Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Zodiac Says: "This Was Worth The Wait.", 20 Oct 2008
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.
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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Value if you like more than the film, 23 Dec 2008
Having bought this 2 dvd pack of Zodiac I can tell you it is very good value if your someone who enjoys documentries or has a special interest in the film or facts of the zodiac killings. If your not typicly into the making of a film you still may find this 2 disc set good viewing as there is just over 2 and a half hours on the factcs of the zodiac case and thats jutt the factual section of disc 2. There are numerous interviews from the real people,police,victims,survivors etc. during the active time of the zodiac killer. There is so much detail in the film based on the real case files,the actors are dressed and wear clothes of the actual people at the time in grea detail. Seemingly every major source or person involved in the zodiac investigation is inlcuded in the film as a character. I found to watch the film and it enjoy it at its best you need to approach it like a book if you want to follow it fully, watching the film with subtitles switched on is a big help, as its easy to lose track of the investigation sometimes. Te film ends up being like a really good book if you watch it that way. The film is an exhaustive collection of research and factcs from the zodiac files, as are the quality documentries on disc 2. Two commnetaries are on disc 1 from the director David Fincher and another with the main cast members. One disc 2 are 5 documentries. 2 on the facts of the case, 1 of these devoted entirely to the prime suspect who was never arrested(42minutes). Also Behind the scenes makiing of the film zodiac(54 minutes),the visuals of zodiac(15 minutes),previsualization(6 minutes), and this is the zodiac speaking(1h42minutes) There is cheaper 1 disc version of zodiac without the extra documentries but im glad I waited for this directors cut as there is plenty to watch and discover of whats on offer here.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
2 DISC EDITION / DIRECTORS CUT = EXCELLENT DVD PACKAGE, 3 May 2009
Even if you already own the fabulous 1 disc theatrical cut dvd you should buy this 2 disc edition directors cut , not because of the extra scenes, theres only about 5-6 mins of extra scenes and they dont add that much more depth to an already well told story, but you should buy it because of the terrific 2nd disc / special features disc
It is full of great interviews with the real life people involved in the case , surviving victims and policemen are interviewed and they give very detailed accounts of there dealings with 'ZODIAC'. I was a bit disappointed that there wasn't an interview with SFPD chief investigating officers DAVE TOSCHI and /or BILL ARMSTRONG , that small gripe aside all the interviews make for compelling viewing . Also you should listen to both dvd commentaries , FINCHER'S own comm and then the CAST + PRODUCERS comm ,as some interesting little snipets of information are included in them about the case , that wasn't included in the documentaries / interviews
A fantastic movie + a fascinating insight into the victims & officers thoughts via the 2nd disc = excellent dvd package
JUST BUY IT .......YOU WONT REGRET IT .......GOOOD--BYYYE
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