In preparing for a retrospective onZack Snyder’s movies, I’ve gone back and re-watched his films, or, in the case ofWatchmen, gave a first viewing to the Director’s Cut. The film is 24 minutes longer than the theatrical cut and is somehow even more faithful toAlan MooreandDave Gibbons’ graphic novel. I haven’t seen the “Ultimate Cut”, which is re-edited to include the animated short filmTales of the Black Freighter, and it looks like I made the right call in terms of what Snyder wanted me to see.
Steve recently spoke to Snyder at the press day forBatman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and asked which of the three versions of the film—theatrical, Director’s Cut, or Ultimate Cut—Snyder preferred. Here’s the video:
Snyder responded:
The Director’s Cut…look—I think if you’re a crazy fan, which is fine, The Director’s Cut withThe Black Freighteris for pure comic book freak-out. But for me, the Director’s Cut withoutThe Black Freighteris sort of—because it was never designed—I wanted to doThe Black Freighter, I wanted to do it, but we didn’t really design it to be intercut with the rest of the film, so we kind of had to jerry-rig it in, and though it goes in pretty nicely, I never felt like it was 100% completely organic. So for me, the Director’s Cut, which has Hollis’ death and other things like that.
Having now seen the Director’s Cut andBlack Freighterseparately, I agree with Snyder’s position. I don’t see how much moreWatchmenbenefits by trying to be even more like the comic. That being said, after watching the Director’s Cut ofWatchmen, I’m convinced if Warner Bros. had said to Snyder, “Here’s all the money you want and there’s no time limit on your film,” he would have made a frame-for-frame remake of the graphic novel, and that includeTales of the Black Freighter.
If you missed what Snyder told us about future300sequels,click here. Look for more from Steve’s interview with Snyder soon.
