Hanbaimo / Warner (Japan)
Blu-ray Region Code: A - Americas (North, Central and South except
French Guiana), Korea, Japan, South East Asia (including Hong Kong,
Macau and Taiwan). NOTE: We strongly suspect the disc is REGION FREE!
Review by Gary W. Tooze
2.35:1 1080p - VC-1 encode
2:42:23
Audio: English Dolby Digital 5.1, English 2.0, DUBs in French, German,
Italian, Spanish
Subtitles: English (SDH), English, Spanish, French, German, Italian,
Swedish, Dutch, Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, Portuguese, none
Extras:
• Audio commentary by David
Fincher
• Audio commentary by Gyllenhaal, Downey Jr., Brad Fischer, James
Vanderbilt, and James Ellroy
• Zodiac Deciphered in HD
• The Visual Effects of Zodiac in HD
• Previsualization
• This Is the Zodiac Speaking in HD (1:42:16)
• Prime Suspect: His Name Was Arthur Leigh Allen in HD
Disc - Dual-layered 50Gig
Feature - 23.6 Gig - 2:42:36
Released: July 9th, 2008
Standard Blu-ray case
27 chapters
Product Description: Based on the actual case files of one of the most intriguing unsolved crimes in the nations history Zodiac is a thriller from David Fincher director of Se7en and Panic Room. As a serial killer terrifies the San Francisco Bay Area and taunts police with his ciphers and letters investigators in four jurisdictions search for the murderer. The case will become an obsession for four men as their lives and careers are built and destroyed by the endless trail of clues.
The Film:
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Because Zodiac takes as its subject one of the most notorious serial killers in American history, and because its director, David Fincher, remains best known for Se7en, a movie about one of the most diabolical serial killers in film history, most people will naturally assume that what we have here is a picture about a serial killer. This assumption will sell tickets, no doubt, luring the unsuspecting viewer into one of the most radically ambitious and conceptually bizarre projects ever released by a major studio. If you're even slightly familiar with the case, it will dawn on you at the end of Zodiac's first hour that no additional murders are forthcoming—the Zodiac killed only five people that we know about for sure, all of them between December 1968 and October 1969—and that even the taunting letters and ciphers that made him infamous are about to cease without explanation. You also know that the Zodiac was never caught, and that you've signed on for a film that runs closer to three hours than two. Where can they possibly take this story? you will wonder. Only when you realize that the movie's pace is speeding up in inverse proportion to the killer's activity, however, will you understand that you're actually watching the most exhaustive portrait of obsessive-compulsive disorder ever seen onscreen.
[...]
Of course, Fincher is still Fincher, so it's not as if any of this plays as
dry or bureaucratic. Scene by scene, Zodiac is the director's most visually
restrained work to date, taking its cue from the mostly functional mise-en-scène
of the police procedural; at the same time, he can't resist the occasional
expressionistic flourish, as when two young lovers en route to violent death
drive slowly down a quiet Vallejo street as fireworks explode overhead. (The
Zodiac's second attack took place on July 4, 1969.) Nor will you ever again
be able to listen to Donovan's loping "Hurdy Gurdy Man" without a chill
running down your spine, assuming that you can now. The actors, for their
part, do a credible job of creating the necessary illusion that they're
playing human beings rather than walking, talking DSM-IV codes: Downey turns
Avery, who received several personal communiqués from the killer, into his
standard hilarious motormouthed cynic, while Ruffalo, playing the real cop
who inspired Steve McQueen's character in
Bullitt, expertly mimics Toschi's
shaggy, understated demeanor.
Excerpt from Mike D'Angelo's review at the Las Vegas Weekly located HERE
Video: NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were ripped directly from the Blu-ray disc.
Secondary NOTE: This is not yet available in North America BUT this Japanese disc will play on 'Region A' Blu-ray equipment which includes Americas (North, Central and South except French Guiana), Korea, Japan, South East Asia (including Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan). I actually think the disc is region-free (look at all the subtitle and DUB options) but when I can confirm we will publish that here. Amusingly, I don't see Japanese in the subtitle or DUB options. (??!??!?)
Strangely, this actually has English language menus (not Japanese) making navigation that much easier. Also, like a typical 'Warner' Blu-ray - the film starts up as soon as you put the disc in (no painfully long trailers or Blu-ray adverts). The film starts with an old Warner logo opening - then a Paramount one follows.
This appears to mimic the HD edition (reviewed HERE) but has all the information on one disc. Image quality may be slightly better but I can't really tell - it looks magnificent regardless. As I said about the 1080P HD-DVD image; 'It has no significant flaws and hardly any niggling ones either. Detail is exceptional at times and colors are muted but true give a good representation of the timeframe Fincher was attempting to represent. I also own the SD counterpart of this film and this towers above it in terms of image quality. It's a huge difference.' Skin tones seem to have lost their reddish/orange tinge. Fincher's brilliant tonal shifting is accentuated to the maximum with 1080P resolution. The captures below should definitely support my summation that this one of the better image transfers since the inception of the new formats. Zodiac is definitely one film that is worthy of being noted as a strong reason to encourage upgrading to Blu-ray. If you own the 2-disc HD - this does have all the supplements on one disc and, to my eye, looks marginally improved. It also has significant subtitle and DUB options added (see list above).
NOTE: The 'Director’s Cut' is only approx. four minutes longer than the theatrical version. It seems to have allowed some, Fincher-approved, alterations in certain scene extensions with minor dialogue deleted - many will not even notice this adjustment. Others may be aware of the minute-long black screen (with music) that indicates the passage of four years. Other than that it is the same enjoyable and occasionally intense film experience.
CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION
Screen Captures
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Audio: We appear to have lost the Dolby Digital PLUS (on the HD) for a standard 5.1 but with a host of DUB options. I, honestly, couldn't note a big difference. What I said about the HD still holds true enough;
"Depending on what you might be expecting in this Fincher offering - the film is essentially very sedate with the few 'killings' lowered to a less bombastic expression (audio-wise.)" Warner inclusion of the English 5.1 sounded very good when called upon - buoyant and separated... but still fairly even and consistent in the interim with dialogue audio supported by many subtitle options. No complaints at all.
Extras (are duplicated from the SD Director's Cut reviewed
HERE
and HD
HERE but all on one disc):
"There are two optional audio commentaries.
The first is by director Fincher
and I found it quite enjoyable and informative. He discusses
some of the history of the case as well as the usual production details.
The second commentary offers more history with a collaboration of crew
and novelist James Ellroy, (author of many crime novels including
The Black
Dahlia on his extensive list of credits). Obviously Ellroy is the
perfect person to give extraneous crime-drama details and he makes for
an excellent commentarist.
Digging deeper we also have a faeturette; “Zodiac Deciphered”. Kind of akin to a 'making of..." -this is about an hour-long and focuses mainly on production details (locations, costumes, props, sets, director input etc.) as well as the real-life Robert Highsmith and David Toschi.“The Visual Effects of Zodiac” is about 15 minutes long and focuses on the special effects used to create the 'blood splatterings' as well as making San Fran look like it did 30+ years ago. “Previsualization” gives us split-screen with some of the CGI content of the film (about 6 minutes). “The Facts” section includes “This is the Zodiac Speaking” which runs 1 hour 42 minutes and goes into great detail about the history of the Zodiac killings with video interviews of investigators and survivors. This is a very thorough and extremely interesting and informative piece for those keen on the case. “Prime Suspect: His Name Was Arthur Leigh Allen” runs almost 45 minutes and deals with the ongoing suspicion of that gentleman as the prime perpetrator. It brings up questions as well as information. Quite good viewing in my opinion. Extras are extensive and all relevant."
Extras
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BOTTOM LINE: Even after a few months since I have last seen Zodiac - I still enjoyed this film very much. As I said about the HD - "There is a lot of information to take in as it tends to express itself in a documentary style at times. The Blu-ray is brilliant with the inclusion of extensive extras - some in hi-def. Overall this is a fabulous film, brilliant transfer and is overflowing with competent extras. Strongly recommended!
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