Readings.com.au: Watchmen

Watchmen (2-Disc Special Edition)

From the Director of 300 (Zack Snyder) comes a complex, multi-layered mystery adventure.

The film is set in an alternate 1985 America in which costumed superheroes are part of the fabric of everyday society, and the "Doomsday Clock" - which charts the USA's tension with the Soviet Union - is permanently set at five minutes to midnight. When one of his former colleagues is murdered, the washed-up but no less determined masked vigilante Rorschach (Jackie Earle Haley) sets out to uncover a plot to kill and discredit all past and present superheroes.

As he reconnects with his former crime-fighting legion - a ragtag group of retired superheroes, only one of whom has true powers - Rorschach glimpses a wide-ranging and disturbing conspiracy with links to their shared past and catastrophic consequences for the future. Their mission is to watch over humanity…but who is watching the Watchmen?

Watchmen was originally published by DC Comics as a 12-comic book series between 1986 and 1987, before subsequently being collected into a trade paperback. It is the only graphic novel to win the prestigious Hugo Award or to be named among Time magazine's "100 Best English Language Novels from 1923 to the Present."

Also starring Malin Akerman, Billy Crudup, Matthew Goode, Carla Gugino, Stephen McHattie, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, and Patrick Wilson.

Special Features:

Mechanics: Technologies of a Fantastic World
The Phenomenon: The Comic That Changed Comics
Real Super Heroes, Real Vigilantes
Video Journals (Webisodes)
Viral Video: NBS Nightly News
Music Video - My Chemical Romance "Desolation Row"
Easter Egg Viral Video: The Keene Act & You

Watchmen: 2-Disc Special Edition (Blu-ray)

From the Director of 300 (Zack Snyder) comes a complex, multi-layered mystery adventure.

Also starring Malin Akerman, Billy Crudup, Matthew Goode, Carla Gugino, Stephen McHattie, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, and Patrick Wilson.

Special Features:

Mechanics: Technologies of a Fantastic World
The Phenomenon: The Comic That Changed Comics
Real Super Heroes, Real Vigilantes
Video Journals (Webisodes)
Viral Video: NBS Nightly News
Music Video - My Chemical Romance "Desolation Row"
Easter Egg Viral Video: The Keene Act & You

Watchmen

"Who watches the Watchmen?" Most superhero comics take place in a world almost the same as our own. But surely, people running around in tights, people with god-like powers would make an impact. In Watchmen, they do. America won Vietnam -- thanks to a god-like hero. Electric cars exist. Classic comic books got cancelled when the real superheroes came along. Oh, and Richard Nixon is still president into the 1980s. (Too bad about those dead reporters, isn't it?) This is a series of big ideas, human characters and personal moments. It looks at retired heroes (thanks to 1970s anti-superhero legislation) who investigate the death of one of their own. The book also features flashbacks, autobiography excerpts, comic book interludes and more. Truly engrossing writing by Alan Moore and art by Dave Gibbons.

Watchmen: Export Edition

DC Comics presents a special, new edition of the Watchmen, complete with recolored cover art by artist extraordinaire Dave Gibbons. One of the most influential graphic novels of all time and a perennial bestseller, Watchmen has only grown in stature since its original publication.

Along with a new cover by Gibbons, this volume features the high-quality, recolored pages from Watchmen: The Absolute Edition restored by Wild-Storm FX and original series colorist John Higgins.

Watchmen: The Film Companion

It is the most eagerly awaited comics-to-film adaptation of them all. The graphic novel that changed an industry is now a film, directed by Zack Snyder (300), and Watchmen: The Official Film Companion is the essential guide to this cinematic event. A complex, multi-layered mystery adventure, Watchmen is set in an alternate 1985 in which costumed super heroes are part of the fabric of everyday American society. When one of his former colleagues is murdered, the masked vigilante Rorschach sets out to uncover a plot to kill and discredit all past and present super heroes. Their mission is to watch over humanity...but who is watching the Watchmen? Featuring exclusive interviews with the cast and crew, and scores of photos, this is the comprehensive guide to the new movie event.

Watchmen: The Complete Motion Comic

An outlaw superhero's investigation of a possible conspiracy against his colleagues changes all their lives even as evidence builds toward a horrific conclusion.

Features:

Video Journal - Dave Gibbons
Documentary
Audio Commentary
Featurettes

Watchmen: The Art Of The Film

Discover how director Zack Snyder (300) and his crew faithfully recreated the intricately detailed world and characters of the legendary graphic novel in the eagerly awaited film adaptation.From the New York City of an alternate 1985 to the surface of Mars, the film adaptation of Watchmen is a triumph of design, filled with unique characters and layer upon layer of arresting detail.Featuring scores of production designs, set photos, costume sketches, storyboards and other pieces of conceptual art, Watchmen: The Art of the Film is a lavish celebration of a comic book made real.

Watchmen: Tales Of The Black Freighter

There are two sections to the DVD - being Under the Hood & Tales of the Black Freighter. Under the Hood A fake-documentary - Under the Hood is the autobiography of Hollis Mason, where he explains the events leading up to the time when he became the masked adventurer Nick named Nite Owl, and discusses the formation of the Minutemen. The Tales of the Black Freighter The plot follows a castaway sailor who struggles to return to his home port in order to warn his friends and family of an impending attack by the infamous Black Freighter. a phantom pirate ship which houses the souls of the damned. To escape the deserted island he uses the gas-bloated bodies of his former crewmates to float a raft, Fending off sharks en route; to infiltrate the (supposedly) pirate-controlled Davidstown, he murders a trysting couple and returns dressed in the man's clothing; to save his family he attacks a night watchman who is patrolling the house. However, this watchman is actually his wife, and he soon realizes that there has been no attack and his efforts have only brought about his own destruction. The man returns to the beach to see the Black Freighter approaching, ready to claim the only life it truly desired—his own. He realizes his fate and boards the ship to become part of the eternally damned crew.

Watchmen: The Film Portraits

As the official photographer on the set of Watchmen, Clay Enos was there at every stage of production as director Zack Snyder filmed the adaptation of the legendary graphic novel.

As well as his day-to-day duties making sure there was a visual record of the production, Enos also made time to work on a very special project: a collection of black-and-white portraits photographs.

From the lead characters, including of course Rorschach, the Comedian, Dr Manhattan, Nite-Owl and all the other Watchmen, to supporting characters and even extras in the crowd, his lens captured them all. With its wealth of exclusive photographs, this stunning book is a unique look into the world of the film.

Watchmen and Philosophy: A Rorschach Test

Watchmen is the most critically acclaimed graphic novel ever published and turned the world of comic superheroes on its head. This masterpiece of realistic storytelling, dialogue, and artwork, courtesy of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons, raises a host of compelling philosophical questions. How do Ozymandias and Rorschach justify their actions? What are the political ramifications of the Comedian's work for the government? How do we explain the nature of Dr Manhattan? And can a graphic novel be considered literature? Whether you're reading Watchmen for the first time or have been a fan for more than twenty years, Watchmen and Philosophy will help you read deeper into the philosophical questions and the revolutionary story that changed comic fiction forever.