Readers with long memories may recall that back in mid-March -- I remember it as if it was only four months ago, actually -- I was allowing how Warner Home Video's marketing of the whole Watchmen thing might conceivably be getting out of hand. Said dark thoughts, of course, were occasioned by the DVD release of a panel by panel animation of the original graphic novel, as well as by Tales of the Black Freighter, a combo of animation and live action that fleshed out two subplots from the graphic novel that were conpicuously absent from the Zack Snyder-directed feature film. At the time, this struck me as overkill, although to be fair I did allow that Watchmen, which I had earlier described (accurately, I think) as "interminable bong-hit Nietzche," was nowhere near as gay or as ridiculous as its auteur's previous 300 (which, if memory serves, I earlier described, also accurately, as "the most insane film ever to have grossed over 100 million bucks").

In any case, kids, WHV is at it again; the Watchmen director's cut -- featuring 25 minutes of footage excised from the theatrical version -- arrived on DVD and Blu-ray yesterday, and I'm here to tell you that the DVD version at least is...well, a bit much, I guess, unless you're the kind of person who already has a pair of Watchmen pajamas. On a purely technical level, of course, the package can hardly be faulted; the two DVD set (it includes a digital copy disc, for those who need to view the film on their iPod while commuting to work) sports an absolutely flawless transfer, and you also get an admittedly interesting making-of documentary, a bunch of (somewhat less interesting) mini-making-of-documentaries, and a music video by My Chemical Romance (the kids love 'em!). As for the restored footage, including a scene of Hollis "Nite Owl" Mason's death, I have little to say except that the entire film now seems to me to be longer than Parsifal but with fewer laughs (and I had planned to use that joke for my forthcoming review of the Transformers sequel DVD, so I'm pretty cheesed off).

I should also add that the Blu-ray version has even more interactive features; here's the trailer to give you a little taste of both sets.

In any case, you can -- and if that's your cuppa tea, definitely should -- order the DVD here.