1. Synopsis

2. Cast

3. Filming and production

4. Release
    Reception  Awards 

5. References

6. External links

• Ole Bornedal
• Steven Soderbergh}}

• Ewan McGregor
• Patricia Arquette
• Josh Brolin
• Lauren Graham
• Nick Nolte}}

Synopsis

Law student Martin Bells is hired as a night watchman at a hospital morgue. A string of gruesome murders committed by a necrophiliac serial killer quickly point to him as the lead suspect in the investigation carried out by Inspector Thomas Cray. At the same time, Martin slowly discovers clues that point to the real perpetrator.

Cast

• Ewan McGregor as Martin Bells
• Patricia Arquette as Catherine
• Josh Brolin as James Gallman
• Lauren Graham as Marie
• Nick Nolte as Inspector Thomas Cray
• Brad Dourif as Duty Doctor
• Alix Koromzay as Joyce
• Anais Evans as Leanne Singer
• Lonny Chapman as Old Watchman
• Larry Cedar as Waiter (uncredited)
• Sandra Hess as Student (uncredited)
• John C. Reilly as Deputy Inspector Bill Davis (uncredited)

Filming and production

After the original Nattevagten found critical acclaim in 1994, director Ole Bornedal was hired by Dimension Films (who had recently purchased the distribution rights for Nattevagten) to come to the United States and remake the film.^[3][4] The remake was intended to be the first of three films Bornedal would direct for Miramax, the parent company of Dimension.^[4]

While principal photography began in Los Angeles during the spring of 1996,^[5][6] Nightwatch would not be completed until the following year, due to a series of test screenings and reshoots Miramax ordered.^[5][6][4] Changes made by Miramax to the finished cut included reducing the role of James's girlfriend Marie,^[6] and adding a "more satisfying final scene."^[6] Bornedal went on to state that "the actual shooting of Nightwatch was terrific, everything was totally wonderful, and I was free to do as I pleased, but everything suddenly became extremely complicated during the post-production phase."^[7]

The co-writer of the film's script, Steven Soderbergh, is described as having "sanitized" the original 1994 script.^[5] For example, in the Danish version, there is a scene at a restaurant where the character Jens orders a prostitute to give Martin a blowjob. In the remake, Jens (now known as James) instead orders the prostitute to give Martin a handjob.^[5] Also added by Soderbergh were American pop culture references, including a scene where Martin mutters "It's just like one of those movies on the USA Network, the hero sees something weird and no one will believe him."^[5] Soderbergh himself noted his frustrations at how nearly a year after shooting had begun, he was being forced to provide new script pages for reshoots that were going to be detrimental to the quality of the film.^[5]

The background score was handled by Danish composer Joachim Holbek, who, like many of the crew, was also involved in the original version.^[3] While Martin is working at the morgue, there are scenes where he listens to licensed songs from alternative rock/electronic artists The Chemical Brothers, R.E.M. and Transister.^[8]

Release

In the United States, it was originally scheduled to come out in the fall of 1996,^[9] but was pushed back to October 1997 (as suggested by the film's 1997 copyright year),^[9] and then again to April 1998. While these delays were occurring, the film received its worldwide premiere during February 1997 at Málaga International Week of Fantastic Cinema in Spain.^[10]

Reception

In an April 1998 review, Stephen Holden of The New York Times criticized Nightwatch for "spending so much time churning up eerie atmospheric effects that it doesn't have time to develop its preposterous story in which Martin finds himself accused of the murders."^[12] Holden also called the film's climax "clumsily prolonged."^[12] Roger Ebert's review states that "this film depends so heavily on horror effects, blind alleys, false leads and red herrings that eventually watching it stops being an experience and becomes an exercise."^[13] In a review for Variety, Leonard Klady claimed "It’s not ideas that are lacking, but the connective tissue to give them life. The absence of even a vague unifying spirit reduces Nightwatch almost to the level of an intellectual “snuff” film."^[14] Klady stated that he believed the film's cast had been underutilized, going on to write "Patricia Arquette is squandered in the girlfriend role, and Brolin has more energy than focus in a badly conceived part." In spite of this, he praised Alix Koromzay's minor role as "a vulnerable and tragic teenage hooker."^[14] Marc Savlov from The Austin Chronicle commented that "Arquette and Brolin seem as though they're off in their own private universe."^[15]

A more positive review at the time came from Paul Clinton of CNN. He stated that "Nightwatch is a fairly good effort" and that "the cinematography by Dan Laustsen and the lighting are excellent and add immensely to the overall tension of the piece."^[17] However, he too criticized the climax of the film, referring to it as "cartoonish."^[17] Like Clinton, Malcolm Johnson of the Hartford Courant commented on the lighting of the film in his review, writing "True to his Scandinavian background, Bornedal has shot Nightwatch largely in semi-darkness, beginning with a violent murder in a prostitute's bedroom."^[18]

Comparing the differences in tone between Nattevagten and Nightwatch, one writer noted "While the [1997] Hollywood remake opens immediately with a gratuitously gruesome murder, the 1994 Danish version builds a eerie mood much more slowly and is only a pure thriller in its last third."^[7] Michael Obel, who worked as a producer on both the original and the remake, remarked in 2002 "The Danish version is better, we can surely agree on that. Several test screenings and re-editing ended up in a version that is less than optimum."^[3]

Awards

References

External links

• {{IMDb title|id=0119791|title=Nightwatch}}
• {{Amg movie|154440|Nightwatch}}
• {{rotten-tomatoes|1082428-nightwatch|Nightwatch}}
• {{Mojo title|nightwatch|Nightwatch}}

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