Russian Title: Nochnoy dozor
Director: Timur Bekmambetov
Format: DVD
DVD Features: featurettes, subtitles, English dub, poster gallery, trailers, animation shorts
Starring: Konstatntin Khabensky, Galina Tyunina, Dmitry Martynov, Aleskei Chadov
Trailer
On the back of the cover for Night Watch, there is a quote and endorsement from Quentin Tarantino. It reads, “Just after we’ve lived through The Lord of The Rings and we can’t even imagine another move spellbinding us, along comes Timur Beckmambetov’s fantasy masterpiece. Like Ridley Scoot, Timur is an astonishing visionary and Night Watch is an epic of extraordinary power.” Tarantino has endorsed a gaggle of flicks following his fame as director of Pulp Fiction. Most of which, I’ve already seen and form a stable foundation for B movie education. This one, however, is a bit above his usual recommendations.
Have you ever seen something you just couldn’t explain? Felt the tingle of the supernatural creep up your spine? Thought you may have powers no one could understand? Well, you might just be an “Other”. Anton Gorodetsky discovers that he’s one on the night he visits a witch in hopes of bringing back his cheating wife. And, since then, he has been fighting a battle on the side of light, the side of Night Watch. Ages ago, a battle between the light and dark forces of the world was ended in stalemate. So a truce was formed with two factions created to police each other under the rules of the truce. Day Watch is the dark side. They police the forces of good. Night Watch is the power of light, keeping watch on the vampires and evil-doers to assure their compliance. As the prophecy has foretold, there comes a boy who will decide who wins control and a virgin who’s curse may end the truce.
The visual effects and direction in Night Watch were truly superb. My favorite creature, although briefly glimpsed, is the spider-legged pixie doll. All of the CGI merges seamlessly into the true film footage. One particular demonstration of such technique is the sequence wherein a bolt flies off of a distressed airplane and finds it’s way down a ventilation shaft right into the virgin’s cup of instant coffee. Brilliant! This movie reminded me very much of the atmosphere Marc Caro and Jean-Pierre Jeunet conjure up in Delicatessen. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0101700/ . The entire movie is shot with a “dark and gritty” filter and really creates the perfect atmosphere for the story.
Konstatntin Khabensky plays the main character, Anton. At the beginning of the film, Anton is a dorky looking fellow, who’s wife has left him for another man. When Night Watch grabs the witch performing an abortion spell for him, Anton awakens to his talents as an Other. Afterwards, Anton becomes an alcoholic phsychic fighting on the side of light. Got to love the vodka/pig’s blood cocktail churning in his stomach as he prepares to seek a vampire. I loved his character. One role I was a bit disappointed with was Olga (Galina Tyunina). She’s is given to Anton in the form of an owl, to assist him on his mission to find the virgin and lift the curse. But, shortly after he scoffs at her abilities to aid him, she transforms into a woman in his kitchen. But, beyond that, the film never shows a lot of promise in Olga. She obviously has a keen sense of observation, but other than that, doesn’t exhibit any extraordinary powers. I can only hope that her character is further explored in the sequel.
Among the numerous lovely perks of the film, there is a kickin’ soundtrack and Anton’s neighbor. His neighbor, Kostya is a vampire played by Aleskei Chadov and he’s hot. If you’ve got a thing for vampires (like I do) you might just hope for a bite on the neck from Kostya. Too bad he’s not a main character. There is a faint element of romance as well, in the relationship of the two vampires hunting the boy Yegor (Dmitry Martynov). The head of Day Watch (those are the bad guys) loves to play out the plot in the form of a one-on-one fighting game. Keep your eyes open for the spine sword – classic Mortal Kombat type stuff.
The Night Watch DVD comes as a dual layer disc. One side is the English version, the other is the original Russian. If you prefer to watch the film it it’s original language, your only option for subtitles is English for the hearing impaired. So, there will be descriptions of the sound effects to tolerate. Quite honestly, I have never elected to view the English version, as I feel it takes away from some of the value of the film. There isn’t much in the way of special features on this disc. Director commentary is about the only extra available. But don’t let any of that stand in your way. Night Watch is a fantastic movie and I whole-hartedly recommend the rental, if not the purchase. I can hardly wait until Day Watch hits US shores.
Overall Rating: 4 ½
Hottie Rating: 4 (sexy vampires)
Alternate Viewing: Foreign pick - Tale of Two Sisters (Korea) Domestic pick – Underworld: Evolution (only if you’ve seen the first one)
Official Site: (Yes, it’s in Russian)
IMDB Site
A Nutshell Review
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