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I just finished reading this extraordinary graphic novel yesterday.  I bought it right after I saw the trailer for the upcoming movie, and read more about it in Entertainment Weekly.  I was just curious if anyone else here has read it, because I found it to be the most haunting and memorable piece of comic book history that I have ever read.

Frankly, I'm not too sure if this can work as a movie.  There's a lot of raw material in the novel that people won't expect to see in a comic book movie, and it could put them off.  Plus the climax is very nihilistic, and a real downer (although with a fairly happy ending for two of the protagonists). 

I love comic book movies, and they took some real good steps forward this year, with Iron Man, the new Hulk, and The Dark Knight.  I'd really hate for the Watchmen movie to screw up, and set this fun genre back all over again.   

It's a tough one, for sure, otherwise it would have been made years ago.  Terry Gilliam called it 'unfilmable'.

It's a great piece of work.  The way it builds and ends is pretty much perfect, and there is a good reason they call it the Citizen Kane of comics.

I do however think Snyder will do a great job: The trailer looks fantastic and seemed to fit really well: Great choice of song, great look etc.  I almost peed my pants when I saw it!

I think what works in it's favour is that it's not like your Batmans or Supermans etc.  Its a very human story that happens to involve people in costume.


I imagine there's going to be a lot of deleted scenes on this one, and it's very much my most anticipated movie of 09.

They tried to make it in 1989, but it fell through. Alan Moore says he won't watch it ever.

I've read most of it... you see, I have issues like 2-10, and I picked up the HB at the store and glanced through the last two chapters.  Probably didn't pick everything I needed to understand the ending.

Still, what I read was a pretty enthralling story.

It's a fantastic read. Basically examines what if real life people, with real life flaws and issues, were indeed given extraordinary powers. How would they make use of said powers? Have to agree that it does seem unfilmable to me as well although I did mark out to the trailer which did look awesome in the aspect of actually seeing the characters come to life. "Who Watches the Watchmen"...also love the references to The Day the Earth Stood Still, This Island Earth and Things To Come (wasn't it?).

Sorry, I thought you asked who read THE WATCHTOWER.

(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a8/TheWatchtower_cover_Oct15%2C1980.jpg)

I picked up a couple of issues of this from a free bin, and thought it was sad, funny and boring all at the same time.

He's such a douche.  It's made up by him being a very good writer, but still.

Yeah, I enjoy the comic.  I do feel it gets a bit pretentious at times though, like almost everything Moore writes.  Still, very good writing and a great ending.

I read this years ago, but now that the hype about the movie is so big I'm finding all my friends borrowing it left n' right. It's cool, knowing what it's like and knowing that they have no idea what it's like, and then hearing their thoughts on it when they're finally done with it. I think the hardest part of the film version is gonna be the ending (ya know, the part about Ozymandias and the big... "thing"? ...to this day, I still think that's such a weird idea for an ending). There's some rumors going around that this has been replaced with something else (years upon years ago, one of the first attempts to adapt this sucker apparently replaced the original ending with a new one involving time travel and an assassination plot, which seems pretty anticlimactic to me), namely a machine capable of mimicking Dr. Manhattan's powers, but I have no idea how valid or invalid those rumors are. I did read in an interview with someone who saw the movie that, for the most part, the adaptation is a slavish recreation of the book, with only two small changes and one very big one (possibly the ending), but that overall it's very good. In the same interview (I can't recall who it was with, one of Zach Snyder's Hollywood friends or something, I'm sure) that person said that the Doctor Manhattan chapter of Watchmen is recreated pretty much note-for-note, word-for-word, moment-for-moment, so that sounds cool. I'm sure many comic fans feel the same way, but I gotta say this is one of my most anticipated mainstream releases for the next year. The first trailer they released, first time I saw it, was like a religious experience. I can't wait for this.

As far as Alan Moore being a douche... heh, I can't argue with that.

Yeah, he says he refuses to see the movie. He says that about every movie they make from his work. He always will say that. He's an amazing writer, though admittedly a bit pretentious (both in his own personality and in some of his work) as someone else mentioned. He just refuses to give anything a chance. Not even a chance. But whatever. As long as he keeps pumping out great stuff (like Black Dossier), I'll be happy.

What gets me is the amount if detail his books have.  Some folks ahave annotated them, take a look at this:
http://www.enjolrasworld.com/Annotations/Alan%20Moore/Watchmen/watchmen%20index.htm

And go page by page to see what you have missed.
-Ed

You ever see Alan Moore's script pages for Watchmen? Loooooong. The entire first page is literally packed with text and it goes on to describe, in EXTREME detail, the first panel of the book. Not the first page. Not the first couple of panels. The very first panel. For those of you who don't know, the first panel is roughly 1 inch by 2 inches, and is a shot of a street gutter, with a little blood in it and a smiley face button. That's it. That is all. He describes this shot, this close-up of a gutter and a button, for an ENTIRE page. It's nuts! Excessive, yes. Exacting, yes. But, also, somehow endearing (to me, anyway).

I just thought of something...it seems to me, that the Pixar movie, THE INCREDIBLES, borrowed quite a bit from Watchmen. 

Think about it...Superheroes are banned by the government, just like in Watchmen. Mr. Incredible and Elastigirl are very similar to the Silk Spectre and Nite Owl II character arcs.  Syndrome's plot to "save" the world, and his wealth, is also similar to that of Ozymandias.   

There's really no one to compare with Rorschach and Dr. Manhattan, but then again, those characters don't really fit in a Disney film. 

Ive read it twice. I dig it, a little confusing at times though. I dont think it will work as a movie, but ill go see it anyway. And you KNOW im gonna go wearing my Rorchach costume!
(http://c3.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images02/61/l_5fe47992418543b593c8fc74073c1b9a.jpg)

(Okay. Keep cool, try and describe Watchmen without coming off hyperbolic.)

Watchmen is a shining achievement in what comics are capable of. Not only it is a rip-roaring and surprising story, it demonstrates the ability of words and images to work together in ways that comics today are still catching up to, two decades later. The story works on its surface level, has even deeper meanings on a metaphorical level, and is jaw-dropping on its technical level. If you want a perfect comic, this is as damn close as they come.

(There. I think that went well.)

Seriously, I love this comic, and have read it multiple times in multiple formats (thank you Absolute Watchmen) and with annotations. I'm still catching things. I remember a friend giving this to me back when I was in middle school, and the ending is still one of the most surprising things I have ever read.

"I'm not a Republic serial villain..."

If you like comics at all, you owe it to yourself to read it. I would still say that From Hell is Alan Moore's best work, but the target audience for that is next to nil.

Alan Moore is...interesting. What can you say about a man who is an active and practicing magician (whatever that may mean...Promethea)? He is an alarmingly intelligent individual, and still one hell of a writer. I can forgive his disdain of movie adaptations because he is so dedicated to comics as a medium of themselves. It's wearying listening to current creators prostrating themselves to the idea of movie adaptations, Wizard Magazine being the worst representation of this trend. Don't get me wrong, I like comic movies, but they aren't the be-all-end-all validation of comic books (although the money is good).

I don't have high hopes for the movie. I think it will look pretty, but it won't capture the entirety of the comic by a long shot. For instance, the Wachowski's adaptation of V for Vendetta was entertaining, but critically flawed in many ways. If the Watchmen movie is at least that good, I'll probably enjoy it. What the hell, it's only a movie adaptation, which are historically worse than the original.

So yeah, read the comic. Put it down, come back to it a few months later and read it again. It is a seminal work.

You know, all things considered, V for Vendetta is a pretty good adaptation: I enjoyed it a hell of a lot, and it got most of the bits in the comic that I liked [though the end was a bit meh in the movie].

I've heard vague rumours about changing endings in Watchmen the movie, so that'll be interesting.

Mofo, how's the Absolute Watchmen?  Other than great of course!  What does it give you other than a massive awesome looking book version? [I see it everynow and then, and think about picking it up, but it's always sealed and I can't get a look at what's in it]

SPOILERS for the ending of Watchmen the movie and the comic!!!





The basic themes and disastrous deaths at the end are the same, from what they've implied, but the giant squid monster thingy isn't there.  They said it just wouldn't play right in a film.  Other than that, it ends basically the same, including the Rorchach's novel being handed in.






**END**

WHAT?! No gelatnis tenticaled monstrosity?! That this is ESSENTIAL!

You know, it could be a really good screen adaptation.  I don't hold high hopes... but, I said that the Lord of the Rings couldn't be pulled off on screen, and Peter Jackson basically knocked that one out of the park, as far as I'm concerned.  So I don't know the director for this project, but I am sure it can be done well.

WILL it be done well, though, is hard to say.

Whoever plays Rorschach, and whoever plays Adrian, have to knock their parts out of the park.  Like Ledger did with the Joker -- they have to nail their parts that well, I think, for it to be a good adaptation.    Nite Owl can be somewhat bland and that'll be OK (he is bland), and Dr. Manhattan as a deus ex machina type character can be done well without huge acting chops.  But Rorschach and Veidt have to be effing spot on.

I will watch it, oh yes.

That book is full of so many awesome moments.  Some of my favorites:

1.   "Oh, yeah whatever happened to him?"    "Rorschach dropped him down an elevator shaft!"   HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

2.   "What do you see?"    -- "A pretty butterfly."

3.   "Well, I guess I'd just have to catch it."

4.   "I'm not stuck in here with you... You're stuck in here with me."


How could I forget the Comedian?  Who is going to play him as he should be played?

Zack Snyder, of 300 and Dawn of the Dead remake, is the director.  He's proven he can do the visuals and the action scenes (the newest trailer definitely shows it will have some of those scenes like in 300 where things go fast then slow then fast) but I have my doubts about his ability to handle the more serious aspects of the film. 

Jackie Earle Hayley is Rorschach.  He got nominated for an oscar a little while ago for something or other, but I'll always remember him as the "bad kid" pitcher from the Bad News Bears.  Other people are nobodies, though they all look good in the trailers.  Most are too young for the parts though, i have to say. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2VLA0tg5yI0

Newest trailer.

They're not all nobodies.

And, personally, I'm not terribly worried about Snyder's handling of the serious scenes. Frankly, I think that Moore's stuff is so good that you could just stick a camera in one place, turn it on, point it roughly in the direction of the actors, walks away n' get a soda, and it'll still be good. I'm more concerned about the screenwriter's handling of all of Moore's dialogue and the structure of the narrative and it's revelations.

I didn't like any of the character in Watchmen.
In the trailer Nite Owl looks cooler than Batman  :question:...I thought the whole whole point of him was to prove who stupid he seems...

Actually, Nite Owl was primarily inspired by the Blue Beetle. And, I guess that's your interpretation (which you are free to) but I don't think that the character was ever supposed to show how "stupid" Batman is.

I'll see WATCHMEN, but I'm not holding my hopes too high.  I think the story is too complex to squeeze into even a three hour movie.  I think it would almost have to be a six hour miniseries. 

As I guess you all have heard by now, Warner Bros. and Fox settled out of court on the right to distribute Watchmen by Warner Bros. paying a butt load of money.  So the movie is still coming out on March 6th as planned. The final run time is 2 hours 43 minutes.

We need a "spoiler" filter here... that or maybe if I turn the text black... hmm.. I'll try that..

Question on Watchman for those who read the whole comic (massive spoilers, don't highlight unless you want it spoiled!)

Okay, I have issues 2-10, and I skimmed over the last two issues from a collected edition at Barnes and Nobles (been meaning to BUY a couple of all the issues, but haven't got around to it.)  Anyway,  I think I missed a few details, but my main question is: why did that blue guy kill Rorschach at the end of the series?  I thought that part was a bit of a letdown, as I really liked the character...

Anyway, if you want to msg me the reply instead of posting here, that's cool!

:)

 He did it because Rorschach was going to tell the world exactly what just happened and who was responsible, thus destroying Ozzymandias' new peacful eutopia. Its one of those "the ends justifys the means" thypes of things.

No..but he was supposed to be out of shape and not ready for superheroics anymore.  He was a charcther who was past his prime.

I haven't yet, but it is on my list to read along side Civil War released Marvel and Children of the Sea, coming in June from Viz.  I have heard good things about Watchmen and I want to check it out, because if I like it, I'll probably check out the movie.