Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.5

The 7th Day Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov January 11, 2019

Carlos Saura's "The 7th Day" a.k.a. "El 7º día" (2004) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of independent distributors Olive Films. There are no supplemental features on the disc. In Spanish, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

The grieving family

I am unsure if another U.S. distributor ever bothered to look at Carlos Saura’s film. I certainly do not remember seeing an official DVD release, which is why years ago I ended up importing an official copy from Spain. It is possible that because the film was released only a few years after the Columbine tragedy the smaller distributors decided to stay away from it, but most likely it was not on anyone’s radar because it was deemed a very Spanish film. (I will explain why below). Also, excluding a couple of well-known classics, traditionally Spanish films have always had a very difficult time reaching the U.S. market.

The story of the film is real and from the little research that I did on it some years ago it appears that the key details of the conflict that is at the heart of it are reconstructed accurately. On the other hand, it was the biggest mass murder to occur in contemporary Spain, so because it was widely covered by the Spanish media the accuracy was more or less guaranteed. So, in the summer of 1990, farmers Emilio and Antonio Izquierdo grabbed their rifles, filled their pockets with ammunition, and headed to the village of Puerto Hurraco to wipe out their old rivals, the Cabanillas family. However, as soon as they entered the village, the two farmers went on a killing spree and did not stop firing their rifles until the locals realized that the two had lost their minds.

In the film Saura creates the impression that it took a long time for the killers, played by old pros Juan Diego and Joe Luis Gomez, to completely lose their minds, and this is one aspect of it that I think remains slightly unconvincing. Indeed, another tragedy actually sparks the feud between the two families and then it is the vicious sister (Victoria Abril) of the elder killer that begins to poison the minds of the men with arguments in favor of the ultimate revenge. However, the woman is never really seen as an effective manipulator and the pressure that these men must have experienced before they went looking for the Cabanillas remains someone elusive. The rest, I think, looks convincing.

The majority of the events that precede the massacre are described by Isabel (Yohana Cobo), one of three girls that the Cabanillas were trying to raise while the feud was intensifying. Also, the girl routinely points out the significance of seemingly minor arguments and at times even offers her thoughts on some of the opportunities that the adults missed to avoid the tragedy. Of course, it all makes sense, but I don’t think that as far as the real characters were concerned these were legit opportunities that they would have considered. The hatred between the two families was too strong.

Despite the grim subject the entire film is beautifully lensed and channels plenty of warmth and light humor. When Isabel falls in love with a handsome troublemaker, for instance, it almost looks like Saura is ready to abandon the authentic material and head to the same place where most of Bigas Luna’s films can be discovered. But it is just a very clever distraction that eventually makes the crucial contrasts between sanity and insanity and life and death that much more striking and thought-provoking.

Saura worked with Francois Lartigue, who started his career in the film industry as a camera assistant during the production of Claude Sautet’s classic romantic drama The Things of Life. The atmospheric soundtrack was created by Roque Banos, one of Spain’s most prolific composers whose credits include such hits as Saura’s Goya in Bordeaux, Santiago Segura’s popular Torrente films, Brad Anderson’s The Machinist, and Alex de la Iglesia’s The Last Circus.

The 7th Day Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Carlos Saura's The 7th Day arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Olive Films.

The remaster that was used to produce the release was prepared a while ago, and it is most likely the same one that Warner used in Spain some years ago to produce its DVD release of the film. However, I own the Spanish DVD release and even if it is the exact same remaster after comparing it to the Blu-ray release I can confirm that there are pretty substantial upgrades. In fact, excluding some wider panoramic shots where the limitations of the remaster become easier to spot, as well as the final episode where the killers enter the village, the Blu-ray offers a completely different viewing experience. Virtually all of the darker/nighttime footage on the DVD looks blocky and in some areas even begins to break down; the daylight footage also conveys plenty of background shimmer. Even though density can be better, on the Blu-ray depth is in fact vastly superior, and even with existing limitations there are entire ranges of nuances from the original cinematography that are retained. Colors are lusher and overall more pleasing as well. All in all, while there is room for cosmetic improvements, I can confirm that the Blu-ray release offers a big upgrade in quality that folks with large screens will definitely appreciate. My score 3.75/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

The 7th Day Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: Spanish DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The Spanish DVD release The 7th Day has a Spanish 5.1 track, and I think that this release should have had it as well. On the other hand, the 2.0 track is still excellent, and more importantly eliminates the PAL speed-up from the DVD release. In terms of dynamic intensity, balance, and stability it is very impressive.

The 7th Day Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Most unfortunately, there are no bonus features on this release.

The 7th Day Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

There is some incredible talent in The 7th Day and with Carlos Saura behind the camera the end result is of course quite impressive. It recreates a very ugly real event, but actually channels plenty of warmth and light humor that may remind some folks of Bigas Luna's work. Some years ago I thought that this could have been the film that Criterion use to introduce the Spanish director to the Collection, but I was wrong. If there are folks that own the old Spanish DVD release of The 7th Day and wonder whether the Blu-ray is worth picking up, the answer is a definitive yes. There is room for improvement, but the upgrade in quality is significant. RECOMMENDED.