"Night Watch" (aka "Nochnoy Dozor")

A friend at work told me about this film. It's supposed to be the most expensive Russian film production ever produced. Currently, it's playing at a local area "artsy" theater. The DVD is not available at Amazon.com yet ... but Amazon.co.uk says the release is scheduled for April 24th:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000CCB8ES/

I saw other versions out there that are "subtitled" but the Amazon.co.uk version says dubbed AND subtitled (a choice maybe?). The film itself was released in the Russian Republic in 2004.

Anyhoo, it's a vampire flick and my friend at work said it's interesting. Not sure whether he's seen it or just heard about it. But, I was wondering if anyone here has seen it ... and if so, what your opinions of it are.

The Windows Media (300kbps) trailer can be seen here:

http://www.imdb.com/rg/TITLETRA_CLICK_SCRPLY/wmp-300k/title/tt0403358/trailers-screenp...ay-E26435-10-2

and the RealMedia (also 300kbps) trailer can be seen here:

http://www.imdb.com/rg/TITLETRA_CLICK_SCRPLY/rp-300k/title/tt0403358/trailers-screenplay-E26435-6-3

Assuming the trailer accurately portrays the bulk of the film (an not just the film's high points), it could be an intriguing film to watch. If anyone has seen it, please let me know what you think of it. But if you try to buy it, be careful. Another movie by the same name (a film about a male prostitute named Victor) is currently being marketed.

Originally Posted by Richie V

I saw it in the cinema sometime last year. Sorry, I can't remember much about it, I just remember thinking it was entertaining enough. The one thing that sticks in my mind though is where the American company who's bought the International rights (Fox I think) has spliced in the most obvious product placement ever. I wasn't aware that Russian vampires enjoy a good cup of Nescafe.

Nestle even has a corporate office in Moscow:

http://www.nestle.com/Header/Country_Access/Europe/Russia/Russia.htm

As I understand it, 20th Century Fox released the film in Europe as a "general" release. But in the U.S., the film was released by Fox-Searchlight as a "limited" release. Currently, the film is only playing in one theater in town - an "art" theater that only shows non-mainstream cinema. And, from what I've heard, the North American version cuts a lot from the international version (including the presence of one character) and is subtitled only. Was the version you saw dubbed or subtitled???

I decided to make this an experimental purchase and went ahead and ordered it. I like the horror subgenre involving vampires, lycans, etc. So, the film would have to be pretty awful for me not to like it. Most reviewers I've read have given it high marks ... one saying that the U.S. film industry had "met its match" in the subgenre.

Interestingly, this film was originally advertised as a future DVD release in North America sometime in July. Amazon.com even had a page on it. But since then, the page has been "yanked" and pre-orders are no longer being accepted:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000CO8BH8/

This either means that Fox-Searchlight has withdrawn plans to release the film on DVD in North America or that they at least plan on postponing the release to some unknown future date. So, it could be that the British version DVD is my only chance of getting the film on DVD.

It's a massively over rated pile of steaming doo doo - which means offline will be here any moment to tell us all how good it is.

There are 5 customer reviews of the DVD at Amazon.co.uk. Four of them give the film 4 out of 5 stars and one gives it 5 stars. But one of the reviews says something that might explain why the page for pre-orders through Amazon.com was removed (for a North American release in July). According to the reviewer, Hollywood is doing its own "remake" of the film.

If this is true, the British DVD release might end up becoming even more rare. I suspect the Hollywood studio remaking the film is 20th Century Fox. And they'd be the only studio with the power to yank the Russian version down from Amazon since they were the releasing studio here. Point is, 20th Century Fox is the releasing studio for the British DVD as well. So, it's possible that they could yank the British DVD off the shelves, too, to make way for an upcoming Hollywood remake (followed by a DVD release of the remake). If they do yank it, I hope I get mine in the mail first.

In short, this could be an example of a Hollywood studio (Fox) being jealous of a successful European indy film production ... buying release rights to it for the sole purpose of "sitting" on it (burying it so they can make their OWN version). Since the North American version is only enjoying a limited theatrical release (and an edited release at that) it seems likely.

Originally Posted by VCDHunter

It's a massively over rated pile of steaming doo doo - which means offline will be here any moment to tell us all how good it is.

P.S. FWIW, I hear that the Australian version is the same cut version shown in North America and that Australian reviewers didn't like it. So, offline might not respond because he might agree with you.

Originally Posted by AlecWest

Originally Posted by VCDHunter

It's a massively over rated pile of steaming doo doo - which means offline will be here any moment to tell us all how good it is.

P.S. FWIW, I hear that the Australian version is the same cut version shown in North America and that Australian reviewers didn't like it. So, offline might not respond because he might agree with you.

No I already know he likes it. Too much aussie sun on his head methinks.

Got the film ... and I enjoyed it the 2nd time more than the first. I did get a humorous kick out of the rocket-powered delivery truck, hehe. But I was very impressed with the brief shape-shifting sequences. The story line itself was interesting, though noirish. But I got the feeling they were doing what Anne Rice did ... attempting to reinvent the vampire.