Hey....sorry I'm late.....I HAD SHIT TO DO, ALRIGHT? Christ......
Anyway.....
I picked up Watchmen Director's Cut on Blu-Ray last Tuesday and it is a really nice
package. A lot of director's cuts are little more than the studio shoveling unnecessary footage
back into the movie to give the illusion of "the director's true vision" kinda thing. I don't feel that this is the case for Watchmen. The director's cut includes 24 minutes of footage trimmed for the theatrical release and most of it fits back into the film so well I barely noticed it. Other scenes, such as Hollis Mason's murder really stood out. Not because it didn't mesh well or felt out of place, but because it was a very well done sequence that I think definitely enhanced the viewing experience.
I'm happy to say this is a literal "2 disc special edition". I say literal because I have gotten increasingly tired of buying a film that says 2 disc special edition, and getting a pretty much worthless digital copy disc. That is not what I expect when I read the above. When I see 2 disc, I expect a disc for the film, and a disc of special features. If I want a digital copy, I will rip it, or buy it from iTunes, Amazon, etc. Anyway. The special features are decent and the "maximum movie mode" is pretty cool. Also the downloadable content via BD-Live was cool. You can download a few more behind the scenes featurettes, and cooler still, the viral marketing videos about Dr. Manhattan and The Keene Act. Now we come to the slap.....
Upon unsealing your fancy new movie, you notice a card on the left side of the case that says, "Coming December 09! Watchmen Ultimate Cut! 5 Discs etc, etc." Now I know that double dipping special editions have become a frustratingly commonplace occurrence in the home entertainment industry. Especially when it comes to genre films. To me, it is a real slap in the face when you buy a new DVD, or BD and you immediately get notification of a more "complete" version of a the film coming in the near future. Luckily, I am not interested in the new version coming. So, not THAT big of a deal to me. But I'm sure some people are probably pretty pissed. It's like paying to see a movie at the theatre, sitting down, and seeing a trailer for a new and improved version of the movie you just paid to watch coming next month! Maybe it's just me, but that seems like a real dick move. Whatever. Bottom line: movie was good, special features worth watching, and extra footage was seamless. I say pick it up, unless you are a big fanboy then wait for the "super special edition" in December.
2 comments:
Will the super duper 5 disc set include the Black Freighter, under the hood, the digi comics and the director's cut? If yes, I'll buy that for a dollar!
it does. and the black freighter is cut into the film and there are also new live action scenes of the newsstand to go along with it.
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