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Watchmen: Midnight (Updated version!)

Even if he is better at it than anyone else, it can still be as annoying as hell. I'm old-school I guess. Give me real-time action, with minimal cuts. 30 years later, with all of its comparatively low-tech effects and complete lack of ADD editing, Raiders of the Lost Ark still blows most current action movies away. Slow-motion and rapid-cut editing is the mark of either a lazy, and/or overly self-important film-maker. Most of what I see in both areas is that it is just a lazy way to cover-up the fact that the director has no clue how to shoot an action sequence. Both techniques obscure the fact that the action in front of the camera is boring. Sometimes, as in the case with the 2nd and 3rd Bourne movies, and Quantum of Solace, the trickery detracts from the movie rather then enhance what appear to be otherwise very well executed action sequences.

When used judiciously, a slow-motion effect can highlight something and be useful, such as in Superman Returns when the bank-robber is starting to fire up the gatling gun and Superman swoops in to block the bullets, it is effective because it highlights Superman's incredible speed. But if every action sequence in a Superman movie was in slow motion, it would be boring as all get-out, which is one of my many fears for Snyder's Man of Steel.

The reliance of slow-mo in Watchmen is no different for me unfortunately. It's a stand-up, look-at-me trick which fails to enhance the story, action or pacing :( so any opportunity to minimize that or reverse it would be huge for me.

I look forward to seeing how much you've been able to restore what made the original GN so endearing!
 
L8wrtr said:
I'm old-school I guess. Give me real-time action, with minimal cuts. 30 years later, with all of its comparatively low-tech effects and complete lack of ADD editing, Raiders of the Lost Ark still blows most current action movies away. Slow-motion and rapid-cut editing is the mark of either a lazy, and/or overly self-important film-maker. Most of what I see in both areas is that it is just a lazy way to cover-up the fact that the director has no clue how to shoot an action sequence. Both techniques obscure the fact that the action in front of the camera is boring. Sometimes, as in the case with the 2nd and 3rd Bourne movies, and Quantum of Solace, the trickery detracts from the movie rather then enhance what appear to be otherwise very well executed action sequences.
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I'm with you on the rapid-fire action sequences in movies these days. I remember how the first Alien vs. Predator movie's fight scenes were almost incoherent and Batman Begins had some disorienting combat, too. Like you, I prefer the way action scenes were done in the 80s with films like Raiders of the Lost Ark. If we think of fight scenes like dance scenes in musicals, then the use of longer takes and wider shots makes a lot of sense to show the brawling/martial arts/athletics involved -- I remember reading that guys like Fred Astaire would insist on uncut shots to feature the dancing. I don't think every movie fight needs to be like that great uncut shot in Tony Jaa's The Protector but I'd like to see less MTV-style in fights, definitely.

Speaking of action sequences, you may be pleased to find that in my edit the scene with Nite Owl and Silk Spectre fighting dozens of prisoners has been removed. It had a lot of slow-motion, superhuman wire work stunts, and it was set to some annoying rock music. In my edit -- as in the comic -- there is just one punch thrown and the scene is more about them getting Rorschach out of there while the riot goes on elsewhere rather than just beating on some random inmates to show off their fighting skills.

L8wrtr said:
I look forward to seeing how much you've been able to restore what made the original GN so endearing!
Click to expand...

Thanks :) hope you like it!
 
This looks phenomenal. I for one love the Watchmen theatrical cut, I own the Black Freighter, the Director's Cut, and the Graphic Novel. One of my best friends actually has a Rorschach signature tattooed onto his chest. I loved everything about it (except Bubastis made no sense because they changed the ending to be about energy instead of genetics) even the music. To me it's just completely different from other comic book films, and in that way it does the novel justice.
Needless to say, I was cautious to approach this edit but after reading the whole cutlist I can't wait to check this version out.

Question: Did you keep the Bob Dylan song? I thought it was very well placed, and the words are scattered through that one part of the comic.
 
addiesin said:
Bubastis made no sense because they changed the ending to be about energy instead of genetics
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Good point -- I agree that without the genetics subplot, Bubastis is an unfortunate oddity. I considered cutting Bubastis out, but there were some important shots -- namely when Dr. Manhattan gets de-materialized in Antarctica -- which include Bustastis. I wanted to keep those shots for the sake of Dr. Manhattan. So for me, I rationalize the existence of Bubastis in all versions of WATCHMEN because Ozymandias is eccentric enough to have a mutant cat.

addiesin said:
Question: Did you keep the Bob Dylan song? I thought it was very well placed, and the words are scattered through that one part of the comic.
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I replaced the Bob Dylan song during the opening credits with a song by Philip Glass because I wanted to set a darker, somber tone right away in the beginning. The Glass song is nostalgic but also has a ominous quality that I liked because it feels like something is not quite right in the world.

Nice avatar :) Besides the music I changed in the beginning, I hope you enjoy my edit!
 
The slow motion works fine for me in some scenes, because for me highlights some of the more inspiring panels from the actual comics. I would agree that the Dylan song works great in the opening, as well as some of the other songs that were featured in the comics, but you really can't beat Glass for a score. I have always intended to make a cut featuring Glass (and I still plan to use Glass in the Watchmen motion comic). I hope your cut eliminates the need for me to make an edit of Watchmen.
 
Flixcapacitor said:
I'm with you on the rapid-fire action sequences in movies these days. I remember how the first Alien vs. Predator movie's fight scenes were almost incoherent and Batman Begins had some disorienting combat, too. Like you, I prefer the way action scenes were done in the 80s with films like Raiders of the Lost Ark. If we think of fight scenes like dance scenes in musicals, then the use of longer takes and wider shots makes a lot of sense to show the brawling/martial arts/athletics involved -- I remember reading that guys like Fred Astaire would insist on uncut shots to feature the dancing. I don't think every movie fight needs to be like that great uncut shot in Tony Jaa's The Protector but I'd like to see less MTV-style in fights, definitely.

Speaking of action sequences, you may be pleased to find that in my edit the scene with Nite Owl and Silk Spectre fighting dozens of prisoners has been removed. It had a lot of slow-motion, superhuman wire work stunts, and it was set to some annoying rock music. In my edit -- as in the comic -- there is just one punch thrown and the scene is more about them getting Rorschach out of there while the riot goes on elsewhere rather than just beating on some random inmates to show off their fighting skills.
Click to expand...
I very much appreciated that edit, Flix. Not only was the slow motion in this movie highly annoying for me, as I too prefer the actioners of the 80's in terms of style, but because in doing things like that it became obvious to me that Snyder didn't care that these people weren't superheros. They were costumed vigilantes. They didn't have super speed, strength, etc. But that didn't mesh with his "look how cool they are!" style and thus he seemed to just totally ignore it. In doing so he just further seemed to miss the point of the novel.
 
Watched it today. Loved it! 9/10. I'll write a review on the .info page tomorrow.
 
Waslah said:
I very much appreciated that edit, Flix. Not only was the slow motion in this movie highly annoying for me, as I too prefer the actioners of the 80's in terms of style, but because in doing things like that it became obvious to me that Snyder didn't care that these people weren't superheros. They were costumed vigilantes. They didn't have super speed, strength, etc. But that didn't mesh with his "look how cool they are!" style and thus he seemed to just totally ignore it. In doing so he just further seemed to miss the point of the novel.
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Your point about these characters being costumed vigilantes in the comic rather than superheroes in the movie is spot on -- it's something I tried to cut down on in my edit. Just like how in the Synder versions of the movie they literally are called "The Watchmen." By calling them "The Watchmen" in the movie is marketing them basically like the X-Men, which obviously they are not.

I'm glad you liked the edit :)
 
reave said:
The slow motion works fine for me in some scenes, because for me highlights some of the more inspiring panels from the actual comics.
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That's an interesting perspective and I think agree with you, particularly with the traditional slow motion shots in the film. They definitely extend the moment in a way that someone reading a comic might linger on a panel. I think the slow-motion that was questionable to some people (and typical of Zack Snyder) is the ramping from normal-to-slow speed within a single shot. I also agree with L8wrtr that ramping has its place, like when giving the viewer the sense of incredible speed. Some of these ramping shots in WATCHMEN, such as Silk Spectre running from the explosion in the apartment building, I'm okay with because they remind me of the way time seems to stand still for a moment during dramatic moments in life such as a car crash.

reave said:
I would agree that the Dylan song works great in the opening, as well as some of the other songs that were featured in the comics, but you really can't beat Glass for a score. I have always intended to make a cut featuring Glass (and I still plan to use Glass in the Watchmen motion comic).
Click to expand...

Great minds think alike!
 
Neglify said:
Watched it today. Loved it! 9/10. I'll write a review on the .info page tomorrow.
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I'm glad you liked it! Thanks for writing the review :)
 
Couldn't dled it, says file 21 and file 32 are not found.
 
revel911 said:
Couldn't dled it, says file 21 and file 32 are not found.
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It's probably MegaUpload being glitchy as usual. There were several FEs I had to try and download on separate occasions due to one or two files being unavailable.
 
DL worked fine for me, I have to wait til tomorrow to watch it though.
 
I do wish there was an avi version tho so I could review before committing to 8GB of download :p looking forward to seeing this dood!
 
i agree. i don't have any dls. i'd be interested in getting a avi version to watch on my little tablet pc that i have.
 
Just finished watching and dude, what a blast.
Much closer to the comics and much, much more enjoyable.
If I could make a critique, i would say that putting the UTH segments inside a tv screen didn't work for me. Some segments were too long, and watching it inside that small frame got really boring at times. Also, the division in chapters made me realize something: i see lots of people making movies out of TV series, like Prison Break and Smallville, but i'm yet to see someone do the opposite and edit a movie into a TV series, or a mini series. And i guess this edit would work like a mini, each chapter being an episode.
All in all.. i would give a 9 out of 10
Good work!
 
felipemeyer, you read my mind. i agree 100% with everything you said, except your critique. I like the UTH segments in there where they are, but my one nitpick is I'd like to see the same treatment with the Black Freighter (I now trust this editor can do something much better than the so-called "Ultimate Cut"). Flixcapacitor, do you have any plans to make, maybe, "Watchmen: Ultimate Midnight" with said additions? If not, oh well, you've done a great job already. Cheers, mate!
 
I wanted to like Watchmen when it was first released, and thought some parts of the film were pure genius, but as a whole, it left a lot to be desired. The pacing and many of the musical choices just didn't work for me. This fanedit seems to correct many of these flaws, and I can't wait to check it out.
 
I sat and watched it, no sound of silence which was a winner for me, I would say I missed Dillon but it think the replacement music was an excellent choice and I did not miss Leonard Cohen or (especially) My Chemical Romance. Part of me would liked to have seen an alternate song instead of all along the watchtower but eh..

The downplaying of the violence was great, Snyder may like his gore and dismembered limbs, the sound effects are adequate enough to let us know they are hitting with force, cutting away from the more gratuitous moments really helped the film for me. Also one bit that was in the comics was Laurie hitting Archies ignition during coitus, you have taken it out and with good reason, it was terrible innuendo. I liked the removal of Eddies Death, we didn't see much of it in the comic mostly told in quick flashbacks also Eddie didn't seem bothered/broken like he was when he visits Moloch.

The under the hood stuff was good, I'm glad you kept it to a minimal of main characters, Night Owl I is one of my favourite supporting characters so any additional footage of him is a godsend, I was glad it wasn't a complete insertion of all of the under the hood footage, the Likes of Moloch and Big Figure made the dvd feature novel but as part of a larger narrative I wouldn't have felt they belonged.

My only real gripe was that sometimes it was a little hard to see things, it could be my TV settings but it was rarely an inconvenience and I was able to enjoy the edit from start to bittersweet finish.
 
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