Killing Zoe (1993)

Director:

Roger Avary

Writer:

Roger Avary (written by)

Release Date:

September 1994 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

Plot:

Zed has only just arrived in the beautiful Paris and already he's up to no good. Having just slept with a call girl...

Plot Keywords:

Heroin | Shot In The Back | Male Rape | Stabbed In The Face | Siege

Awards:

2 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Eric Stoltz	...	Zed
Julie Delpy	...	Zoe
Jean-Hugues Anglade	...	Eric
Tai Thai	...	François
Bruce Ramsay	...	Ricardo
Kario Salem	...	Jean
Salvator Xuereb	...	Claude
Gary Kemp	...	Oliver
Martin Raymond	...	Cab Driver
Eric Pascal Chaltiel	...	Bellboy
Cecilia Peck	...	Martina
Gladys Holland	...	Sub Lobby Teller
Gian-Carlo Scandiuzzi	...	Assistant Bank Manager (as Gian Carlo Scandiuzzi)
Gérard Bonn	...	Assistant Bank Manager (as Gerard Bonn)
Bernard Baski	...	Policeman

Also Known As:

Killing Zoe (France)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong violence and language, plentiful drug use and a sex scene. (edited for re-rating)

Runtime:

96 min | France:99 min (director's cut)

Country:

France | USA

Language:

English | French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Denmark:15 | Australia:R | Canada:R | Finland:K-18 | France:-16 | Germany:18 | Hong Kong:III | Israel:18 | Italy:VM14 | Netherlands:16 | Norway:18 (video premiere) | South Korea:18 | Spain:18 | UK:18 | USA:NC-17 (original rating) | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Davis-Films

Trivia:

The idea behind making the film actually came about when Roger Avary was scouting locations for Quentin Tarantino on Reservoir Dogs (1992). Avary found a great bank set in Los Angeles and informed Tarantino, who said that although the location was no good for Dogs, it would be good for a film set in a bank. One of Avary's scripts, Killing Zoe (1993), was almost entirely set in a bank, and with that as the motivation, the making of the film began.

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: As they enter the jazz club on the night before the heist, a Dixieland band is heard and seen playing, but the drummer is obviously not touching the drums with the drum sticks.

Quotes:

Eric: We go in. We get what we want. We come out.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Charlie Rose Show: Quentin Tarantino" (1994)

Soundtrack:

La Chansonnette

Underrated caper flick. Not a great movie, sure, but still a very good one.

'Killing Zoe' is a movie that has grown on me over the years. When I first watched it I didn't think all that much of it, but each time I've seen it since I've liked it a little more, and I'm at the point now where I like it a lot. I don't think it's a GREAT movie, but it's a very good one, and extremely underrated. Roger Avary's connection with Quentin Tarantino has turned out to be more of a hindrance than a help to him. 'Killing Zoe' was frequently dismissed as just another Tarantino clone, which to me is unfair, because a) Avery actually wrote some of 'Reservoir Dogs', 'Pulp Fiction' and 'True Romance' (usually uncredited), and b) though the subject matter of 'Killing Zoe' is similar to say 'Reservoir Dogs', the approach is very different. And let's face it the heist-gone-wrong flick has a long history (the influence of 1950s crime classics 'Rififi', 'Bob Le Flambeur' and/or 'The Killing' on all subsequent variations of it cannot be underestimated), and Tarantino was building on an already established tradition. As well as that the hostage aspect of 'Killing Zoe' brings to mind 'Dog Day Afternoon' more than anything by QT. Anyway, I think this is an interesting movie. The violence is pretty blatant, but apart from that it is a subtle, character driven movie. Eric Stoltz ('Pulp Fiction') and Julie Delpy ('Before Sunrise') are both very good, especially in their first scene together, but the real stand out performance is by Jean-Hughes Anglade ('Betty Blue') who is outstanding. Anglade really makes the movie for me. 'Killing Zoe's reputation seems to be growing as the years go by, and now that the mid-90s Tarantino hype has died down it's about time it was judged on its own merits.