Spanning nearly 25 years in and around San Francisco, Zodiac chronicles the titular serial killer's reign of terror over Northern California and the subsequent investigation. Primarily focusing on Robert Graysmith (Jake Gyllenhaal), who wrote the book upon which this is based, and detective Dave Toschi (Mark Ruffalo), this is not your average procedural. Rather than solely focusing on the investigation Fincher spends more time with the obsessions of his protagonists, using the external pressures as catalysts for their internal struggles.

Graysmith, a political cartoonist for the San Francisco Chronicle has no tangible reason to devote himself to his pursuit of the Zodiac, and besides a few brief mentions of his youth spent as an Eagle Scout, we still have no idea why the hell he would sacrifice so much of his life to the case. Gyllenhaal plays Graysmith with a doe-eyed innocence that entirely sells us on his naïveté, forcing us to believe he truly believes he can make a difference. As Paul Avery (wonderfully played by Robert Downey Jr.) says, he appears to be "medicated" or "touched", but not all is what he seems. Graysmith is the emotional anchor of the film, and he is presented in a way that allows the audience to see part of themselves. We've all had our obsessions, and Zodiac pushes them to their darkest extremes.

The best thing about Zodiac is undoubtedly Fincher's style. While not as gritty as Se7en or hyperactive as Fight Club, Zodiac's crisp digital cinematography has a painterly glow to it, fully immersing you into its painstakingly rendered world. He captures the Zodiac's killings by showing as little as necessary, but leaving very few doubts about what has just happened. They become harder and harder to watch every time you see the movie, and are sure to give you chills. After I first saw Zodiac, I had several paranoid episodes, in which I kept realizing he could very well still be out there. Suffice it to say, Fincher has definitely achieved his goal of immersing the viewer into Graysmith's world, and done an outstanding job at that. Neither you nor I will forget Zodiac in the foreseeable future.

With the exception of the second commentary track, the special features on this set are all very good. Brad broke them down more thoroughly in his review of the HD DVD, and they're exactly the same on both formats. Even if you own the bare bones release (the ultimate slap in the face as far as I'm concerned), this is still very much worth getting your hands on.

The "Director's Cut" (with no noticeable differences, no less!) of Zodiac continues the tradition of great David Fincher films getting great DVD releases. This is one set that can sit on your shelf quite proudly. It might be in your DVD player too much to ever be on the shelf, but that's another story.