Zodiac: The Director's Cut DVD

by Liz Thompson

Take pleasure in the details.

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David Fincher hits a home run with the director’s cut of Zodiac. Destined to be a classic tale of the one that got away, Zodiac: The Director’s Cut recollects the events from the early 60’s to mid 70’s when a mad man known as “Zodiac” terrorized Northern California. With extreme detail and looming tension, Fincher tracks the Zodiac’s moves through a turbulent time of public panic and fear. Numerous accounts and books have been written, therefore, you would think someone would ultimately be caught, but the evidence never fit anyone of interest. Is the Zodiac still out there? Did he perish when Arthur Leigh died in the early 90’s? We may never know who “Zodiac” was or his motivations, but what we do know is that it makes for a great movie.

The film opens on two young lovers who are at the wrong place at the wrong time, becoming the second victims in a string of mysterious killings. Then a madman began writing letters to the media, finally coining himself, “Zodiac.” His cryptic messages and taunting letters become a regular occurrence as Zodiac takes credit for more and more homicides in the area. Panic ensues when the next victims are a couple in a National Park, where the Zodiac tied up his victims and stabbed the girl to death, while her male partner lived. The next victim is the investigation of a random cab driver with his last and deadly fare.

After that, the story wanders through the investigations, the news men involved and finally Robert Graysmith played by Jake Gyllenhaal. From Graysmith’s point-of-view, the film delves into this cartoonist’s life and as the years progress, witnessing his obsession and the deterioration of his marriage and career that obsession brings. But in the end, Robert writes a book about the Zodiac. His life-long obsession comes to fruition with the press his book got, the questions that were raised, and now a classic movie. We may never know who the Zodiac was and what his motivations were, but what we do know is that the story will live on as a cautionary tale for anyone who thinks the killer is always caught and justice is always served.

The first time, I saw the theatrical release the weekend it came out in the theater. I found the length of the movie a distraction to the overall story. In watching it again, I found the film captivating with genius in the detail. The detail is what made this movie so good. We have the characters so finely researched that they are wearing the same clothing that the actual person wore. Fincher created a virtual world that really felt like the audience was in the middle of 1970’s San Francisco.

There were several other things I found fascinating in this version of the movie. The first was the use of San Francisco as a character in the movie. Fincher paints a vivid visual picture of San Francisco at the time of the killings. Wide, sweeping use of the camera to show the breadth and beauty of the city that became a stark contrast to the moody, looming night scenes that created and built tension around our antagonist. That said, the camera angles and how it was shot added to the rising tension, almost like it was obsessed with reminding you of how strange and awkward this case really was. For example, the scene where we follow the cab through the streets of San Francisco, the shot is from above and awkward movements of the camera made me feel uneasy. Not only did the camera create unease, so did the emptiness of the Chronicle news room. I couldn’t help but notice that there was almost no one in the newsroom floor at the beginning. It was like these people were alone and isolated in their work and investigations. It added to the overall feeling of loneliness that permeated the movie.

Disc one contains the widescreen version of the movie. As for the second disc, it is full of extras. There weren’t any deleted scenes or gag reels, but there is content that went with the theme and tone of the movie: interviews of real people involved with the Chronicle, Zodiac and eye witnesses. Witness interviews were engrossing as we get to actually meet the real person behind the movie character and their memory of the Zodiac. It is a neat and important addition to the extras, as it melds together things in the movie that were not explained fully.

As for the production extras, staff on the movie shows the viewer how each scene was constructed and the attention to detail that Fincher took in each construction. From side-by-side shots of how the scene looked with the blue screen and the finished shot, to how CGI graphics were integrated into shot, Fincher goes into the smallest detail of his vision for the finished product. Disc two is an eye-opening and perfect addition to one of the best thrillers in years.

When a movie is as artfully crafted and the DVD compliments it so fully, who can really ask for any more? Ok, so we don’t get any closure on whodunit, but that isn’t something the movie could help to be true to the story.  As far as the movie is concerned, Zodiac: The Director’s Cut is more sweeping and its pacing is perfectly timed over what I saw in the theater. I remember looking at my watch in the theater when something in the theatrical release drew my attention back to the real world in which I was sitting. That didn’t happen at home. Before I knew it I was sucked into the grand, picturesque world of 1970’s San Francisco with its beautiful, welcoming days and dark, crazy nights. A world I would like to live in during the day, if it weren’t for the Zodiac and his perilous nights.