Se7en

Se7en (1995)

Timing: 2:7 (127 min)

8.379/10
22820

8.303/10
596005

8.6/10
2000000

All about film

Video 14

Photo 229

Actors and characters

Release date

1995-09-22

Country

United States

Production

New Line Cinema, Arnold Kopelson Productions, Juno Pix, Cecchi Gori Pictures

Genre

Crime, Mystery, Thriller

Budget

$33 000 000

Revenue

$327 311 859

Website

https://www.warnerbros.com/movies/seven

Director

David Fincher

Actors

Morgan Freeman, Brad Pitt, Gwyneth Paltrow, John Cassini, Peter Crombie, Reg E. Cathey, R. Lee Ermey, Daniel Zacapa, Andrew Kevin Walker, George Christy
All actors and roles (10)

Scenario

Andrew Kevin Walker

Producer

Arnold Kopelson, Phyllis Carlyle, Gianni Nunnari, Dan Kolsrud, Anne Kopelson

Operator

Darius Khondji

Composer

Howard Shore

Artist

Barry Chusid

Audition

Suzanne Crowley, Billy Hopkins, Kerry Barden

Editing

Richard Francis-Bruce
All team (179)

• The production team of “New Line Cinema” was reluctant to launch the film into production for a long time due to its ending. A number of alternative final versions were discussed (no fewer than five), but the final say remained with Brad Pitt – he refused to participate in the filming if the film’s ending was altered.
• During filming, Morgan Freeman would draw his pistol from its holster, keeping his finger on the trigger. Police officers present on set as technical experts quickly corrected the actor, pointing out his mistake.
• Early versions of the script featured a strange, gnome-like woman who was part of the investigation team. After each murder, she would go to the crime scene, swear profusely, and make biting jokes at the expense of Somerset and Mills.
• An early version of the script referenced Mills’ partner named Parsons. He was killed during a police raid. But the filmmakers decided to abandon this plotline and removed all mentions of Parsons from the script even before filming began.
• All of John Doe’s books are genuine, written specifically for the film. About two months and $15,000 were spent on their creation.
• Somerset's metronome ticks seven times during the first scene of the film.
• Screenwriter Andrew Kevin Walker worked on the script for about two years. In addition, Andrew played an extra role – he became the first corpse shown in the film.
• The role of John Doe could have gone to Michael Stipe, the leader of the band “R.E.M.”
• Morgan Freeman's son, Alfonso, appeared in an extra role as a fingerprint technician.
• In the opening shots of the film, all house numbers begin with the digit 7.
• The old photo depicting a woman is a poster for the Soviet film "Pyshka" (1934) by Mikhail Romm.
• Denzel Washington turned down the role of Detective David Mills.
• The opening credits feature a remix of the song Closer, created by Nine Inch Nails.
• The phrase spoken by the Police Chief to Detective Somerset at the very end – "Where are you going to be?" – to which Somerset replies, "Around... I'll be around..." – is a reference to another film by Fincher, "Alien 3", where Ripley says the exact same phrase to Dillon, receiving the exact same response.
• The word fuck and its derivatives appear 74 times in the film, mostly uttered by the character played by Brad Pitt.
• David Cronenberg was offered to direct the film, but he declined.
• The film's credits roll from top to bottom, rather than the usual bottom to top.
• In the film's trailer, the voice of the phone subscriber with whom the detectives speak in apartment #604 belongs to the film's director, David Fincher.
• Somerset's revolver is a Smith & Wesson Model 15.
• Mills' pistol is a customized Springfield Armory M1911 A1.
• During the filming of the chase scene with John Doe, Brad Pitt fell awkwardly and injured his arm on a car windshield. Following the incident, the filmmakers decided to reflect this in the script and changed some details.
• The victim tied to the bed is not a computer-generated effect. A very thin actor was selected for the filming of this scene. However, the makeup artists also didn't waste their time, and after working on the actor, they really managed to create the impression of a genuine "living" corpse.
• On the prison uniform worn by John Doe at the end of the film is written the name of the prison – “Bardach County Jail”. This is a subtle nod to the film’s costume designer – Eleanor Bardach.
• Producers expected Kevin Spacey's name to be among the first to appear in the opening credits, but the actor himself asked not to mention him at the beginning of the film so that it would be more difficult for viewers to identify the killer. Presumably as compensation for this sacrifice, Spacey’s name was placed first in the end credits.
• Detective Somerset, to understand the motives of John Doe's murders, studies Geoffrey Chaucer's *The Canterbury Tales* and John Milton's *Paradise Lost* in the library. The film also mentions William Shakespeare's *The Merchant of Venice* and Dante Alighieri's *Divine Comedy*.
• The character Kevin Spacey plays is named John Doe – this is a name used in Anglo-Saxon courts in cases of anonymity of the plaintiff, or when he is simply unknown. It is also used in the case of an unidentified corpse or a patient whose identity has not been established.
• The production team at "New Line Cinema" was reluctant to start filming due to its ending. A number of alternative endings were discussed (at least five), but Brad Pitt had the final say – he refused to participate in the filming if the ending was changed.
• Detective Somerset, in order to understand the motives of John Doe's murders, studies Geoffrey Chaucer's "The Canterbury Tales" and John Milton's "Paradise Lost" at the library. William Shakespeare's "The Merchant of Venice" and Dante Alighieri's "Divine Comedy" are also mentioned in the film.