When Alan Moore's
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemenwas adapted from a comic into a feature film, the filmmakers did not seek to recreate the look and feel of the book. It was
just an adaptation. The same can be said for the film edition of Moore's
V for Vendetta. But when the time finally came for a brave filmmaker to tackle the inevitable adaptation of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons'
Watchmen, the result was a faithful recreation of the look and feel of the seminal 'graphic novel'.
Watchmen opened doors. It changed the way people read and write comic books. Its unique tale of disaffected heroes caught in an unheoric era of shame and loss has captured the minds to readers for a long time. The only correct way to pay tribute to such a carefully constructed work is to engineer a film with an equally observant eye for detail.
In
Watchmen: The Art of the Film, author Peter Aperlo lends a guiding voice to the process of turning a beloved comic book into a movie. By leading readers through the creative process of transforming a comic book into a film, Aperlo offers valuable insight and behind the scenes information. Readers are treated to original concept art, set designs, and prop and costume photos.
Nite Owl II gets back into the swing of things
This book allows
Watchmen fans (and cinema fans in general) a peek into the mind of a filmmaker seeking to transfer a story from one medium to another. There was an initial concern held by
Watchmen fans that a movie adaptation by director Zack Snyder would be over-stylized, much like his previous comic adaptation,
300. Thankfully, Snyder understood that to be true to the source material meant creating a gritty, lived-in world. It had to feel real so that the decisions and actions taken by the characters would feel as if they were coming from a real place. The alternate 1985 in which
Watchmen takes place needed to be as real on screen as it was on the page in order to maintain its power.
This thinking inspired the designers, artists, and prop masters. It became a goal for everyone invested in bringing the comic to the screen. These efforts are chronicled in
Watchmen: The Art of the Film, and the results are on display in the over-sized pages of this volume.
Every set location is drenched in detail, and the stunning photographs in this book pay tribute to the hard work of the designers. The glimpses at storyboards reveal the filmmaker's understanding that
Watchmen's visual language had to be acknowledged and translated into a filmic creation. In doing so, the comic comes to life, and its powerful narrative largely maintains its form and integrity.
Malin Akerman as Silk Spectre II
It should be noted that when Zack Snyder shot the
Watchmen movie, he opted to tweak the conclusion of the film so that it would be more palatable for a film audience. This controversial decision has been largely accepted by fans of the book, who are just grateful that the movie was made at all. Included in
Watchmen: The Art of the Film
is new comic art by Dave Gibbons, commissioned by Snyder. He wanted the film's reimagined ending to come from 'an authentic source'. This reimagining of the original
Watchmen
text is somewhat disturbing. Although Snyder sough to capture the look and feel of the book, he wasn't out to make a full-on recreation. This is perfectly understandable, but to actually commission an amendment to the Moore/Gibbons work seems rather outlandish.
The
Watchmen: The Art of the Film is a beautiful book which demands to be explored. For a
Watchmen fan,
or cinema studies student, this book provides an informative peek into
the art of adaptation. It is exciting to see popular characters lifted from the
page, and placed into authentic costumes, armed with props, standing on
sets plucked straight from the art of Dave Gibbons.
