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Amazon.co.uk Review
Watching Zodiac with Se7en and Fight Club in mind might disappoint those expecting a typical David Fincher movie, but his exploration of a serial killer’s reign across 70s San Francisco is highly rewarding, provided you’re willing to put in the (2 and a half) hours. The Zodiac killer submitted citizens of California to everything from fear to mild bemusement for the better part of a decade with his media-baiting ciphers and acts of terrible violence. Meanwhile reporters, police and an obsessed cartoonist named Robert Graysmith spent those years trying and ultimately failing to put a face to the name. Fincher’s own fascination with the case really comes across here, and while he doesn’t shrink from the horror of the murders, this is his most traditional, but most accomplished feat of storytelling to date.
The pin sharp dialogue and perfectly paced story is accompanied by a first rate cast – most notably Robert Downey Jnr’s hack Paul Avery and Mark Ruffalo’s dogged homicide detective David Toschi. The story veers away swiftly from standard serial killer fare to intense procedural, focussing on the obsession of the men trying to stop Zodiac. And the real accomplishment here is that audiences will feel their regret, because to this day, the killer has never been caught. Despite this and the intimidating running time, those with the patience will be rewarded with one of the best crime thrillers in years. -–Luke Mawson
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53 of 56 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Zodiac Says: "This Was Worth The Wait.",
By John Wilfers (Dublin, Ireland.) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Zodiac - Director's Cut [DVD] (DVD)
The long-delayed Director's Cut of David Fincher's "Zodiac" is finally with us and there is good news and bad news; the bad news is that the new scenes barely amount to five extra minutes in a 2 1/2 hour movie and some of the additional scenes are so brief you'll hardly notice them. Now to the good news; don't be put off by the very short new scenes that have been added, the documentaries and commentaries in this 2-disc set more than make up for it. On the DVD cover, the blurb says that the documentaries are "exhaustive" and, for once, the finished product lives up to the hype.
There is a feature-length documentary about the crimes themselves featuring fascinating, detailed interviews with the surviving victims of the Zodiac killer and the real detectives who worked the case (they look directly into camera as they recall the horrors of Zodiac's rampage and it pulls you into the story, Lake Berryessa victim Bryan Hartnell is unrecognisable now). You find out incredible details about how some detectives neglected to put crucial information in their reports and you hear officers openly contradicting one another about what happened. Essential viewing. A second documentary is about the prime suspect in the case, it's called: "His Name Was Arthur Leigh Allen." Even if Allen wasn't the Zodiac, he was one very sick puppy indeed. A quite terrifying individual. Again, this is worth a look. See it and make up your own mind about Allen's guilt or innocence. There is also an in-depth "Making Of" documentary which details David Fincher's exhausting shooting style (Watch in amazement as he makes Jake Gyllenhaal do 38 takes of dropping a book on a car seat until he is satisfied. Stanley Kubrick would be proud of Fincher!) The commentaries are also excellent. There is one with David Fincher himself and a second with "L.A. Confidential" writer James Ellroy, Robert Downey Jr, Jake Gyllenhaal and the writer and producer. They are, again, full of even more detail you didn't know before. There are also some deleted scenes which are interesting. Zodiac in any cut is a superb movie. If you know a fan of the film or someone who has an interest in the Zodiac case, this would make an ideal Christmas present for them.
21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great film awesome picture but..............,
By grant.neal "grant.neal" (Eastbourne, UK) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Zodiac - Director's Cut [Blu-ray] [2007][Region Free] (Blu-ray)
A simply fantastic film and the HD transfer is demo worthy the directors cut adds to the film without making it drag. You simply can't get much more classy than this film and disc, the extras are fantastic too but the one stand out extra has to be the "this is the zodiac speaking" documentry this runs at about 90 mins and features interviews with all the surviving people from the real zodiac case and some great crime scene photos and archive footage. A film you'll never forget, within minutes of watching it you'll be on the internet trying to solve the case yourself and straight back to amazon to buy the books. I can not recommend it enough a real 5 star effort
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
In 10 years time, they'll be calling this a classic,
By
This review is from: Zodiac [DVD] [2007] (DVD)
Sorry to say the luke warm publicity put me off going to see this at the cinema - doh! Having said that, it really is a film tailor-made for watching quietly at home because the whole thing begins to feel like a giant book which has to be followed closely.
Expecting to find David Fincher having gone off the boil (what with everything he does now suffering from 'good, but not as good as Fight Club' syndrome) infact he has gone up a gear with this film. BUT, it is a slight of hand - in a long film the first hour or so is spent sort of spinning us the viewer around until the initial chaos of the early crimes subsides and we settle down for what has to be one of the best recent films about human obsession. The central character, despite not being a policeman, becomes obsessed with finding out who the elusive 'Zodiac' was and that ultimately consumes/ruins his life. It's not a thriller in the conventional sense because the antagonist is always...unknown, or at least uncertain. Just beyond reach. The 70s time-setting of it all gives it a kind of grounding which wouldn't have worked for something set in the now - you would never ever accept a police force these days effectively handing over their files to a civilian and saying: go on then, you solve it if you're so clever. But that's just what happened, and once we get onto that trip, it's totally compelling. It's not perfect, and the main problem is the early part of the film. To be fair, what can you do when it's based on real events and those events are so weird? But at the start it almost feels like a horror film, and then it drifts a little while we wait to see if Robert Downey Jnr is going to be the main character - he isn't but such is his charismatic presence on screen these days, you just never know. Once things settle down though, it's a heck of a ride. Special mention to the supporting cast - all brilliant, especially the policeman who continues to help Jake Gyllenhaal so long after the fact. And as for Gyllenhaal, this is the best thing he's done so far - understated but brilliant. No it's not Fight Club, the power comes from the story and the human element, not flashy visual or gallows comedy. More like this please Mr Fincher...
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