DVD delights

I don't normally blog about DVD releases, but every once in a while a batch comes out, or is about to come out, that gives me a warm fuzzy feeling inside. For example, a North American (Region 1) release date has been set for the Watchmen DVD and Blu-ray releases. And it's 21 July. Of course the South African (Region 2, like Europe) release date is still unconfirmed, but given that we received the film in cinemas at exactly the same time as the States, I would expect the DVD release to be around mid July as well.


Thing is, as much as my fingers are itching to get hold of the Director's Cut of the film (with over 30 minutes of additional footage... *swoon*), I'm wondering if I should wait.

You see, on 21 July, 3 versions of Watchmen will become available:
1) A standard 1-disc DVD with the cinema release version of the film
2) A 2-disc extended Director's Cut DVD, with assorted special features
3) A 2-disc Blu-ray Director's Cut, with even more special features than the DVD version.

Watchmen 2-disc Special Features:
- Watchmen: Director's Cut
- The Phenomenon: The Comic that Changed Comics
- Watchmen: Video Journals (over 30 min)
- Music Video: My Chemical Romance Desolation Row
- Digital Copy - Theatrical Version
- Warner Bros. Maximum Movie Mode (Blu-ray only)
- Watchmen: Focus Points (over 30 minutes) (Blu-ray only)
- BD Live (Blu-ray only)
- Real Super Heroes, Real Vigilantes (Blu-ray only)
- Mechanics: Technologies of a Fantastic World (Blu-ray only)

(More indepth explanation of the Special Features, including the revolutionary Maximum Movie Mode, here).

This is all good and well, but Watchmen's story-within-a-story, Tales of the Black Freighter is conspicuously absent from the package. You can of course already buy the 30 minute animated film (on import) as a standalone DVD, along with a disc of the 12 Watchmen Motion Comics, but who wants to do that if something better and all-inclusive is coming?

You see, in interviews around the time of Watchmen's release director Zack Synder promised that in addition to a 2-disc Director's Cut, there would also be a super-deluxe Ultimate Edition released for "hardcore" Watchmen fans sometime in the Northern Hemisphere Fall. This version of the film would intercut Black Freighter footage with the live action film, pushing the runtime past 3 hours and 25 minutes.

Zack: The Black Freighter version of the movie, which we call the final cut or the ultimate cut – it has a marketed name that I don’t know exactly what it is. That version of the movie, because when we were up there we physically shot the in’s and out’s, scenes at the newsstand that go into the movie. There’s like scenes where our characters pass the newsstand and then we pick up action at the newsstand and it gets us into the Black Freighter... with shots that go into it and it comes to life and you follow the Black Freighter story and then come back into the movie.

That version of the movie is the director’s cut with the Black Freighter intercut. That version sort of traces the structure of the Black Freighter that's integrated into the comic book… So that version is the 3 hour and 25 minute version. So you have all those in’s and out’s… but the director’s cut includes the Hollis death stuff, that’s just a lot more connective tissue…it’s hard for me to even remember exactly what’s in it. But it’s just a lot more.


Frankly, I'd rather wait for that that version of Watchmen. I just hope to God it doesn't end up being a Blu-ray exclusive. If that happens, I'll be seriously pissed off!

Anyway, in other superheroic DVD news, older X-Men fans will be pleased to know that the classic animated series that ran from 1992 to 1997, is finally available as a nice inclusive DVD set (previously you could only get hold of DVDs containing 5-6 episodes each). Anyway, Volume 1 and Volume 2 were released in North America (Region 1) on 28 April to cash in on all the fanboy excitement generated by the cinema release of X-Men Origins: Wolverine.


The good news is that it looks like South Africa is getting our own Region 2 version of the 2 DVDs as well. Expected on 18 May, according to Take 2, locals will be able to order Marvel X-Men Series Vol 1 and Vol 2. Although there is no box art to confirm these discs are the same as the North American DVDs, the fact that both volumes are double-discs suggests they're right on the money.

I'm not pre-ordering the 2 volumes just yet though, to be safe. With the newer X-Men: Evolution animated series, and other direct-to-DVD X-Men cartoons already available, I don't want to purchase the wrong thing. I want to see box art and an episode guide before I commit to buying.

This said, if the local version isn't the same, I'll probably end up importing the Region 1 discs. As I mentioned in my Wolverine review, the animated X-Men series is pretty much how I learned all about the X-Men and some of their most pivotal story arcs. The series is right up there with Batman: The Animated Series in terms of animation quality, and intelligent writing. These were cartoons for kids and adults (and everyone inbetween) and I have to wonder why they don't really make animated series like this anymore?

Finally, and I may be in the minority here when to comes to getting excited about this, but on 19 May, True Blood Season 1 will be released on DVD and Blu-ray in North America.


I seriously doubt I'll have the patience to wait for the Region 2 boxset of this show. I'm not normally one for buying TV shows on DVD, but like The Tudors, True Blood is that rare thing - a new show so addictive it had me turning in every week.

After a slow first few episodes the series really established itself. It's fun and saucy, and definitely for adults only! And best of all it has a delicious supernatural flavour. Vampires, shapeshifters, witches, mind readers and voodoo practitioners all pop up in the sleepy Louisiana town where True Blood is set. Plus, like Lost, you never know what popular, wonderfully written character is about to be offed. I loves it!

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I haven't bought a DVD for myself since the end of last year, largely because of the recession and the belief I was going to be unemployed come June (more about that in a whiny blog post coming soon). However, methinks I'm about to go on something of a DVD spending splurge.

On the topic of Blu-ray, I believe it's a fantastic format, but until I own a big HD-enabled TV, and the cost of Blu-ray players comes down, I won't be making the move to the new format anytime soon. Plus, the Blu-ray discs are still double the price of conventional DVD, and that's ridiculously expensive.

Comments

MJenks said…
I liked the X-Men series enough, but I hated what they did to Beast. Plus, Gambit seemed a lot more self-centered than he appears in the comics, and Bishop was a buffoon. Also, not enough Colossus.

The Batman Animated Series, however...awesome.
Pfangirl said…
Lol, considering that it's through the cartoon that I really got to know the characters, it really defined my perceptions of "how they should be."

I agree that Bishop was pretty lame though, and I only remember one episode devoted to Colossus.
MJenks said…
See, Colossus was always my favorite, so that's why I'm a bit biased.

I mean, it was an awesome show, no doubt, but some of the differences in the characters between the cartoon and the comic left me scratching my head. The "Wolverine Finds Religion" through Nightcrawler episode is one of the worst for that.
Christopher said…
The second season of True Blood starts in the US on 14 June, but only seems to be 10 episodes long.
Pfangirl said…
I actually don't have a problem with shorter series. If I think about it, some of my recent faves have all been of the 10-12 episodes a season sort e.g. Rome, the Tudors, True Blood.

It's a far more digestible amount of time and an easier viewing commitment.

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