Zodiac 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		5.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		5.0
Overall		4.5

Zodiac 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Paramount has released the excellent 2007 film 'Zodiac,' directed by the legendary David Fincher and starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Mark Ruffalo, and Robert Downey Jr., to the UHD format. New specifications include 2160p/Dolby Vision video. The UHD includes the same Dolby TrueHD 5.1 lossless soundtrack as was found on the original 2009n Blu-ray, which is also included here. That feature film Blu-ray disc contains two audio commentary tracks, while a second Blu-ray houses all of the video-based extras. These are the same two discs included with the 2009 release, and they house the totality of the supplemental content; no extras are found on the UHD disc.

Zodiac 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The included screenshots are sourced from the UHD disc output at 1080p. They are not representative of the UHD/Dolby Vision image you will see on your screen.

Zodiac was a Blu-ray that debuted in the format's relative infancy and at the time stood as a master class of a digitally photographed film presented don Blu-ray. The 108p image still holds up nicely today, even some 15 years later (wow! how time flies...), but Paramount's new 2160p/Dolby Vision UHD presentation definitely does it one better. The UHD is upscaled to 4K but still represents the finest look for the film, accelerating past the Blu-ray in all ways for a new definitive version.

First, the image boasts exceptional clarity. It's remarkably clean, sourced form a pristine digital shoot. Clarity is excellent, and even if the image's digital roots leave it looking a little flat, there is no mistaking the overall crispness and efficiency on display. The picture maintains a fine level of sharpness, capturing a wide range of content with satisfying definition, ranging from serene grassy areas to bustling city streets, from cozy home interiors to busy newspaper offices. Further, in full sunlight or in nighttime exteriors and in all levels of indoor lighting, from bright white to low warm, the crispness and clarity hold for the duration. With that said, there is not a significant gain to clarity over the Blu-ray. Certainly, A-B comparisons show finer depth to skin lines and clothing fabrics and slightly sharper definition to fine object details, but this is not a night and day difference, which is to be expected with, one, an upscaled 4K image and, two, following on a Blu-ray (even as one as old as 2009) that was, and remains, pretty sharp itself. Expect modest gains and expectations will be met, but viewers expecting to find Zodiac far and away superior to the Blu-ray will leave disappointed.

The Dolby Vision color grading is the more obvious point of difference between the UHD and the Blu-ray. At a glance, the biggest difference is that the UHD is a little darker, but the differences extend beyond that. Colors ae much more efficient, finding more lifelike stability and accuracy. One of the best examples comes during an outdoor scene around the 19-minute kr where the golden grasses and blue skies display much more impressive saturation and color density compared to the Blu-ray, which looks overly bright and borderline gaudy in comparison. The greater color enhancements and stability extend to period clothes as well, offering not so much greater vividness but definitely greater accuracy and stability. White balance is excellent, looking more stable and true, while black levels are wonderfully deep and reveal high level of shadow detail, both improving on the Blu-ray. There are timers when lighting and the fairly flat photography can leave faces looking a little flat and pasty, but overall skin tones appear very healthy and natural.

The UHD does settle down some of the very light compression issues from the Blu-ray. Noise remains practically nonexistent with the UHD, as it was on the Blu-ray. There is some slight aliasing in a few shots; look at blinds in the background of the newspaper office at the 17:22 mark. Aside from a few minor things like this viewers will be hard pressed to find any source of encode faults on the UHD. This might not reach a level of reference material, but it is definitely Zodiac the way it should be seen.

Zodiac 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Rather than remix for Dolby Atmos, Paramount has simply ported over the Blu-ray's old Dolby TrueHD 5.1 lossless soundtrack, following the studio's Blu-ray-to-UHD custom. Outside of a descriptive channel track, this is the only audio track on the UHD disc. For full coverage of this soundtrack, please click here.

Zodiac 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This UHD release of Zodiac contains no extras on the UHD disc, but the pair of bundled Blu-rays, which are identical to the discs Paramount released way back in 2009, are included and house all of this set's bonus content. See below for a bulleted list of what is included, and where, and please click here for full written reviews. This UHD does ship with a digital copy voucher and a non-embossed slipcover.

Disc One:

• Audio Commentary: Director David Fincher.
• Audio Commentary: Actors Jake Gyllenhaal and Robert Downey, Jr., Producer Brad Fischer, Writer James Vanderbilt, and James Ellroy.

• The Film:
  
  
  • Zodiac Deciphered
  • The Visual Effects of Zodiac
  • Previsualization
  • Theatrical Trailer
• The Facts:
  
  
  • This Is the Zodiac Speaking
  • Prime Suspect

Zodiac 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Zodiac is certainly not an eye candy treat sort of movie, but fans looking for the absolute best presentation of this modern classic should look no further. While it's not leaps and bounds better than the Blu-ray, the minor gains in clarity are welcome and the color improvements are definitely worth the upgrade cost. The movie is fantastic, the carryover lossless soundtrack is adequate, and there are plenty of extras for viewers to sink their teeth into. Highly recommended!