Tales of the Black Freighter DVD review

When Zack Snyder's Watchmen released earlier this month, there was a notable exclusion from the film adaptation: Tales of the Black Freighter, a comic book within the Watchmen universe that parallels particular events of the comic's story.

However, due to budget reasons, and at the risk of having too long of a theatrical film, this aspect of the book was removed from the film, instead opting for this stand-alone DVD (and Blu-ray) release. Also with Tales of the Black Freighter is another aspect of the graphic novel excluded in Watchmen's theatrical release: Under the Hood, which is Hollis Mason's book that tells of his times as Nite Owl.

Tales of the Black Freighter
Despite being the "main feature" of this disc, Tales of the Black Freighter is actually the short of the two segments, having a run time of only 26 minutes. Now, while that may sound short, viewers should take note that what you're watching is based of a part of the graphic novel that only appears every so often, and for only a few panels. So, if roughly three quarters of a 400+ page graphic novel translates into a 2.7 hour movie ... you see where I'm going with this? There's only so much that could be adapted before the animated film becomes much more than what the original book intended.

As for the film itself though? It more or less adapts the frames from Watchmen directly, however, a lot of the dialogue is reworded, and the colorful palette from the book is disregarded, opting for an overly dark, red palette instead. Stylistically though, I can see how the designers aimed for a very "comic-like" style, but to me it looked very Æon Flux-ish, a style I never really got into. But it's not all bad, Gerard Butler's voice is quite fitting for the unnamed Sea Captain, and by itself, Tales of the Black Freighter is a nice animated film if you're in the mood for brutal violence and gore, with a nice touch of hallucination. Though, from a personal stand-point, I don't think the animated film really stands up on its own without the support of the actual Watchmen universe, and really should have been kept in the actual movie.

Under the Hood
While it's not the focus of the DVD, Under the Hood outlasts Tales of the Black Freighter, running at 38 minutes. While the original version in the Watchmen book was entirely text based, this version of Under the Hood is a mockumentary, taking place in an episode of a fictional 1985 TV show, "The Culpeper Minute," which looks back at 1975 interviews with Hollis Mason/Nite Owl (Stephan McHattie), Sally Jupiter/Silk Spectre (Carla Gugino), and other "old" characters from the Watchmen film reprising their roles.

The film is set in a 4:3 aspect ratio, as opposed to Black Freighter's 16:9, in order to authenticate it's 1985/75 look; film grain and scratches are also added to "earlier" footage to further the effect. Personally, I found Under the Hood to be more enjoyable then the Black Freighter, mainly because it actually can stand on its own. The interviews gave a much deeper look into the characters that the Watchmen movie didn't give much focus on, and offers more history than what was given; as was the purpose of the text in the original graphic novel. I also liked how they utilized real DC Comics as inspiration for Hollis Mason, showing issues of Superman, All-Star Comics, and the Blue Beetle (the actual inspiration for the Nite Owl character). Another nice touch, and more or less a comic releif, were the comercial breaks during the "show", to really push that "old" feel. While, much like the film, many viewers may find themselves bored by this; but if you left the theatre wanting more, this may be your best bet till the Watchmen DVD releases

Extras
The main extra on the DVD is "Story Within a Story: The Books of Watchmen," which is a 25 minute featurette with the cast and crew of Watchmen, as well as DC Comics staff, discussing the importance of both Tales of the Black Freighter and Under the Hood, in not just the contect of the book, but with the film as well. It's quite the informative piece, and in a sense, may actually have been better to watch before seeing the film and/or the films on the DVD, if only for those who haven't actually read the book to have a good idea as to what they're getting into ... without actually reading. What I loved especially though, was that during the featurette, there were some clips from the film set showing the two Bernards as well as Hollis Mason's murder, two aspects of the book that were excluded from the theatrical release (and mentioned so in my review) that I at least have the comfort of now knowing were actually filmed.

Also included is the first chapter of the Watchmen Motion Comic, which I actually got for free a while back; and is now available on DVD/Blu-ray. And also included is the first look at Green Lantern: First Flight, which was already included on the Wonder Woman DVD, and is readily available online. So in terms of special features, this disc is pretty lacking in new content, which is a shame. The Blu-ray edition includes the same features, as well as two BD-Live exclusive features, which in my opinion have no reason to be BD-Live as they're not interactive content, and just seemingly a way for Warner Bros. to cheapen production costs by not printing it on the discs. And another gripe, the Digital Copy is Windows only, which makes no sense when the Digital Copy for Wonder Woman was PC/Mac accessible.

Final Thoughts
If you're a fan of Watchmen, both the book and the film, then chances are you'll have already picked this up. But for those who have only seen the film, but wished to get more out of the experience, this DVD will be your best chance at getting a deeper experience, without actually reading. But, buyers be warned, Zack Snyder has said it more than once that Tales of the Black Freighter would be incorporated into a Watchmen Director's Cut, and that fact alone may turn some people off from buying this now. But, nothing yet has been said about Under the Hood's fate, so if anything, you should check Tales of the Black Freighter out just for that.

Overall Score: 8/10

Watchmen review

Hitting bookshelves in 1987, Watchmen has since become one of the greatest achievements of the comic medium. Now, in 2009, Zack Snyder looks to bring Alan Moore's and Dave Gibbons' book to life. Does Snyder do the book justice, or does he destroy the hopes of comic fans everywhere?

First off, I will say, I regret having never reviewed the graphic novel of Watchmen prior to this, because it's going to make discussing this much harder, bear with with me. I mean, really, it's your own fault if you plan to see this without first knowing the source material. Anyways, he's what you need to know: the was a costumed, crime fighting team in the 1940s called the Minutemen and people loved them. Come the second generation of heroes, called the Watchmen in the film (but actually the Crime Busters in the book) who end up being hated under the stress of the Cold War and banned by President Nixon's Keane Act.

The story starts of with the mysterious death of The Comedian, who murder is investigated by fellow hero, Rorschach, who in turn informs other fellow heroes: Nite Owl II, Silk Spectre II, and Dr. Manhattan; with Adrian Veidt a.k.a. Ozymandias getting mixed in the mess as well. It's one part murder mystery, one part action film, and most parts drama; don't expect this to be like any other superhero movie you've seen before, because it's based of a comic unlike any you've read before. That's pretty much as summarized as I can make it without making this a book review.

One thing that I want to make clear, this movie is a near perfect comic to film adaptation, visually. Not to say it's the perfect film, but as a fan of the source material, it was really awesome to see parts of the film look exactly as they did in Dave Gibbons' artwork; and to be honest, it'd be stupid for a director of a comic book film to not use the source material as a ready made storyboard. It should be noted though, that this is not a frame by frame recreation though. As fans will notice, after the film opens with Edward Blake's murder, viewers are treated to a vignette that basically shows off defining events from the history of the Minutemen all the way up to the 1985 Crime Busters (sorry, I can't call them the Watchmen); all completely new, but won't in anyway detract from the film. Scenes from the book are also omitted however, with things such as Holis Mason's murder, the home life of Dr. Malcolm Long, and The Tales of the Black Frieghter missing from the final film. Not to mention there's an alternate ending from the book; and being that Watchmen's final chapter may be one of my most favorite things ever in comics, I'll give the movie the benefit of the doubt to say the new ending works, but I'm still slightly disappointed inside. But hey, at least Dave Gibbons was the one responsible for storyboarding it.

From my observations of the crowd and just from watching the film, I think I can safely say that this really isn't intend for the casual viewer. Unlike Superman, Batman, and Spider-Man, Watchmen isn't about characters that the average person just happens to know about. True, you could say the same about Snyder's previous film, 300, but that film doesn't have the superhero film design that people come to expect, so it worked. With the theatrical release of Watchmen clocking in at over 2.7 hours, it feels quite lengthy when the film keeps its pacing the same as the book, which many movie-goers may be disappointed about. However, personally, since I read and enjoyed the book some time ago, I was fully engaged to the film the entire time and I'm sure other fans would be and will be as well. But don't go into this thinking it's the next Dark Knight, because honestly, it's just not that type of film.

Another key aspect of the film is bringing the book's characters to life, and that can only be done with good casting. In my mind, Dan Dreiberg/Nite Owl II (Patrick Wilson), Edward Blake/The Comedian (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), Jon Osterman/Dr. Manhattan (Billy Krudop), and Walter Kovacs/Rorschach (Jackie Earle Haley) really stood out for me as perfect adaptations from the book. Maybe not visually, at least in terms of Nite Owl's suit, which gave off a young tough guy look instead of the retired, chubby guy look from the comics; but as a character, and my person favorite at that, I think Dan's portrayal was spot on. Other characters however, especially Adrian Veidt/Ozymandias (Mathew Goode) and Laurie Jupiter/Silk Spectre II(Malin Akerman) I don't were good comic to film translations. With Goode, I just don't think he visually fits the part, he just looks too young, and I have no idea what was with his on/off European accent; I read him as a smug, white American man and not a young, European guy ... and his costume was completey different. As for Akerman, I think as an actress she did a decent job, but there was just something different about the character, maybe it was the fact that she wasn't always smoking like in the comic or she just sounded less bitchy, but it just didn't seem the same.

With a good cast, you also need a good director, and Zack Snyder believed he was the man for the part. With his only comic adaptation prior being 300, I guess you can say expectations for Watchmen were high. But, I never read 300, so the film really flew over my head. Watchmen however, I read, and have been a fan of for sometime, so really this film had to be faithful, for Alan Moore's sake. The end result is good, and is, if anything, truly faithful to the source material, which I'm very thankful for. As stated before, the translations of scenes from the page to the screen are really nice to see, and something I wish comic movie directors did more often. However, I think the film is a little too "Snyder-ed up" in that there's a lot of unnecessary slow motion, and over the top violence that isn't really needed, but I guess in the end it's just capturing the attention of those looking for a good time, and not analyzing the film like me.

In all fairness, Watchmen is a good film, and probably the most faithful to its source when it comes to comic-to-film adaptations. And I'd certainly go see it again, but this time in IMAX, as I wouldn't need to study the film anymore. But, it's not the type of film I can recommend to those who haven't read the actual graphic novel, because without prior knowledge, I think the average viewer may feel a bit bored siting through 2.7 hours of book paced story. It won't reinvent the superhero film genre, but it certainly shows that when the right people are behind the wheel, a good adaptation can be made ... let's just hope Alan Moore can learn that too.

Overall Score: 9/10

Personally, I wish the film was longer just so I could see more of the book come to life; and I can tell you now I'll be first in line when Tales of the Black Freighter, as well as Watchmen's Director's Cut release.

For a non-reader's look at Watchmen, read our article: Watchmen: A Non-reader's Perspective

New Watchmen footage

Looks like I lied, as this may be be the last post of 2008. ComicBookResources.com has a new Watchmen featurette, and with it comes not only some insight from director Zack Snyder, but new footage of the film as well.



The more footage I see, the more excited I get. Why? Because I'm getting to see the comic come to life. Nearly every scene is a perfect recreation of the comic's panels, it just reaches near brilliance.