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But even working within these stringent parameters, the film was engrossing and worth your time. This fragmented, meandering timeline takes its toll on the film's pacing. No justice served up - no satisfactory ending for all of the people involved.Not exactly the stuff of great fiction. Oh that damn "truth" again, rearing it's undramatic head.And finally, after all of those years and lives shattered and man-hours expended on the notorious case, it was never actually resolved.
I really enjoyed this film.Unfortunately, it was inhibited by its source material.The film was very well done, as far as it goes. Especially if you enjoy noir and crime drama. But then again, unfortunately, the Zodiac killer wasn't someone's fiction. Great performances by Robert Downey Jr.
There was never an arrest in the case. Then I'd highly recommend it. and the entire, sprawling cast.What mitigated the film's power was the fact that it had to stick to its roots as a "true story." In true life, as in the film, the Zodiac investigation(s) (there were many, all over CA and Washington, DC) were drawn-out, dropped altogether, grew cold and finally resuscitated again. In addition, the "lead" character, played by Jake Gyllenhaal, was somewhat of a schlubby cartoonist.
I'm sure many thorough reviews have been written for this movie so I'm not going to waste a lot of time. That said, the value of the director's cut edition is in the extras which can be found on the second disc in the form of interviews that were done with nearly every significant person that was involved with the case, from the survivors to the policemen, sheriffs, reporters, friends of the prime suspect etc. The case itself was fascinating, and one that would have easily been solved with modern forensics and crime scene work, but in that time and in the rural locations that most of them occurred, crime scene investigation was rudimentary at best. I can easily say that this was the worst director's cut of a movie in terms of what you get in the way of additional footage, and what impact that footage has on the movie.
This was a big disappointment to me because when you really enjoy a movie, you want to see any additional footage that exists and decide for yourself whether or not it should have been deleted.Anyway, that's it for this review. etc. The extras disc is actually just as compelling to watch as the movie itself, and at times will have you convinced of the guilt of prime suspect, and at other times will leave you seriously questioning it. I strongly encourage everyone to go out and purchase the movie. Sadly what was noticeably missing from this version were the deleted scenes, none are to be found on either the basic Zodiac DVD or the Director's Cut edition, yet we know from some of the extras on the Director's Cut second disc that there were certainly some that existed. Bottom line, this is an excellent movie that I have watched many times, and every time I watch it I notice some small detail that I didn't notice previously.
Nearly every major person was still alive and interviewed for the movie. If you're only interested in the movie itself then don't waste your money on the more expensive Director's Cut edition, but if you think you might want to see all the extras then this is definitely the DVD for you. As far as the difference between the director's cut edition and the no frills version that was released in theaters, with respect to the movie itself the differences are minute to say the least. It's only like 4 minutes of additional footage as I recall, and none of it actually adds anything to the movie, in fact if anything those added scenes only make it drag, and rightly belonged on the cutting room floor.
This particular disc is loaded, and the extras including fascinating documentaries are awesome. It was the idea that this messed up killer operated in the real world, and was never caught. With ZODIAC, you get a creepiness that pounds at you without your knowledge, and you don't realize until you have to disassociate your real life from the movie. Personally, I enjoy this film more than any of Fincher's others, and I am a big fan of his. I could not recommend this movie more, and if you don't like it, you're probably lame. At times, this film can be intentionally slow, and you just need to stick with it. One of the things that surprised me is that I really didn't mind Jake Gylenhaal, whom I normally would not go out of my way to see. I remember a few hours after I saw this film on opening night, I was actually afraid to go out to my car.
It has plenty of twists and turns (as expected), but because it is based upon a true story, the ending is somewhat anticlimactic. This movie starts out a bit grisly, with a couple of random murders, then transforms into a journalist/detective flic.
I will let all my friends know. Great experience. arrived on time and was in excellent condition.
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