WATCHMEN Movie-Comic Comparisons
So, with the WATCHMEN trailer hitting the intrawubs (and fandom consequently exploding into little red wet chunks) I decided to take a pretty indepth look at it all.
I had recognised quite a few scenes had been taken directly from the pages of the GN and so delved a bit deeper into the trailer and the released production shots to see just how (visually) faithful Zack Snyder had kept it.
Adrian Veidt deals with an assassination attempt.
They've kept with the colour scheme of his clothing here, and you'll notice the yellow and purple palatte showing up a lot throughout the GN and in the film :)
(Excuse the central page spread of the GN) Being at the absolute height of human conditioning, Alan Moore describes Ozymandias/Veidt as having 10 times human intelligence, a rich, 'perfect' loner who sees himself as a modern Greek/Egyptian god and will probably live to 150. Little wonder he has no trouble with close quarter combat.
Apart from a very slight location change, the news-stand, the boy reading the Tales of the Black Freighter comic and the news stand owner are all present and correct :)
In the background behind the news-stand you can just make out the "Enola Gay and the Little Boys" ad, by the Burlesk club in the film still :)
Also in the background - see that "Rumrunner" sign? Rorschach makes an escape through one of the windows there.
The "Rumrunner" sign is seen clearly on the cover to Chapter V (issue #5) of the GN, and appears on the doors to the club in the movie. (Comic image reversed as it was a reflection in a puddle)
The Treasure Island comic book store makes an appearance. It's name is in keeping with a subculture where superhero comics don't exist and the pulp comics of pirates, cowboys, etc are prevalent
The "Nostalgia" advert in the comic panel above refers to one of Adrain Veidt's many capitalist successes. Zack Snyder set up a competition on youtube for fans to create their own "Nostalgia" perfume ads. The best ones were chosen to actually appear in the finished film! See them all here.
The Gunga Diner retains the elephant motif, and name, from the GN. An updated look includes the purple and yellow colours noted before :)
A photo of the Minutemen, the original costumed vigilante group of the 40's. You don't actually get to see a full image of the photo in the GN, but there's enough referances to work out this is exactly as it would look.
The Minutemen here are: Silhouette, Mothman, Dollar Bill, (Original) Nite Owl, Captain Metropolis, The Comedian, (Original) Silk Spectre, Hooded Justice
The Comedian gets uncomfortably close to Silk Spectre, Sally Jupiter.
Entertainment Weekly put together this cover, based off the "Crimebusters" group shot by Dave Gibbons. Captain Metropolis (the bloke in red) is not included as he isn't one of the main characters in the overall story.
The glass palace looks absolutely stunning. Although not an exact representation of the original, it's still outstanding. Something as intricate as this couldn't have been pulled off if the film was made when it was originally planned.
The blood spattered Smiley badge lies in the gutter. In the comic the blood had already dried and mixed with the filth of the street. Note how the blood/Smiley image is evocative of the "5 minutes to midnight" doomsday clock tension of the GN/movie :)
The new Silk Spectre and Dr. Manhattan share a tender moment, right off the page.
Silk Spectre plus fiery building must mean she's on a rescue mission :)
Not sure which rescue this screen shot is from, but it's one of them from the GN
The level of detail here is brilliant. From the coat he went to fetch, to the number 15 on the block. Great stuff.
The reflection in the window shows even "minor" characters from the GN are also in the movie :)
Having your intrinsic field removed looks like it hurts regardless of whether it's on the page or screen
Pulling it all back together is no easy task. Some locations are different from comic to screen, but the details are all there and absolutely beautiful to look at
Dr. Manhattan makes his debut appearence. Check out the glowing blue wang on that guy :D
The Comedian being a good soldier and helping Uncle Sam win the Vietnam War
He clearly loves his job... the only real difference is substituting the mask for a cigar.
He may have switched hands, but this is straight off the page!
The screen shot is from this sequence where The Comedian earns the scar on his face
Ozymandias feeling rather good for himself, as he always does.
The funeral scene shows again how the comic page served as storyboard for filming
Multiple Dr. Manhattan's mooching about the house being all disconnected from humanity? Yup, got them too :)
Nite Owl taking a stroll through the local prison
Nite Owl, and Silk Spectre, kicking all kinds of ass in prison
In the alternate 1985 of WATCHMEN, Nixon is still President and in his 4th term. This poster is rarely seen in the GN, and even then only in out of the way corners. Good to see these details making it into the film.
Rorschach makes the rooftops, as well the back alleys, his home
That's one hell of a throw! If you look closesly enough at the film still you can just make out the smiley badge flying off the bathrobe. The face is kept in darkness so not to spoilerize it for those who haven't read the GN yet.
Rorschach gives Moloch a good roughing up, in a scene straight from the page
Another page to screen favourable comparison. Rorschach makes things hot for the coppers!
NiteOwl and The Comedian attempt to quell some violent protesters. The only major difference here is the lack of gimp mask on The Comedian in the film.
A nice little "easter egg" for comic fans. The "JudoMaster" martial arts school doesn't actually appear in the GN. JudoMaster was another Charlton Comics characters, but wasn't used as inspiration for any of the WATCHMEN characters.
There are plenty of other little details from the WATCHEN GN added in the film. Keep an eye out for the cinema showing "The Day The Earth Stood Still" and posters for the "Pale Horse" concert.
The "Who Watches The Watchmen?" graphiti is seen all over the place too.
Zack Snyder and co. really seem to be adding the minor details to the film that really help bring it to life.
The supplemental material at the ends of each chapter in the GN will be reproduced as newsreels, either in the opening credits or interspersed throughout the film :D
My only real concern is that although the effect of the 'end game' has been kept intact, there are rumours that the method of bringing about the end game has been changed. I won't go into details so as not to totally spoilerize things for those who haven't read the GN. Suffice to say, the outworking of the end game in the alternate world of the GN made perfect sense as a twisted reflection of apparent governmental/militaristic actions in the real world.
The rumoured (and thus could be totally bollocks) change to this for the film would make *no* sense at all and certainly wouldn't achieve the desired outcome of the mastermind behind it all.
Everything I've seen so far is looking great - I just seriously hope they don't fuck around with the end game...
Warners have confirmed plans to release "Tales of the Black Freighter", as a fully animated feature, on DVD on March 10 2009, just after the live-action (or as close as a Zack Snyder film gets) WATCHMEN release on March 6 2009. Warners and Snyder plan three DVD releases for the WATCHMEN brand: this first Freighter release, the theatrical movie version some four months later, and an "ultimate" edition with the two spliced together after that.
I'm obviously going to be waiting for the Ultimate version :)
Now for some fun:
Chibi Rorschach and Dr. Manhattan
Chibi Rorschach and the doggie incident (Brandon Bolt didn't quite get the point of the Rorschach mask though)
Some more cutie Watchmen art, from Katie Cook
A great scene (and commentary on the nature of Hollywood to fuck up his work) from the Alan Moore episode of The Simpsons:
Alan Moore talking about his Simpsons experience:
Concept art for Watchmen Lego customisation
Actual Watchmen Lego custom pieces
Who Watches the WatchPeanuts?
Rorschach motivational poster. What do you see?
Make a note of the date, it cannot come soon enough (March 6th 2009)
I had recognised quite a few scenes had been taken directly from the pages of the GN and so delved a bit deeper into the trailer and the released production shots to see just how (visually) faithful Zack Snyder had kept it.
Adrian Veidt deals with an assassination attempt.
They've kept with the colour scheme of his clothing here, and you'll notice the yellow and purple palatte showing up a lot throughout the GN and in the film :)
(Excuse the central page spread of the GN) Being at the absolute height of human conditioning, Alan Moore describes Ozymandias/Veidt as having 10 times human intelligence, a rich, 'perfect' loner who sees himself as a modern Greek/Egyptian god and will probably live to 150. Little wonder he has no trouble with close quarter combat.
Apart from a very slight location change, the news-stand, the boy reading the Tales of the Black Freighter comic and the news stand owner are all present and correct :)
In the background behind the news-stand you can just make out the "Enola Gay and the Little Boys" ad, by the Burlesk club in the film still :)
Also in the background - see that "Rumrunner" sign? Rorschach makes an escape through one of the windows there.
The "Rumrunner" sign is seen clearly on the cover to Chapter V (issue #5) of the GN, and appears on the doors to the club in the movie. (Comic image reversed as it was a reflection in a puddle)
The Treasure Island comic book store makes an appearance. It's name is in keeping with a subculture where superhero comics don't exist and the pulp comics of pirates, cowboys, etc are prevalent
The "Nostalgia" advert in the comic panel above refers to one of Adrain Veidt's many capitalist successes. Zack Snyder set up a competition on youtube for fans to create their own "Nostalgia" perfume ads. The best ones were chosen to actually appear in the finished film! See them all here.
The Gunga Diner retains the elephant motif, and name, from the GN. An updated look includes the purple and yellow colours noted before :)
A photo of the Minutemen, the original costumed vigilante group of the 40's. You don't actually get to see a full image of the photo in the GN, but there's enough referances to work out this is exactly as it would look.
The Minutemen here are: Silhouette, Mothman, Dollar Bill, (Original) Nite Owl, Captain Metropolis, The Comedian, (Original) Silk Spectre, Hooded Justice
The Comedian gets uncomfortably close to Silk Spectre, Sally Jupiter.
Entertainment Weekly put together this cover, based off the "Crimebusters" group shot by Dave Gibbons. Captain Metropolis (the bloke in red) is not included as he isn't one of the main characters in the overall story.
The glass palace looks absolutely stunning. Although not an exact representation of the original, it's still outstanding. Something as intricate as this couldn't have been pulled off if the film was made when it was originally planned.
The blood spattered Smiley badge lies in the gutter. In the comic the blood had already dried and mixed with the filth of the street. Note how the blood/Smiley image is evocative of the "5 minutes to midnight" doomsday clock tension of the GN/movie :)
The new Silk Spectre and Dr. Manhattan share a tender moment, right off the page.
Silk Spectre plus fiery building must mean she's on a rescue mission :)
Not sure which rescue this screen shot is from, but it's one of them from the GN
The level of detail here is brilliant. From the coat he went to fetch, to the number 15 on the block. Great stuff.
The reflection in the window shows even "minor" characters from the GN are also in the movie :)
Having your intrinsic field removed looks like it hurts regardless of whether it's on the page or screen
Pulling it all back together is no easy task. Some locations are different from comic to screen, but the details are all there and absolutely beautiful to look at
Dr. Manhattan makes his debut appearence. Check out the glowing blue wang on that guy :D
The Comedian being a good soldier and helping Uncle Sam win the Vietnam War
He clearly loves his job... the only real difference is substituting the mask for a cigar.
He may have switched hands, but this is straight off the page!
The screen shot is from this sequence where The Comedian earns the scar on his face
Ozymandias feeling rather good for himself, as he always does.
The funeral scene shows again how the comic page served as storyboard for filming
Multiple Dr. Manhattan's mooching about the house being all disconnected from humanity? Yup, got them too :)
Nite Owl taking a stroll through the local prison
Nite Owl, and Silk Spectre, kicking all kinds of ass in prison
In the alternate 1985 of WATCHMEN, Nixon is still President and in his 4th term. This poster is rarely seen in the GN, and even then only in out of the way corners. Good to see these details making it into the film.
Rorschach makes the rooftops, as well the back alleys, his home
That's one hell of a throw! If you look closesly enough at the film still you can just make out the smiley badge flying off the bathrobe. The face is kept in darkness so not to spoilerize it for those who haven't read the GN yet.
Rorschach gives Moloch a good roughing up, in a scene straight from the page
Another page to screen favourable comparison. Rorschach makes things hot for the coppers!
NiteOwl and The Comedian attempt to quell some violent protesters. The only major difference here is the lack of gimp mask on The Comedian in the film.
A nice little "easter egg" for comic fans. The "JudoMaster" martial arts school doesn't actually appear in the GN. JudoMaster was another Charlton Comics characters, but wasn't used as inspiration for any of the WATCHMEN characters.
There are plenty of other little details from the WATCHEN GN added in the film. Keep an eye out for the cinema showing "The Day The Earth Stood Still" and posters for the "Pale Horse" concert.
The "Who Watches The Watchmen?" graphiti is seen all over the place too.
Zack Snyder and co. really seem to be adding the minor details to the film that really help bring it to life.
The supplemental material at the ends of each chapter in the GN will be reproduced as newsreels, either in the opening credits or interspersed throughout the film :D
My only real concern is that although the effect of the 'end game' has been kept intact, there are rumours that the method of bringing about the end game has been changed. I won't go into details so as not to totally spoilerize things for those who haven't read the GN. Suffice to say, the outworking of the end game in the alternate world of the GN made perfect sense as a twisted reflection of apparent governmental/militaristic actions in the real world.
The rumoured (and thus could be totally bollocks) change to this for the film would make *no* sense at all and certainly wouldn't achieve the desired outcome of the mastermind behind it all.
Everything I've seen so far is looking great - I just seriously hope they don't fuck around with the end game...
Warners have confirmed plans to release "Tales of the Black Freighter", as a fully animated feature, on DVD on March 10 2009, just after the live-action (or as close as a Zack Snyder film gets) WATCHMEN release on March 6 2009. Warners and Snyder plan three DVD releases for the WATCHMEN brand: this first Freighter release, the theatrical movie version some four months later, and an "ultimate" edition with the two spliced together after that.
I'm obviously going to be waiting for the Ultimate version :)
Now for some fun:
Chibi Rorschach and Dr. Manhattan
Chibi Rorschach and the doggie incident (Brandon Bolt didn't quite get the point of the Rorschach mask though)
Some more cutie Watchmen art, from Katie Cook
A great scene (and commentary on the nature of Hollywood to fuck up his work) from the Alan Moore episode of The Simpsons:
Alan Moore talking about his Simpsons experience:
Click to viewConcept art for Watchmen Lego customisation
Actual Watchmen Lego custom pieces
Who Watches the WatchPeanuts?
Rorschach motivational poster. What do you see?
Make a note of the date, it cannot come soon enough (March 6th 2009)