Zodiac (2007)
Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller • 2h 38m
Director: David Fincher
Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Mark Ruffalo, Anthony Edwards, Robert Downey Jr., Chloë Sevigny, Elias Koteas, John Carroll Lynch, Brian Cox, Dermot Mulroney, Charles Fleischer, Zach Grenier, Philip Baker Hall, James LeGros, Donal Logue, Richmond Arquette, Bob Stephenson, John Lacy, Ed Setrakian, John Getz, John Terry, Candy Clark, June Diane Raphael, Ciara Hughes, Lee Norris, Patrick Scott Lewis, Pell James, David Lee Smith, Jason Wiles, Charles Schneider, James Carraway, Tom Verica, Jimmi Simpson, Doan Ly, Karina Logue, Joel Bissonnette, John Mahon, Matt Winston, Jules Bruff, John Ennis, J. Patrick McCormack, Adam Goldberg, Clea DuVall, Paul Schulze, Adam Trese, Penny Wallace, John Hemphill, Michel Francoeur, Thomas Kopache, Barry Livingston, Christopher John Fields, Jack Samson, Micah Sauers, Zachary Sauers, Jessica Baltutis, Peter Quartaroli, Geoff Callan, Michael Hungerford, Anna Katarina, E.P. McKnight, Betty Murphy, Jeff Daniel Phillips, Shane Woodson, Cookie Crawford, Cassius M. Willis, Judith Drake, Phoebe Holston, Marty Lodge, Cooper Thornton, Cazimir Milostan, Charlotte Ferguson, Phoebe Ferguson, Kacey Malmsten, Karly Malmsten, JD Cullum, Stanley B. Herman, Roy Lee Jones, Michael Rose, James Joseph O'Neil, Rod Damer, John Sarno, Gloria Grant, Brett Rickaby, M.F. Bernier, Carter Evans, Bill Seward, Dave Nemeth, Ted Garcia, Greg Wolf, Barry LeBrock, Ione Skye, David Winston Barge, Hayati Akbas, Brad Carr, Mitchell Fink, Tish Hicks, Danielle McKee, Derris Nile, Carmen Plumb, Callie Thompson, Bud Davis
Theatrical: Paramount 4K Blu-ray
Director's: US Paramount Blu-ray
Best English-friendly release · updated 1 year ago
UHD tiers
Overview
The Zodiac murders cause the lives of Paul Avery, David Toschi and Robert Graysmith to intersect.
Director: David Fincher
4K Blu-ray has exclusive “unrated” audio with a small change to one line under the request of David Fincher (removed the poor dub over of frickin’ in the line “Screw it, let’s gut the f**kin’ nerd.”).
Director: David Fincher
Disney 4K Blu-ray or Fox 2009 Blu-ray or Kinowelt Entertainment 2008 Germany Blu-ray for a purist version
Sources: slow.pics (opens in a new tab) · notonbluray.com (opens in a new tab)
Disney 4K Blu-ray or Fox 2009 Blu-ray for a purist version or Kinowelt Entertainment 2008 Germany Blu-ray from the original 1999 telecine transfer
Disney 4K Blu-ray, while a good release by itself, is very revisionist albeit made by Fincher. It has a huge amount of tinkering, a different grade, and at times uncanny with the sharpening. Caps of just how revisionist the new master is.
All Blu-ray tracks have significant limiting.
Disney 4K Blu-ray has some alterations, otherwise similar to the Fox Blu-ray
A blog article going over the home video history of Fight Club: https://notonbluray.com/blog/fight-club-compared-blu-ray-vs-itunes-vs-d-vhs-vs-dvd-vs-laserdisc/
Director: David Fincher
2025 WB 4K Blu-ray or the 1997 New Line DVD (CCE colors)/Netherlands Blu-ray (2000 restoration) for a purist version
Sources: Blu-ray.com (opens in a new tab) · notonbluray.com (opens in a new tab)
2025 WB 4K Blu-ray, better detail and everything, or the 1997 New Line DVD (CCE colors)/Netherlands Blu-ray (2000 restoration) for a purist version
4K caveat: A variety of VFX set pieces and touch-ups were added in scenes throughout the film, probably for continuity or consistency, although they might be unnecessary or revisionist. Clouds are added to clear sky of the last act.
AI is used to fix an unwanted camera movement in one scene.
some shots had been further stabilized, resulting in strange motion blur.
Also has missing dialog intact.
But it can be argued that the Warner Bros 4K Blu-ray 5.1 (remix) is technically a better mix.
More info on the different color grades over the years: https://notonbluray.com/blog/the-case-of-se7en/
Director: David Fincher
Sources: slow.pics (opens in a new tab) · Blu-ray.com (opens in a new tab)
HDR caps by fkid. Obviously this is a huge improvement after what was available until now. Still, the early 2000s nature of the film is palpable and more noticeable, f.ex. in the opening scene that looks upscaled but seemingly without AI usage or any egregious tools. No info yet about what Fincher actually changed and where he tinkered around. Also see samlop10's review
Director: Tony Scott
The 70mm 6-track mix has a higher bitrate on the Paramount 1998 DVD, but is more limited than on the THX LaserDisc The Paramount 1998 DVD also has open matte versions in fullscreen 1.33:1 and widescreen 2.00:1 instead of the theatrical aspect ratio of 2.39:1, but the 2.00:1 widescreen presentation is non-anamorphic. The THX LaserDisc is available in both fullscreen 1.33:1 and widescreen 2.00:1 variants.
Director: Terrence Malick
Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)
Lovely underlying remaster by Criterion and Resillion but encode is sadly low-pass filtered by Pixelogic, and even then, the encode is still less than ideal. Still easily obliterates any prior disc release, but certainly wouldn't hurt to have a UK or German label take a crack at this same master.
Director: Peter Faiman
Australia Cut: Australia Fox DVD
International Cut: Paramount Blu-ray
Encore Cut: Germany Winkler Film 4K Blu-ray, censored but good encoding
Sources: movie-censorship.com (opens in a new tab)
US Paramount 4K Blu-ray, is the International US Cut and not the Encore Cut
Australia Cut: Laserdisc
The film exists in three versions:
- the original Australian cut (~104 minutes at 24fps/~100 minutes at 25fps);
- the American/international version (~98 minutes at 24fps/~94 minutes at 25fps) trimming some exposition in the Outback first half of the film and some shorter extensions of a few seconds in the New York section, altering some of the dialogue – including censoring a "fuck" to "screw" – but featuring one additional dialogue extension not in the Australian version (a comparison of the two cuts can be found at Movie Censorship);
- the Australian Encore Cut (~95 minutes at 24fps/~91 minutes at 25fps) which uses the international version source so it already has those alterations but also removes approximately three minutes consisting of parts of two scenes featuring Mick grabbing the crotch of a cross-dressing prostitute and a later sequence when he does the same thing at a party to a woman with a deep voice (a comparison of the international version and the Encore Cut can be found at Movie Censorship).
3D version: Paramount 3D Blu-ray
Paramount 4K Blu-ray on October 26 2026
Director: Billy Wilder
Sources: slow.pics (opens in a new tab)
Paramount 4K Blu-ray. See caps
HDR/grading: nice, but some blown out
Encoding: inconsistent, smeared motion
DNR: inconsistent, frozen
Old Paramount Blu-ray is arguably a solid alternative choice
Paramount 4K Blu-ray mono
Paramount 4K Blu-ray mono is different version of the Blu-ray mono from the same old 2000 DVD transfer.
The 5.1 remix on the 4K Blu-ray is an appalling remix done by going wild with artificially generated stems from Park Road Post who were given the surviving mono to separate. The experience is jarring and fidelity to original mix in terms of level balance, directionality and impact is nonexistent. Not only does this sound painfully weird, but the Paramount mixers then did whatever they wanted in terms of LFE, sound pans and effect changes.
The original mono mix was not restored and still needs it badly. The 4K master is filled with frozen grain examples coming and going plus some HDR issues in addition to the usual Paramount problems. It is simultaneously better and worse than the Blu-ray master.
Director: Robert Altman
Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)
Criterion 4K Blu-ray scheduled for Dec 2026 release
Director: Richard Linklater
Sources: caps-a-holic (opens in a new tab)
Original AR: Paramount 4K Blu-ray
IMAX AR: Paramount 3D Blu-ray
More Crime on Blu-ray
TV series
4K restoration from Original Camera Negative for all episodes
Director: Lloyd Bacon
4K restoration from Original Camera Negative
Director: Ralph Bakshi
Director: Roman Polanski
Director: Alan Clarke
Video format: UHD Blu-ray
Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)
The 88 Films 4K Blu-ray is disappointing. Indicator Blu-ray > 88 Films Blu-ray. From nicolas:
Fine master, solid HDR but very poorly encoded with strong blocking artifacts in normal areas and clipped highlights that bring Criterion’s Walkabout to mind. Their Blu-ray is slightly better overall but then again still not as good as FiM’s encode for Indicator.
Director: Peter Bogdanovich
Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab) · Blu-ray.com (opens in a new tab)
Eureka UK are considering doing a 4K and actively exploring the possibility: https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.php?p=24363810&postcount=264
Wonderful underlying remaster by Criterion and Resillion, but NexSpec encode has clipped highlights with the occasional blockiness. The Criterion Blu-Ray, sourced from their 4K remaster, ironically makes for a more consistent and overall pleasing experience.
Director: John Woo
Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)
review: Disk Kino
better encoding, some shots are better on Shout! Factory, others on Arrow
Shout! Factory/Arrow 4K Blu-ray has the original mono
Director: Michael Mann
Director: Stanley Kubrick
Criterion Box Set coming October 20th with FiM encode, new restoration of mono mix which should be better than what was on the WB 4K Blu-ray and 1999 DVD and revised colour timing to make the film look more like it did in 1971.
WB 4K 5.1: a remix but has higher fidelity
Mono: 4K Blu-ray/1999 DVD
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