It
is somehow surprising to see that Zodiac is among the first of director David
Fincher’s films to make its way to Blu-ray. It may be the one film of his least
likely to have a cult following the way many of his others seem to, but it has
also been one of his finest achievements and most critically acclaimed film. There
is a giant flaw in the hugely popular Award season that takes place between
January and March, and it specifically affects the films being released in
theaters during this time. Regardless of whether it is the Academy or the
Hollywood Foreign press, the nominating committees for most of these award
shows have very short memories, making the end of the years a popular time for
films seeking awards. Zodiac was appropriately set for a Fall 2006 release,
perfectly timed for award season, but everything was behind due to delays.
Instead Zodiac was released very early this year, set to compete against all of
the films still fresh in everyone’s mind while nominating.
Even the DVD release,
which is often a recent secondary way of helping encourage nominations,
occurred long before the nomination period. Wisely, Zodiac still made an
effort, however futile it may have been, releasing the 2-Disc Director’s Cut at
the end of 2007, perfectly timed to refresh our memories that it was one of the
best films of the year. A perfect example of how much the timing seems to
matter coincides with the release of Zodiac on Blu-ray, which is Fincher’s
latest film in theaters, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Aside from being
a crowd pleaser, it was released on Christmas Day. The two films couldn’t be
more different, but that simply shows how talented Fincher really is as a
director, though he seems to reign most confident in films of violence, as Zodiac
is dedicated to.
The
reason the film was delayed is not unrelated to how brilliant it is. Director
David Fincher has become infamous for his meticulous nature among other things,
and Zodiac is his most thoughtful and intelligent film yet. It is also his most
meticulous being as it is a period piece and based on actual case files.
Fincher was taking longer than the studio would have liked, and this is also
all the more reason why the release of a director’s cut would seem significant.
Even though I am all for the promotion of the film, the new cut of the film
doesn’t seem all that different from the theatrical version. Even still, this
two-disc is still welcome, with a commentary from Fincher, who is pretty much
non-stop with explanations and details for the entire commentary. He is one of
the most engaging directors to listen to, mostly because of how meticulous he
is.
The
second commentary on the first disc with the film is with actors Jake
Gyllenhaal, Robert Downey Jr., Brad Fischer, James Vanderbilt and James Ellroy.
Gyllenhaal is essentially the lead character in the film, or at least the one
we seem to stay closest to. He is a cartoonist for one of the newspapers
contacted by Zodiac, a serial killer who has brutally slain at least two
couples. Working at the same paper as Gyllenhaal is a reporter (Robert Downey
Jr.) with a nature predisposed to drugs and alcohol. These two men become
obsessed with the Zodiac murders and the taunting killer, where on the police
side Mark Ruffalo plays a detective with just as strong an obsession.
The rest of the
special features on the two DVDs cover aspects from the case files the film is
based on to featurettes about the actual production. There is a featurette
showing the pre-production work in comparison to the actual final product, to
show how detailed Fincher is in advance. There is also a documentary for the
behind-the-scenes filming experience and a featurette about the visual effects.
There is a feature-length documentary about the real life investigation, as
well as a featurette about Arthur Leigh Allen, the prime suspect who was never
charged.
The
Blu-ray is released in two-discs, just like the DVD release of the Director’s
Cut, and all of the special features and such are transferred directly over
with little change. All of the documentaries are in high definition, but the
real treat is Fincher’s meticulous film, both the soundtrack and the remarkable
images that look even more incredible on high definition. Certain directors are
so careful in their filmmaking process that there are always more details
unveiled watching their work in high definition, whereas a weak director often
shows flaws the more the audience can see. Fincher is an infamous
perfectionist, and is films are art because of it.
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