Nochnoy dozor (2004)

Director:

Timur Bekmambetov

Writers (WGA):

Timur Bekmambetov (screenplay) and
Laeta Kalogridis (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

8 July 2004 (Belarus)

Genre:

Action | Fantasy | Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

All That Stands Between Light And Darkness Is The Night Watch.

Plot:

A fantasy-thriller set in present-day Moscow where the respective forces that control daytime and nighttime do battle.

Plot Keywords:

Witchcraft | Surreal | Prophecy | Doctor | Curse

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Konstantin Khabensky	...	Anton Gorodetsky
Vladimir Menshov	...	Geser
Valeri Zolotukhin	...	Kostya's Father
Mariya Poroshina	...	Svetlana
Galina Tyunina	...	Olga, the sorceress
Yuri Kutsenko	...	Ignat (as Gosha Kutsenko)
Aleksei Chadov	...	Kostya (Anton's young vampire neighbor)
Zhanna Friske	...	Alice Donnikova
Ilya Lagutenko	...	Andrei
Viktor Verzhbitsky	...	Zavulon
Rimma Markova	...	Darya Schultz, the witch
Mariya Mironova	...	Irina, Yegor's mother
Aleksei Maklakov	...	Simeon
Aleksandr Samojlenko	...	Ilya (Bear), mage-transformer
Dmitry Martynov	...	Yegor (as Dmitri Martynov)

Also Known As:

Night Watch: Nochnoi Dozor (International: English title) (UK)
Ночной дозор (Russia)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong violence, disturbing images and language.

Runtime:

114 min

Country:

Russia

Language:

Russian | English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Malaysia:18SG | Brazil:16 | Netherlands:16 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | Australia:MA | New Zealand:R16 | Iceland:16 | Portugal:M/16 | Spain:18 | South Korea:18 | Canada:14A | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Argentina:16 | Peru:14 | Sweden:15 | Japan:PG-12 | Germany:16 | Malaysia:U (cut) | Ireland:18 | Norway:15 | UK:15 | USA:R | Czech Republic:15 | Singapore:NC-16 | Finland:K-15

Filming Locations:

Moscow, Russia

Company:

Bazelevs Production

Trivia:

The film was a huge box-office hit in Russia, which made it widely despised by an underground nonconformist intellectual movement "Padonki", who criticized it for wide use of Holywood-style filming and lack of ideas behind the FX. They labeled the movie "Nochnoy Pozor" (Night Shame).

Goofs:

Continuity: In the scene with the "frozen" people, one of the "frozen" guys blinks several times and his hand holding a fork is shaking.

Quotes:

[Geser lies on the floor with a book, telling the tale of the Virgin of Byzantium, the origin of the Others, the Great War, and the prophecy of the Great Other]
Geser: ...And so it will be, until a man emerges who is meant to become the Great One. And, if he chooses the side of Light, then Light will win. But, those, to whom the truth has been revealed, say that he will choose Darkness. For it is easier to kill the Light within oneself, than to scatter the Darkness around... The prophecies are coming true.

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in Boginya: kak ya polyubila (2004)

Soundtrack:

Zlost

Amazing and Unique: a compelling story with a breath-taking presentation

On the surface the story line appears to be standard Hollywood stock; a race of super-humans (called "Others") exists. The Others are divided into two camps: the keepers of the light and the army of darkness. 1,000 years ago they fought each other to a bloody stalemate and signed the Truce. The standard Hollywood story line stops there. The Truce has very specific terms and any individual caught violating the Truce faces severe consequences. Both sides continually cheat the Truce and bait each other to violate its terms so that they can catch and punish the guilty individuals. The most important rule of the Truce is that each Other must decide freely which camp they wish to join: the Light or the Dark.

The movie follows a boy who is destined to be the Great Other who will tip the balance of power to the camp he decides to join. The story is filled with stunning visuals and sound effects - think the best elements of The Matrix and Highlander with a bit of Sin City thrown in. All the characters are three dimensional and the actors' performances are superb. (A rarity in action films these days.) In Night Watch the line between good and evil is often blurred. The lead character struggles with what is a truly a moral action and what is not. Night Watch does not offer any easy answers to this question. After all, what is moral and what is not is something that each of us must decide freely for ourselves.

This is an incredible movie and is not one you have seen before. I highly recommend it.