Though the six-month wait for Fight Club's DVD release nearly drove many of the film's fans crazy, 20th Century Fox gets it right the first time. Instead of releasing a bare-bones disc first and a beefier version months later, this feature-filled, double-disc package transforms David Fincher's caustic, pitch-black satire from one of 1999's most controversial films into one of 2000's best DVDs. A pristine 2.40:1 anamorphic, widescreen transfer and Dolby 5.1 Surround Sound get the first disc off to a great start, preserving all of the visual and sonic details that make the film rewarding on repeat viewings. Four entertaining and informative commentaries -- one by Fincher, Brad Pitt, Helena Bonham Carter, and Edward Norton; a separate commentary by Fincher; another by Fight Club novelist Chuck Palahniuk and screenwriter Jim Uhls; and one by visual effects supervisor Kevin Haug, costume designer Michael Kaplan, production designer Alex McDowell and cinematographer Jeff Cronenweth -- are an audio crash course in directing, acting, and special effects techniques. Though the features on the first disc might be more than enough for many viewers, the second disc rewards diehard Fight Club fans with a bonanza of bonuses that would be overwhelming if they weren't neatly organized into five categories. "Work" digs even deeper into the film's technical achievements and provides in-depth explanations of some of the film's most impressive and involved effects, such as the opening credits' ride through the narrator (Edward Norton)'s brain, the dream-like plane crash and sex sequences, and the photogrammetry technique used in other key scenes. "Missing" presents seven cut scenes and alternate takes, including Marla's (Helena Bonham Carter) infamous "I want to have your abortion" scene and other, more subtly different sequences that lend insight into the choices made while constructing the film. "Art" features galleries of the storyboards, pre-production paintings, costumes, and makeup (an especially impressive and funny section -- the "before" and "after" makeup designs look like reconstructive surgery in reverse). And if the disc's other features are primers on filmmaking, then "Advertising" is a run-through of basic marketing concepts. The promotional galleries include publicity stills and artwork, Internet-only commercials, the theatrical teaser and trailer, and a whopping 17 U.S. and international TV ads, some of which seem to be for slightly different, yet related films (in an attempt to appeal to viewers put off by the film's violence, the "Girl's Club" commercials make Fight Club look like an offbeat romantic comedy). A transcript of Edward Norton's appearance at Yale University's Film Society also addresses his and Fincher's concern about how the film's violence should or could be interpreted. Finally, "Crew" profiles the cast and crew and includes biographical blurbs on everyone from Fincher to the Dust Brothers, whose own commentary and score track unfortunately had to be jettisoned due to lack of room. Indeed, the set uses every available milimeter of space on the discs and the packaging to enhance the viewer's experience. The beautifully designed fold-out case includes the booklet "How To Start A Fight," which features quotes from Palahniuk, Uhls, the production team, and Fox 2000 executives about the process of turning the cutting-edge, underground novel into a big-budget, big-studio picture. In a clever move, the booklet also mixes in excerpts of positive and negative reviews from writers ranging from Roger Ebert and Kenneth Turan to anonymous cyber-critics, highlighting Fight Club's polarizing effect. But even the film's harshest critics would have to concede that the the time, care and details put into the DVD set the standard for the format. Fight Club fans, meanwhile, will find weeks' worth of lovingly obsessive features and information to pore over. Though it was originally planned to be a very simple relase, thankfully this densely packed set gives one of Fox's most interesting films of the '90s the treatment it deserves.