The Arthur Leigh Allen interrogation is the final favorite after an unusually deep field spanning murders, investigation scenes, and character exchanges.
In the discussion (15)
- The Lovers Lane opening murder and its flashlight-on-gun image are nominated.
- The Vallejo fireworks opening is nominated.
- Graysmith reading the decoded letter as Paul Avery watches is nominated.
- The Lake Berryessa bluff murder is called one of the most unsettling murder scenes.
- Melvin Belli’s live television appearance is nominated.
- The Ione Skye car sequence is nominated.
- Downey and Gyllenhaal’s newsroom and bar exchanges are nominated.
- The Arthur Leigh Allen interrogation is the final favorite.
- The search of Allen’s trailer is nominated.
- The basement sequence is nominated, though one host says repeat viewings reduce its impact.
- Graysmith’s late-night visit to Toschi is nominated.
- The Ace Hardware stare-down is nominated.
- Toschi and Armstrong processing the taxi-cab murder scene is nominated.
- Graysmith and Toschi’s first meeting is nominated.
- The final Door-to-Door breakfast is called a favorite except for the interrogation.
Folgers coffee and the difficulty of coordinating investigations across cities are the two explicit 1970s markers; the discussion then turns to the film as Gen X art looking back on that era.
In the discussion (3)
- Folgers coffee is the primary 1970s marker.
- Coordinating investigations between cities is cited as another 1970s marker.
- The film is discussed as Gen X art reckoning with a chaotic late-1960s and 1970s childhood landscape.
True-crime culture, period San Francisco, Downey, the protagonist shift, Graysmith’s internet-like obsession, Fincher’s catalog, and several craft details populate the aged-best field.
In the discussion (14)
- Chloë Sevigny’s humor and deliberately ordinary styling are praised.
- The rise of true-crime culture gives the film more resonance.
- Late-1960s and early-1970s San Francisco is nominated as an enduring setting.
- Fincher’s San Francisco feels haunted and geographically unmistakable.
- Downey’s mutterings and banter with Gyllenhaal are praised.
- The tonal and procedural shift from Toschi to the isolated Graysmith is praised.
- The unsolvability of mundane tragedy is treated as a lasting subject.
- Graysmith’s external obsession anticipates internet behavior.
- Robert Downey Jr.’s comeback context is nominated.
- Zodiac’s place in Fincher’s catalog is nominated.
- Paul Avery’s waterside home is praised.
- The Chronicle newsroom recreation is praised for capturing an empty morning newspaper office.
- The soundtrack’s gradual move into yacht rock is praised.
- Downey’s on-screen smoking is praised.
Lake Berryessa, the opening fireworks, a phone booth, the Golden Gate Bridge, and rebuilt San Francisco compete for the most cinematic shot.
In the discussion (7)
- The opening city-and-fireworks image is nominated.
- Graysmith and Melanie in the rain-lit phone booth are nominated.
- The Zodiac cresting the hill at Lake Berryessa is nominated.
- The camera holding on Hartnell during the stabbing is nominated.
- The cut to the woman’s torso during the stabbing is nominated.
- An aerial Golden Gate Bridge shot is nominated.
- The digital reconstruction of the Embarcadero is nominated.
Avery’s Riverside detour, the missing first murder, and reliance on Donald Cheney’s claims are the main weak-link concerns.
In the discussion (4)
- Avery’s trip to Riverside is considered confusing.
- The film could explain the first Zodiac double murder more clearly.
- The Donald Cheney material is entertaining but its credibility is questioned.
- The case against Arthur Leigh Allen rests heavily on disputed circumstantial claims.
The abrupt four-year title card, too little Downey–Gyllenhaal time, their fictionalized friendship, Anthony Edwards’s wig, and the film’s persuasive Arthur Leigh Allen framing draw aged-worst objections.
In the discussion (5)
- Replacing a planned two-minute musical time-passage montage with the abrupt “four years later” card is criticized.
- The film is judged about five minutes short on Downey and Gyllenhaal together.
- Their entertaining friendship is acknowledged as a movie invention rather than a real friendship.
- Anthony Edwards wearing a wig is criticized.
- The movie left one host certain Arthur Leigh Allen was the killer for years, a confidence later evidence unsettled.
The panel offers two major takes: Zodiac is the greatest American crime film, and the Zodiac killer is the greatest serial-killer brand or legacy.
In the discussion (7)
- A modern Zodiac case would be flattened into partisan internet discourse.
- Zodiac is proposed as the greatest American crime film.
- Its attention to the actual work of solving crime distinguishes it.
- The Zodiac is proposed as the greatest serial killer by legacy and elusiveness.
- The self-created name and communications are cited as a uniquely strong gimmick.
- Modern DNA and cameras are said to make serial killing harder.
- Taking credit for unrelated crimes may have distorted the investigation.
John Terry, Charles Fleischer, and numerous veteran supporting actors are discussed without a clean single winner.
In the discussion (6)
- John Getz is nominated but considered too recognizable.
- John Terry is nominated.
- Charles Fleischer is nominated.
- The actor who played Father Intintola on The Sopranos is nominated.
- The actor associated with Kicking and Screaming and Beverly Hills, 90210 is nominated.
- The panel notes that many classic That Guys have graduated from eligibility.
Clea DuVall wins the heat check over Charles Fleischer, John Carroll Lynch, Brian Cox, and Belli’s housekeeper.
In the discussion (5)
- John Carroll Lynch is nominated.
- Charles Fleischer is nominated for one basement scene.
- Clea DuVall is selected for commanding her single interview scene.
- Brian Cox is nominated for two highly seasoned scenes.
- Melvin Belli’s housekeeper receives a low-key nomination.
The panel audits Fincher, Ruffalo as a detective, Gyllenhaal, San Francisco movies, Chloë Sevigny, Fincher villains, John Carroll Lynch, Donovan, wooden dildos, and Zodiac within Fincher’s filmography.
In the discussion (10)
- Fincher’s apex is disputed among Zodiac, The Social Network, Fight Club, and Gone Girl, with a distinct case for Zodiac as his creative apex.
- Mark Ruffalo is judged at an apex specifically as a movie detective, with Zodiac favored over Collateral.
- Gyllenhaal’s apex is debated against Nightcrawler and his End of Watch/Prisoners period.
- San Francisco movies are measured against 48 Hrs., Bullitt, and Dirty Harry.
- Chloë Sevigny is rejected in favor of The Last Days of Disco.
- Fincher villains are compared, with John Doe favored over Arthur Leigh Allen and Mark Zuckerberg.
- John Carroll Lynch movies are compared, and Zodiac is chosen over Fargo.
- Donovan needle drops are compared across Zodiac, To Die For, and Goodfellas.
- Wooden dildos receive a joking apex discussion.
- Zodiac is selected as Fincher’s best or favorite movie, with Seven and other later films discussed.
The panel role-swaps both actors: one audible choice favors Hanks and another favors Cruise, then the discussion explicitly says they do not really have to choose.
In the discussion (5)
- The category is introduced as “Cruise or Hanks.”
- One audible choice favors Hanks.
- Another audible choice favors Cruise, followed by agreement that Cruise is fun in the movie.
- Cruise and Hanks are each tested as Graysmith and Toschi, with concern that either recasting loses Ruffalo.
- The panel explicitly says it does not really have to choose.
Asked for a sequel, prequel, prestige-TV version, or all-Black cast, the panel answers that the prestige-TV version became Mindhunter.
In the discussion (2)
- The category is introduced with sequel, prequel, prestige TV, and all-Black-cast options.
- Mindhunter is given as the prestige-TV realization.
David Fincher is the choice if the film could receive only one Oscar.
In the discussion (2)
- The category is run as a regular named question.
- Fincher is selected over the actors and craftspeople.
The I Am Not Paul Avery button leads proposals including the houseboat, letters, scrapbook, and an explicitly rejected dildo.
In the discussion (5)
- The I Am Not Paul Avery button is proposed.
- Avery’s houseboat is proposed.
- The Zodiac letters are proposed.
- Graysmith’s scrapbook is proposed.
- The wooden dildo is raised and rejected.
Two explicit lessons are offered: “it’s not finished until you type it up,” likened to movies being abandoned rather than finished, and a sarcastic instruction to keep investigating even at the cost of family and sanity because Fincher may adapt it.
In the discussion (2)
- “It’s not finished until you type it up” is offered as a life lesson and compared with the idea that movies are abandoned rather than finished.
- A sarcastic second lesson says never stop a murder investigation, even if it costs family and sanity, because it might lead to a David Fincher movie.
David Fincher wins through three explicit affirmative responses; the Zodiac killer is then raised as a provocative alternative because the film burnishes his myth.
In the discussion (2)
- Three audible responses affirm David Fincher as the winner.
- The Zodiac killer is raised afterward as an alternative because he escaped and the film burnishes his myth.
Podcast choices
- Speaker not identified
- David Fincher
- Speaker not identified
- David Fincher
- Speaker not identified
- David Fincher
Most Rewatchable Scene
