2007 was a bad year for me, film wise. It isn’t that the films I’ve seen were made poorly; it’s just that I didn’t see most of them yet. I typically see a flick theatrically every other week at least, but if I saw one every other month throughout 2007 I would have been shocked. Even franchise entries I was looking forward to like The Bourne Ultimatum, Live Free or Die Hard and Ocean’s Thirteen were missed on the big screen, so I won’t get into the more curious looking indies, one-offs and Oscar-bait from favorite directors and actors that I managed to ignore. I’m a bad man, I fully admit it and I’m resolving to do better this year. I make this point because when March rolled around last year, absolutely nothing was stopping me from seeing Zodiac, the latest film from director David Fincher (Fight Club, Se7en), a director who, in my eyes, has never made a bad film – and yes, that includes Alien3. Of course, my love for serial killer films made this a film impossible to miss anyway. David Fincher’s involvement only helped seal the deal.

One important thing that isn’t really advertised well is that Zodiac is less about the killer himself (who was never caught and doubts still exist to the lead suspect) than it is about the hunt for the killer specifically. In fact, that’s really all it is about – the investigation. While this may put some casual filmgoers off, it really puts a different spin on the tired and true detective film. There is no Silence of the Lambs-ish anti-hero. Characters don’t magically find themselves from place-to-place. The investigations that they have to go through are brutal, lengthy and restricted by legal bureaucracy that makes everything roughly twenty-times harder than the characters would like. Something seemingly as simple as obtaining a search warrant takes a year to earn, during which information isn’t successfully traded through different town’s jurisdictions, important evidence gets glanced over in different police reports and misinformation is the only thing that’s consistent. 

At the heart of this investigation are, for the most part, two people who couldn’t be any different. Robert Graysmith (Jake Gyllenhaal, Donnie Darko), a cartoonist for the San Francisco Chronicle, the quickly favored newspaper that the Zodiac killer chose to send his letters and ciphers to, and detective David Toschi (Mark Ruffalo, Collateral) of the SFPD and inspiration to Steve McQueen’s Bullitt. Graysmith’s relation to Zodiac is probably the most distant of anyone at the time, with his only link being that he was frequently in the Chronicle’s news room and privy to much discussion about the case, as it happened. Often he was among the first people to see these letters, but being such a fan of puzzles, he soon becomes absolutely obsessed with the murderer and befriends Paul Avery (Robert Downey, Jr., A Scanner Darkly), a key reporter for the same newspaper who is covering the Zodiac slayings but is also an alcoholic and drug addict. Toschi’s investigation is meanwhile complemented by inspector William Armstrong (Anthony Edwards, TV’s ER) but Armstrong soon steps down from Homicide to pursue a more family-allowing career. Both Toschi and Graysmith without partners and with seemingly all investigative routes exhausted, join forces in one of the more unorthodox ways of continuing the investigation. With Graysmith having no occupational constraints, and getting leads and people fed through Toschi without any actual investigative assistance enables him to create the most plausible case study made about the killer. 

But here is where many will find Zodiac a difficult film to like. In reality, the Zodiac murders remain unsolved. Only the initial ciphers sent to the newspapers were ever solved, and it’s quite likely that the remaining ones are actually unsolvable. The lead suspect, a reasonably suspicious man with an unquestionable amount of circumstantial evidence pointing at him, is relatively free of anything that could award him a clean guilty verdict. In fact, he never made it to trial, dying of a heart attack first. These aren’t spoilers. This is factual stuff, but what impressed me about Fincher’s Zodiac is that even though I knew all of this going in, I completely put it all out of my mind during the course of the movie, and it continues to have the same effect after my fourth viewing. The film plays out like any other a police procedural and is particularly stylized to represent other 1970’s investigational films such as the brilliant All the President’s Men where dialogue rules all. Zodiac is a very talkative film and while the murders themselves are horrific, it is as far removed from a horror film as possible. It’s very easy to get caught up in the characters, their obsessions and desire to find out the killer’s identity. At times, you’ll get so wrapped up into the film and convinced at the evidence and arguments that you will honestly think that the next scene will take place inside a courtroom. It doesn’t happen though. Zodiac offers, just like the real life events, no satisfying resolution. It’s entirely about the journey, and it’s a journey that still hasn’t ended.  

This problem however is not, and shouldn’t ever be, considered a mark against the film. It’s simply the way things are. The film itself is perfection. All of the actors do tremendous jobs, the writing and attention given to the set details is equally impressive. Everything about the film works in such a way that it will absorb you into it. You would have to be one pretty distracted viewer to look away from the screen at any moment. How this film escaped any Academy Award nominations is as much an unsolvable mystery as the murders themselves.  

This DVD contains the Director’s Cut of the film which adds roughly four-five minutes of material to the original theatrical (and previous DVD) release. I won’t go so far as to say the changes made are unnoticeable in a bad way, but I don’t know if they were particularly needed. There is a segment that plays out with music and news reports over a completely black background and another sequence has another conversation between Avery and Graysmith. Probably the most important addition is a sequence where, over a speaker phone Toschi, Armstrong and their captain attempt to present their case so that they can be awarded their search warrant. The best thing about these scenes is how well integrated they are. If you haven’t seen the film more than once, you might not have even realized that changes were made. Having seen these now though, I would never want to have them removed from the film, making the Director’s Cut of Zodiac a perfect version of a film that was a masterpiece to start. 

Presentation
I haven’t seen the original DVD, so I can’t compare the two. However, this new release of Zodiac is far and away one of the best DVDs I’ve had the privilege of experiencing. The video and audio are both perfect in every way. Part of this is expected since the film is brand new, but I never expected it to be such a perfect experience at home as it was theatrically. The audio specifically is where the largest surprise was had. Zodiac is not an action movie, but the use of directional effects is still a marvel. The typewriters at the San Francisco Chronicle, the era-specific soundtrack music, and the dialog (and there is a lot of dialog) all comes together mixed with appropriate ambient noise. With such attention to detail and accuracy, the actual murder sequences feel all the more grisly and brutal to watch, even if they aren’t particularly gory. As far as the technical aspect goes, the film is in its anamorphic OAR, and the audio is exclusively in English DD 5.1. There are subtitles in English, French and Spanish for those that need them.  

A special note needs to be added for the packaging. The DVD cover is made to replicate an envelope that the killer sent to the San Francisco Chronicle. It’s a really clever idea, which is increasingly rare in the world of DVD cover art. 

Extras

Audio Commentary with Director David Fincher
If you’ve ever listened to a Fincher commentary, you’ll know what to expect here. There is a lot of personal thoughts here on why he wanted to make Zodiac, his personal experiences in making the movie and more interestingly meeting and talking to all of the real-life surviving victims and investigators. It’s interesting, and certainly better than your average commentary. However, it’s not as awesome as… 

Audio Commentary with Jake Gyllenhaal, Robert Downey, Jr., Brad Fincher, James Vanderbilt and James Ellroy
Easily one of the best commentaries I’ve ever had the pleasure to listen to. Gyllenhaal seems to dominate the track for the most part, but seeing as how pivotal he is to the film that’s unsurprising. On the more case-oriented side of things though are Fincher, Vanderbilt and Ellroy who talk more in depth about how Zodiac came to be made and compare a lot of the scenes with how things really went down. As someone who has always been interested in the Zodiac murders, this was definitely the more endearing commentary. 

Two commentaries is a lot to absorb on any film, particularly for a longer movie such as Zodiac. I was never bored with either one though and feel incredibly more enlightened than before.  

The remaining features are all on the second disc. They are presented in anamorphic widescreen and are broken up by the main menu as falling under either “The Film” or “The Facts.” Each of these features has the same multi-language subtitles as the film. 

Zodiac Deciphered – (54:13)
The first feature is already a feast unto itself. This seven-part making-of is brilliant on its own, although it does cover a lot of the same ground as the commentary tracks. However, there is a great visual experience in watching these people get into character, and the intimacy of David and Brad Fincher, and the other participants essentially talking directly to the camera about their own obsession over the film and the case. A great, great making-of, which all other DVDs could use as a benchmark. 

The Visual Effects of Zodiac – (15:19)
There isn’t a lot of CG in Zodiac, or at least you might not think it. This feature shows where these visual effects are used and explains how and why they used computer effects instead of practical effects. All of these scenes are incredibly well implemented (the taxi following shot in particular is excellent) and the average viewer is unlikely to notice them. Highlighting them here is an awesome way to examine the unsung work of these graphic artists.

Previsualization
This three-part feature shows in an almost animatic form the three murders at Blue Rock Springs, Lake Berryessa and San Francisco in a crudely animated concept form compared to the final product. It’s interesting to see how few changes were made from start to finish.

Theatrical Trailer – (2:34)
The promo trailer that sold millions of tickets. Funny; looking back now I didn’t think that it would be so impressive. 

This is the Zodiac Speaking – (1:42:11)
Here is a four-part feature, film-length unto itself, consisting of interviews with just about everyone still alive associated with the four known murders that can be attributed to Zodiac. People who are into this sort of true-crime are going to eat this up. Patrolmen, surviving victims, clerical workers who took phone calls – literally anyone involved that could be reached was reached. These interviews, complete with archival news footage and even actual evidence, paint a very real picture that some viewers might find more difficult to watch than the film itself.  That said it’s an invaluable addition to the case study that interested parties will find very rewarding. 

His Name was Arthur Leigh Allen – (42:33)
Arthur Leigh Allen comes up time and time again in the Zodiac murders. He is the prime and only suspect that can’t be unequivocally ruled out. While no evidence firmly plants him as Zodiac, the amount of circumstantial evidence when viewed together is pretty damning. This feature is essentially a case profile from acquaintances of Allen and the odd lifestyle that the convicted sex-offender proved. This is a very one-sided argument with the evidence shown here and certainly there is no one standing in the late Allen’s corner, but it’s equally impossible to rule him out. The world may never know if Allen was Zodiac, but with so many people, so close to the case believing so, this makes for an interesting profile – particularly since some of the testimonies seem… odd. 

All said and done, if you have interest in either the real Zodiac or the film Zodiac, there are exceptional features to be had here. If you have interest in both, you are likely to be as absolutely consumed by these as you were the film. Without a doubt, this is the best collection of extras that I’ve seen in a long time.  

The Bottom Line
I held off on purchasing the featureless first release of Zodiac on DVD, for the inevitable and thankfully telegraphed release of this special edition made it much easier to hold off. I’m glad that I did. The transfer is remarkable, and while the Director’s Cut of the film changes surprisingly little, the special features here are unparalleled for a film of this type. I know it’s only January, but Zodiac – 2-Disc Director’s Cut has all the potential as a 2008 DVD of the Year nominee. Unless you’re holding out for Blu-ray (crosses fingers, then throws up the middle one towards Paramount) go out and purchase this on DVD or HD-DVD right now.