SE7EN & How 35mm Scans Lie to You

February 24, 2025
WatchingtheAerial (YouTube)

Inside the world of amateur 35mm scans and why they can’t be trusted.

Timestamps:

00:00: SE7EN’s Many Versions
01:43: What are 35mm Print Scans?
03:49: The Problems with 35mm Scans
04:23: Print Inconsistencies
07:56: Degradation
11:10: Scanning & Editing Bias
13:59: Final Thoughts

Music by Tyler Ford.

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Links & Sources

Se7en’s 4K Remaster:

• Not On Blu-Ray? – The Mysterious Case of SE7EN
• The Hollywood Reporter – David Fincher on Remastering SE7EN in 4K
• avforums – SE7EN Blu-ray Review
• High-Def Digest – SE7EN – 30th Anniversary 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray
• The Film Stage – David Fincher’s Remastered SE7EN Comes to IMAX
• Entertainment Weekly – David Fincher talks remastering SE7EN with AI
• IndieWire – David Fincher Interview on SE7EN Restoration
• Collider – “The Most Thrillingly Stupid Fix in the World”
• @rarefilmm (Ex-Twitter) – SE7EN Restoration vs. 35mm Scan

What are 35mm Print Scans?

• Project 4K77
• Blu-ray.com – The Matrix 4K Blu-ray
• Blu-ray.com – The Ring 4K Blu-ray

Print Inconsistencies:

• New York Magazine – An Evening with Michael Mann
• Emulsional Rescue: Revealing The Godfather (2008)
• BFI – Michael Mann on Ferrari, Heat, Collateral and his career to date
• cinematography.com – What is the workflow between camera negative and relese print?
• Criterion – The Man Who Knew Too Much – Restoration Demonstration
• Wikipedia – Interpositive
• cinematography.com – Confusing (and probably silly) question about print film and digital
• WIFF – Beverly Wood Interview
• American Cinematographer – Soup du Jour
• Blain Brown – Cinematography: Theory and Practice, 2nd Edition (p.251)
• American Cinematographer – Se7EN: Sins of a Serial Killer
• The Digital Bits – Se7en (4K UHD Review)

Degradation:

• CBS – Film restoration: Saving our cinema heritage
• Insider – How Old Movies Are Professionally Restored
• FTV English News – Preserving Old Movies
• Science History Institute – Saving Old Movies
• FilmCare.org – Visual Decay Guide: Dye Fade
• ACOFS – Colour Fade
• Variety – David Fincher on SE7EN 4K Restoration

Biased Scanning & Editing:

• Criterion – Restoration Spotlight: A Brighter Summer Day
• Gizmodo – How Criterion Collection Brings Movies Back From the Dead
• American Cinematographer – The Matrix: Welcome to the Machine
• MatrixFans.net – Interview with Kym Barrett