Watchmen Blu-ray

Watchmen

 (2009)

Action | Drama | Fantasy | Sci-Fi | Thriller



In an alternate reality, it's 1985, 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 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?

For more details about Watchmen on Blu-ray, see the Watchmen Blu-ray Review

Starring: Malin Akerman, Billy Crudup, Matthew Goode, Carla Gugino, Jackie Earle Haley
Director: Zack Snyder

Watchmen Blu-ray, Video Quality

 


I know more than a few people who were blown away by The Dark Knight's arrival on Blu-ray, but I was one of those sad saps who couldn't get past its alternating aspect ratios, its overheated contrast, and the rampant edge enhancement on display. As such, I approached Watchmen with a bit of hesitation, worried Warner's 1080p/VC-1 transfer would suffer a similar fate. I'm pleased to report that isn't the case. Not only does Watchmen retain all the brooding grittiness Snyder intended, it boasts a filmic presentation complete with unobtrusive grain, clean object definition, revealing textures, and striking skintones. That's not to say the film's absorbing gloom and bottomless blacks have been tempered -- just as Gibbons used heavy inks in 1986, Snyder uses similarly stark shadows in 2009 to bathe his rendition of Moore's city in darkness -- but, in my humble estimation, the somber elements of the picture never appear overcooked or artificial. Witness the pores dotting Rorschach's unmasked face, the flecks of blood splashed across the Comedian's stubbly chin, the remnants of a devastated metropolis, the bits of rubble raining down from Jon's emerging fortress, the controls in Dan's ship, the... I could go on and on, but I'll save you three paragraphs.

If I have any complaint it's that the image isn't quite perfect. While artifacting, aliasing, and unintended noise are nowhere to be found, the blue glow of Doctor Manhattan's skin is the source of some faint banding and other minor digital anomalies. Likewise, while it's kept to a bare minimum, slight (almost negligible) ringing appears on occasion. Regardless, the encoders at Warner have outdone themselves with Watchmen, creating a high definition transfer worthy of legitimate praise. I'm sure some viewers will inevitably gripe about Snyder's aesthetic choices but, as far as technical presentations go, this one is stunning.

Watchmen Blu-ray, Audio Quality

 


Warner makes its long-rumored leap to DTS-HD Master Lossless Audio with Watchmen, and what a leap it is. While a Dolby TrueHD track would have delivered an equally impressive sonic payload, the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track included on this release is a marvelous, memorable endeavor that captures all the power and fury of Snyder's ode to dark superheroics. Dialogue is crisp, clean, and impeccably prioritized in the mix, imbuing Dan and Laurie's hushed conversations with the same care afforded to their less-than-subtle prison break. LFE output is refined as well, adding heft and presence to every potent punch, gut-churning teleportation, and deafening explosion. Rear speaker aggression rounds out the lossless trifecta with enough ambient effects, musical score support, and atmospheric acoustics to satisfy the needs of a dozen separate audio tracks. Not only are pans as smooth as they come, directionality (while intentionally skewed at times) is precise and the resultant soundfield is eerily enveloping. Even key cues from the soundtrack resonate: Leonard Cohen's baritone lulls in "Hallelujah" are deep and satisfying, Bob Dylan's nasally whine is sharp and stable in "The Times They are A-Changing," and Simon and Garfunkel's "Sound of Silence" has never sounded better.

Despite its comicbook roots, Watchmen is as much an aural experience as it is a visual one. To that end, Warner's faithful DTS-HD Master Audio track fulfills Snyder's every demand and the film's every need. Fans will be bouncing in their seats at the sheer sonic majesty of this one.

Watchmen Blu-ray, News and Updates

• BD Snags over Half of Watchmen Ultimate Cut Sales - November 23, 2009


• Watchmen Breaks BD Share Record with 36% Ratio - July 30, 2009


• Today on Blu-ray - July 21st - July 21, 2009


• First Details of Watchmen Ultimate Edition BD Emerge - July 9, 2009


• Watchmen Comic-Con BD-Live Community Screening Announced - June 25, 2009


• UK Gets Watchmen Theatrical Cut Only - June 3, 2009


• Watchmen Arriving Also As Movie/PS3 Game Combo - May 21, 2009


• Watchmen Director's Cut Blu-ray Gets Detailed - May 12, 2009


• 300: The Complete Experience Blu-ray Announced - May 12, 2009


• Warner Teams up with Facebook for Watchmen Blu-ray - May 11, 2009


» Show more news posts

Watchmen Blu-ray, Forum Discussions

Topic

Replies

Last post

» Show more forum threads