Night Watch

[legios]

Well, after some favourable comments from several sources, and reading a couple of the books in the tretralogy it draws from I finally got around to watching this.

Horror/Urban Fantasy isn't normally my genre, but I was favourably impressed with this. The direction and production design is very good, giving the film a feel very distinct to western films in the genre. It is a very atmospheric production, which conveyed a very strong sense of place - the fact that it is set in post-communist russia is very much a part of giving it a very distinctive sensibility. The idea of a bureacratic system of oversight for light and dark supernatural beings is one that somehow seems to fit the post-soviet russia well -perhaps better than it fits a western setting in some ways. (Although it is played down a little bit in the film compared with the source material - in the novella there is a bit more back and forth about "if we do this then they have the right to do something up to this power level at some future date")

I did like the way that they realised some of the concepts from the books that aren't immediately cinematic - the "Gloom" dimension was somewhat different from the description of the "twilight" (as the translation of the book has it) but was visually very effective and keep the important characteristics.

The cast for the film are pretty good too - with several of them (including the lead) pretty much nailing the characters. Admitttedly I don't speak Russian, but in terms of body-language, tone and manner I think everyone was doing a pretty good job.

Having come to the film having read the novella on which it was based I was pleasently surprised by how much of the original story actually made it to the screen. There were changes of course - some larger than others, and in some cases (such as giving Anton a more personal link to the story) they were definitely changes for the better. On the other hand I do regret slighty that they top-sliced a layer of deception and skullduggery off the story - mostly because it meant a couple of characters had less to do than they might otherwise have had. However, it was probably a wise decision in story-telling terms - the original novella's plot is sufficiently twisted that in terms of making it filmable it probably benefited from some straightening out. (I do miss a lot of the excised material with Olga and Anton though - mostly because it weakens Olga as a character somewhat . But, as the sequel apparently draws heavily on the remaining two-thirds of the book "Night Watch" it's possible that this material will resurface there).

They've "punched up" the ending a bit for the film as well - the novella's ending is a little bit lower-key, but for a movie adaption it may make sense to bring the action-quotient up a bit.

All in all, a very good film - well directed, atmospheric and well-played, with a nice line in moral ambiguity (the Light may be "good" but that doesn't always mean they are "nice", and the Dark may be "evil" but they are far from ranting maniacs). Very good film - worth a watch. Better watched in the original language if possible, but if subtitles aren't your thing then the dub is still worth giving a go.

Karl

[Grand Moff Muffin]

Just got the Night Watch / Day Watch DVD box set, and watched Night Watch for the second time ever. Blimey, there's a lot that I completely forgot about. Day Watch makes so much more sense now!

I think they've tweaked a few things for the Director's Cut. Didn't spot the Buffy vs Dracula clip this time around, though I may have blinked.

Lovely seeing a stylish modern fantasy/horror epic that doesn't patronise the viewer, and demands that you pay attention and keep up with what's going on, 'cos it ain't gonna spell it out for you.

Day Watch tomorrow!

Martin

[legios]

martinm said:

Just got the Night Watch / Day Watch DVD box set, and watched Night Watch for the second time ever. Blimey, there's a lot that I completely forgot about. Day Watch makes so much more sense now!

I think they've tweaked a few things for the Director's Cut. Didn't spot the Buffy vs Dracula clip this time around, though I may have blinked.

It depends on whether they are using the Russian release version or the US release version. Apparently the US release was altered to include the Buffy vs Dracula clip - the original cut used a clip from a Russian TV show from what I've heard. (The US version apparently trimmed quite a lot from the original cut - including cutting out a character completely.)

Lovely seeing a stylish modern fantasy/horror epic that doesn't patronise the viewer, and demands that you pay attention and keep up with what's going on, 'cos it ain't gonna spell it out for you.

Day Watch tomorrow!

Martin

I saw "Day Watch" sitting there on the shelves when I was in Tesco this evening on my way back from work. Quite tempted to pick it up as I haven't seen it yet and I did rather enjoy "Night Watch". I'd be curious to see where they go with it.

Karl

[Grand Moff Muffin]

Just finished Day Watch. It makes a huge difference seeing the two films back to back, because there was such a huge gap between them in the cinema that I had forgotten who most of the characters were, and didn't appreciate that the two films both had almost entirely the same cast. They are two halves of a story, with Day Watch resolving pretty much everything that Night Watch set up.

If there is a third film, it must surely be a completely separate story set in the Night Watch universe - I can't see a place for a third part of the Night Watch / Day Watch story. I certainly hope they leave Anton where Day Watch finished with him at any rate.

Hearing that Twilight Watch is being filmed in English lends support to the idea that it might be about a different set of characters' lives.

Martin

[legios]

Well, I have decided to take a chance and have picked up "Day Watch" this weekend. Haven't yet had a chance to watch it, but hopefully in the next couple of days.

My understanding of "Twilight Watch" was that it was going to be based on the bits of the "Night Watch" book that haven't been used in the "Night Watch" and "Day Watch" films. Although I wouldn't be surprised if - as they did with the "Night Watch" film they raid a few bits from some of the other books. They've got four in total to work with after all. I'd actually have been interested to see them do some of "Day Watch" (which is is told from the perspective of the Dark Others - gives a very different slant on the universe and would allow for that set of new focus characters you mention).

Karl

[legios]

Finally had a chance to sit down and watch "Day Watch", and I have to say that it was worth waiting for.

I think much of what I have read about the film is slightly disingenous - most sources describe it as being based on parts of the second and third part of the first book of the "Watch" series. I'd be more inclined to say that the first half of the film is loosely based on the book, by the second half it is very much its own animal, and this is definitely a good thing. It takes the characters from the first film and runs with them in sensible and logical directions. (Aided by a very good cast, especially if you are watching in the original Russian. Not that I've bothered with the English dub mind you, can't see the point). The casting actually is one of the high points of this film. They've definitely cast with an eye not necessarily to matching the descriptions of the characters from the books physically, but with an eye to the people who can fill those roles, and it pays off really well. (The closing scene of the film has a moment in it which works because the actors absolutely nail who Gesar and Zabulon are and the nature of their professional interaction) It is a very good cast, and I am having a great deal of difficulty imagining a screen version of the Watch universe without them. (Although that isn't stopping Russian TV - there is a TV series in development at the moment, or Hollywood).

Like the first film it is a little... brasher, would perhaps be the word, than the book. But even some of the slightly more over-the-top moments are in keeping with the feel of the characters (if things worked the same way in the books as they do in the film I can certainly imagine Alisa doing that with the car), and for some reason the over-the-top stuff actually works better for me in the context of these films than it did in "The Matrix". There it felt like "Look I can be John Woo! w00t, fear my leet directing skillzors!". Whereas for some reason in "Night Watch" and "Day Watch" it just felt like a reminder that some people get to obey a different set of rules, and that is just how it is.

Mind you, there are a few places where the logic of the film doesn't entirely hold up, but for me it skates past it by being true to the characters. Folk act in a way that makes sense in terms of who they are and what they feel, and that makes the whole thing hold together for me. One of the nicest things about it is that the film doesn't slow down for folk to give the viewer explanations of what they are feeling and why they are doing what they are doing. People say what they say and do what they do and the audience is expected to keep up. And given the tangle of motivations that are in play by the latter half of the film this is quite refreshing.

I'd agree that I don't want to see them revisit Anton after the end of "Day Watch". To do so would negate too much of the characters journey across the two films. I'd be inclined to hope that they leave Svetlana be as well - even though there is still material from the book they could mine regarding her. I can see how you might be able to reconfigure some parts of the book they haven't used to work without Anton, and there are things that they have only slightly touched on concerning Gesar and Olga that I suppose they could use if they were pushed. But in honesty I'm almost hoping that they either go off at a tangent, seeing as they won't be using this cast who have managed to stamp themselves so effectively on my brain now.

Slick, stylish and with a real sense of identity. It doesn't feel at any point like a film that Hollywood could have put together, there's a logic to it that isn't entirely Hollywood logic. Wish I had seen this in the cinema, but I don't think it came to Planet Falkirk at all.

In case you couldn't tell, I rather enjoyed "Day Watch". It's going to be a love-it-or-hate-it I think. Some folk are going to adore it, others will abhor it (and I can understand why some folk are going to hate it) but for my part I would say it was more than worth two hours of my time.

Karl
(You know, it was your comments on "Night Watch" that led me first to the books and then to the Films Martin. My thanks for that, I would have missed out on these if you hadn't have piqued my curiosity.)

[Grand Moff Muffin]

Glad it was a big hit with you, Karl. It's nice for me not to be the only person on the Hub to have seen these films. Maybe I'll take your recommendation and read the books some time!

Martin