Fully Loaded DVD: Seven
Graphic By: Jenn Peterson

Special features.

That’s probably the reason why I got a DVD player: the special features. Theatrical trailers, deleted scenes, feature-length commentary, subtitles, outtakes: all of them add up and make the DVD experience truly worthwhile. The New Line Platinum Edition of Seven has them in spades.

The first disc of this two-disc set contains the actual movie. Presented in letterbox format, the picture has been digitally remastered and presented in Dolby EX 5.1. Sweetening things further is the multiple audio commentaries. Actors Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman discuss the movie along with director David Fincher. In addition, various members of the production crew discuss their work on the film. To top it all off, the first disc has a DVD-ROM track containing a printable copy of the original screenplay.

But wait; there’s more.

The second disc, packed with supplemental material, truly makes this a DVD to own. The requisite deleted scenes and theatrical trailers are presented here, as is an alternate take on the final scene. There is also an animated storyboard feature displaying an unfilmed ending (which, interestingly enough, was the way I envisioned the film as ending) along with commentary by Fincher. There is also an exploration of the films opening sequence and a look into John Doe’s notebooks, as are commentaries on the movie’s production design. You can check out filmographies of the crew on this disc, and also access yet another DVD-ROM track, this one containing a John Doe website, providing more insight into the mind of the killer.

Many of you are probably familiar with the plot of Seven: two cops must track down an elusive serial killer, named “John Doe”, who murders his victims based on the Seven Deadly Sins. Doe chooses to off his victims in a number of creative and gruesome ways. The ending is twisted and absolutely unforgettable.

Seven would be a great movie, even without all the special features found on this edition. Yet New Line Cinema found a way to sweeten what was already a sweet package.