Between 1968 and 1983, a San Francisco cartoonist becomes an amateur detective obsessed with tracking down the Zodiac Killer, an unidentified individual who terrorizes Northern California wi... Read allBetween 1968 and 1983, a San Francisco cartoonist becomes an amateur detective obsessed with tracking down the Zodiac Killer, an unidentified individual who terrorizes Northern California with a killing spree.Between 1968 and 1983, a San Francisco cartoonist becomes an amateur detective obsessed with tracking down the Zodiac Killer, an unidentified individual who terrorizes Northern California with a killing spree.
- Director
- Writers
- Stars
- Awards
- 4 wins & 72 nominations
Videos10
June Diane Raphael
- Mrs. Toschias Mrs. Toschi
- (as June Raphael)
- Director
- Writers
- James Vanderbilt(screenplay)
- Robert Graysmith(book)
- All cast & crew
- See more cast details at IMDbPro
Storyline
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. —tom day
- Taglines
- There's more than one way to lose your life to a killer
- Genres
- Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)
- Rated R for some strong killings, language, drug material and brief sexual images
- Parents guide
Did you know
- TriviaThe Zodiac case was re-opened after the release of the film.
- Goofs(at around 52 mins) One of the books Robert Graysmith has in 1969 has a barcode on the back. Barcodes did not even exist in any stores until the summer of 1974, and most items did not contain barcodes for several years after that.
- Quotes
Arthur Leigh Allen: I am not the Zodiac. And if I were, I certainly wouldn't tell you.
- Crazy creditsThe end text reads as follows: Following Mike Mageau's identification of Arthur Leigh Allen, authorities scheduled a meeting to discuss charging him with the murders. Allen suffered a fatal heart attack before this meeting could take place. In 2002, a partial DNA profile, that did not match Allen, was developed from a 33 year-old Zodiac envelope. Investigators in San Francisco and Vallejo refused to rule out Allen as a suspect on the basis of this test. In 2004, the San Francisco Police Department deactivated their Zodiac investigation. Today, the case remains open in Napa County, Solano County, and in the city of Vallejo, where Arthur Leigh Allen is still the prime and only suspect. Inspector David Toschi retired from the San Francisco Police Department in 1989. He was cleared of all charges that he wrote the 1978 Zodiac letter. Paul Avery passed away on December 10, 2000 of pulmonary emphysema. He was 66. His Ashes were scattered by his family in the San Francisco Bay. Robert Graysmith lives in San Francisco and enjoys a healthy relationship with his children. He claims he has not received a single anonymous call since Allen's death.
- Alternate versionsThe director's cut contains approximately 5 minutes of new footage, including:
- Melvin Belli (Brian Cox) talks about his Safari trip (when the Zodiac letter came to his house)
- Toschi (Mark Ruffalo) introduces himself to the Riverside Police Chief
- A new scene between Graysmith (Jake Gyllenhaal) and Avery (Robert Downey Jr.)
- A three-way conversation laying Leigh as a suspect to get a search warrant
- Extended audio montage (over a black screen)
- Plus extra bits of dialogue
- ConnectionsFeatured in At the Movies: Zodiac/Gray Matters/Wild Hogs/Smarter for 10 (2007)
Top review
The World Doesn't Work That Way!
This is a movie about process. It's about what happens when a case goes cold and simple answers don't suffice. It's a risk taken when one does a fictional presentation of an historical event from fairly recent times. You can stick tot he facts or simply make things up. I enjoyed this film because the three principle characters were real and human. All were in over their heads to some extent. Jake Gyllenhaal character makes that sometimes unfortunate serendipitous discovery and becomes obsessed. The police have done what they can, but without passion and this is what Gyllenhaal's character brings to the game. Unfortunately, so much time has passed and so much has gone cold. So everything is based on circumstance. We must content ourselves with what we find and give up on confessions or witnesses. I knew from the start what the case was about and I recommend that those sourpusses that complain about this film do a little reading (maybe one paragraph on Wikipedia which should handle your attention spans) and then decide whether you want to bother with this. Personally, I thought the acting was superb and it painted a picture of the frustration with trying to solve a case with only bits and pieces.
helpful•81
- Hitchcoc
- Nov 16, 2010
Details
Box office
- Budget
- $65,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $33,080,084
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $13,395,610
- Mar 4, 2007
- Gross worldwide
- $84,785,914
- Runtime2 hours 37 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.39 : 1
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