Seven

I have read a few of the BFI's Classic Film series, and some are rather better than others - the quality of writing and of insight offered varies. But as the subjects are films that I love and respect greatly, I find that I do not always agree with the author's views.I think that this is the most insightful of the series that I have yet read, the best example I can give is of the comparison made between the opening credits showing Doe's and of Somerset's work in the library. I would never have thought to draw comparison in the way that the author does, and my appreciation for the film's craft is enhanced as a result.But I do not agree that the film endorses female stereotyping (the 'pride' and 'lust' murders), as the choice of victim is Doe's and must therefore accord with his worldview. I also find the laughter over the Mills's house to be entirely natural - humour comes to us all through thick and thin and under almost all circumstances - whereas the author finds it inauthentic and hates it.That said, if you are interested in knowing more about the films in the series, the books achieve their aim (by and large), and I will reiterate that this one is the most insightful of the ones that I have read.

five star reading for a ten star film

Book arrived as described and on time. Good condition and could be seen as new. Looking forward to reading it

Great read for Seven fans looking to learn more about the film. Good read for filmmakers looking for insight into the layers of detail in a great film.

It's tiny, like a booklet.

While Dyer's book on the David Fincher film Seven is a competent and thorough examination of he film, it still manages to feel as if it falls short by the end. To be fair, this might be in part due to my own familiarity with the film. However, there is definitely something lacking Dyer's approach to the film, which seems difficult considering how detailed he is, with separate chapters (seven, of course) for Sin, Story, Structure, Seriality, Sound, Sight, and Salvation.Perhaps part of the problem is that Dyer does not go too far into the background and pre-production aspects of the film - which is unusual for the BFI series - and when he does it tends to be trivia that most casual fans of the film are already aware of, such as Brad Pitt requiring in his contract that the ending not be changed. Instead, Dyer sends the majority of his time buried deep within the film itself. This shouldn't be detrimental considering the depth of the source material, but just like gazing into the abyss, sometimes you need some distance for perspective, or else you might get sucked in.The critical analysis is detailed, as stated before, but there are some points at which it seems to lose focus, or even worse, focus too hard. Dyer's insistence on comparing the Somerset/Mills dynamic to Lethal Weapon and other 'Wise Older Black Cop/Wild Young White Cop' films seems misguided considering the overall lack of comparison to other buddy-cop action franchises (outside of the similar stereotypes), and that comparison is belabored far longer than it deserves. Dyer does this on occasion, clinging to an idea far longer than it deserves, such as a repetitive paragraph on "pre-text" that stretches on long enough to feel more like a Dr. Seuss parody. His chapter on Seriality, which delves into the serial killer aspect of John Doe, references both real-life examples and fictional film representations of serial killers, but doesn't quite attempt to discern the difference between the two (for an excellent example of comparing a cinematic killer to a real world counterpart, check out the BFI Classic Film series book on Fritz Lang's M). The overall effect is that Dyer spends half of the time communicating to the reader, and the other half impressing himself.These criticisms aside, there is depth, detail, and analysis worth witnessing in Dyer's book, and it is still a worthy entry into the BFI series. Perhaps, in the end, Seven is a film that is ultimately underwhelming when dissected academically, but only because experiencing the film is an education in itself.

If, as I have suggested, the most successful in the BFI Classics and Modern Classics series are those written by critics and academics, than the very best are those by teachers. I would recommend Richard Dyer's brilliant monograph not just to admirers of David Fincher's celebrated film, but to anyone interested in getting the most out of their film-viewing. With facility and clarity, Dyer describes the mechanics of film-making - editing, sound-design and music, script, casting choices and performance style, camera movements and narrative pace, cinematography, mise-en-scene and imagery, location - and shows how they are all used to create meaning in 'Se7en'.Dyer calls 'Se7en' 'a landscape of despair, a symphony of sin', a film 'extraordinarily un-American in its pessimism'. Appropriately dividing his study into 7 sibilantly-titled chapters, he examines it from an exhaustive number of angles. 'Se7en' is an archetypal serial killer movie that focuses on white male alienation in contemporary urban society, but is also a denial of the genre, refusing to demonise the murderer, suggesting he is simply an over-enthusiastic law-enforcer with the same attitude to the corruption of modern urban life as the policemen. Dyer shows how, through dialogue, script-structure and editing, the killer is connected to both detectives pursuing him. He shows how Andrew Kevin Walker's brilliantly constructed script both imposes order on unmanagable violence and despair, and denies it (I can't say how just in case you haven't seen the film). He examines the notion of 'sin' in a post-modern, post-religious world, with the minimal possibilities of salvation - religion, culture, human goodness - offered. He is particularly good on his own areas of expertise - star personae, race and sexuality.Dyer thinks 'Se7en' is a Great Movie that does what Art should, exagerrating or heightening negative feelings about the world we live in that we suppress daily to survive. He treats 'Se7en' so seriously he even includes a 'map' to the narrative like those you get with Dante's 'Divine Comedy', and compares its climactic power to 'King Lear'. But for all his tireless analysis of the film, Dyer simply reinforces what it says on the surface. There is no subtext - every element, from script to theme to technical cinematic realisation simply reflects what we see, the direction dutifully and literally realising the script. Surely a classic film is one open to alternative interpretations, one that can be read against the grain, opening up a space for different kinds of viewing or viewers, one that on each re-viewing will reveal something new, deepening or complicating our first impressions? Nothing Dyer writes with such eloquence or enthusiasm convinces me that 'Se7en' is such a film.