After giving fans a stripped down, bare-bones version of Zodiac back in July of 2007, Paramount and director David Fincher now make good on their preview promise from the initial single disc with the much heavier Zodiac: 2-Disc Director’s Cut. If you loved Fincher’s take on one of the most famous unsolved serial-killer cases in U.S. history, the seven-month wait for this release is well worth its weight in DVD gold. As we all know, each year there are only a select few DVDs that truly stand out from the crowded pack. As 2008 gets going, the new Zodiac 2-Disc Director’s Cut sets the pace in terms of quality, presentation, and supplemental material. It's even packaged in one of the actual letter envelopes the real killer sent to the San Francisco Chronicle. If you endured all of the other lesser cinematic incarnations of San Francisco’s most notorious serial killer, the new Director’s Cut will undeniably stand as one of the best authoritative sources on the case for years to come. It’s a rare occurrence in film that punctuates the obvious fact that there’s no need to make another Zodiac movie for several years, if ever. After many failed attempts by other filmmakers, David Fincher was the man to finally get the Zodiac right.

Zodiac is an interesting experience on many deeper levels. Not only does the film reflect David Fincher’s prowess as a director, namely his dexterous ability to cinematically expose the veiled chaos that exists between human interaction, circumstance, action and consequence, Zodiac also accurately reflects our own flaws as a collective whole. Instead of completely dismantling the mental infrastructure of the characters, Fincher instead chooses to slowly fill viewers with an evolving sense of anxiety through meticulous plotting and precision. Although we take great pride in making leaps and bounds as a technologically advanced society, mostly to a fault, Zodiac exposes our own weaknesses and forces us to look in the mirror at a case that none of us could definitively solve. Hell, it raises a great but disconcerting question. If some of the best investigators and elite agencies in the country still can’t definitively solve the Zodiac riddle to this day, can we really catch someone like Osama Bin Laden? Certainly the subject matter of the famous case makes us uncomfortable, but what really works in Fincher’s favor is the sense of frustration he leaves us with at the end of the film. It’s not a happy ending where the cops save the day, because the simple truth is that they couldn’t. Zodiac reinforces the fact that we’re all vulnerable both as individuals and as a collective. That’s a scary thought for a lot us, which is why the film works on a deeper emotional level. Have you ever watched a great movie that didn’t do that on some level, whether dramatic, comedic, terrifying or fantastical?

Enlisting such capable actors as Jake Gyllenhall for the role of San Francisco Chronicle political cartoonist Robert Graysmith, Robert Downey Jr. for Graysmith’s Chronicle colleague Paul Avery, and Mark Ruffalo and Anthony Edwards for San Francisco cops David Toschi and William Armstrong, David Fincher captures lightning in a bottle from a casting perspective. No central or essential supporting character is left unexplored in relation to the scarring emotional impact the Zodiac case had on both the media and police force. While Fincher aptly guides the environment, astonishingly capturing the accurate essence of the 1960s and ’70s, the actors incisively rise to the challenge. All four actors are able to contribute to a recipe that individually creates an effective emotional melting pot of a whole. When Graysmith begins to understand the case with a sense of confidence, Avery begins to unravel, which sets off Armstrong’s defense mechanism, giving way to Toschi’s inner turmoil over whether to sacrifice his career for the sake of Graysmith and the case. Although the film plods along at a tedious pace at times, the film’s precision eventually works for the greater good of the entire experience.

As for the video and audio presentations, both carry over from the previous 2007 single-disc release without any differences in quality. While the video is nearly flawless, which says it all, the audio in Dolby Digital 5.1 is as good as it gets within the confines of the format. From the opening sequence and first gunshot at the hands of the Zodiac Killer, you’ll get a good idea of what you and your system are in for from a seamless acoustic perspective. Without needlessly rambling on about detail, or blabbering about something that’s simply fantastic, both are undeniably first rate experiences.

In the way of extra material spread across both discs, fans receive a wealth of goodness from several angles, namely from educational, historical, and entertainment standpoints. Kicking things off is the "Commentary by David Fincher," which offers a ton of insight into the filmmaking process, bringing Zodiac to life, Fincher’s technical abilities, and the challenges of reconstructing the film’s intense crime scenes with the proper accuracy. If you’re a fan of David Fincher, you’ll be swept up by his deep seeded passion for the film and his love for the entire process, and the case at large. Next on the list is a second "Commentary" track featuring Jake Ghyllenhaal, Robert Downey Jr., producer Brad Fischer, screenwriter James Vanderbilt, and the legendary James Ellroy, who seems to be popping up on a lot of discs these days. While fans will undoubtedly love the diversity of the track and combined experiences, the second shop-talk track meanders in and out of the film without the same level of consistency as the Fincher track. It’s a solid audio trip into the film, if not simply to listen to Ellroy’s expertise, but you might want to check out the Fincher track first, wait a couple of weeks, and then revisit the collective track to get a fresh and full effect.

While the "Zodiac Deciphered" serves as a behind-the-scenes segment on the production, ranging from the challenges in translating the script to screen to on-set pressures and technical speed bumps during the production, it’s much more than that. At large, "Deciphered" offers a deeper look at Fincher’s filmmaking process and how the director often gets bogged down in the finer details to achieve what he wants. The segment reveals that Fincher is man of detail and precision, which the feature also reflects, especially when the real Robert Graysmith and Fincher revisit one the actual crime scenes. The inside look at Fincher on-set and on-location via cast and crew interviews, also reinforces that it’s the details that matter and the reason why he’s such a great filmmaker.

Aside from two noteworthy and engaging technical segments on "The Visual Effects of Zodiac" and cool animatic, split-screen "Previsualization" breakdown of three murder sequences, the golden gem of the Director’s Cut is the new feature length documentary called "This is the Zodiac Speaking." The gritty, no-nonsense, extremely real and affecting documentary is THE perfect authoritative companion to the film. The truth be told: I wasn’t quite prepared for how real the feature really is after the 30-minute mark. With almost everyone involved, including surviving victims, returning to revisit the case so many years later, it’s a gripping experience to watch the former investigators well-up with emotion when reflecting on their efforts and how the case went unsolved despite the lives lost and the sacrifices everyone made. This is a must watch for any fan of the film or the case.

Rounding out the set is a profoundly engaging feature on suspect number one Arthur Leigh Allen from the viewpoint of former investigators and acquaintances of the supposed killer called "His Name was Arthur Leigh Allen." In fact, after years of research and collecting evidence, Robert Garysmith believes Allen is the man behind the Zodiac mystery and the serial killer who terrorized San Francisco. It’s another great feature on an already impressive set and certainly time well spent.

Simply put, Zodiac: 2-Disc Director’s Cut lives up to the hype in every way, shape, and form. Although David Fincher might not have made the definitive serial killer movie, he has made the ultimate big screen translation of the Zodiac mystery and subsequent definitive DVD companion on the subject. If you’re looking for a DVD set that truly stands out from the pack at this early stage of the year, do yourself a favor and pick-up the most decisive educational and historical Zodiac experience you’ll find on the market.