HC: There’s another version of “Watchmen” coming out on Blu-ray. This seemingly never-ending interest in the film must be gratifying as a director.
ZS: It’s weird because I was talking with some colleagues and we were talking about “Watchmen” and saying that in a weird way, “Watchmen” becomes more and more relevant as more and more superhero movies come out. After “Avengers” really would have been the perfect time to release “Watchmen” because it’s the anti-“Avengers” movie. With “Avengers” being this phenomenon worldwide, it’s interesting what Alan Moore did with that graphic novel and what we tried to do with the movie. Alan Moore not only is a genius in the book he created, but also his knowledge of comic books and mythology of comic books and what the superheroes were in response to and what they represent is really beautiful and insightful. We try to get that across in the movie. When “Avengers” or whatever other movies get made, it confirms to me the mythological deconstruction that Alan was able to achieve in the book and we tried to achieve in the movie. It’s even more fun to watch the movie now, I think, as the general audience has become more and more familiar with these icons and this mythology. The deconstruction of that mythology is inevitable, but it really hasn’t been done. I think it’s interesting that we have this genre that is so rich, but except for “Watchmen” and “Kick-Ass,” which I would call more of a comedy superhero movie, I don’t know that they try to dig into the why of it that we do.
Two weeks ago, I watched the long insanely long 3 hr 35 min (215 min) (Ultimate Cut) that just came out. It was remarkable. Possibly the greatest comic book adaptation film ever made. I previously thought Sin City, 300 (for the art direction alone) and The Dark Knight were aces. I think Sin City is a visually beautiful movie and The Dark Knight has some of the best writing and casting ever in a comic book adaptation. The Watchmen is the greatest.
Of course, that’s without ever seeing any Marvel movie since Iron Man I or any X-Men movie made in the last 10 years or any of the recent DC Comic adaptations since Dark Knight Rises. I clocked out of super hero movies about 5 years ago because I could tell it was simply becoming too much for me to handle.
Watchmen restored my faith in the genre but it is an anomaly, a one-time-thing. It’s worth a re-watch if you’re a cinephile but don’t watch it on your iPad. Watch it in a true 5.1 setup in 1080P. You won’t be disappointed.