Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		3.5

Killing Zoe Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov May 3, 2010

Written and directed by Roger Avary, "Killing Zoe" (1993) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of French distributors Seven7/Metropolitan Films. The supplemental features on the disc include an audio commentary, in English, with director Roger Avary; an hour-long documentary on the shooting of the film; deleted scenes; promotional materials; cast and crew interviews; and stroyboards. In English and French, with optional French subtitles, where necessary, for the film and supplemental features. Region-B "locked".

I like you but I don't do weird things

What I like about Roger Avary's Killing Zoe is that it does no play by the rules. It is brutal, it is raw, and it is so offensive you know it is not a film a major studio would ever agree to produce. Sadly, we live in a different era now, and such politically incorrect films are next to impossible to shoot.

During the early 90s, Avary worked together with Quentin Tarantino in a video store in Los Angeles (the notorious Video Archives). Before he started renting videos, for awhile he attended a small film school because he wanted to learn how to direct -- but dropped out. It was too expensive for him and he did not like what he was being taught.

Tarantino completed Reservoir Dogs in 1992 and presented it at the Sundance Film Festival where it became an instant hit. Avary completed Killing Zoe in 1993, but I don’t remember the film being shown at any big film festivals. In fact, I am unsure if anyone promoted it outside of Los Angeles. I found out about Killing Zoe after I read an article in a small French film magazine noting that Jean-Hugues Anglade was in it. Anglade appeared in Luc Besson's Subway and Jean-Jacques Beineix's Betty Blue, two films that I love and watch at least once a year, and the fact that he was in Killing Zoe was enough for me to convince me that it was worth seeing. At the time, however, not a single theater in my area was showing the film.

In 1994, Tarantino's Pulp Fiction won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival and a lot of people found out who Avary was. Roger Ebert also wrote that "Killing Zoe is Generation X's first bank caper movie", and all of a sudden even more people started asking questions about it. I don’t recall exactly when the film was released on VHS, but I know that after Tarantino and Avary won the Oscar for Pulp Fiction in 1995, Killing Zoe was already easily available -- though, as everyone found out later on, in a heavily sanitized version.

Avary's film tells the story of a young American, Zed (Eric Stoltz, Naked in New York), who arrives in Paris to meet an old friend, Eric (Anglade, La Reine Margot), who used to live in Florida. From the airport he heads straight to his hotel where he meets Zoe (Julie Delpy, Before Sunrise), a young and beautiful prostitute, who is recommended to him by a friendly cab driver (Martin Raymond). An hour and a couple of orgasms later, Zoe tells Zed that she isn’t a prostitute but an art student, trying to make some extra cash to pay her classes.

Soon after, Eric arrives and quickly kicks out the art student. He takes Zed to his place where he introduces him to a motley crew of junkies. Then, much to Zed’s dismay, he announces that they would have to do the job -- robbing a bank -- for which Zed has been invited to Paris, in less than twenty-four hours. When Zed, who apparently knows everything there is to know about safecracking, attempts to argue with Eric that there isn't enough time for him to study the bank's vault and security system, he tells him not to worry. Then everyone heads out for a lovely tour of Paris and its underground clubs, and before the end of the night, Eric tells Zed that he has AIDS.

On the following day, Zed, Eric and the boys hit the bank where everything that could possibly go wrong goes terribly wrong. The boys, however, get so drugged up that they have absolutely no clue what is happening around them. Before the police arrive, Zed also bumps into Zoe, the art student, who -- you would never believe this -- works there as a bank teller.

There are two reasons why you want to see Killing Zoe. First, because this is a film made by a film fan -- it has absolutely everything a "normal" film director would try to avoid. It is not pretty, but it is very, very entertaining. Second, because of Anglade's performance -- he looks possessed. I can tell you exactly why, but rather have you figure out on your own.

Killing Zoe Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Roger Avary's Killing Zoe arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of French distributors Seven7/Metropolitan Films. For the record, the disc contains the Director's Cut of the film, which runs at approximately 99 min.

This is a good but somewhat inconsistent high-definition transfer. Generally speaking, fine object detail is pleasing, but there are certain scenes where mild noise reduction has affected its integrity. Occasionally, light noise is also present. Contrast levels vary, but this is mostly due to the unique lighting techniques used throughout the film (in the audio commentary provided on this Blu-ray disc, Roger Avary discusses why and how the overwhelming majority of the film had to be shot with a variety of fluorescent lamps because he had a very limited budget to work with). Clarity is relatively good. The film's color scheme is dramatically improved. Reds, blues, browns and blacks look rich but natural; on the R1 DVD, courtesy of Artisan, they are muddy and blocky. Edge-enhancement and macroblocking are never a serious issue of concern. I also did not detect any serious stability issues to report in this review. Finally, there are no large scratches, cuts, marks, dirt, or stains plaguing the high-definition transfer. To sum it all up, this is a good though not perfect upgrade of a film that I do not foresee getting a stronger treatment in North America. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" disc. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).

Killing Zoe Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two audio tracks on this Blu-ray disc: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and French DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. For the record, Seven7/Metropolitan Films have provided optional French SDH subtitles for the main feature. Also, please note that there are small portions of the film where French is spoken that are not subtitled in English.

The audio treatment is certainly a lot more convincing than the video treatment. The English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track has a good dynamic amplitude, and the film really benefits from it rather well. The surround channels are not overly active, but there are a couple of scenes - such as the final shootout in the bank - where they are very effective. The few techno/industrial tracks that are heard throughout the film also sound surprisingly sharp. The dialog is crisp, clean and stable. Finally, I did not detect any disturbing pops, cracks, or hissings to report in this review.

Killing Zoe Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Commentary - an audio commentary with director Roger Avary in which he addresses the production history of Killing Zoe, its unique characters, the extremely limited budget he had to work with and how it affected his film, the specific locations used in Los Angeles to imitate Paris, the different cuts the MPAA forced him to do, etc. In English, with optional French subtitles.

L'acces aux story boards - this option allows one to view the film and compare specific scenes from it with a variety of different storyboards.

Shooting Zoe - an hour-long documentary on the shooting of the film, with plenty of raw footage showing a number of the locations where some of the more memorable scenes were shot, as well as interesting comments from the cast and crew. In English and French, with imposed French subtitles where necessary. (57 min).

Scenes coupees - three short scenes that did not make it into the final cut of the film. (3 min).

Materiel promotionnel - the original theatrical trailer for the film, with French and English versions (3 min); a short promotional featurette, in English with imposed French subtitles (10 min); and four interviews with Eric Stolz (4 min), Jean-Hughes Anglade (6 min), Julie Delpy (4 min), and Roger Avary (6 min).

Killing Zoe Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Roger Avary's Killing Zoe is a true cult classic. I remember back in the days he did a lot to convince Artisan to release the director's cut of his film on DVD. I think that it would be terrific if he did what needs to be done one more time so that Killing Zoe sees a Blu-ray release on this side of the Atlantic. I know a lot of people would love to have his film in their collections. RECOMMENDED.