Zodiac (DVD, 2007, Widescreen)

"Zodiac" is a terrific thriller! It reinvents one of the most overused subgenre in all of American Cinema, the serial-killer. It does so not through overly obvious technique or even radical story innovations; but through subtle adjustments in perspective. Shifting the focus from the serial killer's methods and moral impulses (the approach taken by "Saw", "Se7en", etc.) and toward the tools used by reporters and cops tracking the murderer.
This moves "Zodiac" evolves another familiar genre; Police Procedure. Yet Fincher and screenwriter James Vanderbilt show so much disregard for Cop Movie conventions that their film ends up having more in common with "All the President's Men" than "Dirty Harry" — (even though "Dirty Harry" was based on the real 'Zodiac' case.)
The "Zodiac" Case made national headlines, partly due to the elusiveness of the killer and partly thanks to his method of making himself famous. Starting in 1969, the "Zodiac" wrote letters to San Francisco newspapers detailing his crimes, which consisted of random murders of apparently unconnected victims. The newspaper coverage made him famous, and inspired one of the case's most persistent investigators: Robert Graysmith (Jake Gyllenhaal), a San Francisco Chronicle cartoonist who became so obsessed with the case that he let it decimate his marriage while he followed leads for years. Graysmith's amateur sleuthing is just one thread of the story.
Fincher's drama follows not only the cartoonist but also crime reporter Paul Avery (Robert Downey Jr.), and Cops Dave Toschi (Mark Ruffalo) and William Armstrong (Anthony Edwards). All four of these characters' stories intersect at various points in the film; but they also inspire subplots of their own that accumulate to create a vivid tapestry of 1970's America. Like the best of Scorsese, "Zodiac" succeeds both as a sweeping pop epic and an intimate character study. Even peripheral characters, such as a man who escapes the "Zodiac's" clutches, or a creepy movie nut who may have a link to the killer, have fully realized personas — they're better defined than the leads in most movies. And the leads here are riveting.
The Ruffalo, Downey, and Gyllenhaal characters are all strong enough to carry their own films, but joining their stories allows Fincher to make one of the best movies ever made about the ambivalent relationship between Law Enforcement and the Press.
"Zodiac" concentrates primarily on Graysmith's investigation, moving back and forth between storylines with great ease and clarity. The elegant story construction and Fincher's visual flair keep it from ever becoming static.
The movie is aggressively realistic, abandoning the logical, interlocking structure of most murder mysteries for a plot in which clues contradict each other, fail to connect, and sometimes just get forgotten about in the chaos that is Police Work.
If there's a dominant emotion; it's frustration; characters continually get close to the "Zodiac" killer, only to see the case evaporate before their eyes. "Zodiac" therefore becomes a film about smart, competent men failing — a topic that would have been somewhat acceptable in a prior era; yet feels almost revolutionary in 2007 Hollywood. Fincher manages to convey that sensibility, while placing it in the context of a compelling and fast-paced piece of entertainment.
2007: Zodiac Case to date...."UNSOLVED"
SEE THIS !!!! Won't disappoint !!!!

This film features excellent performances by Mark Ruffalo, Anthony Edwards, Paul Downey, Jr. and the beguiling Jake Gyllenhaal. The film is two and a half hours long, but the pacing is first-rate, the dialogue crisp and cogent, the few moments of violence appropriately graphic and unsettling.

There was another film made around the same time on the same topic. This one is far better.

The story attests most of all to the tenacity of one character who will not throw in the towel on this mystery fter everyone else has moved on.

It is based on a true and brutal story.

A serial killer in the San Francisco Bay Area taunts police with his letters and cryptic messages. We follow the investigators and reporters in this lightly fictionalized account of the true 1970's case as they search for the murderer, becoming obsessed with the case. Based on Robert Graysmith's book, the movie's focus is the lives and careers of the detectives and newspaper people.

This was a great movie well worth the money....Keeps you on the edgr of your seat......A must for your DVD colection....
{Mrs puman}

I am rating this 5/5

This is an excellent film.It keeps to the fact's from the actual case!
The entire film was fact based,and highly educational.If this is a course of study,a hobby,or just want a film to keep you on the edge of the seat-this one's for you!

Shot clearly,and makes you feel like your right there in it all!

You get stars like:Jake Gyllenhaal,Mark Ruffalo,Anthony Edwards,Chloe Sevigny

They all have stellar performances!

There are some good extras

Film is just around an hour 1/2,so there's not much time to become uninterested!

This one will keep you guessing,and even though you know that outcome you still keep hoping for an arrest!

Highly,Highly recommended!

True story about the American "Jack the Ripper", except this one still might be alive!

If you are interested in serial killers from watching American Justice, then you will like this movie. What sets Zodiac apart is of course he has not been caught despite plenty of opportunities including surviving witnesses and taunting the police with letters and telephone messages.

The regular release is missing a documentary featurette and/or real interviews, but you can get that on DVD from Zodiac: The Director's Cut or A & E's show Cold Case Files.