrow
costars as Mills' wife, Tracy.
Unfortunately, for those who have been waiting to
toss out their old flipper disc of this movie, I
wouldn't be rushing out to the resale shop just
yet. Although there are definite advantages to not
having to turn over a disc in the middle of the
story, this new edition of "Se7en" continues to
suffer from a host of DVD mastering problems.
First there is edge enhancement. At times it is
nonexistent. Then suddenly, there it is, excessive
and distracting and making a mess out of the
visual information. Aliasing and shimmering of
fine details also do their hit-and-miss job
throughout. A real shame since color rendering,
shadow delineation and fine details are superbly
rendered. Remember that this is an extremely dark
visual experience. The DVD's ability to retain
depth and clarity is remarkable.
The soundtrack is remastered in 5.1 and
wonderfully vibrant in its sustained low key
ambiance. Extras include an audio commentary and
some toss away features that really don't enhance
the over all viewing experience. Really, they're
not worth discussing. The bottom line herein is
better than the first try. But undoubtedly, third
time's the charm! |
