We may never get to see David Fincher's "kind of creepy" version of Harry Potter, but thankfully, we did get to see his extremely creepy take on the detective thriller in Se7en—a film that radically altered the genre for decades following its premiere. This year marks Se7en's 30th anniversary, a milestone Warner Bros. is celebrating with an IMAX run and new 4K UHD Blu-ray release. That package comes with a slew of bonus features and deleted scenes, including Fincher's commentary on "The Story," "The Picture," and "The Sound," per Variety. It releases January 7, but if you want to dip your toes back into the behind-the-scenes world of the gritty picture before then, Letterboxd has got you covered in a new wide-ranging interview with the director.
Fincher's response to the revelation that Se7en was the movie-logging app's 108th highest-rated film of all time was "What does that say about Letterboxd?" which is a great place to start. But while he may think anyone who went to see a matinée of the movie in its tenth week should be "pick[ed]... up for questioning," he still clearly loves the project. At least, he was willing to speak at length about production details like the chilling opening credits sequence, which he used tactfully to "create.. a little bit of madness at the edges of these frames" before Kevin Spacey's John Doe is introduced 90 minutes into the movie. He also spoke about the inspired decision to leave all of Brad Pitt's character's ties pre-tied on a hanger, which he said was "so kind of Granimals and childlike that I just thought it was hilarious."
Speaking of the film's legacy, he said he had "no idea" why generation after generation has continued to gravitate to it. "I do remember at the time apologizing to all the cast members by saying, 'Look, this is going to be a footnote movie,'" he recalled. "'Morgan Freeman, they’re not going to put Se7en on your tombstone. Brad, they’re not going to put Se7en on your tombstone.' But I just felt that if we could do it smart and sharp and committed, that it would have a chance to be a grungy horror movie masquerading as a thriller."
Committed is right. You can read Fincher's full interview over on Letterboxd.
