Watchmen

Watchmen

The action of the film takes place in a parallel reality, in America in 1985. In this world, superheroes have become part of the everyday life of society, and the Doomsday Clock, having stopped five minutes before midnight, is counting down to the clash of the world's leading powers. After the murder of one of his former colleagues, Rorschach - a hero who never took off his mask - is determined to arrange a Lynch trial. He begins investigating a conspiracy to destroy or discredit all superheroes past and present. He gathers his friends - a retired legion of crime fighters, but only one of them has real power. Gradually, Rorschach realizes the frightening scale of the conspiracy connected with the shared past of the heroes and predicts catastrophic consequences in the future. They protect our peace, but who will protect us from the Guardians? Read more WHO WATCHES THE GUARDIANS? New York, 1985—the world is overshadowed by the darkness and fear of paranoia. Ordinary people wear masks to fight crime while hiding their true faces. Desperate heroes act desperately and challenge the haunted ghost of Armageddon. This is the world of "Keepers", the first screen adaptation of the popular comics directed by Zack Snyder. On the wall of a dark street in New York, a question is written in paint, which runs through the Guardians with a red thread: "Who is watching the Guardians?" Snyder explains: "Who has the right to say what is right and what is not? And who monitors the topics, who decides what is right and what is wrong, what is white and what is black?" Guardians first appeared as a 12-part comic book, released in a limited series. They were published by the DC Comics company in the period 1986-1987, and then they were republished in one book, widely known in our time. A bleeding smiley on the cover, a photo of a clock showing the time "one minute to midnight" and a structure of 12 chapters are all attributes of the Guardians. These are the only comics that have won the prestigious Hugo Award, in 2005 they appeared in the list of "100 best English-language novels published since 1923" by Time magazine, and also received several Kirby and Eisner awards. When the Guardians came out of print, they found a wide response among a generation that grew up in constant fear of the threat of nuclear war, a threat that is not abstract, but quite tangible. Over the decades of its existence, this comic book has acquired countless fans around the world, and their number continues to grow. The concept of the heroes themselves is very controversial, in the comics there are many heroes who are called "rather people than super-people" - these are ordinary real people who face ethical and personal problems, who struggle with neuroses and failures and who, except for Doctor Manhattan, do not have any super-powers. What further adds to the intrigue is the fact that the Guardians comics, given their complexity, multi-layeredness, symbolism and synchronicity together with asynchrony, were considered "non-screenable" for a long time. For more than ten years, producers Lawrence Gordon and Lloyd Levin believed that the film could still be made, they conceived this project and were looking for a director who could make a film worthy of comics. The picture became more or less clear when director Zack Snyder, who was still busy filming the future blockbuster "300 Spartans", showed interest in the project and expressed his desire to make a film. "There has always been an opinion that a movie based on the Guardians comics cannot be made," says Zack Snyder. - "The story itself is pure water of mysticism, but inside it contains a rich plot that includes an international intrigue, a lot of super-villains and super-heroes, that is, everything that is needed for a film. The film cannot be attributed completely to any one genre, it is what it is, with its unique plot and unique characters." "Guardians is a rather complex project, it does not create an archetype of a character, it goes through all the details, shows why you want to wear this particular suit, why you want to fight crime," says Gibbons. - "Are you a little crazy? Are you a little altruistic? And what would happen if you got superpowers and you couldn't live as before?" "GUARDIANS" MASKS Action "Guardians" takes place in a world on the brink of war. In this world live costumed heroes called Masks, they are outlawed, society has banished them, it fears and despises them. The uniqueness of the project interested many actors. "We tried many actors for roles in Guardians," says Levin. - "We have selected a talented team, but each of them has one common quality - they believe in what they say and in the characters they play." "'Guardians shows each character's inner peace, his sexuality and his fears, his philosophy and his inadequacy,'" says Patrick Wilson, who plays Night Owl II. - "You have never seen anything like this before!" Carla Gugino, who plays Sella Jupiter in the film, talks about how important it was to get used to the role, the gender of the person you play: "Each role is responsible. None of us felt the need to stand out, to be more important than others. Everyone worked very harmoniously." Jacky Earl Haley was delighted with the opportunity to show "what society is like without a mask." He adds: "The film shows what the world could be like if people could wear such costumes. What are their weaknesses, morals, beliefs in what drives their behavior?" Even before Snyder started casting for Guardians, the actors for him were chosen by fans of the comics. "About three years ago," Hayly recalls. - "people on the Internet offered me the role of Rorschach in the film. At that time, I was not yet familiar with the novel. I read it and was simply amazed. Therefore, when I heard that they were going to make a film, I fought like the devil himself to get this role." "We live in a complex world of different shades of gray, but for Rorschach there are only two colors in the world - black and white," says Hayly. - "For him, there is no meaning in complexity. Complexity only justifies his sacrifice and the sacrifice of everyone who suffers from someone's interests." Rorschach's psychology and beliefs are reflected by an ego mask on which changing black and white spots are applied. Snyder says: "Rorschach is a very interesting character. He was born in a dysfunctional family and grew up on the brutal streets of his city, and then gradually, under the influence of various events that happened inside and outside the mask, he becomes Rorschach." Rorschach learns that Edward Blake, also known as the Comedian, was brutally murdered by being thrown from the 30th floor window of his house. A man-killing machine who spent many years in the service of the government in both peacetime and wartime, the Comedian sees the world in dark colors, where brutality is sometimes impossible to distinguish from heroism. "The comedian is American to the core, but he represents the dark side of America," says the director. - "He walks on the edge of a knife, he always did dirty work for the government, but he always did it like a superhero." For Rorschach, he is a patriot, a hero of America who died serving his country. A Comedian died today in New York, - writes Rorschach in his diary. And someone knows why. Rorschach is sure that someone is removing the heroes in costumes one by one, and The Comedian is only the first of them. He decides to warn the entire former team of six heroes, who in the old days fought for the common cause of justice. He first visits Dan Dreyberg, who worked with Rorschach in the mask of Night Owl II. Dan is nothing like Rorschach. Before he donned the Night Owl mask, Dreyberg was "a rich and bored young man with a belief in the idea of ​​fighting evil and injustice, he always dreamed of saving a girl and falling in love with her," says Patrick Wilson. - "He has an old-fashioned value system. He sees the good in people. Dan went to fight crime to help people." Adrian Wade, or Ozymandias, has already almost forgotten about his former life in a mask, now he has other goals. The smartest man in the world, and now one of the richest, Wade found a new use for heroes in masks - he writes books, makes cartoons and films about them. However, he still believes that he has some higher calling. Obsessed with the glorious deeds of Alexander the Great and the Egyptian pharaoh Ramses II (Ozymandias is the Greek version of the name Ramses II), Wade strives to change the life of society for the better. Zack Snyder says: "How to change society and bring peace among people? Can anyone control it? These are the questions that make up the backbone of the film's idea." Billy Crudup, who plays John Osterman or Doctor Manhattan, says: "They are all fundamentalists in their own way. Doctor Manhattan is the only Mask with superpowers. John believes in good, believes in following the ideals of the country's leaders." Before the incident in the nuclear laboratory, which forever changed his life, Dr. Manhattan was John Osterman, the son of a watchmaker, an outstanding physicist. And then he becomes a super entity that can experience the past, present and future at the same time, as well as control and influence everything that happens. Doctor Manhattan has a very warm relationship with Laura Jasperchuk or Silk Ghost II, who fell in love with him as a teenager. The role of Laura was played by Malin Akreman: "Laura is head over heels in love with John, but over time he is more and more distant from her. She feels that she is losing him, and the more he moves away, the more she loses her essence." After the death of the Comedian, Laura begins a relationship with Dan Dreyberg, who shares her sense of loss. "Being together with Dan gives Laura the opportunity to feel like a woman again," says Akerman. - "Someone is paying attention to her for the first time in many years, like a person on a person." We meet Sally Jupiter in California, where she lives with memories of past victories. Carla Gugino describes her character as someone who "likes to think of herself as a little better than she really is. Sally, of course, wanted to fight evil, but she also wanted to be famous. When she got older, she passed her skills on to her daughter. Sally is a very complex character, she's been through a lot, but most of her suffering is self-inflicted. She loves the Comedian, even though they were never meant to be together". Sella and Edward Blake, or the Comedian, have always been attracted to each other since the days of the Minutemen, the original group of superheroes. But their relationship is suddenly threatened by events that have had an impact on both of their lives. "It was a moment that turned Edward Blake's life upside down," says Jeffrey Dean Morgan, who played the Comedian. - "He realizes that he is not able to express his feelings, all he can do is hurt the woman he loves. All his life he is alone. I don't think that anyone can like such a life. There is something incredibly sad about the Comedian. I think that he wants something else, bigger than life. He is like a lost soul. The only time when he feels good and confident is at war, when he is fighting alongside him comrades. He laughs at evil, at crimes. Even his own death does not concern him - until he realizes what is actually happening." "Who makes the world go round?" Dave Gibbons thinks. - "I think that the people who inhabit it. Everything is determined by plans, all people plan something - it is impossible without it. But at the end of the day, I am sure that the main determining factors are simple luck and Mr. Chance - they permeate all the fibers of reality. It does not matter how precise and accurate your plans are, it does not matter at all what exactly you plan, what must happen will happen. I think that as a result we must all submit to a great force universe". AND IN CONCLUSION... Filming took place in several locations around Vancouver, Canada, and a series of scenes were shot in four pavilions at CMPP Studios (Canadian Motion Picture Park). In addition, another filming site was built from scratch on the site of a large sawmill on the outskirts of the city. There, McDowell and his team built the city of New York, which fans of the Guardians will recognize without difficulty - from the Gunga Diner and Rorschach Street to the high-rise apartments of the Comedian. In addition to the already well-known fans of the Guardians, the film shows real personalities who lived and were at the peak of popularity at that time. Greg Cannon and his team of professional make-up artists "revived" many historical and simply popular personalities, including Presidents Kennedy and Nixon, young Mick Jagger, David Bowie, Annie Leibovitz and The Village People. Music also plays an important role in Guardians. While watching the film, the audience will be able to enjoy a whole collection of classic compositions from Nat "King" Cole, Billie Holiday to Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, etc. Deborah Snyder says that everyone who worked on the film did it with passion, with excitement, everyone devoted themselves to their work completely and completely. "Keepers is not only important to comic book fans, it's a pretty significant piece of literature as a whole. We hope that everyone who sees the film will rediscover (if not for the first time) the comic book because there's so much more to it than what we've managed to bring to the screen." Zack Snyder recalls: "Guardians is a milestone; I am honored to be the director of such a huge film. Deborah and I, we worked a lot with each member of the team, and it gave us a lot of pleasure. For me, the "why" of this film is a hundred small moral questions, the totality of which leads to one big question that has no answer. The end of the film suggests the beginning of a discussion. I hope that the audience, leaving the hall, will think about Whatever side they take. Comics raise the question of who is really a good guy and who is a bad guy, and I hope we managed to embody that in the film."