Watchmen, Chapter 1
Studio: Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment
Runtime: 83 minutes
Rating: R
Release Date: Digital – August 13, 2024; 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray, Blu-ray – August 27, 2024
Synopsis: Based on DC’s acclaimed graphic novel co-created and illustrated by Dave Gibbons, Watchmen, Chapter 1, the first part of an animated two-part feature film from Warner Bros. Animation and Paramount, is available to purchase exclusively on digital and on 4K UHD and Blu-ray. The animated feature is a faithful adaptation of the groundbreaking graphic novel series by writer Alan Moore and illustrator Dave Gibbons, which redefined the superhero genre when it debuted in the mid-1980s.
Special Features
4K, Blu-ray and Digital
-The Art of Adaptation: Introducing the Story – The filmmakers reveal their process for creating this animated adaptation, as well as the techniques they used to both replicate and innovate the original work.
-Dave Gibbons and Watchmen: Chapters I-VI – Go behind the beautifully drawn pages of the Watchmen graphic novel and inside Dave Gibbons’ process for building the visual language of one of the comic world’s most celebrated works of art.
By James Harvey
A pretty typical Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment release, Watchmen, Chapter 1 comes to home media with a fantastic 4K presentation but only a smattering of extras. The bonus features, the same across all home media editions, at least contain some neat tidbits about both the movie and its source material, making the short 20-minutes of total bonus content go down a little easier. With that and a top-notch presentation, the 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release is once again the best way to watch Watchmen Chapter 1.
Predictable but never disappointing, the 4K UltraHD Blu-ray edition features a fantastic 2160p transfer, which looks as near-perfectly crisp and smooth.The colors really pop and the dark levels are as deep as can be, without a single smudge to be found. The physical edition is by far the best viewing option available for the film.
Matching the top-shelf video is the equally high-quality DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio mix, which delivers crystal clear sound and solid channel work. While mostly center-focused, which makes sense given this film is fairly low-key compared to most superhero movies, the mix still bounces around and makes good use of the speakers. Audio and special effects are well positioned and nicely jump around channel to channel, and every last bit is loud and clear.
Moving to the bonus features, and it’s the same rough effort that’s common now among the DC Universe Movie and DC Animated Movie line, which is just roughly 20 minutes of bonus extras. Up first is “Dave Gibbons and Watchmen: Worldbuilding” (length: 9:02), which looks at the origins and legacy of the original comic series and its impact on the comic book industry. The featurette also looks at Gibbon’s work and its story-telling methods, as well as its assorted themes, concepts and, among other things, why it matters as much as it does.
Creators making appearances here include DC president, publisher, and chief creative officer Jim Lee, comic editor Barbara Kesel, consulting producer and Watchmen co-creator Dave Gibbons, producer Jim Krieg, producer and director Brandon Vietti, storyboard artist Danica Dickison, and character designer Dusty Abell. Gibbons, Vietti, Krieg, Dickison are then joined by producer Cindy Rago and art director Jonathan Hoekstra for “The Art of Adaptation: Introducing the Story” (length: 9:50). Acting as a kind of continuation of the previous featurette but switching gears to Watchmen: Chapter 1 itself. This informative short looks at the choices made, both visually and in terms of the story itself, when adapting the limited comic series to the two-part animated feature.
Outside of the extra digital copy, that is it for Watchman, Chapter 1‘s bonus features. Again, a pretty routine release at this point from Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment. Still, the 4K UltraHD Blu-ray edition offers up the best possible viewing experience for those wanting to pick up this dynamite DC Animated Movie title in the best possible way.
The two-part Watchmen animated adaptation is off to a solid start, and the best way to check it out is once again on 4K. The iTunes and Blu-ray editions are both suitable alternatives, though with lower (but still good) video and audio quality, but the slight (though still interesting) special features remain the same. Despite the fact there’s likely a Watchmen: Deluxe Edition-type release on the way that’ll stitch together Chapter 1 and Chapter 2, folks interested in picking up this terrific title sooner than later should go snag the 4K UltraHD Blu-ray edition! Highly Recommended!
Want to go back to the start of the review? Click the link below to read the Watchmen, Chapter 1 animated feature review!
Please note a 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray copy of Watchmen, Chapter 1was provided by Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment for the purpose of this review. The author also purchased an iTunes edition of the film for comparison and completion purposes.
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