The Movie
Fans of the graphic novel who go to see the new Watchmen movie in theaters might wonder where so much of writer Alan Moore and artist Dave Gibbons' magnificently layered storytelling has gone to. Well, some of it is now on Blu-ray, thanks to the direct-to-video animated rendition of Tales of the Black Freighter. Seen as glimpses of an old fashioned pirate comic within the pages of the Watchmen comic book, Black Freighter is a stark morality tale that serves as an allegory for the transformation of a major character's soul. Unlike the disc packaging, I won't say which character because it is a HUGE plot revelation.
Presented here as a single, cohesive narrative, this is the journey of a shipwrecked sea captain (voiced by Gerard Butler) who uses his rapidly blurring principles to justify his increasingly savage behavior on his way home to protect his family. The images are relentlessly gruesome, a virtually non-stop orgy of death and dismemberment, with more blood and entrails than a cartoon butcher shop. Rumors are circulating that this animation will be edited into some future extended cut of the feature film, to more faithfully recreate the Watchmen experience.
The Picture
There are some beautifully nuanced lighting effects with virtually no ringing within the 2.4:1 frame (a match for the feature film's aspect ratio...?), and the transitions within the eye-catching, almost hypnotic colors are organically smooth. The design brings together different art styles, but overall the look will likely be familiar to readers of Silver Age comic books. The image is pleasingly sharp in general, with some blocky, digital edges on the rims of some of the undulating waves and a few other difficult bits like a spiny tree in the distance. Blacks are near-perfect.
I think I'm going to keep pointing this out until Warner stops doing it: The disc defaults to Dolby Digital 5.1, even though it packs a perfectly good Dolby TrueHD 5.1 track as a secondary option. The increased clarity and fullness of the TrueHD soundtrack displays realistic back-to-front phasing and an eerie directionality to the Black Freighter crew's "More blood! More blood!" chanting behind us, then passing off to the left. Beyond that, there are razor-sharp cracks of thunder, detailed bass in the crashing of the waves, and other assorted immersive weather effects.
The Extras
"Under the Hood" is an elaborately produced faux TV special that explores the characters and history of the Watchmen universe, as recounted in the autobiography of Hollis Mason, the first Nite Owl, played by Stephen McHattie. He and several other actors from the film are featured in this must-watch live-action companion program. (38 minutes, in high-definition). "Story Within a Story: The Books of Watchmen" goes behind the scenes to explain the quest to maintain the many aforementioned layers of the original print masterpiece (25 minutes, HD). Chapter One of the Watchmen Motion Comic rounds out the first disc, along with the Green Lantern "First Look" promo we first saw on the animated Wonder Woman. Although "BD-Live Exclusive Watchmen Film Footage Not Seen in Theaters" is listed as a bonus, I found no BD-Live control on the disc, it offers no pop-up menu, and such content is seldom active before street date, anyway.
The second platter, a DVD, carries a Digital Copy of Black Freighter for Windows Media Player and compatible devices only, grrr... iPod anyone?
Final Thoughts
So far my biggest gripe about the Watchmen movie has been the loss of so much great material from the book. The Tales of the Black Freighter disc handily addresses that concern with its cinematic main event, the in-universe documentary, and further in-depth analysis of the graphic novel. This Blu-ray is a treat for both longtime and burgeoning Watchmen admirers.
Where to Buy:
Product Details
| Overall | |
|---|---|
| Video | |
| Audio | |
| Movie | |
| Extras |
