Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #10284 in DVD
• Released on: 2006-04-24
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, Dubbed, PAL
• Original language: Russian
• Subtitled in: English
• Dubbed in: English
• Number of discs: 2
• Running time: 114 minutes

DVD Description
For as long as humanity has existed, there have been 'Others' among us: Witches, Vampires and Shape-Shifters who are soldiers in the eternal war between Light and Dark. Light Others protect mankind from Dark Others, who plague and torture humans. For over 1000 years a truce has existed, upheld by underground forces: the soldiers of the Light (NightWatch) and the soldiers of the Dark (DayWatch). Ancient prophecy foretells that one day the Great One will arrive and end the threat of an apocalyptic battle between Light and Dark Others. That day has come, and somewhere in Moscow a Nightwatch team race to find and protect the Great One from the DayWatch vampires who seek to plunge the world into darkness. Whoever reaches the Great One first will hold the balance of power in their hands and control the fate of humanity.

Synopsis
In this dark apocalyptic tale of a perpetual battle between light and dark, light being the human race and dark being a race of monsters, this film is the first of three in a trilogy. Russian director Timbor Bekmambetov adapts 'Night Watch' from the series of sci-fi novels by Sergei Lukyanenko.

Danny Boyle
Lord of the Rings and The Matrix have a true successor... the bar has been truly raised... extraordinary filmmaking

Customer Reviews

GREAT - as long as you're prepared to be a bit confused
My mum wanted to come and see this with me. However, just the mention of 'apocalyptic battle between good and evil', 'vampires' and 'Russian subtitles' made her think that perhaps Herbie: Fully Loaded was the better option.

Basic plot: there's a big battle going on in Moscow between the Light and Dark Others, who are basically sorcerers, vampires and the like. Our hero, Anton, is a Light Other, and a member of the Night Watch, who keep an eye on the Dark Others. There is an uneasy truce between them. But, of course, there is a prophecy of the coming of a 'Great Other', and whichever side he chooses will triumph in the war.

This film broke all box office records back in Russia, surpassing Lord of the Rings and the Spiderman films, and a sequel is already in production. And I can see why - after all the big-budget formula films coming out at the moment, it's great to have a film which has an entirely unique tone and, despite being a fantasy film, feels so gritty and real.

The film is full to bursting with different stories, elements and characters - so much that it's pretty much impossible to understand it all. At the beginning you see a doll's head on spider legs attacking someone - it's there for a few seconds, and then it's gone. We never find out about it. If that puts you off, well, it happens a lot.

However, I thought this film was great. I liked the fact that the world was so busy and detailed and you didn't see much of anything - it increased the realism of the world it was depicting. Sort of like the Silmarillion for Lord of the Rings compressed into the same film, but with less confusing names.

The hero doesn't go all out to win the audience's approval - when we first meet him, he's asking a witch to make his ex have a miscarriage so he can get her back. Yet he grows on you, and by the end you're really rooting for him.

The person I bought a ticket from warned me that it was in Russian with subtitles - I guess he didn't think it was sort of thing for 17-year-old girls. But they did the subtitles really well, making them a full part of the film and interacting with the action onscreen.

People like my mum wouldn't have liked this film. Bit too much blood and swords-coming-out-of-spines. If you liked the Lord of the Rings, and want a film with the same kind of scale but darker and more gritty, then this is a good film for you. It's a completely unique experience, and one of the best films I've seen in ages.

Wish I'd seen it sooner
Just bought film on DVD cheap and wish i'd seen it at the cinema,If you like this type of film you will love it. The film creates a great atmosphere with brilliant effects and sound track. Despite other reviews there is character development as it forms an integral part of the plot.Some of my friends have been put of because it's foriegn but if you can be open minded it's an superb film can't wait for the next film. Going to purchase the book while I wait.

AWESOME!
if you only make one dvd purchase this year, this is the one an excellent film i cannot praise this enough, i originally watched it thinking just another action film but it is so much more with excellent dialouge, character development, action and special effect quite frankly the greatest story ever told with the most involving, edge of seat plot, the story takes us deep into a forever waged war against the forces of light and dark, good and evil if you will until the two armies formed a truce that no 1 other (the gifted people that aren't just human) can be forced to one side of the spectrum, the dark warriors watched over the night and were called daywatch and the light warriors would watch over the day and were called nightwatch the two get along as they are supposed to until the great events that unfold later in the story.
1 tip for all of you, BUY THIS FILM!