Darcy Hunter
Stunt Coordinator
- Joined
- May 11, 1999
- Messages
- 192
I finally saw ZODIAC last night, and I still cannot stop thinking about it. I have to see it a few more times, but right now I have to say that this is the best Fincher film I've yet seen.
I was completely caught up in the investigation right along with the characters. Not since JFK have I seen an investigative film that made you feel like you were part of the process.
While watching it, I felt like the film it most reminded me of was "Close Encounters of the Third Kind". The all consuming obsession that Graysmith had with the Zodiac was very much like Roy Neary's obsession with Devils Tower. The toll it took on their work and family life, almost driving them mad, however the only closure Graysmith got was one knowing wordless exchange.
The recreation of the late 60's, 70's was just jaw dropping. The attention to detail in clothing, hairstyles, setting, were second to none. This is what the period looked like when you see old news footage and such. No stupid period references or cliche disco clothes and distracting hairstyles, it just felt like you were there. The visual effects in recreating the San Francisco of the time was like nothing I've ever seen. I loved the overhead tracking shot of the cab through the Streets of SF, including the excavated area where the Transamerica Pyramid will eventually be.
The other thing I loved was Fincher's music choices. Again he avoided the easy 70's soundtrack, and instead filled it with the type of songs you would have actually heard on the radio or in diners or bars. Songs like "(I Never Promised You A) Rose Garden" or "Easy to Be Hard" by Three Dog Night. Plus he used Donovan's "Hurdy Gurdy Man", which always creeps the hell out of me, especially it's use in the end airport scene. Chills.
I was completely caught up in the investigation right along with the characters. Not since JFK have I seen an investigative film that made you feel like you were part of the process.
While watching it, I felt like the film it most reminded me of was "Close Encounters of the Third Kind". The all consuming obsession that Graysmith had with the Zodiac was very much like Roy Neary's obsession with Devils Tower. The toll it took on their work and family life, almost driving them mad, however the only closure Graysmith got was one knowing wordless exchange.
The recreation of the late 60's, 70's was just jaw dropping. The attention to detail in clothing, hairstyles, setting, were second to none. This is what the period looked like when you see old news footage and such. No stupid period references or cliche disco clothes and distracting hairstyles, it just felt like you were there. The visual effects in recreating the San Francisco of the time was like nothing I've ever seen. I loved the overhead tracking shot of the cab through the Streets of SF, including the excavated area where the Transamerica Pyramid will eventually be.
The other thing I loved was Fincher's music choices. Again he avoided the easy 70's soundtrack, and instead filled it with the type of songs you would have actually heard on the radio or in diners or bars. Songs like "(I Never Promised You A) Rose Garden" or "Easy to Be Hard" by Three Dog Night. Plus he used Donovan's "Hurdy Gurdy Man", which always creeps the hell out of me, especially it's use in the end airport scene. Chills.
. That's why he's had a 4+ year break after Panic Room. The clout a great director/auteur maintains usually comes in the form of A-list actors wanting to work with him, propelling a project to the front of the studio's greenlight queue. Fincher got to make a 2.5-3 hr procedural with no ending because he signed a two picture deal to do Curious Case of Benjamin Button with Pitt and Blanchett immediately after ($75m for Zodiac, $150-200m for Button).
