Published: Tuesday, 14th July, 2009 1:22pm

Watching the Watchmen... Again. And again.

by Geek Chic

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Nite Owl from Zach Snyder's Watchmen, courtesy of Warner Brothers.

With Zach Snyder's Director's Cut of Watchmen due out impendingly, finally fans will get a chance to see the film as it should have been. Right? Well sort of.

In a move that would make George 'Keep rereleasing the DVDs, the kids need new shoes' Lucas proud, the DVDs are set to be the definitive version of the maligned movie for about three months - before a new definitive edition will be released.

The three-disc Director's Cut is due out region 1 in a few weeks, with a UK release date being pencilled in for early autumn. But in the packaging of the set (sneaky - so you have to buy it to find out) is news of a five-disc set due out in December that will feature another new edit of the movie (that's three in nine months, which has to be some kind of record.) This new version will include Tales From The Black Freighter animated footage mixed with the live action movie, with the other disks boasting special features including the already-released motion comic version of the original graphic novel.

All in all, it feels a little like a geeky cash cow is being milked somewhat here. That said, if a scene reinstated in the Directors' Cut showing the heart-wrenching final moments of the original Nite Owl is anything to go by I'll happily be handing over my cash anyway. The clip, (published on great geek site http://io9.com/tag/watchmen and worth hunting down if you're comfortable with some fairly vivid violence), shows Hollis Mason beaten to death while - in his mind at least - reliving flashes of his past heroics. It is bleak, heartwrenching, soulful and oddly beautiful, in a way that makes me curious as to how Snyder's full cut will hold up (although convinced it'll be so lengthy it will be more Gone With the Wind than Gone in Sixty Seconds).

* Catch it for yourself when the Watchmen: Director's Cut comes out on July 21 (region 1) or in the autumn for UK fans.