Watchmen Ultimate Cut integrates Black Freighter

PHYSICAL: Warner release also includes Complete Motion Comic

By Susanne Ault -- Video Business, 9/22/2009

SEPT. 22 | PHYSICAL: Warner Home Video will be releasing an all-in-one Watchmen collector’s edition on DVD and Blu-ray Disc on Nov. 3, integrating the feature film and a companion DVD premiere movie into one story.

Watchmen: The Ultimate Cut will integrate the separate animated spin-off Tales From the Black Freighter into the director’s cut of the feature film. The studio’s made-for-DVD unit, Warner Premiere, first streeted Tales From the Black Freighter on DVD and Blu-ray on March 24, as a tie-in to the film’s theatrical launch on March 6.

This is the first time that Warner has weaved a straight-to-disc project into the story line of a feature theatrical film, according to the studio.

Additionally, Watchmen: The Ultimate Cut will include all 12 chapters of Watchmen: The Complete Motion Comic, which initially was digitally distributed through iTunes and other online services in 2008 before rolling out onto DVD and Blu-ray on March 3.

The collector’s set (DVD $43.87, BD $59.99) will be available in a limited quantity of 70,000 units. Pre-orders are due Sept. 29.

Both the Blu-ray and DVD also have a digital copy of the theatrical Watchmen and numerous featurettes, including “Under the Hood,” a retrospective look at the character Nite Owl. There’s also commentary with Watchmen director Zack Snyder and writer Dave Gibbons.