Rewatchables Reference

• The car ride with Spacey in the backseat – 'You're no messiah. You're a movie of the week. You're a fucking t-shirt at best' (Bill and Chris's pick).
• The ending / 'What's in the box?' scene (Sean's pick).
• John Doe turning himself in – bloody hands, 'Detectives, you're looking for me'.
• The 'Tuesday' library research scene with Somerset and opera music.
• The SWAT team raiding the sloth victim's apartment (the guy coughs, shocking the actors).

• The opening credit sequence – designed to look like a serial killer made them; influenced True Detective.
• The unnamed city setting – cross between Seattle and NYC, always raining.
• The decision NOT to show Gwyneth's head in the box.
• Not billing Kevin Spacey in the marketing.
• The Somerset character concept – 'God's loneliest man' who needs a metronome to sleep.

• The impact of seeing it for the first time – you can never recreate that shock.
• John Doe's composition books – today he'd just be a blogger.
• Brad and Gwyneth's real-life romance documented in a film where her head ends up in a box.

• Denzel Washington turned down Mills – told EW it was 'too dark and evil,' later regretted it.
• Sylvester Stallone also turned down Mills.
• Al Pacino was attached to Somerset, chose City Hall instead.
• Robert Duvall and Gene Hackman both turned down Somerset.
• Val Kilmer turned down John Doe.

• Leland Orser (hyperventilating scene – didn't sleep for days and hyperventilated before filming).
• John C. McGinley – 'always Defcon 1'.

Leland Orser as the lust victim witness with the hyperventilating scene.

• Kevin Spacey – in only about 4 scenes, steals the entire movie.
• Richard Schiff (one scene as the lawyer).
• Gwyneth Paltrow (the diner scene with Somerset).

• Jason Patric or River Phoenix (had he lived) for Brad Pitt's role.
• Robert Duvall for Somerset.
• Billy Bob Thornton, Will Patton, or Tim Blake Nelson for John Doe.

• Brad Pitt severed tendons putting his arm through a windshield – written into the movie.
• John Doe's notebooks were real books: 2 months, $15,000.
• The diner where Somerset and Tracy meet is the same diner from 'Training Day'.
• Gwyneth's face is shown for about a frame and a half right before Brad fires the gun (subliminal).
• The sloth victim actor weighed 98 pounds.
• Andrew Kevin Walker has a cameo as the first dead guy (gluttony victim).

• Morgan Freeman – coming off Shawshank then this; 'most juice after this movie'.
• Kevin Spacey – discussed but American Beauty is his apex.
• David Fincher – this launches him but his apex is arguably later.
• Decapitations – 'the French Revolution' is probably apex mountain for decapitations.

• Why does Tracy call Somerset (a weird old loner) to confide about her pregnancy instead of literally anyone else?
• How did John Doe mail a severed head? (Extensive discussion about box size, blood, dry ice, delivery logistics).
• Does Brad Pitt's character ever actually look in the box?
• Why can't Tracy make any friends in the city?

Could be a 7 or 10-episode Netflix limited series – strong influence on True Detective.

• What's your favorite deadly sin? (Bill: wrath; Sean: envy; Chris: sloth).
• Did the dog die?
• What do Somerset's next 24 hours look like after the ending?
• Does Mills go to jail? How much time does he serve?

David Fincher – goes on to make The Game then 'Fight Club'; established him as a singular craftsman filmmaker.