Night Watch (Nochnoi Dozor) (2004)
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58% of critics liked it
(125 reviews) -
68% of users liked it
(101,512 ratings)
Two bands of warriors, one good and one evil, battle to keep the peace in Moscow in this cat's cradle thriller from Russia. In 1342, the Warriors of Light (led by Gesser, Lord of Light) and the Warriors of Darkness (led by Zavulon, General of Darkness) declare a truce under which each side will… More Two bands of warriors, one good and one evil, battle to keep the peace in Moscow in this cat's cradle thriller from Russia. In 1342, the Warriors of Light (led by Gesser, Lord of Light) and the Warriors of Darkness (led by Zavulon, General of Darkness) declare a truce under which each side will form a law enforcement team to monitor the other side's activities. The Warriors of Light, who enforce the powers of good, patrol the Night Watch, while the Warriors of Darkness, who openly embrace evil, staff the Day Watch. Each watch group also contains "Others," mortals with supernatural powers from both sides that include vampires, shapeshifters, witches, and the like. Prophecy suggests that one day, a Great One will surface and permanently extinguish the threat of an apocalyptic war between the two sides by upsetting the balance, lending greater power to either good or evil (depending on his or her choice) and thus determining the future of mankind forever. In 1992, Night Watch member and Warrior of Light Anton Gordesky (Konstantin Khabensky) discovers he's an "other" amid a sting on a witch. Cut to twelve years later. In 2004, Anton still works the Night Watch, but now he's a vampiric warrior who drinks blood. One night, while on patrol, he rescues a young boy named Egor (Dima Martinov) from a handful of Dark Warriors, but in the process, he encounters Svetlana (Maria Poroshina), a woman who acts as a "funnel" -- a conduit for the powers of evil. Anton reflects on the prophecy regarding "The Great One," and begins to suspect that Svetlana and Egor may be harbingers of this fateful event. As the first installment in a Russian trilogy, Night Watch (aka Nochnoj Dozor) was a massive box-office success in its native Russia, and is followed by the second installment, Day Watch; it was released in the U.S. with a heavy prologue and epilogue, and animated subtitles that alternately scuttle across the screen, dissolve, shudder, and explode.20th Century Fox not only purchased United States distribution rights for the film, but also announced plans for a Westernized remake. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Directed By
- Timur Bekmambetov
- Written By
- Timur Bekmambetov, Sergey Lukjanenko
- Genres
- Drama, Action & Adventure, Horror, Art House & International, Science Fiction & Fantasy
- In Theaters
- Feb 17, 2006 Limited
- Studio
- Fox Searchlight
Critic Reviews
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Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader
The punchy, nonstop visual effects crowd out coherent storytelling.
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David Edelstein, New York Magazine
For a good hour and change, the film is a big toy box that teases you out of the Gloom.
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Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel
It has a refreshing Old World take on a never-ending fantasy war between vampires and the forces of 'light.'
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Amy Biancolli, Houston Chronicle
What a rabid beast is Night Watch. What a pungent Russian fantasy-horror cheeseathon.
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Robert Denerstein, Denver Rocky Mountain News
This mostly incoherent, enormously eccentric helping of mayhem breaks into so many fragments that watching the movie can be a bit like trying to assemble the pieces from several jigsaw puzzles.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
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Cast
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Konstantin Khabensky
as Anton Gorodetsky
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Vladimir Menshov
as Boris Gesser
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Valery Zolotukhin
as Kostya's Father
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Maria Poroshina
as Svetlana
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Galina Tyunina
as Olga
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Viktor Verzhbitsky
as Zavulon
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Gosha Kytsenko
as Ignat
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Aleksei Chadov
as Kostya
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Zhanna Friske
as Alisa
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Ilya Larutenko
as Andrei
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Rimma Markova
as Darya Witch
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Mariya Mironova
as Irina
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Dima Martynov
as Egor
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Alexei Maklakov
as Semyon
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Anna Dubrovskaya
as Larissa
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Nikolai Olyalin
as Inquistor
- Marina Ivanova
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Alexandre Samoilenko
as Bear
- Konstantin Murzenko
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Ilia Lagutenko
as Andrei
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Anna Sliu
as Tiger Cub
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Sergei Prikhodko
as Peter
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Igor Savochkin
as Maxim Ivanovich
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Yegor Dronov
as Tolik
- Dmitry Klokov
- Dmitry Osetrov
- Anatoly Gorin
- Liudmila Aronova
- Alexander Shchurok
- Nikolai Kiselev
- Vitia Ivanov
- Polina Shchurok
- Tatiana Shchankina
- Alexander Kozlov
- Igor Pismenny
- Victoria Smirnova
- Sergei Kalashnikov
- Ekaterina Malikova
- Vladik Anufriyev
- Yura Yakovlev
- Vania Popov
- Liesha Kurochkin
- Yarik Romashenko
- Mariya Poroshina
- Valeri Zolotukhin
- Yuri Kutsenko



