Zodiac (2 Disc Director’s Cut)

Posted by Rob Hunter (rob@filmschoolrejects.com) on December 29, 2007

One day many years ago, a family living in Marin County, north of San Francisco, packed their belongings and moved away from the Bay area. A young boy sitting in the back seat turned and watched his hometown fade into the distance. As the only world he had known was left behind, the one question on his mind was “Did they ever catch Zodiac?”

David Fincher’s Zodiac is not the film his fans and critics expected. There were no traditional suspense scenes or action set pieces like those found in Se7en and The Game. There were no flashy effects or obvious camera tricks like those found in Fight Club and Panic Room. Instead there is character and detail, persistance and dialogue. Lots and lots of dialogue. And the movie is fascinating, gripping, and easily Fincher’s most mature work to date.

Zodiac is the real life story of an unsolved string of killings in the San Francisco Bay area that started in 1969. More than that though, the film is about the men whose lives became enmeshed in the investigation. Detective Mike Toschi, portrayed by a haunted Mark Ruffalo, and a young political cartoonist named Robert Graysmith, played by a quizzically possessed Jake Gyllenhaal, are the twin driving forces of the investigation into Zodiac’s identity. Other players come and go throughout the years, both professionally and personally, but Toschi’s and Graysmith’s singular obsession remains. The two leads give fantastic performances showcasing in different ways how fixated and troubled these men were. Stellar acting can be found in every frame though as the film is filled with amazing performances both large (an impressively entertaining Robert Downey Jr) and small (a solid and pure Anthony Edwards.) In addition to the impeccable acting, the film’s attention to details both period and mechanical is flawless. From the look of late sixties/early seventies San Francisco to the minutiae of wardrobe and set dressing the movie gets everything right. Zodiac even opens with the vintage Paramount logo.

Zodiac is an amazing film experience and probably the best movie of the year. Far from a Se7en-like thriller the studio probably hoped for, this is a precise procedural showcasing the people of the story. Even at more than two and a half hours the movie never feels slow or boring. Instead it moves along steadily and methodically laying out information to the viewer like a detective laying out evidence to a judge. There is no traditional conclusion as the real Zodiac was never caught, but Fincher provides an emotional one for the viewers. The viewer is lucky as the story’s main players will most likely never have that satisfaction. A scene late in the film shows Toschi and Graysmith attending a special screening of Dirty Harry, a movie obviously based on the Zodiac killings. Knowing Hollywood was getting it all wrong, Toschi walks out before the ending. He’d have to wait thirty-six years before they finally got it right. Albeit still without an ending…

This newly released Zodiac director’s cut adds a whopping four minutes to the already long 158 minute run time of the theatrical release. Additional footage incorporated back into the movie or as deleted scenes is usually the main draw for dvd re-releases, but here the added footage adds very little content-wise or time-wise. One mildly notable addition is a segment of black screen meant to show the passage of time. There are no images or text, only audio clues and sound bites to tell the viewer that years are passing before our ears. So if the extra footage isn’t all that impressive, is this dvd worth buying for those who already own the single disc release? If your interest is solely in the film itself, then you’re probably okay with the original dvd. But if you’re intrigued by either the filmmaking process or the Zodiac case itself then this dvd is a must-own.

Disc one features the new cut of the film along with two commentary tracks. Dvd commentaries are a dicey subject, as they’re usually as fascinating as listening to grass grow, but these two are actually interesting and occasionally entertaining. Fincher has a solo commentary filled with the expected and sometimes surprising technical information. No one would consider Zodiac to be an effects-heavy film, but Fincher points out a surprising number of digitally altered scenes and matte paintings. Unexpected and enlightening though are his reminiscences of growing up in the Bay area at the time of the Zodiac killings. He remembers the school bus scare and his parents’ fascination with the murders. He even recalls the stories and rumors that began to float around the schoolyard including one that the Zodiac killer came down from the trees to stalk his victims. The second commentary is a combination of two separate recording sessions. The first features Gyllenhaal and Downey, and while it contains some information it’s most notable for its sheer entertainment value. The second gathers screenwriter James Vanderbilt, producer Brad Fischer, and commentary crasher and self-proclaimed king of American crime fiction James Ellroy. They offer some interesting information on the making of the film, but the standout is Ellroy and his bipolar observations. (Regarding the film’s theme, “Obsession is as boring and vexing and banal as it is consuming.” Regarding Gyllenhaal’s wardrobe, “Look at that fucked up shirt that kid’s wearing.”)

Disc two is broken into two sections, The Film and The Facts. The Film is over an hour’s worth of behind the scenes footage including interviews and covering the sets, props, wardrobe, and plethora of visual effects throughout the film. As with Fincher’s commentary, several of the effects are seamless and go unnoticed when watching the movie. It’s a definite tribute to the effects houses that created them when you see how they created the shot but still believe it’s real when you watch the scene again. The Facts leaves the movie world behind and consists of crime scene photos, period newscasts, and interviews with the people who were actually part of the case. This includes attack survivors, policemen who worked the crimes, and friends and acquaintances of prime suspect Arthur Leigh Allen. (The writer and producer go out of their way several times in their commentary and elsewhere to say that they’re not pinpointing Allen as the Zodiac, although the movie itself and the inclusion of the special feature all about him would argue otherwise. I suspect Paramount’s legal department made them say it.)

If it had been released later in 2007 as opposed to early March Zodiac would most likely be appearing on many more Top Ten lists and award nomination lists. It’s a movie for film lovers who enjoy being treated with respect and rewarded for their patience. I have to go outside of Hollywood to find a truly comparable film, to South Korea’s Memories of Murder. Beyond quality and execution, the films share similar plots in that they’re both procedurals concerning real-life unsolved crimes, but they also both show the toll these events have on the people involved. Both films are greatly entertaining and engaging, but they’ll break your heart in the process. As a boy Fincher wondered if they had ever caught Zodiac. As a man he discovered the answer. And as a director he’s provided some catharsis for many of those involved.

Grade: A+

Read more articles by Rob Hunter