Watchmen: Tales of the Black Freighter and Under the Hood (2009)
Gerard Butler, Salli Saffioti, Siobhan Flynn, Cam Clarke, Jared Harris ... (see more) , Lori Tritel
Bloated corpses buoy a castaway's life raft in TALES OF THE BLACK FREIGHTER, a grisly parable taken from the pages of Alan Moore's WATCHMEN. One of the book's most riveting detours, the comic-within-a-comic (read by one of the book's characters) ominously paralleled the main events of the graphic no... (read more) Bloated corpses buoy a castaway's life raft in TALES OF THE BLACK FREIGHTER, a grisly parable taken from the pages of Alan Moore's WATCHMEN. One of the book's most riveting detours, the comic-within-a-comic (read by one of the book's characters) ominously paralleled the main events of the graphic novel. Although the beloved story was cut from Zach Snyder's big-screen version of WATCHMEN, it's recast here as a standalone animated program aimed at mollifying completists and ramping up interest in the adaptation. Paired with the macabre take on ROBINSON CRUSOE is another lopped-off limb from the comic: UNDER THE HOOD, a mix of live action and CGI that looks back at the salad days of Nite Owl and the Minutemen.
Flixster Users
R, 26 min.
Directed by:
Mike Smith,
Daniel DelPurgatorio
Release Date: Mar 24, 2009
DVD Release Date: Mar 24, 2009
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It's sad when what is supposed to be a supplement to a major motion picture is better than the movie itself.
Tales of the Black Freighter is a story that is intertwined in the Watchmen book, as events unfold in the real (Watchmen) world, panels and... (read more) It's sad when what is supposed to be a supplement to a major motion picture is better than the movie itself.
Tales of the Black Freighter is a story that is intertwined in the Watchmen book, as events unfold in the real (Watchmen) world, panels and text from the Black Freighter are shown, sometimes jumping between that story and Watchmen as a guy reads it from a comic book at the newsstand. This animated version of it is right on the money, it's perfect, as is Gerard Butler's narration. It's too bad the Watchmen movie couldn't have been this well adapted.
The Under the Hood interview special is great as well. It's done to make it look like a program airing in the 80s, with a look back at an interview with Hollis Mason (the original Night Owl) and Sally Jupiter (Silk Specter), complete with fake advertisements about things from the Watchmen world, including products by Adrian 'Ozymandias' Veidt's company. Nice touch.
If you're fan of the book, definitely check this out. It's great for Watchmen readers.
The Black Frieghter is fantastic- great animation, great mood. Under the Hood is all right, but I wouldn't have missed much if I hadn
t seen it.
i dont quite have the history with watchmen to appreciate this part of the tale.
The Black Freighter is gross but also fascinating and a nice addition to Watchmen
Under the Hood has an interesting style but as in the comics gets rather boring towards the end
Las dos piezas faltantes del relato de "Watchmen" aparecen en video. "Tales Of The Black Freighter" y "Under The Hood". Aunque la animacion de "Freighter" es buena y recuerda a la serie animada de "Spawn", me quedo mil veces con el falso documental... (read more) Las dos piezas faltantes del relato de "Watchmen" aparecen en video. "Tales Of The Black Freighter" y "Under The Hood". Aunque la animacion de "Freighter" es buena y recuerda a la serie animada de "Spawn", me quedo mil veces con el falso documental "Under The Hood". Recomiendo ver la version definitiva de "Watchmen", donde estos dos relatos se incorporan a la pelicula, donde realmente cobran sentido.
Taken from the pages of the Watchmen comics, this is a deranged tale of a sea captain, voiced by Gerard Butler, who is pushed to insanity in isolation. It is brutally cool!
A cool companion to last spring's Watchmen movie, this DVD features two subplots of the hit comic book that had to be cut out of the movie for time. Both of them are about 25 minutes long. Tales of the Black Freighter is an animated adaptation of the... (read more) A cool companion to last spring's Watchmen movie, this DVD features two subplots of the hit comic book that had to be cut out of the movie for time. Both of them are about 25 minutes long. Tales of the Black Freighter is an animated adaptation of the comic book story within the Watchmen comic book story that provides a metophor of sorts to the rest of the book's major theme of ego and power corrupting. It's bloody (actually R rated), but a good way to adapt this part of the book.
I much rather prefered "Under the Hood." In the book, Under the Hood, the title of the autobiography of retired super hero Nite Owl (v.1.0), provides a backstory spanning decades that gives the reader a better understanding of the universe Watchmen exists in. On film, "Under the Hood" is a 60 Minutes-type interview segment from the 1970s featuring a Hollis Mason/Nite Owl interview as he promotes the autobiography. This segment is very detailed and feels like an acutal archived program (complete with commercials featuring products within the Watchmen universe). Well produced. The backstory of the Watchmen is one of my favorite parts of the book, so I enjoyed seeing it presented as a relaistic news segment.
I believe the new Director's Cut of the Watchmen movie that was just released on DVD provides the option to integrate these short films into the movie. If you're a fan, it's worth checking out to get the full experience of the Watchmen universe.
decent animation adaptation of the tale of the black freighter. the choice to have the main character being voiced by Gerard Butler was a wise one. the "under the hood" segment was also well done and very cool if you're a fan of the graphic novel.
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