Watchmen (Director's Cut + BD-Live) [Blu-ray]

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Director: Zack Snyder
Actors: Billy Crudup, Matthew Goode, Malin Akerman, Carla Gugino, Jackie Earle Haley
Studio: Warner Home Video

List Price: ~~$35.99~~
Buy New: $13.00
as of 11/7/2009 12:27 CST details
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New (42) Used (32) Collectible (3) from $11.87

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Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

491 reviews
Sales Rank: 234

Format: Color, Director's Cut, Special Extended Version, Subtitled, Widescreen
Languages: English (Original Language), French (Original Language), English (Subtitled), French (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled)
Rating: R (Restricted)
Media: Blu-ray
Region: 0
Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1
Number Of Discs: 2
Running Time: 186 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 6.7 x 5.3 x 0.6

MPN: 1000089879
UPC: 883929058051
EAN: 0883929058051
ASIN: B001FB55H6

Theatrical Release Date: 2009
Release Date: July 21, 2009
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days

Features:

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Someone s killing our super heroes. The year is 1985 and super heroes have banded together to respond to the murder of one of their own. They soon uncover a sinister plot that puts all of humanity in grave danger. The super heroes fight to stop the impending doom only to find themselves a target for annihilation. But, if our super heroes are gone, who will save us? Format: BLU-RAY DISC Genre

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Editorial Reviews:

Product Description
Studio: Warner Home Video Release Date: 07/21/2009 Run time: 128 minutes Rating: R

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 Horton

Also 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 BD-Live offers even more making-of material. A third disc with a Digital Copy of the film (compatible with both iTunes and Windows Media; download code expires July 21, 2010) was included with early shipments of the Blu-ray disc but is no longer available. --David Horiuchi

Customer Reviews:

Showing reviews 1-5 of 491

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I got what I ordered. November 4, 2009
Nicholas J. Sayotovich
Great movie! It was shipped on time and cost me a fraction of what it was going for in the stores! What else do you need to know?

4 out of 5 stars

This Movie Was Much Better Than What the Critics Said! November 2, 2009
Michael A. Newman (New Hyde Park, NY)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful

The movie was a little bit dark (the superheroes in this parallel universe literally kill their enemies) but I found it entertaining throughout. The movie starts with the murder of The Comedian, a sometimes hero, most times a nasty bully acting as a hero. He was part of a group of masked adventurers called the Watchmen. Most of the Watchmen were retired but they get together at the funeral and each has their memories of the group that go back to the 1940's.

There is also a "doomsday" clock that slowly moves closer to 12:00. All the television pundits believe that Dr. Manhattan has the answer. Dr. Manhattan is a brilliant scientist who absorbed a huge radiation blast and became a blue skinned mutant that has the ability to alter his size, teleport and split into different bodies. He also seems to parade around naked much of the time and is not modest about full frontal nudity. He is the most powerful of the Watchman and is virtually indestructible.

Throughout the movie, the story is focused on on of the Watchmen's quest to find out who is trying to murder the group members and the dark daliances of the Comedian from him trying to rape another hero, to his brutilization of the Vietnamese during the Viet Nam war including the woman who carries his child.

Nixon plays a big part as he was elected to a third term in this parallel world.

I found the movie very fast paced which is the opposite of what the critics had said and wouldn't mind a sequel if one is in the works.

5 out of 5 stars

Watchmen November 2, 2009
Serabily (Saint Albans)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful

Another gift for the hubby. He is into comic books. Honestly, I thought it was a great movie. Not for children of course. But good.

3 out of 5 stars

The Comedian and Nite Owl II make this movie November 2, 2009
Fry Boy (Orlando, FL USA)
First off, I never read the graphic novel, so I won't be comparing it to the movie or vice versa. Second, I heard that Alan Moore wouldn't even let his graphic-novel writing credit into the movie, which prompted me to do a little digging into Alan Moore. Frankly, he sounds like he'd be a difficult person to live with or be friends with. In fact, he's probably ramping up for next year's Renaissance Fair in Sterling Forest, a supposition based on the photos of him that I've seen, the recent, odd publications he's produced and the biographies I've read about him.

That being said, I came away from "Watchmen" rather impressed. The opening credits are done exceptionally well, presenting a history of the Watchmen group circa 1940 from its inception to its existence in the movie's present day of 1985, with Bob Dylan's "The Times They Are a-Changin'" as the song (which is pretty good, even though I don't generally like Dylan's voice). Later on, there's a fantastic scene where the Comedian and a giant Dr. Manhattan are fighting in the Vietnam War with Wagner's "Ride of the Valkyries" playing, not to mention a post-war Vietnam bar incident. Wow.

My big issue with "Watchmen" was the sheer ridiculousness of the superhero, which in this film generally constitutes nothing more than a human being running around in a costume fighting for the good old U.S. of A. Some of their names add to the silliness, namely "Silk Spectre" and "Ozymandias." And why does Rorschach's mask have moving bloodstains when his face doesn't? Unexplained.

The Comedian, played by Jeffrey Dean Morgan (from the "Supernatural" TV series), and Nite Owl II, played by Patrick Wilson, are the best characters in the movie. Morgan steals every scene he's in with profane sass and violent behavior. Outstanding job. Wilson's Nite Owl is the kindest superhero of the bunch and, for that reason, is the most likeable. The "Silk Spectre II" character, played by Malin Akerman, also has quite a few redeeming qualities.

Although I'm sure it's all pretty much computer-generated, there's WAY TOO MUCH of Dr. Manhattan's swingin' blue pepe in this movie. I'm surprised no one in the movie--the Comedian, for instance--makes any cracks about it. That would be the first thing I would say: "Hey, Manhattan, could you put some pants on! I don't wanna get poked in the eye, you know."

All in all, the movie is worth watching, but be prepared to be somewhat confused about all the goings on in the movie (i.e. if you haven't read the graphic novel). I had to go back and review a few sections after my first viewing in order to gain some clarity as to who was who and what was what. Plus there were a few impressive scenes I wanted to see again. I think there's so much going on in "Watchmen" that it turned some people off ("Transformers" crowd) and annoyed some fanboys because it couldn't cinematically do enough justice to the heavy, involved storyline. You've really got to stay focused throughout the entire movie to catch every detail.

5 out of 5 stars

director's cut way to go October 30, 2009
Jim Molnar (Chicago, IL USA)
I was only remotely familiar with the comic, not having ever read it (found the art style unattractive, I was a Marvel guy and preferred the more clean line art of Byrne, Smith, Adams at the time), but who can pass up a 3 hour superhero movie? It was a great alternate world adventure, perhaps a little too obsessed with lingering on unsavory details and gore, but communicating pretty well to a non-follower. A labor of love, certainly, and probably a blueprint for how many movies will look in the future. The Rohrschach character was the best, with some awesome scenes and at least one highly memorable one- (or maybe two-) liner. After a little time probably worth watching more than once or twice.

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