Showing posts with label trailer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label trailer. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 02, 2009
Tuesday, January 06, 2009
Japanese Watchmen Trailer Makes The Movie Look 50 Times Better, Spoils Ending
SPOILER ALERT: The Japanese Trailer for Watchmen(or WOTCHMENRU, as I believe it is being distributed) totally spoilers the ending. Moreso than the American trailer.
Theory: Japanese culture is uniquely awesome because it is at once instantly appealing but fundamentally incomprehensible to Western audiences. A good example of this paradox is the new Japanese Watchmen trailer, presumably cut to appeal to specifically Japanese sensibilities. And it's BONKERS. Still, had I not read Watchmen, this trailer presents a movie I would actively want to see, a quality I think is lacking in the American campaign.
If you read any other nerd movie blogs you've probably seen it already, but did you really SEE it? Reactions and observations after the jump....
0:06...Starting out with the Zapruder Footage?! Okay, you've got my attention!
0:11...Positively zany Nixon make-up. He will be back later.
0:13...Castro! Does he know he's in this movie?
0:17...Terrorism!
0:41...Whip crack SFX over Silk Spectre flipping her hair around? Why not?
0:43...Note that the Knot Top gang have fu-manchu mustaches and look vaguely samurai-esque on film. Maybe that's why they're featured here.
0:49...YES! Dan Dreiberg looking old, fat and ugly! This is what Warner Brothers (Fox?) DOESN'T want you to see, America!
0:54...More Nixon in what appears to be a deliberate Dr. Strangelove reference.
0:58...The most grisly part of the Zapruder footage...I half expecting the cam to zoom in on Doctor Manhattan in the background NOT DOING ANYTHING.
1:12...More Nixon in the War Room. These are invented scenes! No Panel To Panel comparisons here. Kind of exciting!
1:18..."I say when doomsday is approaching!" This is so cheesy and hilarious. Why do the Japanese love/hate Nixon so much?
1:24...YES. DIES IRES! For overly dramatic trailer music, this is second only to Camina Burana.
1:36...This kind of vaporization probably carries a slightly different weight in Japan.
1:46..Spoiler Alert! New York gets blowed up!
Okay, so Albo has pointed out to me that you see the New York vaporization in the American trailer too...but they don't DWELL on it like that! Plus here you see that things are actually being decimated - the American shot just looks like an electric pulse that kinda chips up some buildings.
Let us question why the Japanese market is being sold this movie with an eye towards American political history. Was Frost/Nixon a really big hit in Tokyo?
In all seriousness, it seems that Watchmen is being billed in Japan not as a Superhero Movie, but as a Disaster Movie. I think you'll find this trailer shares it's advertising strategies with movies like The Day After Tomorrow and Deep Impact. Disaster movie trailers make a big deal about ticking clocks and panicked governments, and make no attempt to hide their money shots of destruction, because that's the point of the whole thing. So in the Japanese Market, is the Watchmen fundamentally a movie about the atomic bomb? About nuclear paranoia? Seeing as the Japanese had an ACTUAL atomic bomb dropped on two of their cities by a certain North American country, perhaps they are more interested in the dramatic possibilities of a story where that same North American country gets blown up itself than a story about a bunch of dudes in rubber suits?
I'm just theorizing. Either way, I'm now more genuinely interested in seeing The Watchmen. But enough about me; what do yall make of this thing?
Theory: Japanese culture is uniquely awesome because it is at once instantly appealing but fundamentally incomprehensible to Western audiences. A good example of this paradox is the new Japanese Watchmen trailer, presumably cut to appeal to specifically Japanese sensibilities. And it's BONKERS. Still, had I not read Watchmen, this trailer presents a movie I would actively want to see, a quality I think is lacking in the American campaign.
If you read any other nerd movie blogs you've probably seen it already, but did you really SEE it? Reactions and observations after the jump....
0:06...Starting out with the Zapruder Footage?! Okay, you've got my attention!
0:11...Positively zany Nixon make-up. He will be back later.
0:13...Castro! Does he know he's in this movie?
0:17...Terrorism!
0:41...Whip crack SFX over Silk Spectre flipping her hair around? Why not?
0:43...Note that the Knot Top gang have fu-manchu mustaches and look vaguely samurai-esque on film. Maybe that's why they're featured here.
0:49...YES! Dan Dreiberg looking old, fat and ugly! This is what Warner Brothers (Fox?) DOESN'T want you to see, America!
0:54...More Nixon in what appears to be a deliberate Dr. Strangelove reference.
0:58...The most grisly part of the Zapruder footage...I half expecting the cam to zoom in on Doctor Manhattan in the background NOT DOING ANYTHING.
1:12...More Nixon in the War Room. These are invented scenes! No Panel To Panel comparisons here. Kind of exciting!
1:18..."I say when doomsday is approaching!" This is so cheesy and hilarious. Why do the Japanese love/hate Nixon so much?
1:24...YES. DIES IRES! For overly dramatic trailer music, this is second only to Camina Burana.
1:36...This kind of vaporization probably carries a slightly different weight in Japan.
1:46..Spoiler Alert! New York gets blowed up!
Okay, so Albo has pointed out to me that you see the New York vaporization in the American trailer too...but they don't DWELL on it like that! Plus here you see that things are actually being decimated - the American shot just looks like an electric pulse that kinda chips up some buildings.
Let us question why the Japanese market is being sold this movie with an eye towards American political history. Was Frost/Nixon a really big hit in Tokyo?
In all seriousness, it seems that Watchmen is being billed in Japan not as a Superhero Movie, but as a Disaster Movie. I think you'll find this trailer shares it's advertising strategies with movies like The Day After Tomorrow and Deep Impact. Disaster movie trailers make a big deal about ticking clocks and panicked governments, and make no attempt to hide their money shots of destruction, because that's the point of the whole thing. So in the Japanese Market, is the Watchmen fundamentally a movie about the atomic bomb? About nuclear paranoia? Seeing as the Japanese had an ACTUAL atomic bomb dropped on two of their cities by a certain North American country, perhaps they are more interested in the dramatic possibilities of a story where that same North American country gets blown up itself than a story about a bunch of dudes in rubber suits?
I'm just theorizing. Either way, I'm now more genuinely interested in seeing The Watchmen. But enough about me; what do yall make of this thing?
Friday, November 21, 2008
More Watchmen Movie to Comic Comparisons
Another Watchmen trailer has hit the webs, as well as some extra footage shown at the Scream Awards, so I suppose it's time for another exhaustive Geekanerd Watchmen Movie to Comic Comparison! Check out our previous Watchmen comparisons here and here.
BEWARE HUGE SPOILERS
The Comedian's Murder
TONS more of these, plus analysis after the jump.
The moment the famous bloody smiley is born...
Rorschach Investigates
Something to note here is that in the comic Rorschach uses his grappling hook but still has to scale the building. In the movie, it's more of a Batman thing where he just gets whisked up to the window no problem. An example of the apparent "flashy-ing up" of the story.
I find it pretty funny that the police would put "Police Line - Do Not Cross" tape on a high rise window. I guess the police in the movie world are hip to building climbers like Rorschach.
In the comic, The Comedian's little cabinet is somewhat humble and sad, with his outfit on a simple wire hanger and his deflated mask (with a distinctly "sad" face) evoking the emptiness Blake felt in his later years. In this movie clip it's generic superhero hidden room.
I bitched a lot when Patrick Wilson was cast in this film. I was convinced that he was way too hunky to play the dumpy, washed up Dan Dreiberg. But looking at him here I've decided I'm A-OK with it--they've done a great job of dialing down Mr. Wilson.
Rorschach walks down the street and is solicited by a prostitute in red.
The Comedian's Funeral
It's Hard Being Dr. Manhattan
Dr. Manhattan gets pretty upset during a TV taping when confronted with the news that he might be giving people close to him cancer. Notice his slightly darker color, which he changed when the producer told him his regular light blue color was no good for TV.
Dr. Manhattan proves himself. Why take apart guns and blow up tanks when you can combine them and take apart tanks? Not to nitpick, and I'm sure these effects aren't done, but that tank looks like it was pulled from Battalion Wars.
The Comedian has just gotten a bottle to the face from the Vietnamese woman he impregnated and abandoned. After shooting her, he confronts Dr. Manhattan with the fact that he could have stopped it if he actually cared about human life--which he doesn't. Hence, "God help us all."
Rorschach is Cornered
Dreiberg and Lorie
Dreiberg's apocalyptic wet dream.
Makin' it in the Owl Ship.
Lorie realizing The Comedian is her father.
Showdown in the Arctic
Oh man, I was so worried that Nite Owl's adorable Snowy Owl outfit wouldn't make it into the film, but if you look closely at that movie still, it looks like he's wearing it! Hoorah!
Adrian Veidt's Arctic fortress.
Manhattan's return.
The End
Wowee. Way to spoil the ending, folks.
Dr. Manhattan and Lorie survey the damage. Notice the full frontal in that movie still. Good to see Snyder isn't shying away from that.
Questions and Observations
Ooh, ooh, click this one for high res and notice the banner in the lower right "USA Welcomes Vietnam as it's 51st State." Another small detail that it's good to see the filmmakers thought was important enough to include.
What scenes are these two stills from?
The Superman-esque effigy is pretty cool.
Look how short Rorschach is. He's like a child next to the others!
BEWARE HUGE SPOILERS
The Comedian's Murder
TONS more of these, plus analysis after the jump.
The moment the famous bloody smiley is born...
Rorschach Investigates
Something to note here is that in the comic Rorschach uses his grappling hook but still has to scale the building. In the movie, it's more of a Batman thing where he just gets whisked up to the window no problem. An example of the apparent "flashy-ing up" of the story.
I find it pretty funny that the police would put "Police Line - Do Not Cross" tape on a high rise window. I guess the police in the movie world are hip to building climbers like Rorschach.
In the comic, The Comedian's little cabinet is somewhat humble and sad, with his outfit on a simple wire hanger and his deflated mask (with a distinctly "sad" face) evoking the emptiness Blake felt in his later years. In this movie clip it's generic superhero hidden room.
I bitched a lot when Patrick Wilson was cast in this film. I was convinced that he was way too hunky to play the dumpy, washed up Dan Dreiberg. But looking at him here I've decided I'm A-OK with it--they've done a great job of dialing down Mr. Wilson.
Rorschach walks down the street and is solicited by a prostitute in red.The Comedian's Funeral
It's Hard Being Dr. Manhattan
Dr. Manhattan gets pretty upset during a TV taping when confronted with the news that he might be giving people close to him cancer. Notice his slightly darker color, which he changed when the producer told him his regular light blue color was no good for TV.
Dr. Manhattan proves himself. Why take apart guns and blow up tanks when you can combine them and take apart tanks? Not to nitpick, and I'm sure these effects aren't done, but that tank looks like it was pulled from Battalion Wars.
The Comedian has just gotten a bottle to the face from the Vietnamese woman he impregnated and abandoned. After shooting her, he confronts Dr. Manhattan with the fact that he could have stopped it if he actually cared about human life--which he doesn't. Hence, "God help us all."Rorschach is Cornered
Dreiberg and Lorie
Dreiberg's apocalyptic wet dream.
Makin' it in the Owl Ship.
Lorie realizing The Comedian is her father.Showdown in the Arctic
Oh man, I was so worried that Nite Owl's adorable Snowy Owl outfit wouldn't make it into the film, but if you look closely at that movie still, it looks like he's wearing it! Hoorah!
Adrian Veidt's Arctic fortress.
Manhattan's return.The End
Wowee. Way to spoil the ending, folks.
Dr. Manhattan and Lorie survey the damage. Notice the full frontal in that movie still. Good to see Snyder isn't shying away from that.Questions and Observations
Ooh, ooh, click this one for high res and notice the banner in the lower right "USA Welcomes Vietnam as it's 51st State." Another small detail that it's good to see the filmmakers thought was important enough to include.
What scenes are these two stills from?
The Superman-esque effigy is pretty cool.
Look how short Rorschach is. He's like a child next to the others!
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