Zodiac

Zodiac concerns the serial killer of the same name, who in the late ’60s and into the ’70s terrorised Southern California and taunted police and media with his crimes. He was never caught, and most of the murders attributed to him remain unsolved. However, Zodiac is not about the killer but the lives of three men he significantly impacted: reporter Paul Avery (Robert Downey Jr.), whose obsession leads him downward in a spiral of booze and pills; homicide detective Dave Toschi (a stellar Mark Ruffalo), whose work is frustrated by a lack of communication between police jurisdictions; and editorial cartoonist Robert Graysmith (Jake Gyllenhaal), who becomes a central figure — it’s his exhaustive book that the film is based on. Like another talkie, character-driven ’70s piece, All the President’s Men, Zodiac is about the process of pursuit. With a running time of 160 minutes, Zodiac feels like a beloved director’s cut of a cult classic, but hold that thought. On this single-disc DVD there is no such extra footage — the disc’s only extra is a commercial for the super-duper, two-disc director’s cut, Zodiac crime analysing, full scale commentary and extras version due next year. Yes, the only "addition” to this film is an advertisement that points out you’ve been duped. The film is absolutely worth seeing but this DVD deserves a roar of protest.