Under the Hood Tagged Articles at Cinematical
Want 'The Ultimate Cut' of Watchmen?
Filed under: Action », Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Warner Brothers », Fandom », Distribution », DIY/Filmmaking », Home Entertainment », Comic/Superhero/Geek »
As we know and lament often, studios are never content to release a DVD just once, and any special edition is just a precursor to a bigger and better version somewhere down the road. Just a few months after we enjoyed Watchmen: The Director's Cut comes Watchmen: The Ultimate Cut, which hits store shelves on November 3. As you can guess from the cover art, this is the edition that will splice The Tales of the Black Freighter back into Watchmen, extending the movie's running time by another half hour or more.
Presumably, the footage with the newsstand vendor and the kid reading the comic will also be added in to help it flow better, but the official press release doesn't actually mention that. Other than the Black Freighter, the special features are just one big grab bag of what already appeared on the Director's Cut and Tales of the Black Freighter DVDs. (For reasons of space and word count, I've included the bullet list below the jump. Compare at your leisure.) It should also be noted that back in July, Zack Snyder stressed the Director's Cut was his preferred cut, and seemed to dismiss the Ultimate Edition as an excessive re-release.
I'm tempted to buy this one just so I can hang out with the newsstand vendor, and watch Black Freighter without having to swap discs. But I know that when I really want to kick back for a Watchmen viewing, I'll just put in the Director's Cut. That version of the film was good enough for me, and if I really want the ultimate fan experience, I'll just read the book again. What about you guys? Will you race to the stores and buy this triple dip? Did you hold off buying it, knowing this version would hit at Christmas? Or are you one of the Watchmen movie haters who doesn't want any version but the paper one by Alan Moore?
'Watchmen' Blu-ray Bulked Up in UK
Filed under: Action », Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Paramount », Warner Brothers », Home Entertainment », Comic/Superhero/Geek »
Blimey! Will the Brits get to watch more Watchmen than the rest of us? A two-disc Special Edition Blu-ray will be released in the UK by Paramount Home Entertainment, featuring a stack of content that will not be available in the edition coming from Warner Home Video, according to The Blu-Ray Blog.
Even before the theatrical release in March, Zack Snyder was teasing fans about the director's cut he had prepared, which he said would run 190 minutes -- 27 minutes longer than the theatrical version -- and be "considerably more violent ... and sexier." The North American edition will be released on DVD and Blu-ray on July 21, featuring the director's cut, two featurettes, and two BD-exclusive features, along with a digital copy of the theatrical version. A single-disc DVD edition will also be available, without all the features.
The UK edition releases on July 27, evidently with only the theatrical cut, plus two featurettes (one of which is a BD-exclusive on the North American edition), plus 11 video journals (webisodes) and four viral videos. As The Blu-Ray Blog points out, neither of these editions includes the rumored "final complete cut," which would presumably feature the 25-minute animated Tales of the Black Freighter. Also, neither has the 37-minute, live-action / interview piece Under the Hood. For now, the only way to see Black Freighter and Hood is to buy the separate DVD or Blu-ray. Here in the States, you can also buy a pretty cool Blu-ray Nite Owl Ship Edition exclusively through Amazon (see images below).
Based on my feelings about the film, I'm inclined to play the waiting game. No doubt a complete collector's edition will be announced eventually ... right after you finally break down and buy all these separate editions.
Spin-ematical: New on DVD for 3/24
Filed under: Action », Animation », Classics », Foreign Language », Independent », New on DVD », Family Films », Home Entertainment », Cinematical Indie »
Quantum of Solace
Daniel Craig's second outing as James Bond, this time under the direction of Marc Forster, was a straight-ahead revenge drama, with rough edges intact, missing many of the character touches that we've come to expect from 007. That made it feel too much like an anonymous, overly-caffeinated action thriller for my taste, but there are enough dynamic, high-powered sequences to justify a rental. Olga Kuylenko is pretty easy on the eyes, too. Available in one and two-disk DVD editions, as well as Blu-ray. Rent it.
Add to Netflix queue. | Buy at Amazon.
Bolt
"An entertaining movie for kids," our own Jette Kernion opined. "However, there's not much here for grownups to enjoy ... apart from watching the kids get a kick out of the film." Sounds like it was made for home viewing. John Travolta and Miley Cyrus voice key roles. Available in one and two-disk DVD editions, as well as Blu-ray. Rent it.
Add to Netflix queue. | Buy at Amazon.
Watchmen: Tales of the Black Freighter & Under the Hood
Two vital components of the original Watchmen graphic novel that didn't make the theatrical cut; pirate saga Tales of the Black Freighter is brought to life as a 2-D animated mini-feature and features the voice of Gerard Butler, while Under the Hood uses live-action and CGI to spin a faux-autobiography of the original Nite Owl. Both may be included in a forthcoming Director's Cut of Watchmen, but if you just can't wait any longer ... Also on Blu-ray. Rent it.
Add to Netflix queue. | Buy at Amazon.
After the jump: Indies on DVD, more Blu-ray picks, and Collector's Corner
'Tales of the Black Freighter' DVD Details!
Filed under: Action », Animation », Horror », Warner Brothers », Fandom », Newsstand », Home Entertainment », Movie Marketing », Comic/Superhero/Geek »
Tales of the Black Freighter was always my favorite part of Watchmen and as much as I'm looking forward to the film, it's the DVD spin-off that keeps me awake at night. We've got details on the animated DVD -- which unfortunately hits shelves on March 24 instead of before or on Watchmen's release date of March 6.
Tales of the Black Freighter is a comic book within the graphic novel, a gruesome pirate story that has very little to do with pirates, and everything to do with what's going on in Watchmen itself. It follows the lone survivor of an attack by the dreaded Black Freighter, and his desperate journey to get back home before the Freighter attacks his town. It's a nice little journey into madness, depravity, and horror as the sailor realizes what the ultimate goal of the Freighter is. Good stuff. I only wish it could have been done live action -- but at least they snagged Gerard Butler to voice the main character. The adaptation runs 30 minutes -- and oddly is carrying a PG-13 rating (Blu-Ray is currently Unrated) despite previous reports that it would be R.
Also on the DVD is the Hollis Mason tell-all, Under the Hood. A combination of CG and live action, it sees all the necessary Watchmen actors reprising their roles to tell the history of the first costumed adventurers, the Minutemen. DVD extras on both regular and Blu-Ray include a first look at The Green Lantern (it's not specified whether it's the much hoped for live-action version, or a preview of the animated film), and Story Within A Story: The Books of Watchmen. The Blu-Ray version also includes a digital copy of the film.
At some point, this will be incorporated into an ultimate DVD release of Watchmen and be interspersed through the film the way it is through the book. But can you really wait that long to watch it? Check out larger images of art below.
'Tales of the Black Freighter' Getting DVD Release
Filed under: Action », Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Mystery & Suspense », Warner Brothers », Newsstand », Movie Marketing », Comic/Superhero/Geek »
Watchmen was always going to be a big deal -- but it actually just got bigger. I was among the fans just counting themselves lucky to get the Black Freighter (and to see Gerard Butler involved in it after all), and it looks just about everything from the graphic novel will make it on screen after all, in one way or another.The New York Times reported today that in an effort to revive their flagging DVD sales, Warner Bros will be releasing a DVD on 03/10/09 (that's five days after Watchmen hits theatres) that will include Tales of the Black Freighter, and Under the Hood. The latter is, of course, Hollis Mason's tell-all about his life as the Nite Owl.
At some point in the future, Warner Bros plans to release an "ultimate edition" of the film that will splice Tales and Hood in, which means you will have one heck of a marathon. Says Zack Snyder himself, "The überfans of this property are going to go crazy for that."
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