Search - Nightwatch on DVD

MPAA Rating: NR Content Advisory: Violence, Adult Situations, Adult Language Movie Release: 1994 DVD Release: 05/29/2001 Format: DVD - Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV Audio Tracks: Danish Subtitles: English SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 1 hrs 47 mins Studio: Anchor Bay Members Wishing: 8 Genres: Thriller, Psychological Thriller

The debut feature from Danish director Ole Bornedal, Nattevagten is a psychological thriller starring Nikolaj Coster-Waldau. While a serial killer is on the loose, brutally murdering several prostitutes, college-student Martin (Coster-Waldau) takes a job as the night watchman at the local mortuary in order to pay his law-school tuition. As it turns out, the bodies of the victims are being stored at that very mortuary. When Martin takes a bet that involves tampering with the bodies, he suddenly finds himself a suspect in the case. Bordenal, who also wrote the script, later remade Nattevagten in Hollywood under the title Nightwatch. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide

Nikolaj Coster-Waldau - Martin
Kim Bodnia - Jens
Lotte Andersen
Ulf Pilgaard - Inspector Wormer

Making its delayed stateside debut after thrilling European audiences and held from American release by Dimension Films as director Ole Bornedal developed an American remake, Nightwatch retains its remarkable shock factor nicely in this commendable Anchor Bay release.
Presented in the original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.85:1 and enhanced for 16 x 9 TVs, Bornedal's stark widescreen photography retains its chilling composure while remaining free of digital artifacting, film grain, or debris from the source materials. Blacks in the numerous dark scenes are solid and deep, while the eerie fluorescent lights cast an unsettling glow on the stark, empty hallways of the ominous hospital morgue. Skin tones are spot-on. The audio track's effective Danish Dolby Digital 5.1 mix with optional English subtitles effectively conveys the coming dread with spooky atmospherics, a fun soundtrack, and full-sounding vocals that sound well balanced. The killer's voice especially carries a chilly resonance that will provoke shivers as it worms its way into the viewer's skin via the low-frequency tones reverberating from the subwoofer. The few jump-scares are booming and effective.
Though extra features are slim on the disc, the director's commentary is entertaining, as the soft-spoken Bornedal speaks as though he is actually directing his actors on set, seemingly provoking the precise responses at the exact times and enthusiastically explaining his methods for building tension and suspense. Recorded after the filming of the American remake, Bornedal recalls the comparative details of the two casts as he reveals some of the more subtle character motivations and their unique portrayals by each actor. For those familiar with only the remake of Nightwatch, this original version offers compelling insight into the vision that drove both versions of the film, and for those unfamiliar with either, it provides a pulse-pounding study in suspense that will hold the viewer captivated until the shocking finale. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide