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| Night Watch |
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List Price: $27.98
Buy New: $16.50
You Save: $11.48 (41%)
Buy New/Used from $11.69
Avg. Customer Rating:  (based on 38 reviews)
Sales Rank: 61
Category: DVD
Director: Timur Bekmambetov
Publisher: 20th Century Fox
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox
Label: 20th Century Fox
Format: Ac-3, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, Subtitled, Widescreen, Ntsc
Languages: Russian (Original Language), English (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), English (Dubbed), French (Dubbed), Spanish (Dubbed)
Rating: R (Restricted)
Media: DVD
Running Time: 114 minutes
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
UPC: 024543237488
EAN: 0024543237488
ASIN: B000FFJ81C
Release Date: June 20, 2006 (New: This Week)
Theatrical Release Date: November 30, 2003
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
Night Watch is that rare film that--like The Matrix--is not only visually dazzling but creates an intriguing, seductive, and thrilling alternative world. A young man named Anton, after dabbling in black magic to bring back the wife who left him, discovers that the world is populated by fantastical Others (vampires, shape-shifters, witches, and more) who have chosen sides--Light or Dark--in an epic battle. A truce has been declared; both sides watch the other to ensure the truce is maintained. But a prophecy has predicted that a powerful Other will tilt the balance, and Anton--who is himself an Other--finds himself crucial to the prophecy's fulfillment. There's no question that Night Watch has weaknesses. Numerous plot holes get glossed over by pell-mell pacing, the visual conception of the apocalyptic battle between Light and Dark is curiously pedestrian (a bunch of knights fighting a bunch of guys in fur with swords--what happened to their various powers?), and more--but, much like similar problems with The Matrix, it doesn't matter.
The alternative world Night Watch presents is so rich with possibilities that it takes on a life of its own, both as an imaginative universe and as a vivid metaphor for the moral complexities of our own lives--for example, though the forces of Light claim to be good, their often brutal actions call their virtue into question, and the forces of Dark make some compelling moral arguments on the topic. The movie is so overstuffed with ideas that many don't get fleshed out, but that only contributes to the sense of vitality and unexplored dimensions. Even the subtitles are used creatively. The impending sequels (this is the first film of a trilogy) may--like The Matrix--take all the stimulating possibilities Night Watch raises and drag them into the toilet, but for the moment, this is the sort of electric excitement that blockbuster movies promise but so rarely deliver. --Bret Fetzer
Description
Among normal humans live the "Others" possessing various supernatural powers. They are divided up into the forces of light and the forces of the dark, who signed a truce several centuries ago to end a devastating battle. Ever since, the forces of light govern the day while the night belongs to their dark opponents. In modern day, the dark Others actually roam the night as vampires while a "Night Watch" of light forces, among them Anton, try to control them and limit their outrage.
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Customer Reviews: Read 33 more reviews...
 Unfocused, uninteresting, and unintelligable June 26, 2006
This movie is so bad it made me angry. I was actually angry at this movie and the people responsible for it. The story is silly and unappealing and poorly constructed. Try as I might,I could not find the importance to anywhere. By the end of the flick I found myself thinking, "I could have sworn I just watched a movie."
It looks good, but there is really nothing here. There is no movie to review.
Better to rent than purchase. Save your money. June 25, 2006
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
Night Watch is a confusing mess. Save your hard earned money and rent it instead if you want to view this,"artsy-fartsy," overated waste of time! If you want to see a great vampire movie than I suggest, "Near Dark," which features half the cast of James Cameron's movie Aliens.
 This DVD is feature packed with many different language and subtitle options! June 24, 2006
6 out of 7 found this review helpful
Some early reviews have stated incorrect information regarding the subtitle status of this movie. In fact this DVD has so many features when it comes to audio and subtitle selection that it can be confusing. This is my review of these options in hopes of making it all understandable.
This DVD release is a single disc DVD release but the DVD has information on both sides. Side 1 is dual layer whereas Side 2 is single layer.
It is easier if I describe SIDE 2 before I describe SIDE 1 so here goes ...
SIDE 2 OF THE DVD:
This side has the much celebrated animated subtitles which have been burned into the image. They are not selectable meaning they cannot be turned off. This was the only way to do the subtitles due to the animated and varied nature of the subtitles. If you haven't seen the movie yet then this will make sense once you watch this version.
This side has 5.1 Dolby Digital Russian audio although when there is voice-over (like at the beginning of the film) the voice-over is in English but all characters are in the original Russian. The only other audio on this side is the audio commentary by the director who thankfully speaks English very well.
Now there are a variety of subtitle options that can be turned on and off. These usually appear at the top of the screen so as not to interfer with the burned-in animated subtitls.
1.) English for the hearing imparied. This is like Closed Captioned subtitles. They don't repeat the already burned in subtitles [except for the voice-over stuff which is fully subtitled here) but add to the already burned in subtitles by saying [BUZZING] ... [DOOR LOCK CLICKS] ... [PHONE RINGING] ... and other CC type stuff.
2.) French subtitles
3.) Spanish subtitles
4.) Subtitle Commentary by the author of the book NIGHT WATCH on which the film is based on. This is interesting as this "commentary" is not verbal but in subtitle form. It is available in English, French and Spanish.
That's it for SIDE TWO.
SIDE 1 OF THE DVD:
This side does NOT have the famous animated subtitles that can be found on SIDE 2 of the DVD. Instead SIDE 1 of the DVD features a 5.1 Dolby Digital English soundtrack. This is of course dubbed as the original film is a Russian language film. Also included are 2.0 Dolby Surround Sound (but not 5.1 DD) audio tracks in French and Spanish.
There are several subtitles options:
1.) English - Full English subs but these are just "plain" English subtitles ... not the famous "animated" subtitles found on SIDE 2 of the DVD. Not sure why they are here since this side of the DVD has no Russian but an English dub soundtrack which makes these English subtitles a bit useless.
2.) English for the hearing impaired. This is the same as the English subtitles above but adds Closed Captioned information like [DOG BARKING] ... [PHONE RINGING] ... [BEEPING] ... and other CC type stuff.
3.) Spanish subtitles.
To sum things up SIDE 1 of the DVD is only for those that want to watch the film with either an English dub, French dub or Spanish dub. SIDE 2 is the side you really want to watch as it has Russian dialog with the famous "animated" English subtitles and even has selectable English hearing impaired subs.
SIDE 1 is SPECIAL though in that it has some extra "bonus" stuff not on SIDE 2 which I will detail now:
1.) THE ROOF (Extended Ending). Unlike the movie (which is 16x9 WS on both sides) this bonus scene is presented in a letterboxed 4:3 ratio. It has several audio and subtitle options which include:
A.) 5.1 Russian
B.) 5.1 English
C.) Director Commentary (speaking English)
There are also subtitle options here including English, French or Spanish. These are simple selectable non-animated subtitles.
Also on this side is a short video called NIGHT WATCH TRILOGY which is short but interesting as the director talks about the first film and it's appeal outside of the Russia and briefly talks about the second film and a proposed "direction" the third film may take. All too brief though.
We also get trailers for BROKEN SAINTS (some animated film I never heard of that looks interesting), THE HILLS HAVE EYES (the remake) and lastly a short trailer for some fall TV show comming to FX called THIEF.
Last but not least is a video called INSIDE LOOK which turns out to be nothing more than a teaser type trailer for the remake of THE OMEN. Why this is called INSIDE LOOK on the menu is anyone's guess.
Anyways that is all she wrote ... hope this is helpfull to you!
 Fantastic movie unfortunately ruined by "americanization" June 24, 2006
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
The theatrical release of Night Watch was a fantastic movie, containing Russian dialogue with the most unique subtitles I have ever seen. Unfortunately, Fox has only released this "dumbed down" version in the US. They pulled the same stunt with the Australian release, saying that they may release a special edition later. I own the UK release which is far superior to this one, offering the full russian with real subtitles, as well as a special disc that offers the theatrical subtitles. When I watched it in Russian it was very easy to follow the subtitles and the emotional tone that was provided in the Russian language edition truly helped the story. I wish the US release would offer this and let's hope that Fox agrees someday.
The special effects in the movie are excellent. Other countries understand that special effects should add to the story, not become the story. If you only need someone to transform into a tiger for a couple seconds, then that's all you need. Too many American producers would milk it out far longer than it would be useful for just to get a certain level of coolness. The effects here are focused to adding to the story, not becoming it.
This was a fantastic movie though it suffers from some re-editing and dialog that seems to have been changed for no reason even though the cultural idioms still work.
Bottom line, rent it first. If you like it enough, buy this version. If you see the potential in the movie, wait to see if Fox releases a special edition as this movie is excellent but suffers greatly from the treatment Fox has given it.
 Nochnoi Dozor (Night Watch) DVD June 24, 2006
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Night Watch (Nochnoi Dozor)- Night Watch is a cross between The Lord of the Rings, Underworld, and Men in Black. Night Watch uses a Lord of the Rings type battle scene in flashback to explain the back story of Night Watch.
The action then moves to Moscow (circa 1992). Then the story becomes a cross between Underworld, and Men in Black.
Night Watch is the first Russian fantasy movie after communism. The director says, "Night Watch is the reflection of American culture, (meaning movies) through Russian eyes."
When American colleagues complemented the director on the design of the world for the movie Night Watch, he said, "this is really reality. I couldn't make this stuff up. This is really just Russia through Russian eyes, (minus the vampires of course.) This in reality, is just the Russian take on storytelling.
Overall, I would say that Night Watch is a good movie, about the struggle between good and evil. You can categorize it as urban fantasy, which is why I compare it to Underworld.
The movie takes place between two parallel worlds. The world of Faerie (which the movie calls The Gloom), and our world.
The movie is interesting, because we get to see cultural differences in storytelling between Russia and the United States.
So if you like fantasy movies, horror movies with vampires, or movies about alternate reality. I'd like to suggest that you give Night Watch (Nochnoi Dozor) a try.
The director, sometimes struggles to get his point across in the commentaries, but he eventually does so. I believe this is mostly due to the difficulty speaking US English for someone who has not been born here.
The writer's subtitled commentary is also interesting, and it adds to the DVD. The dubbed version of the film, which is on the side of the disc with the red ring is also well done. The DVD is double-sided. There are different special features on each side of the disc.
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Copyright Runningonkarma.com 2006
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