Posted September 15, 2010 08:19 AM by Juan Calonge
David Fincher's thriller Se7en came out on Blu-ray, and is generally available in a DigiBook edition. However, without any warning, an exclusive non-DigiBook edition simultaneously hit the shelves of retail giant Walmart, which is selling it this week for $20. At the moment, this edition is available in stores only, and there is no information as to the length of this exclusivity deal.
Disc contents are allegedly the same as in the DigiBook edition, and according to the sticker, the 32-page booklet is also included. However, some forum members are reporting that the copies they bought didn't contain that booklet.
This release shouldn't be mistaken with the Canadian release by Alliance, which, although also in regular packaging, is totally different: it lacks any extras and is not even in the original theatrical aspect ratio.
Se7en Blu-ray in conventional packaging
(photo by Blu-ray.com forum member "glocknyne")
A non-digibook version of this should be $10 like all catalog titles should. I can see the digibook being more, but all these movies drop so quickly, makes little sense to pick it up right away, even an "exclusive."
Saw it yesterday too, not interested at that price, the DVD will suffice for now. I also noticed that they have Avatar and Alice in Wonderland slips out only, not the entire package...do you think those are the most stolen movies?
I'm guessing this isn't available in canada. I don't even know if the digibook is available in canada either, alliance titles often take a month or two before they come out up here (I'm thinking it's a ploy to fool customers into picking up the already released barebones crap versions
I will once again engage in my droning that I will not buy Se7en in any packaging at any price unless it is in the original coloration. I don't want a digitally warmed version of Se7en...I want Se7en as I saw it in theaters. Icy blues, dingy grays and deep blacks. That's how it was filmed, that's how it was developed, that's how I saw it and that's the way I want it.
Here's the video of Fincher changing the color of the movie. Of course, they only show the least objectionable change at the end of the movie instead of changing the way the rain and the city looks. Also it's sort of a spoiler if you haven't seen the film:
Se7en originally had a strong Alien vibe cinematically. It was a noir film very plainly. It was a harsh, dehumanizing environment in the city. Everything felt "sharp" and gritty and very dirty. It looked very cold and quite inhospitable. So when all the characters except Pitt say how disgusting humanity and the city is....you really agree with them.
Digitally warming the picture DESTROYS that very important aspect of the film. Now it looks like a fricken' hallmark card. This is no longer the noir film it was originally. I don't know what it is now. It's simply not as dark and frankly not as IMPORTANT a film now because it loses a lot of subtext. I believe this is a travesty and I will not support it.
@OhDamaso as much as i agree with you on pricing, studioes will price more well known catalog titles higher at price then lesser ones. For example you will see a movie like Se7en at $20 were a movie like Drop Zone will be at $10 at Wal * Mart and Amazon at least. Best Buy and other retailers will haver movies like that at $40 and $25 respectively then try to blame the economy for their sluggish sales...
I was planning to pick this up at Walmart, but now I'll most likely use Amazon and get the digibook version. I used to be anti-digibook for a bunch of reasons I created in my head. Then I got one as a gift, and I actually liked the darn thing. Since then, I've bought quite a few digibooks which I group together on my shelf. So, it'll be the digibook for me.
That said, I'm all about giving the consumer the choice of what to buy. So, this is welcome news.
I strongly caution anyone from using the "how I saw it in the theater" standard for deciding whether they think a movie's color scheme on Blu-ray is accurate or not. It has been 15 years since "Seven" played in theaters; one's memory of how something specifically looked 15 years ago may be hit and miss. Some theaters have properly maintained film projectors. Unfortunately most do not. Many are not properly calibrated/focused and quite a few theaters run lamps well past their recommended lifetime. Therefore, someone's memory of a movie being especially dark may have more to do with improper film projection rather than a color timing choice.
The only people who really know without a doubt how a movie's color scheme is supposed to look are those who have seen a properly projected answer print during post production. Viewers in the commercial movie theater environment don't have the same luxury.
It's not just the theater. That is how Se7en was presented on VHS, Laserdisc and the first DVD release. I have this version taped from the Criterion Laserdisc and have watched it many times. I have provided video proof of Fincher changing the color scheme of the film. It is a feature on the 2-disc Platinum DVD set the film was changed for. When you get the Blu-ray this feature is also included. Watch that before dismissing what I am saying out of hand.
i wish they had a non-digibook (or now encyclopedia) of one flew over the cukoo's nest. these digibooks are so stupid. too bad they reserve their best movies for this gimmick
i wonder if this is an exclusive for certain states only... because i live in long island, ny and they didnt have it at my local walmart.. and when i asked someone they said they did not get it in yet.. (they probably didnt know what they were talking about)
See how the original version loks so much colder, harsher darker and frankly far more interesting? THAT'S how I saw it the first several times and that's the only way I want to watch it. But somehow this gets a pass and George Lucas is endlessly crucified. I don't get it.
Thanks Fanboyssuck. I'm kinda against the digibook, but at least it's nice to know that the real version is available in canada. I do own 300 in digibook so it's not like i'm against them, I might pick up this and One flew over the cuckoo's nest on friday
Yeah, I don't like digibooks either but have Shawshank and Poltergeist so I guess one more won't hurt too much, depending on how I sort my Blu-ray collection.
I can never understand all of the hate for Digibooks, they are so much more interesting than boring blu ray cases. Not to mention in this situation, the price is the same & you are not getting the 32 page book. So I can't see why this would be the preferred version.
@fettastic How about posting actual comparison screenshots if you're going to get all up in arms about this transfer? The new version looks NOTHING like that second image...it's darker if anything than the older transfer. And where in the hell did you find images that LOW RES of a blu-ray anyway? I seriously doubt those are directly from the source, they're not even OAR. I would think someone as attuned to issues like color timing would know this already.
So, Wal-Mart's "exclusive" is the crappy version and this is news?
The Se7en Digibook is gorgeous. I don't know why whould anybody go out of their way to get this plain, boring edition. Specially if both are priced the same. (dunno if they are, though)
So if you have "proof" of Fincher changing the color scheme of the film, then why are your panties in a wad??? Not to dispute your claim Bobby Henderson (b/c I somewhat agree w/ you and think you have a point), but the only person who truly knows how a movie's color scheme is supposed to look is the director/creator. Of course people have their preferences and ideas about "the way it should look", but in the end the whole "I prefer this color scheme" excuse for not purchasing a movie is more asinine than not wanting the digibook. I've heard so much crap about comparing "color schemes" on VHS to DVD and then Blu-ray and how much better it looks on the VHS. Ok!, if you prefer the VHS, LD, or DVD then you're on the wrong site!!
As for the digibook thing, it's nice to present people with the option from the get-go. BTW @Banned User, I have several digibooks and none of them have even come close to decaying or falling apart. I don't know where you're buying these digibooks, but you shouldn't shop there anymore.
I don't know where you got the idea that was a screen grab from the Blu-ray because I never claimed it was. I said it is of the new color-corrected version that drains all life and energy from the film. The only reason I can see why more people aren't pissed about this is because they were children when this film first came out and have only ever seen the recolorized version. Trust me, the original looks a lot better.
Imagine if Ridley Scott decided to digitally warm Alien. Imagine instead of a gray-blue mist in the derelict ship, it's not the same bronze color as everything else. Imagine if Archeron weren't the cold gray world we know, but instead had summery earth tones! Would that piss you off? Now you know how I feel about the colorizing of Se7en.
But just so I'm clear croweseyes, you think the colors of the second pic looks like crap right? And if Se7en actually looks like that, it's garbage right?
And for the record I love digibooks. I have plenty of digibooks and they've never succumbed to any kind of damage so that's just hogwash.
The blu-ray was struck from a new master. There isn't a green hue and it's much darker on the blu-ray compared to the 2000 dvd release.
The color correction feature found on the Blu-ray was just part of other carried over features from the previous DVD release, but it's not at all a representation of how the Blu-ray looks.
Honestly, I have no idea why they even bothered carrying over that feature for the Blu-ray release as it really isn't relevant anymore.
Went to pick it up at my local Canadian Best Buy and they were sold out. Then I went to all the other shops and they don't even have the movie in their system. Was this a Best Buy exclusive? I might go check out Walmart later
In this you can see how they were originally lit by the blacklight they were using to see the fingerprints and in the "colorized" version that lighting is absent. They've also reframed it so the mat is cutting into Freeman's eye.
Unfortunately they only compare screenshots of the altered master. However by comparing it to the Alliance release it certainly apears they have scaled back on the warming. I can now see blues leeching through the image again and they have brought those heavy shadows back by darkening the picture. This is definitely an improvement! It's back to looking like a noir again.
I personally like the digi-books. Not everything has to be the same. I guess since I don't spend time staring at my collection and just get a movie out when I want to watch it that it makes no difference to me.
I personally like the book part cause you can get alot of information and pictures that you wouldn't normally get.
Although I like digibooks, I have to agree that it would have been perfect to use the Se7en one to put in the killer's diary pages like they did for the disc sleeves on the Criterion LD.
Have you read up on bleach bypass (aka silver retention, ENR, CCE, etc.) processing? In a nutshell, the photographic silver that is normally bleached out & recovered in processing color film is, instead, retained in the film, creating overlapping B&W silver and color dye images.
DP Darius Khondji shot "Se7en" employing at least a partial bleach bypass at an internegative/positive stage or on the release prints (my memory is fuzzy in that regard). Unfortunately, bleach bypass processed film elements are not suitable for video transfer; contrast is simply too great. For video transfer, the grainy, high contrast, monochromatic bleach bypass aesthetic can only be somewhat emulated via color timing. So, "Se7en" on video will never look exactly like it does on film.
WiWavelength, I don't know why they went through all the extra expense of that process and then just scanned it in and changed it all. The Criterion LD looks great (colorwise). That's the way I want it to look on Blu-ray.
If digbooks were same price as regular, then I'd be more inclined to get them now that I have a few. But, not worth it to me to be paying extra for. I'm happy with the film (and the video extras). Thanks wmt for saving me 5 bucks.
"So does anyone know if the book is in the Wal-Mart exclusive "
"can anyone who picked up the Wal-Mart exclusive version confirm if they DID have the 32 page booklet included?"
There is no booklet in the wmt version. I think that's probably the same sticker they stuck on the digibook. Saved us an extra dollar in cost no doubt. But not in confusion apparently.
I got my copy at wal mart. No booklet inside but I didnt buy it for the book I bought for the film which looked GREAT. No film from 1995 should look this good, audio was incredible also.
Sadomasochist that I am (and as one who still possesses the exemplary Criterion laserdisc of
"Se7en"), I must agree with my arch-enemy fettastic about the whole color-scheme thing.
Besides, the "cover art" on that blu-ray looks fuckin' stupid. Don't need it.
Wasn't going to get this release since I had already had the crappy canada version and this was a digibook (I don't like these at all they're not uniform with my collection although they are cool for the pictures and stories) but then i seen walmart had them in a standard case so i had to pick it up.
@fettastic The blu-ray does NOT LOOK like what you're posting!! That shot of them in the fingerprint lab is moody and BLUE on the new transfer, not the natural lighting of what you're saying the corrected coloring is. This was my point from the beginning. If what you're posting ISN'T a blu-ray capture, then what the hell does it prove?? Nothing. If you're going to be upset over the blu-ray color timing, then post caps FROM that source, not something random. Because the blu-ray does not look that way.
I think those screengrabs are from the trailer. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4YV2_TcCoE It exhibits the "altered" color timing scheme. Check out the shot of them at the fingerprint lab (last shot in the trailer). Natural lighting in the trailer, not blue like in the film. Also, just FYI, that shot pans up to Somerset's line when he speaks so as to not cut off his eye. Those comparison shots were probably taken at different points...a few seconds changes that shot's framing.
Croweseyes, so I take it you DIDN'T read my last post that not only states that the the color has been corrected AGAIN which has changed a lot of things, but also LINKS TO THE PROOF!?
::sigh:: THE POINT IS - the scene in the fingerprint lab NEVER looked anything but blue IN THE CONTEXT OF THE FILM, you moron. I'll post a cap of the Platinum Series DVD and the blu-ray if you don't believe me. The ONLY time that shot has had natural lighting was IN THE TRAILER. So what was ever your problem?? That the trailer looked bad???
