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    Watchmen (Music from the Motion Picture)

    Different stars

    • 1 My Chemical RomanceDesolation Row 2:59
    • 2 Nat "King" ColeUnforgettable 3:27
    • 3 Bob DylanThe Times They Are a-Changin' 3:13
    • 4 Simon & GarfunkelThe Sound of Silence 3:06
    • 5 Janis JoplinMe and Bobby McGee 4:30
    • 6 KC and the Sunshine BandI'm Your Boogie Man 4:02
    • 7 Billie HolidayYou're My Thrill 3:22
    • 8 The Philip Glass EnsemblePruit Igoe & Prophecies 8:36
    • 9 Leonard CohenHallelujah 4:36
    • 10 Jimi HendrixAll Along the Watchtower 4:00
    • 11 Budapest Symphony OrchestraRide of the Valkyries 5:20
    • 12 Nina SimonePirate Jenny (Live) 6:39

    20

    " This city is afraid of me. I’ve seen its true face."
    Country
    Runtime 2 hr 42 min
    Budget $130 000 000
    Premiere: World $185 382 813 February 23, 2009
    USA $107 509 799
    Other countries $77 873 014
    Box Office – Budget $55 382 813
    Premiere: USA $107 509 799 March 6, 2009
    first day $24 515 772
    first weekend $55 214 334
    Digital: World December 31, 2010
    Parental Advisory
    • Frightening & Intense Scenes

      plenty

    • Profanity

      plenty

    • Violence & Gore

      plenty

    • Sex & Nudity

      plenty

    • Alcohol, Drugs & Smoking

      few

    Production Companies Warner Bros.Paramount PicturesDC Comics...Legendary EntertainmentLawrence Gordon Productions
    Also Known As

    Description

    In a version of 1985 where superheroes exist, the murder of a colleague sends active vigilante Rorschach on the trail of a conspiracy that will change the course of history.

    Сast and Crew

    Watchmen Comic

    Overview

    The comic book series Watchmen is a groundbreaking work in the graphic novel genre, created by writer Alan Moore and artist Dave Gibbons. It was originally published by DC Comics in 1986 and 1987 as a 12-issue limited series.

    Creators

      • Writer: Alan Moore

      • Colorist: John Higgins

    Plot and Themes

    Watchmen is set in an alternate history where superheroes emerged in the 1940s and 1960s, helping the United States win the Vietnam War. The story is set in 1985, during the height of the Cold War, and follows a group of retired superheroes as they investigate the murder of one of their own, uncovering a complex conspiracy with global implications. The comic explores themes of power, morality, and the nature of heroism, often deconstructing the traditional superhero archetype. It is known for its intricate narrative structure, deep character development, and philosophical depth.

    Film Adaptation

    The 2009 film adaptation of Watchmen, directed by Zack Snyder, is noted for its visual fidelity to the original comic. The film closely follows the plot and visual style of the graphic novel, with some changes and omissions due to the constraints of the film medium. While the film captures much of the comic's tone and themes, certain elements, such as the ending, were altered, leading to mixed reactions from fans and critics regarding its faithfulness to the source material.

    Production

    In 1986, producers Lawrence Gordon and Joel Silver acquired film rights to Watchmen for 20th Century Fox. After author Alan Moore declined to write a screenplay based on his story, Fox enlisted screenwriter Sam Hamm. Hamm rewrote Watchmens complicated ending, making a "more manageable" conclusion involving an assassination and a time paradox. Fox put the project into turnaround in 1991, and the project was moved to Warner Bros. Pictures, where Terry Gilliam was attached to direct and Charles McKeown to rewrite the script. Gilliam and Silver were only able to raise $25 million for the film (a quarter of the necessary budget) because their previous films had gone overbudget. Gilliam eventually left Watchmen, describing the comic as "unfilmable", and Warner Bros. dropped the project.

    Related Titles There are no related titles yet, but you can add them:

    Zack Snyder — Best movies and TV Shows

    Critique: 41

    44%
    18 23
    Toronto Star March 5, 2009

    Against considerable odds, Snyder has directed a movie that should satisfy fanboys while engaging adventurous newcomers.

    articles.latimes.com March 5, 2009

    Snyder has been unable to create a satisfying tone for the proceedings. While the graphic novel played everything as realistically as it could...

    Chron March 4, 2009

    It should have remained what it was from the start: a masterpiece of vicious Cold War paranoia, completely and gut-churningly rendered on the print...

    Boston.com March 5, 2009

    Overall, Snyder has given us a Watchmen that’s visually faithful to the original to the point of panel-by-panel fetishism, and that may...

    The Age (Australia) March 6, 2009

    [Snyder] seems only half aware that every adaptation must be some kind of betrayal – or remain a shadow of its source, like a pattern ske...

    Observer March 6, 2009

    It wasn’t that I wasn’t engaged in some of the (many) story lines, it’s just that there was never enough time spent with any...

    Newsday March 5, 2009

    The film still offers an arrestingly dark vision.

    There’s a saying that a masterpiece has already found its perfect medium. Snyder has done as good a job as anyone could have done. That&rsquo...

    News of the World February 24, 2009

    Just another disappointment to add to the 'too good to be true' pile.

    Watchmen left me looking at the exit far more often than at the screen.

    Austin Chronicle March 5, 2009

    It pains me to say that, while scrupulously faithful in nearly every regard (save the ending) to writer Alan Moore and artist Dave Gibbons' landmar...

    Salon.com March 6, 2009

    I think Snyder and his writers channel moments of the humanity and humor that’s always present in Moore’s work.

    richardroeper.com March 13, 2009

    Great book, mediocre adaptation.

    RogerEbert.com March 4, 2009

    Another bold exercise in the liberation of the superhero movie.

    Salon.com July 23, 2019

    When given a great story and told that his job is to simply adapt it, Snyder more than rises to the occasion.

    Slant Magazine March 4, 2009

    A reverential photocopy of a superior original, it’s often close to perfect, if also, to some extent, perfectly pointless.

    tnr.com March 6, 2009

    [T]there are problems both with the tale, which was an awful lot more subversive 20 years ago than it is today, and the telling, which in...

    Slate March 5, 2009

    Watchmen fans wondering whether their graphic novel has been ruined will be thrilled to see its key scenes reproduced with storyboardlike fidelity...

    CinemaBlend March 4, 2009

    If it had to be done, this effort is probably as good as it was going to get.

    Watchmen left me looking at the exit far more often than at the screen.

    New Yorker March 2, 2009

    Incoherent, overblown, and grimy with misogyny, Watchmen marks the final demolition of the comic strip, and it leaves you wondering: where did the...

    Film.com May 6, 2011

    If you haven’t read the source material I think you’re going to dislike it even more than I did. So yeah, it’s sort of bad n...

    therumpus.net September 18, 2017

    The only way to truly adhere to Alan Moore’s vision of Watchmen would be to not make the movie in the first place.

    HollywoodChicago.com March 6, 2009

    Except for a few strong performances (balanced out by a few awful ones) and the strength of the ideas at the core of Watchmen, the film is&nbs...

    Arizona Republic March 4, 2009

    A (mostly) faithful re-creation of the comic. But it could have been so much more.

    MSNBC March 4, 2009

    Watchmen feels constantly torn between reshaping the story for the big screen while including enough visual and verbal quotations from the original...

    USA Today March 4, 2009

    As the story proceeds, however, it grows plodding, convoluted and forgettable.

    www,decentfilms.com March 6, 2009

    A thoroughgoing deconstruction of humanity as well as heroism, one that takes its world apart without putting it back together again. There are thi...

    Much more. Snyder and his writers have delivered a faithful translation, spinning the narrative out to 163 minutes – which, I i...

    articles.philly.com March 5, 2009

    This movie will shake your windows and rattle your walls. At least it will for a couple of hours, before 40-odd minutes of draggy, comic-book...

    CNN.com April 14, 2013

    Watchmen the movie provides ample evidence that more is more, but less might have been closer to Moore in spirit (that is, anarchic, witty and comp...

    Rolling Stone March 4, 2009

    You have to go back to the comic to learn that the freaks in Watchmen are not only for geeks, maybe that’s not so bad. Just sayin'.

    A mesmerising and brutalising experience, and will be, for some at least, more than worth the wait.

    Boxoffice Magazine February 26, 2009

    Incredibly – but not stupidly – violent. Snyder isn’t using death for cheap thrills; we’re meant to feel revulsion and despair.

    They’ve made the most reverent adaptation of a graphic novel ever. But this kind of reverence kills what it seeks to preserve. The movie...

    New York Daily News March 5, 2009

    The most pleasant surprise in the movie adaptation of Watchmen is the pop-art fusion set off by placing superheroes in a 'real' world.

    ReelViews March 4, 2009

    Watchmen is a perfect example of how material, no matter how reverentially treated and massaged, often loses something critical in translation.

    Snyder’s last-ditch attempt to raise the geeky bar by introducing "real" people dressed up as heroes is more adolescent than adult, as is the...

    Reel Talk Online September 12, 2017

    Watchmen isn’t your typical caper flick filled with kickass effects and gunfire and no premise.

    Guardian March 6, 2009

    It is dizzy, crazy and quite sexy – when it’s not being self-indulgent and pointless. If it doesn’t quite hang together or add up...

    NPR March 5, 2009

    The moviemakers are too busy digitizing ice castles on Mars to bother with much in the way of meta-commentary. Or, for that matter, with personalit...

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    Quotes

    The world will look up and shout 'Save us!'… And I’ll whisper 'No.'

    I’m not locked in here with you. You’re locked in here with me!

    A live body and a dead body contain the same number of particles. Structurally, there’s no discernible difference.

    We are all puppets, Laurie. I’m just a puppet who can see the strings.

    It doesn’t take a genius to see that the world has problems.

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    friends impressions of the movie.

    Friends comments and ratings

    Watching now

    I’m watching it for the fourth time. Now Ultimate uncut version. With a cartoon inside. Suitability

    Translated to English

    One of the best serious comics in history, it’s a pity that Marvel is not capable of this.

    Translated to English

    Watched

    A break with genre templates: instead of a typical superhero action film, there is a dark philosophical film with flashbacks, slow-motion narration and alternative history.

    Translated to English

    Watched

    The latest film about superheroes, which does not have the typical templates and signs of the comic book film genre. This is my opinion about the film "Watchmen", I recommend you read it. Health, goodness and good cinema to everyone!

    Translated to English

    Watched

    I don’t really care how "canonical" or "genre-valuable" it is. I watch movies and don’t read comics. I was bored. Beautiful (+1), but boring. I might as well spend 3.5 hours walking around the Museum of Modern Art, trying to grasp the author’s intent on beautiful canvases.

    Translated to English

    Watched

    I rewatched it and now I like it even more! Zack Snyder made an incredible movie.

    Translated to English

    Watched

    I watched it for the first time, straight to the maximum, for 3.5 hours. I didn’t notice anything "supernatural". But for 2009, before the line from the Marvel machine gun, it’s an excellent super-hero movie in every way, with the necessary [R]ating. +1 point for the animated story.

    Translated to English

    Watched

    I watched the director’s cut. A brilliant adaptation and one of the best comic book movies ever made. Excellent characters with different, complex personalities, appropriate, well-staged action, an attractive atmosphere and, indeed, a complex, masterfully written plot.

    Translated to English

    Watched

    Iconic scenes follow each other from beginning to end, Snyder’s vision here is impeccably calibrated, the soundtrack was chosen by the Lord God himself – real hypnosis for all 150-plus minutes. Best Comic Book Movie

    Translated to English

    Watched

    A very cruel, dark, long and not typical film about super heroes with an interesting plot thought out to the smallest detail. I remember Rorschach the most. Jackie Earle Haley did a great job!

    Translated to English

    Watched

    Without false modesty, we can say that Zack Snyder’s Watchmen is one of the best creations in the world of cinema in recent years. Cool action scenes, excellent cinematography, well-thought-out characters that fit perfectly into the atmosphere of a cruel and going to hell world.

    Translated to English

    Watched

    Zack Snyder is handsome. I conveyed almost 100% of the entire story from the comic (I read everything in two days, there is something to compare with). Good soundtrack, tweaked the ending a bit, but fans should be satisfied. I would like a continuation, because there are "Prologues", there is more than enough work…

    Translated to English

    Watched

    I don’t know why, but the film hooked me. It has everything: from cool animation to erotic scenes and thoughts about the great. Gorgeous.

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    Watched

    One of the best superhero films, even now it looks very fresh.

    Translated to English

    Watched

    Not my genre, couldn’t watch it to the end, tried with difficulty to catch the plot, but all to no avail.

    Translated to English

    Watched

    Snyder’s monumental film, in which there is the USSR, Nixon and Doctor Manhattan. Instead of the usual popcorn superheroes, ordinary people in tights, and instead of saving the world – a dark neo-noir detective story, in which, accompanied by an excellent soundtrack, you have to choose between the bad and the terrible

    Translated to English

    Watched

    I’m not surprised the film failed at the box office. I’m sorry, but I couldn’t even get through half of it…

    Translated to English

    Watched

    Snyder’s blatantly vulgar approach is evident over the years, but the core characters are still great and well-crafted, and the story is even more relevant. The movie has aged worse than I’d like, but it’s still worth a lot.

    Translated to English

    Watched

    I rewatched it (and this time it was the director’s cut). Powerful and unconventional. This is a truly exceptional case for DC.

    Translated to English

    Watched

    An excellent film based on the graphic novel of the same name by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons. The film represents an alternative universe of the 80s where, at the height of the Cold War, a group of former superheroes are investigating a possible conspiracy against them, however…

    Translated to English