Director/Screenwriter: Timur Bekmambetov
Starring: Konstantin Khabensky, Vladimir Menshov
Russia Release date: July 2004
UK / US Release date: TBC
Russian cinema has come a long way since Eisenstein’s 1920’s classic 'Battleship Potemkin'. Now it seems it’s copying Hollywood and meeting with triumph. A new Russian film called 'Night Watch', the most successful movie in the history of post-Soviet Russia, is outperforming some big Hollywood blockbusters across the country. With a huge promotional campaign and a simultaneous release all over the country, the first weekend brought in more than 3 million movie-goers, returning to its creators much more than had been expected.
Anatoly Maksimov, TV producer: "Probably for the first time in history since the Soviet period, a domestic movie has really significantly contributed to the theatres in this country."
In fact Russia has never had a film that topped the $2 million barrier. With total ticket sales for 'Night Watch' estimated to exceed $12 million, the film is performing far better than Hollywood epics like 'Troy' and 'The Lord of The Rings: The Return of The King'.
In its first few weeks on the big screen people were queuing to see 'Night Watch'. Today there are no queues, but the box office is still sold out even for the morning shows. The movie theatres can now only regret having to take the first Russian blockbuster off their screens to make way for more Hollywood movies.
The hit is based on a Russian science-fiction book about the eternal combat of the good (or light) and evil (or dark) forces. But as often happens, the film is quite different from the book.
The first two parts of the trilogy - 'Night Watch' and 'Day Watch' - are set in present day Moscow and boast unprecendented special effects. That's what the filmmakers are most proud of - the computer graphics. With only $4 million spent on production, some claim the movie looks at least six times more expensive. And all the production, except the sound, was done in Russia!