Zodiac (2007)
Genres : Thriller, Crime/Gangster and Adaptation
Tagline : There’s more than one way to lose your life to a killer.
Release Date : March 2nd, 2007 (wide)
MPAA Rating : R for some strong killings, language, drug material and brief sexual images.
Runtime : 2 hrs. 36 min.
Country : USA
Language : English
Color : Color
Trivia : Producer/Performer Anthony Begonia’s parents were classmates of one of the Zodiac victims in San Francisco.
Description : As a serial killer terrifies the San Francisco Bay Area and taunts police with his ciphers and letters, investigators in four jurisdictions search for the murderer. The case will become an obsession for four men as their lives and careers are built and destroyed by the endless trail of clues.
High Quality DVD Covers : Download here
Exclusive Download :Teaser 1
Review : We still don’t know for sure who was — or is — the California serial killer known as the Zodiac, the name he used in a series of letters he sent to San Francisco newspapers in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s. This movie is not about some big payoff. There are no “eureka” WHO moments and we don’t get to see someone solve the puzzle and get a handshake from the mayor and the thanks of a victim’s family. We don’t get an “aha” WHY moment as we find out that it all began when Zodiac was a little boy and suffered some major trauma.
A puzzle is what it is. Zodiac sent not just taunting letters to the press; he sent four cryptograms, only one of which has ever been solved. While San Francisco’s investigation is inactive, the other jurisdictions’ files are still open.
This is not the story of the Zodiac, what he did and why. It is the story of what happened to three men whose lives were taken up with their efforts to answer those questions. A superb cast and an absorbing script make a frustratingly complex story accessible and keep even the nearly three-hour running time moving quickly.
Paul Avery (Robert Downey, Jr.) is the chain-smoking hard-drinking newspaper reporter who covered the story. Downey vibrates like a tuning fork, his offbeat rhythms responding to tones only he can hear. It is is heartbreaking to see the sensitivity that makes him a meticulous observer of the world he writes about begin to implode. The movie doesn’t ask or answer whether the stress of being a possible target of Zodiac is what finally causes him to unravel or whether working on the story kept his fragile spirit together with a sense of purpose. It just shows us the toll that the story took on the man who happened to have the crime beat when the first letter came in.
David Toschi (Mark Ruffalo) and William Armstrong were the cops assigned to the case in San Francisco. They coordinated with Jack Mulanax (Elias Koteas) and Ken Narlow (Donal Logue), the police officers in the other regions where there were killings tied to the Zodiac. With literally thousands of suspects and no certainty about which crimes were committed by the Zodiac and which by copy-cats or unrelated killers, they are looking for one deadly needle in a haystack that could fill what was then called Candlestick Park.
And then there is Robert Graysmith (Jake Gyllenhaal). He’s the newspaper’s political cartoonist. It isn’t his job to write about the case and it isn’t his job to investigate it. And yet, there is something that draws him into it so deeply he will ruin his marriage to devote himself to a story that is twisted and terrible, with an evil genius of a bad guy who is, well, right out of the movies.
Director David Fincher (Fight Club, Panic Room) wisely makes this story not about the monster, but about our fascination with monsters. Like Avery, Toschi, and Graysmith, we are pulled into the puzzle, horrified, but tantalized, stimulated, drawn to the edge of what separates us from a human being who could commit such atrocities and then taunt the people who try to stop him. In his letters, Zodiac may have referred to the classic film The Most Dangerous Game, about a hunter who uses humans as his game — in both senses of the word. He sees them as the only quarry worthy of him because they can truly test his skill. In a deeper sense, it is Avery, Toschi, and Graysmith who devote their lives to their own most dangerous game, tracking the Zodiac, who continues to elude them, searching for clues and patterns and meaning in a world where kids on lovers lane are killed by a man who dares the world to find him.
Parents should know that this is the story of a serial killer and there are graphic portrayals of some of the murders. Characters drink and smoke and one has some marijuana. A chain-smoking character also abuses alcohol. Characters use strong language and there are brief glimpses of pornography and references to child molestation. Some audience members will be disturbed by the themes of the story, which include serial killing and the impact on the lives and families of those who are involved in investigating the murders.
Families who see this movie should talk about why the story was so important to Graysmith and what he sacrificed in order to be able to pursue it.
Viewers who appreciate this movie will also like the classic Call Northside 777 starring Jimmy Stewart, also based on a real-life case of a reporter’s investigation of a murder. And they will enjoy other movies about murders who communicate with journalists or policemen, including Dirty Harry (inspired by the Zodiac case and briefly glimpsed in this film), The Mean Season, and No Way to Treat a Lady. Viewers who would like to find out more about the Zodiac case (and perhaps try to solve some of the still-unsolved coded messages) should read Zodiac and “This Is the Zodiac Speaking”: Into the Mind of a Serial Killer. And they might like to take a look at the classic movie that allegedly influenced or inspired the Zodiac killer, The Most Dangerous Game
Distributors : Warner Bros. Pictures International, Paramount Pictures
Directed by : David Fincher
Produced by : Louis M. Phillips
Sound Mix : SDDS / Dolby Digital / DTS
Official Website : www.zodiacmovie.com
Actors :
Jake Gyllenhaal | Robert Graysmith
Mark Ruffalo | Inspector Dave Toschi
Robert Downey Jr. | Paul Avery
Anthony Edwards | Inspector William Armstrong
Brian Cox | Melvin Belli
Chloe Sevigny | Melanie/ Melanie
John Carroll Lynch | Arthur Leigh Allen
Pell James | Cecelia Shepard
Patrick Scott Lewis | Bryan Hartnell
Zach Grenier | Mel Nicolai
Ciara Hughes | Darlene Ferrin
Donal Logue | Ken Narlow
Philip Baker Hall | Sherwood Morrill
Ezra Buzzington
Elias Koteas | Sergeant Jack Mulanax
Dermot Mulroney | Captain Marty Lee
Bob Stephenson (II) | Zodiac 3
Richmond Arquette | Zodiac 1 & 2
John Lacy (III) | Zodiac 4
Edward Setrakian | Al Hyman
John Getz | Templeton Peck
John Terry | Charles Thieriot
Candy Clark | Carol Fisher
June Raphael | Mrs. Toschi
Jason Wiles | Lab Tech Dagitz
Charles Schneider | Cabbie/Paul Stine
James Carraway | Shorty
Tom Verica (II) | Jim Dunbar
Jimmi Simpson | Mike Mageau-Older
Doan Ly | Belli’s Housekeeper
Karina Logue | Woman
Joel Bissonnette | Inspector Kracke
John Mahon | Riverside Captain
Matt Winston | John Allen
John Ennis (II) | Terry Pascoe
Julie Bruff | Catherine Allen
J. Patrick McCormack | Police Commissioner
Adam Goldberg | Duffy Jennings
James LeGros| Officer George Bawart
Charles Fleischer | Bob Vaughn
Clea DuVall | Linda Ferrin
Paul Schulze | Sandy Panzarella
Adam Trese | Detective #1
Penny Wallace | Mulanax’s Secretary
F. Lennie Bleecher | Informant
Michael Franceour | Man on Marquee
Thomas Kopache | Copy Editor #1
Barry Livingston | Copy Editor #3
Christopher John Fields | Copy Editor #4
Ione Skye | Uncredited
(4 votes, average: 4 out of 5)
Loading ...
March 19th, 2007 at 1:02 pm
Quoted “sergio_rabczuk from United States”
. Honestly who cares. We all agree that Fincher’s best is either Seven or Fight Club, two outstanding masterpieces. There is a big margin between a film like one of those and a terrible film, and people don’t seem to realize that. These people even do this with other filmmakers like Spielberg or Scorsese, the fact that these filmmakers don’t reproduce Schindler’s List or Raging Bull doesn’t mean that their new stuff isn’t good, or worth seeing. I think it is a stupid way to comment on a film, eliminating the critic’s credibility. I was lucky enough to catch an advanced screening of Zodiac last night, and I must say that at first I was discouraged by two things, some of the comments I have read and the running time. However I am glad to say that I enjoyed this film, very much. It is a solid suspense thriller that pins you to your seat. Being a true story adds quite a lot to the experience, and besides, Fincher did a wonderful job is staying loyal to the story and at the same time adding his unique flavor to it. The cinematography, like every Fincher film, is great, the darkness and griddiness of the story are perfectly portrayed in the film’s visual elements. I was surprised by the picture quality of the Viper, the digital camera with which this film was shot. Many people have been criticizing this choice, but I respect it, he is embracing a new technology and making it work. Of course its still not a match to 35 mm, but if quality filmmakers don’t start experimenting with it, it will never be. Now the reason why this film falls behind Seven and Fight Club, I think, is because of a problem with the characters. They seem to be a little weak at times. The performances were great, especially Robert Downey Jr., but I think that this film falls short, when it comes to a true exploration of complex characters, which is the key to Fincher’s previous films.
I am tired of people writing comments like this, “Not Fincher’s best”
So… my advice to everyone is to ignore most of the negative comments and see the film yourself. I found it to be a great story told in a remarkable way, very entertaining, with great performances, and wonderful direction.