Day Watch Blu-ray

(NOTE: Familiarity with the review of Night Watch (Blu-ray) is assumed for this review.)


Studio: Twentieth Century Fox (Fox Searchlight)
Rated: Unrated (theatrical rating: R)
Film Length: 146 Minutes
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
HD Encoding: 1080p
HD Codec: AVC
Audio: Russian DTS-HD MA 5.1; English DTS 5.1; French DD 5.1; Spanish DD 5.1
Subtitles: English, Cantonese, Korean, Mandarin, Spanish, English SDH
MSRP: $39.98
Disc Format: 1 50GB
Package: Keepcase
Theatrical Release Date: Jan. 1, 2006 (Russia); June 1, 2007 (U.S.)
Blu-ray Release Date: Sept. 9, 2008


Introduction:

Night Watch was originally conceived as the beginning of a TV miniseries, then reconceived as
the first part of a movie trilogy when its producers realized the breadth of director Timur
Bekmambetov's vision. But when the first part of your trilogy succeeds on such a grand scale,
and a major media company comes calling, plans have to change yet again. The decision was
made to take the third installment (now in pre-production) onto the international stage. So the
second film, Day Watch, was rewritten to accommodate all the material that had originally been
spread over two movies. Since much of the footage had already been shot simultaneously with
Night Watch, this was no small task.

The result is BIG. The international cut of Day Watch that Fox released worldwide and now on
Blu-ray is half an hour longer than Night Watch, and it's still about 18 minutes shorter than the
Russian original. (Here, too, a list of changes can be found at IMDb, but I recommend not
reading it until after viewing the film.)

The Feature:

Even though it is only part two of three, Day Watch brings to a close all of the plot elements left
open in Night Watch, which ended on a cliffhanger. For that reason, it is almost impossible to
describe the story without major spoilers regarding both films. But certain elements can be
described generally.

We pick up with Anton some time after the events of Night Watch. He is still working for Geser,
leader of the light Others, only now he has a new trainee: a familiar face from the first film. On
what is supposed to be a routine assignment, they unexpectedly encounter another familiar face
from their earlier adventures, who leads them on a chase into the Gloom, but into a new level
unlike any we've seen before--a level where most Others cannot go. This is one of the
many signs throughout Day Watch that the stakes have been raised.

Meanwhile, Anton has become intrigued by a historical legend involving Tamerlane, the 14^th
century Mongol warrior who claimed to be descended from Genghis Khan and conquered much
of central and western Asia. In a prologue, we watch Tamerlane lead his armies in an assault on a
massive fortress surrounding the mystical Chalk of Fate, said to hold the power to rewrite
destiny. In the story as we see it, Tamerlane acquires the Chalk after a fierce battle, but is it just a
story? Anton hopes it isn't, and he begins searching for historical records that might lead him to
the Chalk. At one point, he even breaks into the archives of Night Watch (he has other reasons to
do this, but it would take too long and give away too much to explain them).

Meanwhile, Zavulon, leader of the dark Others, for reasons of his own, sets out to frame Anton
for breaches of the truce between dark and light. Anton spends much of Day Watch fleeing the
supernatural authorities. His colleagues at Night Watch do what they can to help him, at one
point switching his body with that of a female colleague.

One of the people hunting Anton is Zavulon's lieutenant, Alice, now known as "Alisa". But in
Day Watch, we discover that Alisa is in love with Zavulon and is feeling taken for granted. In
one of the film's signature sequences, Alisa, after being told that Zavulon is too busy to see her,
refuses to take no for an answer, jumps her sporty red Mazda off the road, races across the long
wall of Zavulon's hotel-fortress, plunges through a window, careens down the hall and crashes
into the ballroom that serves as Zavulon's office. (The seeds of many of the effects in
Bekmambetov's Wanted can be seen in this sequence.)

Alisa's issues with Zavulon are a typical example of what distinguishes Day Watch from the
previous chapter of the trilogy. Where Night Watch was propelled irresistibly forward, Day
Watch takes the time to explore relationships between the characters, both romantic and familial.
The film is especially interested in father-son relationships, whether real or surrogate. Because
the canvas is so much broader, the tone of Day Watch is often lighter, sometimes almost comical,
especially during the body switch. At times, the film has the jaunty feel of something like The
Fifth Element (though it looks nothing like it).

But Bekmambetov hasn't forgotten what we're there for. Everything and everyone comes
together at a massive party held by Zavulon where, quite literally, all hell breaks loose and
Moscow suffers devastation worthy of anything in the films of Spielberg, Emmerich, Cameron or
Roger Corman (the last one being a filmmaker Bekmambetov has specifically said he admrires).
There is a marvellous sequence with a ferris wheel that I'm certain is a direct homage to
Spielberg's 1941.

I don't think it gives anything away to say that, by the end of the film, Zavulon and Geser are
once again opposite each other, much as they were when they first negotiated the truce between
the light and the dark at the beginning of Night Watch. But where they are (and when) may
surprise you. They look like two Russians, but they reminded me of the Old Testament God and
Satan bargaining over Job. The battle between light and dark is eternal.


Video:

As befits the film's wider canvas, Day Watch was framed at 2.35:1 and is so presented on this
Blu-ray. The film's color palette is also considerably more varied than that of Night Watch,
ranging from the muted browns and tans of the wintry Tamerlane flashback to the lush greens of
a tropical fantasy sequence (shot in Jamaica) and the gaudy decor of Zavulon's party. The
transfer on this disc is every bit the equal in quality of the transfer for Night Watch, rising fully to
the challenge of each scene. Detail is excellent, even in dark scenes, and this permits full
appreciation of the artistry of the CG wizards who created the apocalyptic conclusion. Again, I
saw no indication of DNR or edge enhancement.


Audio:

Another spectacular DTS-HD MA track, with immersive sound and numerous directional effects.
The sound designers clearly had a lot of fun. At various moments, low tones emanate from the
LFE channel for no apparent reason except to signal the presence of something otherworldly. An
early scene when Zavulon is enraged (the start of the scene plays during the end credits of Night
Watch) is an assault on your ears, if you play the film at reference level. And when the projectiles
that are the weapon of the apocalypse start whizzing around the room, duck!


Special Features:

Since I do not have the standard DVD of Day Watch, I'm not in a position to compare the list of
special features. However, from what I have read, the list appears to be the same, even though
many of the special features on the standard DVD were not listed on the case. With the exception
of the U.S. trailer, all of the special features are in standard definition.

Commentary by Director Timur Bekmambetov. Someone thought it was a good idea to
assign an American interviewer to sit with Bekmambetov while he viewed Day Watch. It might
have worked, if the unidentified interviewer were any good at the job. But he allows long
stretches to pass without asking any questions, and there are gaps in the commentary. What's
there is quite interesting. Bekmambetov talks about the relationship between the two films,
shares some stories about filming and talks about his influences. There is some overlap with the
commentary on Night Watch, but that is to be expected. One only wishes that the interviewer had
done a better job and asked better questions.

Making of Day Watch (26:08). A very professional and informative behind-the-scenes
featurette, including interviews with most of the principal cast, the producers and many of the
technical crew, as well as on-set footage

Russian Trailers. There are six of these, and it's fascinating to see how elaborate a
marketing campaign was deployed for this film. Many of the trailers contain specially written and
recorded narration from a particular character telling the film's story from his or her point of
view. It's a clever approach to marketing the film without giving away too much.

Russian TV Spots. Sixteen in all, and very short. Many of them don't even contain
footage but were specially shot for TV, often using actors familiar from smaller parts in one or
both films. They are often hilarious, and I recommend the "Play All" function.

U.S. Trailer. The only extra in HD, it is the same one featured on the Blu-ray of Night
Watch.

D-Box Coding. For those of you with the appropriate hardware.

Final Thoughts:

As wildly entertaining as the Watch films are, they have a serious theme. Anton tells someone in
Night Watch (and I'm paraphrasing): "Be careful when you say things like 'damned' and
'cursed'. They're more than just words." The whole of Day Watch, indeed the whole of both
films, can be viewed as a test of Anton's ability to take his own advice. The melancholy that he
can't shake comes from things he said rashly and regretted even before he knew their full impact.
And once he knew it he risked everything to change it.

Has he succeeded? Zavulon and Geser are still watching.


Equipment used for this review:

Panasonic BDP-BD50 Blu-ray player (DTS-HD MA decoded internally and output as analog)
Samsung HL-T7288W DLP display (connected via HDMI)
Lexicon MC-8 connected via 5.1 passthrough
Sunfire Cinema Grand amplifier
Monitor Audio floor-standing fronts and MA FX-2 rears
Boston Accoustics VR-MC center
Velodyne HGS-10 sub