Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Zodiac (2-Disc Director's Cut)

Collapse
X
Collapse
  •  
    Ian Jane
    Administrator

  • Zodiac (2-Disc Director's Cut Blu-ray)

    Click image for larger version

Name:	zodiac.jpg
Views:	1
Size:	10.4 KB
ID:	383272

    Released By: Paramount
    Released On: 01/27/2009
    Director:
    David Fincher
    Cast:Jake Gyllenhaal, Mark Ruffalo, Robert Downey Jr., Anthony Edwards
    Year: 2007

    The Movie:

    Jake Gyllenhall plays Robert Graysmith, a young cartoonist who just barely makes a living working for the San Francisco Chronicle newspaper. He's kind of an odd duck and his strange sense of humor and quirky personality soon starts to annoy a flashy alcholoic reporter named Paul Avery (Robert Downey Jr.). When it turns out that there's a serial killer operating in San Francisco, Avery starts to cover the case and soon discovers that Graysmith could actually be a real help thanks to his knack for breaking codes, a trait that the killer, calling himself the Zodiac, seems to enjoy.

    As Avery's drinking starts to spiral out of control and Graysmith becomes more and more obsessed with the murders, a police inspector named David Toschi (Mark Ruffalo), who has had no luck whatsoever trying to crack this case, enters their lives. The cops bring in handwriting analysis professionals and other experts to no avail while Graysmith's marriage and home life soon start to suffer for his obsessions… and the Zodiac keeps on killing.

    Set in the tumultuous San Francisco of the 1960's, David Fincher's Zodiac is fascinating mix of police procedurals, investigative reporting and traditional thriller movies that's heavy on character development without sacrificing plot of pacing. At almost three hours in length it would have been easy for the film to slow down but instead, through clever editing, strong writing, great performances and slick cinematography Fincher manages to build tension resulting in a fantastic edge of your seat viewing experience.

    In terms of the acting, both Gyllenhaal and Robert Downey Jr. bring their best to their respective roles. As their relationship develops and the plot thickens we're brought into their world and taken along for the ride precisely because these two central characters are so believable. Supporting efforts from Mark Ruffalo, Anthony Edwards, Brian Cox and John Carroll Lynch all flesh the cast out wonderfully but the two leads are the ones who really stand out here. By presenting the case through the eyes of members of the press more than the eyes of the police, Zodiac sets itself apart from most films in this vein, allowing for a different take on the serial killer film. It's easy to see how Graysmith could become so increasingly obsessed with the case as it develops, and how he would, in a sense, idolize Avery a little bit. This relationship is key to the success of the film and it's handled incredibly well.

    On top of all of that, the film also really benefits from some great visuals. Fincher's movies are always slick looking, but the cinematography this time around, courtesy of Harris Savides, has this completely appropriate heat to it that makes the film a sweaty, grimy, and tense experience. David Shire's original score compliments the rest of the film nicely, helping to enhance the more intense scenes while complimenting the more dramatic aspects of the plot just as effectively.

    Video/Audio/Extras:

    Zodiac's 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded 2.35.1 anamorphic widescreen transfer is, in short, beautiful. The image is rich with detail throughout and there are no problems at all with mpeg compression artifacts or edge enhancement, nor is there any noticeable aliasing. Seeing as the movie was shot on digital HD gear, there's no grain to note nor is there any print damage. Color reproduction looks dead on while black levels are strong and deep throughout the film without ever becoming murky. As such, the film has excellent shadow detail, but it's the outdoor scenes and close up shots that really impress here, as you can see every pore on every actors face and every blade of grass (the scene that takes place beside the lake is stunning). This is definitely one of the best transfers out there right now.

    Also impressive, though not quite so much as the transfer, is the Dolby 5.1 TrueHD English language audio, which comes with subtitle options available in English, English SDH, French and Spanish. While not as active or aggressive as a lot of mixes out there in Blu-ray land, this track never the less gets the job done quite nicely. Dialogue is always easy to follow and understand while the levels remain properly balanced from start to finish. Bass response is strong and there are no problems with hiss or distortion to complain about and the soundtrack has some nice punch to it. Rear channel activity isn't quite as prevalent as you might think it should be in some spots, but otherwise this mix is very good.

    The first disc contains two commentary tracks, the first of which comes from director David Fincher and the second of which comes from actors Jake Gyllenhall and Robert Downey Jr. who are joined by producer Brad Fischer, producer/writer James Vanderbilt, and crime fiction master James Ellroy. Between the two tracks, you get a pretty good feel for what went into putting this fairly massive production together. Fincher's track is a detailed examination of the camera work, the pre and post production efforts, casting, location shooting and more. At times it gets fairly technical but Fincher is an interesting and intelligent man and this is a pretty solid track that manages to delve pretty deep into this project. The group commentary is equally interesting though it has a completely different vibe to it. While it doesn't get into as much of the nitty-gritty as Fincher's talk does, it does allow a bunch of different contributors to discuss what they did on the film and seeing as everyone did something different, there's a fair (and welcome) bit of variety. We get a feel for what it was like working in front of the camera, dealing with the studio, writing the film and fleshing out the different characters. Both tracks are definitely worth listening to, though Fincher's gets a slight edge for being just a bit more involving.

    Disc two starts off with a fantastic documentary entitled Zodiac Deciphered (54:15) that starts off by discussing the real life murder case that inspired the book that in turn inspired the movie. This is a great 'start to finish' look at the history of the production that puts everything into context alongside the original killings that started it all. Up next is The Visual Effects Of Zodiac (15:18) and, as you could probably gather, it's a look at the special effects work that was created for the film while Previsualization is a look at how computer technology was used to flesh out three key scenes in the film by showing finished and unfinished bits next to one another.

    Once we're done discussing the making of the film we move on to the actual murders starting with the excellent feature length documentary, This Is The Zodiac Speaking (1:42:18). By interviewing true crime experts as well as some of the actual people who were involved with the cast this movie does an excellent job of explaining the facts behind the case. It's a fascinating history of one of the most unusual murder investigations in American history and it makes for riveting viewing. Complimenting that documentary is His Name Was Arthur Leigh Allen (42:35), which provides some welcome biographical information on the case's primary suspect.

    All in all, this is an excellent set of supplements and this release stands as one of those rare cases where the extra material really enhances the film, making this release as much a history lesson as a piece of entertainment. Both discs feature animated menus and chapter selection submenus and with the exception of Previsualization, everything is presented in 1080p/1080i full HD.

    The Final Word:

    Tons of extras, a gorgeous transfer and decent audio quality bring Fincher's dark vision to life. An arresting and involving thriller if ever there was one, Zodiac receives the deluxe treatment that it deserves on Paramount's excellent Blu-ray release.
      Posting comments is disabled.

    Latest Articles

    Collapse

    • Hot Spur (Severin Films) Blu-ray Review
      Ian Jane
      Administrator
      by Ian Jane


      Released by: Severin Films
      Released on: April 30th, 2024.
      Director: Lee Frost
      Cast: Joseph Mascolo, Virginia Goodman, John Alderman
      Year: 1969
      Purchase From Amazon

      Hot Spur – Movie Review:

      Director Lee Frost and Producer Bob Cresse's film, Hot Spur, opens in Texas in 1869 with a scene where a pair of cowboys wanders into a bar where they call over a pretty Mexican waitress and coerce her into dancing for them. She obliges, but
      ...
      03-22-2024, 11:53 AM
    • Death Squad (Mondo Macabro) Blu-ray Review
      Ian Jane
      Administrator
      by Ian Jane


      Released by: Mondo Macabro
      Released on: April 9th, 2024.
      Director: Max Pecas
      Cast: Thierry de Carbonnières, Jean-Marc Maurel, Denis Karvil, Lillemour Jonsson
      Year: 1985
      Purchase From Amazon

      Death Squad – Movie Review:

      Also known as Brigade Of Death, French sleaze auteur Max Pecas’ 1985 film, Death Squad, opens with a night time scene outside of Paris in the Bois de Boulogne Forest where cars pass by a small gang of transsexual
      ...
      03-22-2024, 11:46 AM
    • Roommates (Quality X) Blu-ray Review
      Ian Jane
      Administrator
      by Ian Jane


      Released by: Quality X
      Released on: February 28th, 2024.
      Director: Chuck Vincent
      Cast: Samantha Fox, Vernoica Hart, Kelly Nichols, Jerry Butler, Jamie Gillis
      Year: 1982
      Purchase From Amazon

      Roommates – Movie Review:

      Directed by Chuck Vincent and released in 1982, Roommates opens with a scene where a young woman named Joan Harmon (Veronica Hart) gets a hotel room with an older man named Ken (Don Peterson, credited as Phil Smith),
      ...
      03-15-2024, 01:10 PM
    • Night Of The Blood Monster (Blue Underground) UHD/Blu-ray Review
      Ian Jane
      Administrator
      by Ian Jane


      Released by: Blue Underground
      Released on: March 26th, 2024.
      Director: Jess Franco
      Cast: Christopher Lee, Maria Rohm, Dennis Price
      Year: 1970
      Purchase From Amazon

      Night Of The Blood Monster – Movie Review:

      Directed by Jess Franco, The Bloody Judge (or, Night Of The Blood Monster, as it is going by on this new release from Blue Underground) isn't quite the salacious exercise in Eurotrash you might expect it to be, and while it
      ...
      03-15-2024, 01:07 PM
    • Phase IV (Vinegar Syndrome) UHD/Blu-ray Review
      Ian Jane
      Administrator
      by Ian Jane


      Released by: Vinegar Syndrome
      Released on: March 26th, 2024.
      Director: Saul Bass
      Cast: Nigel Davenport, Michael Murphy, Lynne Frederick, Alan Gifford, Robert Henderson, Helen Horton
      Year: 1974
      Purchase From Amazon

      Phase IV – Movie Review:

      Saul Bass’ 1974 sci-fi/thriller Phase IV is an interesting blend of nature run amuck stereotypes and Natural Geographic style nature footage mixed into one delicious cocktail of suspense and
      ...
      03-15-2024, 01:02 PM
    • The Bounty Hunter Trilogy (Radiance Films) Blu-ray Review
      Ian Jane
      Administrator
      by Ian Jane


      Released by: Radiance Films
      Released on: March 26th, 2024.
      Director: Shigehiro Ozawa, Eiichi Kudo
      Cast: Tomisaburo Wakayama, Minoru Ôki, Arashi Kanjuro, Bin Amatsu, Chiezo Kataoka
      Year: 1969-1972
      Purchase From Amazon

      The Bounty Hunter Trilogy – Movie Review:

      Radiance Films gathers together the three films in Toie Studios’ Bounty Hunter Trilogy, starring the inimitable Tomisaburo Wakayama. Here’s how the three movies in this
      ...
      03-13-2024, 11:30 AM
    Working...
    X