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Watchmen (Director's Cut) (Amazon Exclusive Nite Owl Ship + Digital Copy and BD-Live) [Blu-ray]
RRP: $119.99Our Price: $92.98 (subject to change)Editorial
Amazon.com
Everybody's favorite graphic novel comes to the screen (after years of rumors and false starts), less a roaring work of adaptation than a respectful and faithful take on a radical original. Watchmen is set in the mid-1980s, a time of increased nuclear tension between the United States and the Soviet Union, as Richard Nixon is enjoying his fifth term as president and the world's superheroes have been forcibly retired. (As you can probably tell, the mix of authentic history and alternate reality is heady.) Things begin with a bang: the mysterious high-rise murder of the Comedian (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), a masked hero with a checkered past, puts the rest of the retired superhero community on alert. The credits sequence, a series of tableaux that wittily catches us up on crime-fighting backstory, actually turns out to be the high point of the movie. Thereafter we meet the other caped and hooded avengers: the furious Rorschach (Jackie Earle Haley), the inexplicably naked Dr. Manhattan (Billy Crudup, amidst much blue-skinned, genital-swinging digital work), Silk Spectre II (Malin Akerman), Nite Owl II (Patrick Wilson), and Ozymandias (Matthew Goode). The corkscrewing storytelling, which worked well in the comic book, gives the movie the strange sense of never quite getting in gear, even as some of the episodes are arresting. Director Zack Snyder (300) doesn't try to approximate the electric impact of the original (written by Alan Moore--who declined to be credited on the movie--and illustrated by Dave Gibbons) but retains careful fidelity to his source material. That doesn't feel right, even with the generally enjoyable roll-out of anecdotes. Even less forgivable is the blah acting, excepting Jeffrey Dean Morgan (lusty) and Patrick Wilson (mellow). Watchmen certainly fills the eyes, although less so the ears: the song choices are regrettable, especially during an embarrassing mid-air coupling between Nite Owl II and Silk Spectre II as they unite their--ah--Roman numerals. In the end it feels as though a huge work of transcription has been successfully completed, which isn't the same as making a full-blooded movie experience. --Robert HortonAlso on the Blu-ray disc
The extended director's cut restores 24 minutes of connective tissue to the 162-minute film, most significantly the last scene of Hollis Mason, the first Nite Owl. Other elements help restore and fill in details that had been in the graphic novel. Fans of the film will be glad for the extra footage but there's nothing momentous that will change anyone's basic like or dislike of the film. By far the most interesting Blu-ray feature (in addition to the great picture and DTS-HD Master Audio sound) is the Maximum Movie Mode, which incorporates several features into the viewing experience. Director Zack Snyder periodically appears on screen in front of two large monitors, one continuing to play the movie and the other displaying special-effects shots or scenes from the graphic novel. Snyder talks about how he shot the film and points out details in a variety of scenes: the opening with the Comedian, Dr. Manhattan's lab, the Nite Owl ship, Mars, Antarctica, and the ending (and why it was changed for the movie). This feature is much more interesting than an audio commentary or a standard picture-in-picture commentary so it'd be nice if it had been done for more scenes. Also appearing in Maximum Movie Mode is a timeline contrasting events in the Watchmen world with the "real world," occasional picture-in-picture comments by cast and crew, still galleries, and a series of 11 "focus points" that allow you to exit the film to watch these three-minute featurettes (sets, costumes, the Minutemen, etc.). Worthy of mention is how easy the Maximum Movie Mode material is to find: Snyder's footage and the focus points are very visible (even in fast-forward), and you can also access the focus points directly from the main menu. The second disc has three documentaries. The first, "The Phenomenon: The Comic That Changed Comics," 29 min.), looks at the original graphic novel and its themes, and interviews artist Dave Gibbons, DC Comics executives Jenette Kahn and Paul Levitz, and cast and crew, illustrating its points with scenes from the movie, panels from the graphic novel, and parts of the motion comic. The next two are only on the Blu-ray disc but are less interesting and of varying relevance to the movie. "Real Superheroes, Real Vigilantes" (26 min.) examines real-life vigilantes including the Guardian Angels and New York subway gunman Bernard Goetz and compares them to Rorschach. "Mechanics: Technologies of a Future World" (17 min.) spotlights a physicist who served as a consultant on the movie. He talks about his experiences then discusses whether elements from the movie, such as Dr. Manhattan, the Owl Ship, and Rorschach's mask could really work. There's also My Chemical Romance's "Desolation Row" music video and a Digital Copy of the film (compatible with both iTunes and Windows Media; download code expires July 21, 2010), and BD-Live offers even more making-of material. --David Horiuchi
Amazing Movie, Awesome Exclusive Blu-RayReview date: 2010-05-09 Rating: 10 out of 10This movie is awesome, looks stunning on Blu and this collector's edition is kick @$$.
ReviewsAwesome set but WARNING! - Batteries are pre-installed in ship.Review date: 2010-05-03 Rating: 10 out of 10Just wanted to give the hoarders a quick word of advice. The batteries come pre-installed in the Owl! Open the set and take the batteries out of the ship before storing. If you don't the batteries might eventually corrode, leak acid, and ruin the ship! You don't want that do you?
Yes you'll have to open it but you'll thank me a few decades from now :)One of the greatest comic book movies of all time.Review date: 2010-01-01 Rating: 10 out of 10What more could you ask for in a special collector's edition blu-ray of WATCHMEN? Archimedes! To have the "WATCHMEN Director's Cut" AND Nite Owl's ship in one set is the perfect collector's item. That and "The Dark Knight" blu-ray that comes with the Batpod(motorcycle). I was debating on the "WATCHMEN Ultimate Cut" but I just didn't want to watch the "live-action" movie and then it cut into animated "Black Feighter" every once in awhile. So, in my opinion... The WATCHMEN Director's Cut blu-ray with Archimedes is the perfect edition for those who just want the live-action movie. I mean come on... it's Nite Owl's ship... Archimedes!!! And it lights up!!! :D Awesome! Goin' right next to the Batpod!Fantastic Box-set!Review date: 2009-11-24 Rating: 10 out of 10I purchased this fantastic box-set and got it delivered to New Zealand. It came in perfect condition and about 8 days ahead of the listed delivery date. Thanks Amazon!
Now onto the product. This amazing set contains the Director cut of the film on the first disc, special features on the second disc and a digital copy on the third. All of the discs fit nicely into the base of the figure. What is even better is that discs one and two are region free which meant I can play them from across the globe! (NOTE: I haven't tested the digital copy disc but I believe you must be an America citizen to activate it)
Now the collectors item of the pack is made out of plastic but it feels sturdy. The Nite Owl's ship even detaches from the base, lights up AND makes the noise of the ship! If that doesn't make you want to buy it I don't know what will!
It ended up costing me about NZ$114 which I think is very reasonable.Everything's ArchieReview date: 2009-11-12 Rating: 10 out of 10This item varies in price. I picked it up when it was $75. I read the comic when it first came out, and still feel the movie is better. No giant squid and the outcome carries so much more impact. Not that the comic was bad, it was an incredible diversion from the usual, but in a day and age where everyone ups the antie, kicks things up a notch, this movie accomplished just that.
Okay, I won't go into spoilers.
I know what you are thinking, "The Niv, why would I spend seventy five cabbages on something I can get for $20...with a game?" Well true believer, the answer is simple, Archie. Yes, there are hours of video extras and a digital copy of the movie included with this package, but really, this movie should have been entitled, "Archie." The Owl Ship rocks. Yeah, there's an all-powerful blue guy and someone who can catch bullets, but Archie is it; all that and a picnic basket, a bag of chips while supermodels are feeding you grapes picked freshly off pesticide-free gardens from a mountain top. If you liked Watchmen, if your mouth dropped open when you first saw the trailer for the movie, then this is a wonderful addition to your collection.
Now I am off to watch it again, hoping this time Rorshack doesn't die.
Product Details/SpecificationsActor(s):
Jackie Earle Haley
Billy Crudup
Malin Akerman
Patrick Wilson
Director(s):
Recording label: Warner Home Video Manufacturer: Warner Home VideoEAN: 0883929085743Binding: Blu-rayFormat: Color, Director's Cut, Subtitled, Special Extended Version, Widescreen, Release date: 2009-07-21Universal product code (UPC): 883929085743Number of discs: 3Aspect ratio: 2.40:1Running time: 186 minutesLanguage: English (Unknown)
Language: English (Subtitled)
Language: French (Subtitled)
Language: Spanish (Subtitled)
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