The road to hell is paved with corpses, undead pirates, and gulls.
In an effort to bring you a more complete Watchmen experience, the minds behind the recent film (director Zack Snyder, screenwriter Alex Tse) and directors Mike Smith and Daniel DelPurgatorio present an animated version of the comic-within-the-comic, Tales of the Black Freighter. In the graphic novel, Black Freighter acts as an integral reflection and parallel of the larger Watchmen story. Here, the sub-plot comes to life alongside a separate feature, Under the Hood, which combines some of the extra content offered at the end of each chapter in the twelve-issue comic: particularly the excerpts of Hollis Mason’s (Nite Owl I) autobiography of the same name and the interview with Sally Jupiter, aka Silk Spectre I.
WARNING: Mature content!
In Watchmen, the Black Freighter stands for more than just an evil pirate ship.
Tales of Black Freighter tells the story of a sea captain whose ship was attacked by the ominous Black Freighter. Surrounded by the mangled bodies of his dead crew, the captain watches as the dark-masted ship sails away, its unearthly navigators chanting, “More blood!” Shipwrecked, he washes up on an island, where he becomes the architect of a makeshift raft supported by the bloated bodies of his fellow men. With a bloodied sail and only the remains of his friends and right-hand man, Ridley, for company, the captain heads for his home of Davidstown in the hope of warning its inhabitants—including his wife and daughters—of the dreadful ship’s advance.
The movie version—punching in at a short twenty minutes or so—succeeds at faithfully portraying the gruesome, foreboding nature of the Black Freighter story with all its violence and gore. The animation impresses with crisp lines and fantastically morbid colors. The captain and his self-destruction represent Ozymandias, the “world’s smartest man” and mastermind behind the deadly conspiracy in Watchmen, and the story offers further commentary on the moral implications of his actions.
A dead and rotting Ridley is the paranoid captain's only friend.
On the other hand, the fact that the stand-alone movie wasn’t incorporated into Watchmen like in the original graphic novel weakens its power. While still able to understand the commentary on Ozymandias, the viewer doesn’t have the chance to fully appreciate the profound impact Tales of the Black Freighter has on the main story; the comparisons aren’t brilliantly juxtaposed anymore. Simply, the film makes it too easy to fall into the trap of interpreting Black Freighter as exactly what it wasn’t supposed to be in the book: just a pirate comic.
Fans of the graphic novel will probably love seeing Tales of the Black Freighter in animation-form, but those unfamiliar with the source material will most likely find it slightly intriguing, if not altogether an unnecessary waste of money. The additional Watchmen material in Under the Hood faces the same issue, although it might not seem quite as out-of-place for those who only know and enjoyed the world of Watchmen through Zack Snyder’s adaptation.
"In hell, at least the gulls are contented."
But since I am a fan of the graphic novel, I give Tales of the Black Freighter and Under the Hood a gull-pecked, flesh-peeled thumbs up. After all, Snyder released the two as movie companions with the fans in mind, so screw everyone else.
April 1st, 2009 at 2:05 pm
lol, wow I love the final section, half the short article is spent on flaws and yet you still approve, I think that makes you a hardcore fan-girl
April 1st, 2009 at 2:10 pm
Wow, that was fast, Matt! I didn’t even have to spam you with the article. And I knew I could count on you to belittle my writing skills. Good ol’ Matt.
If you paid attention—which I know you did, you savvy reader, you—you’ll note my main complaint was how the movie doesn’t really work as a stand-alone, particularly for those who haven’t read the book (cough you cough). But otherwise it’s enjoyable.
April 1st, 2009 at 2:23 pm
hey, I STARTED reading the book so I understand about 25% of the source material
I wasn’t trying to belittle your writing skills it just works out that way, your writing style flies in the face of logic.
20 minute movie=lame-tasic
April 1st, 2009 at 2:27 pm
*claps* xD
LOL thanks, Matt. When I start making a career out of geek-tastic writing for a major magazine or website, then we’ll see whose writing flies in the face of logic.
April 1st, 2009 at 3:43 pm
Aren’t they going to have Black Freighter mixed into the movie when it’s released on DVD As the ultimate deluxe version or something? That should be pretty cool.
April 1st, 2009 at 6:07 pm
Yeah, but not the whole Black Freighter movie; I don’t know if Under the Hood will be on there. I’m not sure if I’ll get the “ultimate cut” or just the regular director’s cut—having the animation spliced in might look silly … or it might look cool, haha.
April 1st, 2009 at 6:16 pm
I was sold at Gerard Butler. Although I do have a slight confession: I’ve always kind of skimmed over this tale when i reread watchmen because I didn’t really…care that much about it. BUT I love watchmen and I’ll definitely see this as soon as I can after hearing good things!
April 1st, 2009 at 6:47 pm
Blasphemy! If you pay close attention, the parallels are ridiculously impressive—just like the level of detail Gibbons put into the art in that book. That man is a god. Move over, Dr. Manhattan!
April 1st, 2009 at 8:10 pm
Awesome Gazette image.
April 3rd, 2009 at 4:19 pm
I still wish this had been released BEFORE Watchmen the movie but it’ll do.