The Watchmen hit the home front in all of its HD beauty; bringing along with it an immersive mode that lets you get deep under the hood. 

The Watchmen Directors Cut contained on the Blu-Ray disc weighs in at just over three hours including the 25minutes of previously deleted footage which add to the theatrical version nicely. These pieces of additional footage and full scenes are interwoven seamlessly in to the feature. Most of these provide segues or reactions that add to the original even further, a personal favorite of the staff is the additional Rorschach footage concerning Walter Kovacs (Rorschach’s civilian identity) and Dr. Malcolm Long (the Psychoanalyst who is looking to gain fame by correcting this infamous vigilante). Although different form the graphic novel (in which this matter takes place over the course of an entire issue) Snyder has focused in on the crux of what makes Rorschach tick and created a man who is hated/feared by his fellow Watchmen, his country, and the society that he has dedicated his life to protecting. 
 

The deep dive continues with the new immersive picture in picture movie mode called Warner Bros. Maximum Movie Mode. Beyond a shadow of a doubt, the real reason to own this Blu-Ray version of Watchmen Director’s Cut. In this mode the home consumer is taken behind the scenes by Watchmen director Zack Snyder to take a closer look into all of the nuts and bolts that went in to making Watchmen. Unlike the standard audio or visual commentary track that is included with most movies, the Maximum Movie Mode provides the audience with an immersive multifaceted interactive tour of the movie which allows for a more complete understanding of all the thoughts processes and work that went in to realizing Zach Snyder’s vision of Watchmen.
 

The Maximum Movie Mode comes complete with its own menu which allows it to be played in its entirety or via specific vignettes called “Focus Points.” When played in its entirety the audience is given additional insight into the Watchmen world via storyboards, vignettes, stills, a timeline that compares the events of the world of Watchmen against those of the real world, comic panels (for a side by side comparison), and on screen footage of Zach Snyder breaking down his thoughts or giving fun facts about certain scenes all while the director’s cut of the movie is playing in the background.

From the get go the audience is treated to a sample of what’s in store when Zach Snyder suddenly walks on screen during the opening titles, pauses the film, and explains the methods that will be employed during this interactive guided tour; with an aid of two monitors (one that will display the point of interest in the background and the other that is displaying the relevant items that went in to making said scene) the immersion begins.

As the feature begins, Zach walks the audience through his though process, camera work, and SFX needed to make this scene a reality. While the theatrical version of this scene plays on the left monitor behind Zach, the same sequence is played without any of the visual effects and from a different camera angle to show how the movie magic is done. The comic panels from the original graphic novel are played so that they can be compared and contrasted against how this scene unfolds on the silver screen. A timeline also appears across the screen noting how a key date in the Watchmen universe corresponds with a key date in the time line of our world. At the end of the sequence the productions stills appear in the picture in picture style screen and can be accessed in full so that this gallery can be enjoy in all of its full screen glory and at one’s own pace.

This initial taste of the Maximum Movie Mode is mesmerizing and immerses the audience so deeply since they can now interact and understand the Watchmen and those who poured their lives in to it like never before. One of the most interesting features of this mode are the accessible features in the form of the stills, concept work, and Focus Points which can be enjoyed in full via the Enter button on the remote or in an encapsulated form in the picture in picture style window. When one of these items is accessed the movie is paused and the item is brought to full screen size for full enjoyment this includes the stills (which can be cycled through) and the Focus Points. This unique experience will enlighten and enrich the viewing experience with each viewing and hopefully will become a standard mode on Warner Brothers Blu-Ray discs. 

Speaking of which, Watchmen Director’s Cut Blu-Ray also allows access to the Warner Brothers Live so that the home audience can access online areas such as trailers and the shop which contains exclusive items. A new feature on the Blu-Ray is the ability to connect to Facebook via Watchmen Director’s Cut BD-Live in which the users can interact with their Facebook friends, update their Facebook status and even invite said friends to attend a Live Community Screening. Note that this feature is only available to those who have a BD-Live enabled Blu-Ray players, a working Broadband internet connection, and have sufficient free storage space via a Hard Drive or some other storage device to accommodate this feature. 

The Brass Tax: The Watchmen Director’s Cut Blu-Ray edition makes an excellent supplemental or stand alone purchase for fans of the Watchmen movie. Without a doubt the Warner Bros. Maximum Movie Mode alone is worth the price of admission. The Watchmen Director’s Cut is a must buy and one that no Blu-Ray owner should be without!