DVD Review HTF DVD REVIEW: Zodiac: 2-Disc Director's Cut (1 Viewer)

[Matt Hough]

I'll go back downstairs later and check, but I don't recall anything similar to that at all. I'll come back and report later.

 

[Matt Hough]

I did go back and look at the scene you mentioned, Pat. I'm assuming that's blue screen you see in the background through the tree limbs that they used to put in fireworks in the night sky right before she pulls up to get him. Looks like they left it blue rather than black to suggest a lighter sky over his shoulder than over hers.

But I would never have noticed this at all if you hadn't mentioned it.

 

[GuruAskew]

I just watched this.

I think people are going to be disappointed in how minimal the changes are. I'm the kind of nerd who knew just about every change that was made to the Director's Cut before I watched it so I'm not disappointed but I have a feeling there will be a lot of bitching and moaning about it over the next few days.

Between the two versions the movie is improved by the changes, however minor they may be, and even if it's only a minor improvement over the already-brilliant theatrical cut it's still an improvement.

I remember reading about the "four years later" transition before it was even omitted from the theatrical cut in the first place and that's really the most substantial addition.

I can see why the scene where Toschi and Armstrong make their case for their warrant was excised (it could be considered redundant) but I also felt that the scene still worked in the film. If I was trying to cut 5 minutes out of the film I think it was a good call but hey, that's what director's cuts are for. In most director's cuts the film actually benefits from these omissions but that's not the case. I was never thinking "they were right to take this out, the film is better without it", the thought that crossed my mind was "if the studio insisted on losing 5 minutes I probably would have reluctantly made the same choices" and that's a big difference.

The picture quality is a lot better than the theatrical cut too. I didn't notice any of the "jaggies" that plagued the theatrical cut on this disc.

I got this shortly after midnight and the movie is on the long side and by now I'm almost ready to pass out but I can't wait to get into the extras tomorrow. I'm sure that's where the real draw will be for most people, but I can already see the "I never watch the extras and I don't care about 5 extra minutes, especially when 1 minute is just a black screen" sour-graping. That's more of a DVDtalk phenomenon anyway.

One thing I appreciate just from reading this review is that the extras seem to be all pretty straightforward. David Prior does fine work but I find the more "interactive" stuff on something like his "Panic Room" DVD to be tedious. I just prefer easily-accessible content that isn't all broken up in submenus and stuff, and it appears like this second disc houses a lot of quality content in a handful of large portions rather than 100 different clips spread out across several menus and further complicated by alternate angles and audio tracks.

In a way this simpler approach really goes hand-in-hand with the more mature approach Fincher took on "Zodiac" compared to his past films.

Edit: the extras are pretty much just like I expected. It's the top-notch quality you expect from David Prior but you don't have to jump through hoops to view it all. This is a great DVD release.

 

[TravisR]

I just watched the director's cut and will be moving on to the commentaries and documentaries soon. The additional stuff that I noticed, I liked. Overall, I prefered the director's cut (if only for the 'Four Years Later' bit) over the theatrical cut but there isn't a huge difference.Beyond some additional dialogue that I think may have been added here and there, the only added scenes I noticed were a quick scene where Mark Ruffalo, Donal Logue and Zach Grenier arriving at the Riverside poilce department (after they take a plane up there) and the scene where Ruffalo, Anthony Edwards Dermot Mulroney list all the evidence (and recap for the audience) to get a search warrant. And of course, the cool little '4 Years Later' music interlude.

EDIT: There's also a new scene where Jake Gyllenhaal finds Robert Downey, Jr. sleeping in his car outside the bar and discuss the dates that the letters were sent.

To my untrained eyes, this disc looks much better than the theatrical cut did. I'm sure if you're the guy with a 120 inch screen and uses a magnifying glass to find edge enhancement, you'll find it but this is still a big improvement.

 

[TravisR]

I finished this last night and it's excellent. The commentaries are interesting and have some funny bits too. I do wish there was a little more between Gyllenhall and Downey though. However, it does seem like they were more having fun and hanging out rather than getting analytical or talking about their process so editing them with Vandervilt and Ellroy (who were very good commentators) was probably the best idea.

The documentaries are very well done. The participants face directly into camera during their interviews which is a cool way of throwing things off kilter. They give both sides of arguments (people say things that completely contradict each other) without telling you who is right or wrong. It's respectful to those involved and it doesn't wallow in gore or murder. And it lets you make up your own mind if you agree with Robert Greysmith's assessment of who the Zodiac was.

Thumbs up to Fincher, Prior and all others involved in this great release.

 

[SD_Brian]

Agreed. This is a terrific DVD. I only hope the fact that it was released at the beginning of January doesn't mean people will have forgotten about when awards time rolls around next year--similiar to the fate that, I suspect, awaits the movie itself when Oscar nominations are announced. It's a shame too because Zodiac was easily one of 2007's best movies.