Tales Of The Black Freigther

26 minutes. Rated R for “violent and grisly images”. (That’s fun to say.) Those images consist of various body parts floating around the ocean, and bodies exploding from decay, and the protagonist building a raft of bodies. Anyone who’s read the graphic novel or seen the movie won’t be terribly shocked by all this, I fear. (And if you haven’t, why would you be interested?)

It’s a cartoon about the horror of survival after a shipwreck. It explores one man’s descent into madness after facing an overwhelming force that destroys his crew and, he fears, his home and family.

The animation is limited, reminiscent of a segment of the Heavy Metal movie, or maybe one of the Joe Orlando horror comics of the 70s. There’s a ponderous voiceover about how significant it all is, voice provided by Gerard Butler. Full of horrific imagery, I was left feeling “this is quite unpleasant.”

It feels like an animated Twilight Zone episode
Taken out of the context of the bigger story, the “pirate comic” seems to lose much of its point. It feels like an animated Twilight Zone episode, and you lose the character arc analogy and counterpoint. (Not that I thought it was necessary in the first place.) Instead, it seems like grotesquery for its own sake.

The end credits air with “Pirate Jenny”, a Berthold Brecht/Kurt Weill song from The Threepenny Opera performed by Nina Simone, playing over them. (Note that, based on the lyrics, Alan Moore uses a similar story in the upcoming League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Century #1: 1910.) That’s where the Black Freighter name came from, as they explain later in one of the special features (see below).

Under the Hood
38 minutes. Rated PG for “mild thematic elements, brief violent and suggestive images, and smoking”. This dramatization of the Watchmen text pieces takes the format of a 1985 talk show — one guy, in chair, on black set with projected images over his shoulder — showing a 1975 “rerun” of an interview with Hollis Mason (Stephen McHattie), the author of the book Under the Hood. (All this reminded me just how old the book was, that they had to play with decades that way.)

Fake newspapers, staged photographs, and impressive created artifacts make it feel real. (Except for how the host looks older in 1975 than he does in 1985.) I found this segment much more watchable than the first because it has a sense of fun, playing with the premise and content, plus it contributes to the world-building of the movie. They also tie in real history, like mentioning Action Comics #1 as a big influence. (Although they show the cover of Superman #1, bad DVD! KC says that makes it more realistic, since comic mentions in the media in the 1970s tended to get the details wrong.)

seeing the old-style newsreels showing the early heroes is enjoyable, and I appreciated how much effort went into it.


Special Features
The disc also includes the first chapter of the Watchmen Motion Comic, the trailer for the upcoming Green Lantern animated movie, and the 25-minute “Story Within a Story: The Books of Watchmen”.

This featurette includes Dave Gibbons (co-creator and illustrator of the original graphic novel), Jeffrey Dean Morgan (The Comedian), and the filmmakers talking about the two main features and how they connect to the theatrical film. Also contributing are the usual suspects from DC Comics (Levitz and the over-used, boring Noveck), joined by Len Wein (original project editor), Richard Bruning (creative director and KC’s former boss), and Jenette Kahn (former publisher). Some of it is telling us what we just saw, but I suppose that’s inevitable, and what passes for commentary these days. (I want to hear writers, actors, illustrators, and directors talking, not Hollywood property owners, producers, and money men who have nothing creative to do with the work.)

The Overall Package
even if you want to see it, would you ever watch it more than once?
Both of the main segments will be excellent bonus features on the eventual special edition DVD release, but asking fans to pay this much (list price: $28) for promotional material, even if it does serve as an ad for the movie, is annoying. A key question for potential customers: even if you want to see it, would you ever watch it more than once? It will make a lot more sense interspersed in the director’s cut.

I think the true purpose is summed up by Gregory Noveck, Senior VP, Creative Affairs, DC Comics. (What does he do besides DVD commentaries?)

So if you go and see the Watchmen movie, and then you go get Under the Hood and the Black Freighter, and then you go and you look at those, and then all of a sudden that informs how you see the movie, and you go back and look at the movie again, and then something you see in the movie tells you oh, I better look at Black Freighter again, then that’s exactly how the guys wanted you to experience the comic book in the first place.

I somehow don’t believe that Alan Moore, uncredited in all this by his own wishes, intended for his story to be experienced in three separate cross-media pieces.

(A complimentary copy for this review was provided by the studio.)


Sidebar: "The World Will Look Up and Shout Save Us! and I'll whisper...NO"
I love that quote! Also, If you haven't seen The Watchmen I Highly recommend you to go see it, especially before seeing Tales Of The Black Fighter. That way you'll have more of a understanding of The Watchmen mythology. Finally, you must check out The watchmen graphic novel as well. It is incredible! Mad Kudos for Alan Moore (Creator of the Watchmen) for coming up with a dope story. :D

-Reb-El

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