Watchmen: The Complete Motion Comic (+ Digital Copy and BD-Live) [Blu-ray]
Starring: Tom StechschulteDirector: Jake Strider Hughes
Studio: Warner Home Video
MPAA Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Format: Animated, Color, Widescreen
Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1
Running Time: 325 minutes
DVD Release: March 3rd 2009
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DVD Review
Watched any great books lately? Now you can. The most celebrated graphic novel of all time that broke the conventional mold continues to break new ground WATCHMEN illustrator Dave Gibbons oversees this digital version of the graphic novel that adds limited motion, voice and sound to the books strikingly drawn panels. All 12 chapters of the story are here nearly 5 hours spanning everything from the mysterious demise of the Comedian to the crisscrossed destinies of loosely allied superheroes to their fateful impact on the world. Be in the know. Be watching. With Watchmen: The Complete Motion Comic.
User Reviews
GREAT WAY TO SEE WATCHMEN - Rating: 5/5
I was surprised at the quality of this production. Colors are bright, panels are from the graphic novel and take up the whole 47" screen, music is excellent. In my humble opinion I think it's another way to enjoy Watchmen.
Bonus Digital Copy (Windows Only) + Free Movie Ticket Details - Rating: 4/5
I'm disappointed that the Bonus Digital Copy doesn't work on iPod's/iPhones since the iTunes Store carries this title. Instead, the Bonus Digital Copy included with this Blu-Ray is for Windows Media Player. You have until March 2, 2010 to authorize your Bonus Digital Copy. It will only work on Microsoft Media Devices like a Zune.
On another note, the free movie ticket only covers up to $7.50 and at participating theater chains. You can check to see if your theater is participating at HollywoodMovieMoney's website. AMC theaters are not participating. This ticket expires March 28, 2009.
I would rate the Blu-ray DVD itself 4.5 out of 5 stars. The only fault, as others pointed out, is the male narrator who also voices the female characters. If you're a regular listener of audio books, you're probably used to this. But this narrator's female voice is still a bit too manly.
an excellent package that breathes new life into the original story - Rating: 5/5
Clocking in at about 6 hours, with a half hour dedicated to each issue, this Motion Comic covers all the ground of the original book. the motion is done very well, as are the sound effects and narration.
unforturnately there is only one male narrator, it would've been nice if there were a few, especially a female to play silk scarlet and her daughter. its my only complaint about this package, and given the superb story telling and character developement of this amazing story, its a small complaint.
if you are a really huge fan and already own the book, this would be still be a great purchase, as well as anyone without the book whos feeling a little lazy. the narration/movement does make it easier to get through some of the really slow parts.
The added motion makes this a very surreal experience - Rating: 4/5
I wrote this review without having seen the major motion picture interpretation of Alan Moore's classic graphic novel. In fact, I haven't read the graphic novel since I was in high school - which is quite a ways back. But either way, I can safely say that for old-time fans and newcomers alike, Watchmen: The Complete Motion Comic is a surreal experience. No matter how you slice the proverbial knot, the very concept behind Watchmen: The Complete Motion Comic is startling to watch when you first set in and remains a bit unreal all the way through.
My somewhat callous approach to "comic books" as an art form was rocked by Watchmen when I simply grabbed it off a library shelf with no recommendation, rhyme or reason behind it. I was one of those who just stumbled across it naturally. While I wasn't enamored with the artwork the story struck a chord with me in every conceivable respect.
Disaffected superheroes attempting to find a place in a world that doesn't want them yet desperately needs someone to bring it back from the brink of destruction. Watchmen told it perfectly and with such style that I, along with countless comic book/graphic novel readers, couldn't deny its timeless pull. And it is timeless despite all of its plot-oriented anachronisms. Zack Snyder has given us his take but I can say with no hesitation that this presentation is miles above.
You are reading the graphic novel all over again. In its purest form this is each panel from the graphic novel cut out and placed on the screen. However instead of reading from panel to panel we're treated to a story without white bars separating each developing plot point, where the scenes have been fused together with flash animation cohesion. On one hand, it's damned impressive as it means the animators went through the book and either scanned all of the images in and then cut them to pieces or recreated them piece by piece. The amount of moving elements they created for this incarnation actually makes it incredibly cool to watch. However, the coolness of it all is somewhat outweighed by the fact that you can now safely shut off your brain. Sure graphic novels are typically lumped in with their lesser sophisticated comic book brethren - but they usually require a level of attention higher than just "oooh look at the pretty pictures". Not so anymore.
Now, you no longer even have to read. Sure you could, they gave you that option by leaving in the dialogue bubbles - but the narrator voices every piece of text found in Watchmen. Watchmen has genuinely been converted to a quasi-book on tape. The only difference is you still need to pay a slight bit of attention to watch whose speaking. The narrator, Tom Stechschulte, voices all of the characters. All of them. Now, I know that for a book on tape that's usually how it goes as well. But for a book on tape you don't have the visual images of a busty Silk Spectre II staring you in the face. You could imagine those things on a Watchmen book on tape (and who wouldn't want to) but the difference between seeing it in your mind's eye and on a screen with a male voice accompaniment is slightly unnerving. Either Watchmen's fictional history is populated entirely by men and shemales or the narrator could've done a better job on the voices. Or hell, they could've hired voice actors. There's a concept.
Overall, Watchmen: The Complete Motion Comic might be truer to Alan Moore's consensual vision - as it still is his vision. It still captures all of the brilliance of the character development and the subtleties of plot and animation styles. I find it odd that Warner Brothers would release a piece more in line with Alan Moore's intentions for home entertainment than what they've spent enormous amounts of effort putting on the screen. I understand the concepts of profit - but why create a piece so in sync with Moore's vision only to couple it with one he's completely disavowed.
I still think Watchmen fans will prefer the solid, cold graphic novel over this hybrid of classic and new - but it's an interesting experiment to be sure. Most fans will want to at least take a look to see what could've been instead of what now is by Snyder's hand. For non-fans, I'd insist on reading the actual graphic novel or - if you must have the motion - put it on mute. Jesus, I just now thought of that. Dammit, I'm going to rewatch it on mute and just read. You might want to do the same.
There are those who have asked lately, if high-definition matters on animated materials. Yes, oh god, yes it does. The colors are sharper in every example I've seen. It matters.
Blu-ray Extra Features:
There's not much to offer on the disc as we only have the "Watchmen Production diaries #4: Dave Gibbons" and a "Special Sneak Peek at DC Universe's Animated Wonder Woman DVD". While the former is only two minutes long and gives us very little to work with, the latter is the same extra feature you DC enthusiasts would have found on the disc for the Wonder Woman animated movie. The cross-pollination of extras isn't all that odd considering Warner Brothers is starting to build a high quality collection of direct-to-DVD comic book movies.
The extras really aren't what you're buying this disc for though, it's to see the comic book like you've never seen it before. Obviously, the question you now have to answer is: "do I want to see my comic books move?"
Blu-ray Review - Rating: 5/5
I have to admit that I have never read `Watchmen'. More specifically, before I saw the teaser for the film last summer, I don't think I'd even heard of it. The only two comic books I really cared for when I was younger were `Superman' and `Batman', having more to do with the movies, cartoons and TV shows than the actual comic books themselves.
I decided to pick up the Blu-ray of the `Watchmen' motion comic as an alternative to reading the graphic novel in preparation for going to see the movie because I thought it was an interesting concept.
I must say I was stunned.
I won't get into the story and characters as most of you who are reading this are probably well versed already. Let's just say that I can see now what all the hoopla is about. Instead, let me talk about the actual presentation of the "motion comic".
The Blu-ray image is outstanding. Each image on screen is composed of a single panel from the comic complete with the dialog bubbles. The colors are vibrant and the lines are crisp. Many of the images seem to jump right off the screen at you. The score is quite good as the music helps to set the mood of what is going on. Having heard some excerpt's from the film score I have to say as of right now I think the `motion comic' score is more suiting to the story. The sound effects are also well done.
The voice acting is excellent for being performed by one person. Many of the reviews I have read seem to have a problem with a man reading a woman's part. Having listened to many audio books on the road or at work, I can say that I did not find it distracting in the least. Having said that, if this "motion comic" format becomes popular, I think having an actual voice cast would be a wonderful idea.
The pacing is deliberate and maintains a somber mood as the entire 12 part story unfolds over a period of 5 hours and 25 minutes, including opening and closing credits for each story. Getting through the entire disc in one sitting may be difficult but it may be more difficult to turn off.
The extras are minimal. They include a 3 minute mini-doc illustrating how the look of the comic influenced the look of the upcoming film, and a 10 minute look at the new `Wonder Woman' animated feature. I found the inclusion of the latter to be a "filler feature" as it was released the same day as this `Watchmen' motion comic and it was included with the previous release of `Batman: Gotham Knight'. A look at how they created the `motion comic' would have seemed a better choice but I'm not going to complain about things that aren't. Also, exclusive to Blu-ray is a `WB Live' sneak peek at the `jailbreak' scene from the upcoming feature film.
I have seen all of the recent Warner Bros. Animated features and I must admit that this is my favorite. The `motion comic' is an excellent concept and was pulled of quite well on this first attempt. I hope this format catches on as it would be great to see some of the great graphic novels like `Batman: The Long Halloween' or `Arkham Asylum' or any number of others come to "life".
As for this release, it's probably more geared to hardcore fans but I found much to enjoy and couldn't imagine a better way to experience this spectacular story.
Highly recommended.
