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BFI Film Classics
Seven
Gluttony, greed, sloth, lust, pride, envy, wrath. A serial killer on a warped moral mission who turns his victims' "sins" into the means of their murder. The movie Seven is analyzed here covering topics such as sin, story, structure, seriality, sound, sight and salvation.
104 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 27, 1999
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
December 14, 2024
I like the BFI Film Classics series, and this was a good one because I do think Seven is one of the best films I’ve ever seen. Talking about the themes of the sins was super interesting, and I also loved the parts about how Somerset and Doe are essentially mirrors of each other in a way. And even though I liked the structure of the book, I do think the short chapter that just recapped the story was unnecessary because you wouldn’t be reading this one without knowing the film pretty well.
August 24, 2009
Another great criticism in the BFI Modern Classics series; I love reading these books and rewatching the movies to see new things.
July 8, 2013
A wonderful little book that should appeal to fans of the film and film students alike
July 25, 2024
Punchy and concise, doing exactly as much as it needs to do to put forward a compelling thesis that illuminates the murky corners of this darkest of films.
May 5, 2023
I enjoyed reading this observant, lucid, very well-researched and -written work of criticism enough to overcome my fundamental disagreement with Dyer: I wouldn't consider such a slick, shallow movie to be worthy of the effort. Dyer's analysis is somehow much deeper than the film itself.
July 6, 2017
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.
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.
August 11, 2015
The exploration of sin is what Richard Dyer talks about in this study of one of the great thriller/horror movies, Se7en. Dyer breaks down every component of the mis en scene and montage to help formulate an argument that this is the ultimate movie ever made about sin. Hopefully, this film continues to get studied for years to come. If so, this book is essential in understanding some of the complexities involved with our world.
March 7, 2012
To read an in depth analysis of a very dark dark film, was always going to be a tough task. The book took me back into the sights, sounds, music and the shock of the film and most importantly back to the cinema I sat in when I first watched it. Very good.
April 7, 2019
For the record this is the 2002 reprint - Seven, not Se7en
Loving these BFI books - getting the film geek in me going! This is an interesting book, but falls down a little for me, which is a shame as it's one of my favourite films. The reason, I feel, is that it falls between an academic study, and an attempt for it not to be, which is a shame - don't dumb down, just go for it - be clever, be high brow, never underestimate your audience...which is something the film itself absolutely does not do.
There are so many layers in this film, and that is what gives it such a widespread appeal, and many of these are addressed within this study; I don't feel that it references as much as it could and it could have delved more into why it is such a well made film - looking at what the images are doing is important, but don't forget that there was a director putting them there - making the decisions about the vision - what to show and what not to. It is some of these decisions that are weirdly omitted for me- elements of the film I love that are missed, or not important to Dyer - and indeed there are 'facts' that I don't think are actually right (short of watching the film again - but I will go back as perhaps I have missed something important...).
A good read - but if you are not a massive fan of modern thrillers, then maybe hold off because (Spoiler Alert) - there are many casually thrown spoilers about other films that you may not see coming!
(ps - in the ongoing argument about how many people John Doe actually kills - I'm in the camp that says just one...)
Loving these BFI books - getting the film geek in me going! This is an interesting book, but falls down a little for me, which is a shame as it's one of my favourite films. The reason, I feel, is that it falls between an academic study, and an attempt for it not to be, which is a shame - don't dumb down, just go for it - be clever, be high brow, never underestimate your audience...which is something the film itself absolutely does not do.
There are so many layers in this film, and that is what gives it such a widespread appeal, and many of these are addressed within this study; I don't feel that it references as much as it could and it could have delved more into why it is such a well made film - looking at what the images are doing is important, but don't forget that there was a director putting them there - making the decisions about the vision - what to show and what not to. It is some of these decisions that are weirdly omitted for me- elements of the film I love that are missed, or not important to Dyer - and indeed there are 'facts' that I don't think are actually right (short of watching the film again - but I will go back as perhaps I have missed something important...).
A good read - but if you are not a massive fan of modern thrillers, then maybe hold off because (Spoiler Alert) - there are many casually thrown spoilers about other films that you may not see coming!
(ps - in the ongoing argument about how many people John Doe actually kills - I'm in the camp that says just one...)
October 29, 2025
I can't believe I'm only just discovering the BFI Classics. This was an enjoyable deep dive into Fincher's movie Seven with some really exciting thoughts on everything from the use of sound to the oppressive use of rain.
November 13, 2021
برای من که بیشتر از ۲۰ بار این فیلم رو دیدم، چندتا نکته خوب و جدید داشت. پادکست این کار رو هم تولید کردیم که توی رادیو هیواد میتونید بشنوید.
August 6, 2022
I’m hosting Se7en for a movie club I run and this book solidified my thoughts and provided whole new levels of insight for me. Always one of my favorites, after this read I like it even more.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews