Watch even more Watchmen!

Details emerge of an Ultimate Collector’s Edition Blu-ray due before Christmas.

Watchmen, already an endurance test in its theatrical run at a hefty 162 minutes, was the talk of the geek community when auteur Zach Snyder decided to add an additional half hour of footage to his graphic novel adaptation for the upcoming 2-Disc Director’s Cut (due to hit shelves July 21st). So it came as a shock to bladders everywhere when details surfaced over the weekend of a 5-Disc Ultimate Collector’s Edition Blu-ray, due this December.

Not appeased with a 3+ hour marathon of blue dongs and nihilism, Snyder and Warner Bros. will be splicing the animated feature, Tales of the Black Freighter, into the Director’s Cut (as originally envisioned in the Alan Moore novel) – adding another 30 minutes to the super hero epic. The set comes loaded with over two hours of bonus material, including a documentary style production of “Under the Hood” and commentary with Zach Snyder and Dave Gibbons. And in one of the many discs, Warner Bros. will be including the entire series of Watchmen Motion Comics, which some (not naming names!) maintain was better than the actual motion picture.

Those intent on picking up the Director’s Cut in just a few days should not feel totally shafted, though – early adopters of the Director’s Cut will get a $10 off coupon towards the purchase of the Ultimate Collector’s Edition and most of the supplemental material will not overlap.

Also, as Zach Snyder packs his wares for the nerd Mecca known as the San Diego ComiCon, Blu-ray owners will be treated to a special BD Live community screening of the film on July 25th, complete with live commentary from Snyder himself. Fans from both the show floor and dirty voyeurs at home will be able to interact with the filmmaker, much in the same way as the BD Live screening of The Dark Knight earlier this year.

For those who have no desire to interact with nerds, but want the complete Watchmen experience, you’ll have to wait until December when the Ultimate Collector’s Edition hits shelves.

I, for one, will be holding off for the Über Extra Special 3D Collector’s Edition featuring six hours of Malin Akerman bending over and doing laundry (but with pathos).

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2 Responses to “Watch even more Watchmen!”

1. Edwin says:

   July 13, 2009 at 11:59 am

   Question for the thread: is the era of two hour plus mega-blockbusters on its way out? Ebert said something to this effect when he reviewed Transformers 2…

   Reply
2. Angelika Dezell says:

   December 22, 2009 at 10:00 pm

   Finally, an issue that I am fanatical about. I have looked for information of this topic for the last several hours. Your site is greatly treasured.

   Reply