Night Watch (Nochnoi Dozor)/Day Watch/Twilight Watch (?)

[danlo]

In Films of 2006 I copied and pasted:

Night Watch--Set in contemporary Moscow, "Night Watch (Nochnoi Dozor)" revolves around the conflict and balance maintained between the forces of light and darkness -- the result of a medieval truce between the opposing sides. As night falls, the dark forces battle the super-human "Others" of the Night Watch, whose mission is to patrol and protect. But there is constant fear that an ancient prophecy will come true: that a powerful "Other" will rise up, be tempted by one of the sides, and tip the balance plunging the world into a renewed war between the dark and light, the results of which would be catastrophic. "Night Watch (Nochnoi Dozor)" is the first installment of a trilogy based on the best-selling sci-fi novels of Sergei Lukyanenko entitled Night Watch, Day Watch and Dusk Watch

Well, it zoomed through town and I missed it about a month ago-and BOOM!-it's on dvd! Just finished. WOW! Effects are incredible! Wild, weird, gory, shapeshifters, sorcerers, seers, vampires, something for everyone! Can't wait to see the next installment-bunch of unanswered questions, especially Anton's final statement . And I don't remember the guy stopping the bus (in the credits). I need to read these books-strange, wild--fantasy and sci-fi fans take note! Still don't know what to make of it. Rent it! Rent it now!

[sgt.null]

thank you, will look for it tomorrow!

[I'm Murrin]

I have it on DVD, got it a month or two back. Interesting. They cut the ending an odd way - in the deleted scenes there's a very long part that was cut

Spoiler

which starts where the elevator comes through the roof. It showed all the fighting that happened with the other characters on the roof, including some deaths that you don't see at all in the final cut of the film. It also shows what happens with the kid and the vampire -- if you pay attention in the film, you notice we never see what happens to her, she just doesn't appear again after the elevator bit.

Anyway, it was definately an interesting film, and I'm thinking of getting the books as well (apparently there are four books, but there'll only be three films). The first one has an english translation coming out in a few days.

Oh, and I think the clips in the credits--such as the bus one--are from the next film, Day Watch.

[danlo]

Spoiler

I sorta figured that: bus

--does the dvd have any deleted scenes? maybe I'll have to rent it again. I went back to the beginning but still couldn't find the answer to Anton's statement-

Spoiler

unless the Dark Lord was controlling the woman--maybe it's implied, but it seems we don't know enough, yet.--the law was broken, in anycase.

[Warmark]

Sounds like A Song of Ice and Fire...

I wantedto see this a few months ago, i think i will rent it.

[I'm Murrin]

does the dvd have any deleted scenes? maybe I'll have to rent it again.

The DVD I bought was the two-disc edition they have out here, with the russian, english, and english theatrical release versions of the film, a couple of short documentaries, trailers, and deleted scenes.

[hierachy]

This was a strange one.

I will watch the next installment, as I am interested where it is headed... but I was not overwhelmed by it.

[danlo]

Just finished the second part of the trilogy, Day Watch. Not as super-intense and gory as the first. But it does flesh out

Spoiler

the mythos and key members of each army. Some parts are very funny, dreamlike and seriously trippy (arriving at the birthday party was priceless). Does a great job of setting off the WAR that we all knew was inevitable.

Incredible effects and a priceless scene with a zombie! This series has it all! Matrix meets Resident Evil meets LOTR with serious Wagner overtones-killer music too. I will watch this again before returning it. Fabulous!

I do however advise not squabbling with a two year old and hitting the english dubbing by mistake: Anton's voice sounded like a cheap mix of John Wayne, Mickey Rourke, Frank Sinatra and Steve Bushemi. Besides the Russian adds to the many layers of mystery...

[CovenantJr]

Just saw these two. Am I the only one who finds Anton really annoying? He was so inept I wanted to slap him throughout both films.

I actually found the lack of squalor in Day Watch a little disappointing. Anton no longer seemed to be a barely coherent alcoholic, Zavulon (who sounds like pile ointment) stops looking like a homeless man, and the whole setting in general gets cleaner and more grand. Shame.

[danlo]

I think the 3rd movie will satisfy both sides, this was just the build-up. Slapping Anton sounds like fun. Since it will be the huge battle, plenty of squalor and blood will ensue.

[CovenantJr]

I agree on the dubbing, by the way. We switched it on for a couple of minutes in the middle of Day Watch, and English-speaking Anton is just...wrong. I had to stifle a chuckle. For one thing, he didn't sound like a berk, which Anton clearly is.

[danlo]

He was so inept I wanted to slap him throughout both films.

Reminds me of a certain Donaldson character...

[Kevin164]

I actually enjoyed NightWatch for the scenery of Moscow. Most American movies that touch on Russia just show the usual and nothing of the people or daily life other than some nefarious KGB cliche. I've been waiting for Day Watch to show up on DVD for a while now, so If I see it I plan to get it.


This movie is nothing like Songs of Ice and Fire, but I am sure looking forward to HBO getting that series up and running. Rent Nightwatch anyways because it is a good movie.

[CovenantJr]

I met a Russian a couple of days ago. Maybe I should have asked her about these films, heh.

[[Syl]]

One of the engineers I work with is Russian. We've talked about the movies a few times. Apparently, these books are huge there. I haven't had any luck finding translations (not that I've looked that hard), but I'm waiting for Dawn Watch to come out.

And I'm pretty sure I saw Day Watch at Blockbuster a few months ago.

[I'm Murrin]

English editions of the books are pretty easy to find in the UK; they were picked up by a major publisher, you can get them in most bookstores. IIRC they were popular enough that another of Lukyanenko's novels has since been translated. I have Night Watch but haven't read it yet.

[Rigel]

I finally got around to watching this last night (Yay Netflix!). I must say, it's a strange mixture of "awsome" and "crap".

That is, until I looked it up on Wikipedia, and found it cost about $4 million dollars to make. That's right: Less than half of what the original Star Wars cost. Twenty five years later!

All in all, I enjoyed it, and I'm looking forward to the next one (maybe tonight, maybe tomorrow).

Oh, and regarding my post about style being worthless in Sin City... the style in this was excellent, and I loved the way the subtitles were so imaginative. It really added to the feel of the movie!

I have a couple of questions, though:

Spoiler

What was up with Zavulon's video game sequences, and why did he pull his spine out to use as a sword?

And the flashbacks to the medieval battle, switching between Anton in the gloom with a flourescent light, and Anton and Bear in armour? Was Anton remembering a past life or something?

[danlo]

I haven't read the book but I

Spoiler

think that represents the ageless battle, or original conflict over the Earth, I think the coming battle and those flashbacks will be, kind of, interchangeable Armageddons.

[Rigel]

After seeing Daywatch, I like it even better than the first. I'm not certain if the editing got better, or if it just helps to have the story set up, but it was much easier to follow.

I don't even mind the ending;

Spoiler

although it pretty much reset things for Anton, it makes it clear that everyone else involved still remembers what happened in the original sequence. So it is NOT as if those events never happened!

Anyway, back to my one complaint... it seems to me that they changed the rules between the first and second movies.

In the first movie, there was a lot of talk about the "Great Other," who would come and tip the balance one way or the other. The movie ended with the Great Other's choosing the Dark.

In the second movie, we find that there is a 2nd Great Other, this one choosing the Light. Not only that, but it seems that each side gets a Great Other about once a century. This gives a significantly distinct feel from the first movie.

[danlo]

I read somewhere, the other day that, at one point, they were almost done filming Twilight Watch, that it was going to be done totally in English and that it was suppose to be released in late 2009---I have not seen hide nor hair of that happening, not even on IMDB...