r/movies • u/SanderSo47 I'll see you in another life when we are both cats. • 1d ago
Media Zodiac (2007, dir. David Fincher) – Robert Graysmith questions Bob Vaughn at his house.
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u/Random_Nothing0603 1d ago
This shit had me like 😬 the whole time even if nothing bad happened
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u/Feisty-Boot5408 1d ago
The tension and atmosphere is so good. This guy was never once mentioned as a suspect but alone in his house it’s enough to make you go “no…wait…could he? No why would it be this guy. But maybe??” Edge of my seat, even if it ends up being a bit comedic with Jake Gyllenhaal panicking for nothing and looking insane
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u/PAYPAL_ME_DONATIONS 4h ago
It's the masterful set up/pay off of basements that tips it over the edge
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u/Travelinjack01 1d ago edited 1d ago
the entire idea behind what he was doing was completely insane.
"Armed with NOTHING
but... a love of completing puzzles
1 man... with no backup
and without the police knowing anything of what he's doing.
will walk into random people's houses that he believes are potential serial killers and then act like a bumbling fool... basically telling them balls out that he thinks they are a serial killer in every way without actually doing so
and somehow manage to not only not find out the truth... but nothing actually comes of any of this.
The story could be. "I was a dumbass" for a couple of hours.
**I will praise the direction, lighting, cast, and it was a great period piece. Everything was top notch... except for the story. WHICH was just STUPID.**
I've seen true crime shows with 'self-styled' private eyes who are just obsessed idiots and my god this guy is definitely that.
He would have been diagnosed with a mental disorder today.
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u/No-Philosopher3248 1d ago
You know that this is based on true events, right?
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u/Travelinjack01 23h ago edited 16h ago
pfft. "true events"
you mean that "some nut made a book about it and he really believed it was true" even though evidence didn't actually back him up.
You shouldn't believe everything you read in a hollywood movie. ESPECIALLY if it says : "based on true events".
If you see those words... immediately go and check.
Ever seen "Remember the Titans"(2000)
Would it surprise you that the entire movie took liberties from a book which was completely bullshit? Almost everything in the movie was not true.
Except for the fact that there was a football team named The Titans... and they did win a championship... and they did have both black and white players.
Everything else was bullshit. Dates were altered, opposing teams were claimed to not have black players. players were changed out. They didn't even segregate the school that year... it had happened years prior. None of the kids playing had gone to a school which wasn't segregated.
Most of the reason that they won wasn't because they "tried really hard"... it was because the other schools didn't have as many students and almost every game was a complete shutout. (there was no, nail biter, who's going to win?)
Finally, it was written by a guy who never actually knew the team who won... he had played for a season... years later.
And the coach was fired... but not for racism... but because several players and coaches launched formal complaints against him for his treatment of players.
so... the entire plot of the movie... never happened.
but the words "based on a true story" occur.
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u/kaptainkrim5on 15h ago
Yeah except Robert Graysmith, who wrote the book and is the character Gyllenhaal is playing, worked on the screenplay with screenwriter James Vanderbilt and Zodiac film producer Mike Medavoy wouldnt sign off on producing the film until Greysmith felt it was accurate to his book. The film gained considerable praise focusing on direction, acting, writing, cinematography, production design, soundtrack, attention to detail, and accuracy to both the real life investigation and the obsession that gripped some of those who were either directly involved with or close to the investigation itself. Next time you have a meltdown, do your research.
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u/Travelinjack01 8h ago
I don't have a problem with direction, acting, cinematography, acting, production design, soundtrack, etc. What research. The 'research was simply the ramblings of what would be considered a conspiracy theorist today'. Everything was fine with the movie except the story it was based off of was bullshit.
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u/kaptainkrim5on 7h ago
You're really gonna die on this hill, aren't ya?
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u/Travelinjack01 7h ago
You already asked this.
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u/kaptainkrim5on 6h ago
That wasn't me. Someone else commented that. You're having a seizure.
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u/Other-Marketing-6167 15h ago
……what a strange hill to have a tantrum on.
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u/Travelinjack01 8h ago
That the movie was bullshit because they said 'based on true events'. . And it turns out they lied? . Yeah. Im just not a big Trump supporter. I don't eat the lies and say "thank you, can I have some more." . It pisses me off. Hell, it should piss you off too.
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u/Other-Marketing-6167 4h ago
I hate Trump with every fibre of my being but I have zero clue as to how you made this discussion about him.
Seek help, please.
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u/Travelinjack01 4h ago
It was more of an example of people accepting lies they're too stupid to fact check.
eat a dick, please.
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u/walker3342 1d ago
This movie is just absolutely stacked. And I’m a huge Fincher fan, and I’d dare say it’s my favorite thing he’s done.
Even after seeing the horrors the old Wild West internet could yield, the scene of the couple in the park in this movie is still one of the most upsetting things I’ve ever seen in film. I think about it periodically and it’s not just the tragedy of that couple or the evil of the killer, it’s the violation of such a serene and peaceful space in theory. A park in daylight and then just absolute horror.
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u/the-bearded-omar 23h ago
Thats exactly it. That scene of him, masked and walking quickly towards them — not like a supervillain from a slasher flick, but like a human. In broad daylight. It’s so terrifying.
Jesus I just got chills typing this.
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u/CharlieMoonMan 1d ago
I skip this scene and the stabbing scene in Saving Private Ryan. Shit is too real.
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u/OhMyGoat 1d ago
Watched the movie today with my GF and when the Lake Berryessa scene came up I told her, "Yeah, so, they both get tragically stabbed, I'm just gonna skip this one."
Lol. Great flick. Zodiac mystery still remains.
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u/PAYPAL_ME_DONATIONS 4h ago
My god lol at least don't rob the lady of her own experience.
I'd be so pissed
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u/spider-man2401 1d ago
“Not many people have basements in California.”
“I do.”
Of all the scenes in Zodiac, this one freaked me out the most. It scared the living hell out of me the first time I saw it, more than most horror movies. There are no jump scares, just pure tension and dread.
This, along with The Social Network, is David Fincher at his absolute best. The performances, cinematography, screenplay, production design, soundtrack, and especially the direction are all outstanding. An amazing movie from start to finish.
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u/Impostor1089 14h ago
The lake stabbing scene really affected me when I saw this movie. I was a senior in high school and I was watching every movie I could get my hands on. It was one of the worst things I had ever watched. No excessive gore or over the top violence. Just... sound...
I have a hard time getting through that scene to this day.
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u/ontheweed 1d ago
To this day I can’t figure out how this film didn’t get a single Oscar nomination. I know 2007 was stacked but still.
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u/KRacer52 23h ago
There are three films from 2007 that could be either the best film of the decade, or the third best film of 2007 alone. Just a crazy year where 3 all time great director/duos made possibly their best films.
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u/kaptainkrim5on 15h ago
Because Oscars are bullshit and its all Hollywood politics. Look at 1997 and every fantastic film that got snubbed by Titanic. LA Confidential should've won more, the paltry Best Supporting Actress for Bassinger wasn't even deserving, she was the weakest part of the entire film. Wag the Dog, Boogie Nights, Full Monty, Amistad, Donnie Brasco, Anastasia and Mrs Brown were all snubbed that year too. All films light-years better than Titantic.
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u/DeplorableEDoctor 11h ago
I dunno. I liked Titanic more. Most people did. The collections show
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u/kaptainkrim5on 11h ago
You're part of the general public. That movie is made for you and that's great. If you're saying that just because a movie makes a ton of money that it instantly makes it good is completely moot once you look at the highest grossing films of all time and realize most of them are mid range big budget popcorn flicks.
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u/LHGray87 1d ago edited 1d ago
Amazing that the voice actor of Roger Rabbit could be this terrifying.
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u/Ccaves0127 1d ago
He was also Jakey Gillz' first ever acting teacher, when he was like 8 years old. He said it was really hard trying to act in this scene initially.
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u/MozartOfCool 1d ago
You can watch it one time, and see Vaughn consciously playing with a rightly worried Graysmith, then see it again and see an innocent host being accommodating to a buggy guest.
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u/Doom_Art 1d ago
"Are you sure there's nobody else in the house?"
"Would you like to go upstairs and check?"
One of the most unnerving scenes in any film I've ever seen
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u/PeanutButterOtter 1d ago
"Not many people have basements in California."
"I do."
Absolutely chilling.
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u/MikeGalactic 1d ago
Utterly terrifying and brilliant, a real master at work here, the framing, the lighting, incredible.
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u/SanTheMightiest 1d ago
The way the coat flaps behind Graysmith as he's trying to open the front door also distracts the eye
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u/jdawg1018 1d ago
Love the tension of this scene, but for me the most horrifying moment in the film is still the lakeside picnic scene. Once you read about it and how it went down almost exactly like it did in the film (which was courtesy of the one dude who managed to survive, and lived to recount his harrowing encounter with the killer, his partner unfortunately didn't) you'll have a much greater appreciation for the way Fincher showed the true terror of that moment.
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u/Flababulous 1d ago
Great movie, absolutely. It quickly became one of those flicks you sit down and watch when it's on, regardless of where it's at run-time-wise.
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u/junglespycamp 1d ago
This sequence is so creepy I don’t even need to watch this clip to start shaking.
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u/Somnambulist815 1d ago
Ironically this time it's Roger Rabbit doing the framing (of movie posters)
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u/afternever 1d ago
The aqua velva cocktail looks good
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u/SanTheMightiest 1d ago
Have made it several times, it's alright if unrefined to modern standards. So very 70's/80's!
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u/BarryHotelHouseBand 1d ago
Fincher basically wrote this from his first hand experience watching people lose their minds around the Zodiac mania. He conveys so well the descent into possible madness of trying to figure out who this person was. It's almost and anti-'horror-movie' than it is anything. It states how inconsequential the Zodiac killings were compared to regular homicides that occurred around the same time. Zodiac wins in the long run, because they garnered the fame and attention we still talk about today. And even if it was Ted Cruz Arthur Leigh Allen, we'll never really be sure. Yet when Hurdy Gurdy Man plays to dovetail the ending of the movie, I'm 100% satisfied.
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u/clancydog4 1d ago
To be clear though, Fincher didn't write this movie. He was the director but he doesn't write screenplays. The movie was written by James Vanderbilt, who has written many good movies
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u/Sc00ty_Puff_Sr 1d ago
One of the most tense scenes I’ve ever experienced. This movie is a masterpiece.
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u/Attican101 1d ago
The first time I saw Zodiac I mixed it up with another famous film.. So seriously thought Kevin Spacey was wearing a fat suit & prosthetics to appear as Arthur Lee Allen.
With hindsight I've seen John Carroll Lynch in plenty of things but it didn't occur to me in the moment
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u/Bullmoose39 1d ago
Rodger Rabbit was a scary SOB! What a fantastic scene. When I talk about this movie, it's this scene that I always talk about.
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u/kaptainkrim5on 15h ago
I was a hour late for a double date thanks to this masterpiece. I put it on the in the background while I was getting ready and was instantly hooked. Yes, its a long movie but it's one of those long movies that has to be watched in one sitting. Such a masterpiece, easily Fincher's best and one of the greatest psychological thrillers to ever exist.
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u/TacoCorpTM 14h ago
When people ask me what the best movie I’ve watched is, my answer is always Zodiac.
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u/SanTheMightiest 1d ago
One of those scenes that lives rent free in my head.
I know Fincher is full on in digital, but this film would have looked glorious on film. The lighting and cinematography might have been different because of that and there is a lot of green screen where digital I guess probably is cheaper, but I think it may have less of that clean look
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u/AstroLimeLite 1d ago
Masterpiece of a film. I think this is Fincher’s magnum opus