Game of Thrones: The Last Watch
Official release poster
Directed byJeanie Finlay
Produced by
  • Jeanie Finlay
  • Rachel Hooper
  • Martin Mahon
Cinematography
  • Jeanie Finlay
  • Louise Liddy
  • Richard Jephcote
  • Aaron Black
Edited byAlice Powell
Music byHannah Peel
Distributed byHBO Studios
Release date
May 26, 2019
Running time
115 minutes[1]
CountryNorthern Ireland

Game of Thrones: The Last Watch is a 2019 documentary film that chronicles the production of the eighth and final season of HBO's medieval fantasy television series Game of Thrones. It was directed by Jeanie Finlay and aired on HBO on May 26, 2019, one week after the series finale of Game of Thrones.

The documentary details Finlay's experience on the set of the show over the course of a year, spanning from the first table read to the filming of the final scene.[2] Described by HBO as revealing "the tears and triumphs involved in the challenge of bringing the fantasy world of Westeros to life",[3] the film features behinds-the-scenes footage and interviews with prominent actors and writers, as well as production assistants, costume designers, set decorators, caterers, and carpenters.[4]

Game of Thrones: The Last Watch received mostly positive reviews from critics and audiences. It was nominated for Outstanding Music Composition for a Documentary Series at the Primetime Emmy Awards.[5]

Synopsis

Production

Director Jeanie Finlay had been a casual fan of Game of Thrones in the years prior to filming the documentary.[6] Impressed by Finlay's past documentary films such as The Great Hip Hop Hoax (2013) and Orion (2015), HBO approached Finlay several months before filming for the eighth season began and asked her to direct a documentary about its production.[7] Finlay met with producers David Benioff, D. B. Weiss, Bernadette Caulfield, and Carolyn Strauss a few weeks later and proposed the way she would shoot the film.[6]

Finlay was given full autonomy of the show's set, with producers allowing her to film whatever she wanted with unrestricted access.[8] Finlay spent "one week on, one week off" the set of the show, alternating between her work on Game of Thrones: The Last Watch and Seahorse, another documentary she planned to release that year.[9] The documentary's production was kept secret, and only those involved in either Game of Thrones or the documentary itself knew it was being made.[10] Finlay described having to keep the documentary's production secret as "overwhelming", but said that it eased the pressure of fan expectations.[7] Before filming the table read, Finlay was given a copy of the season's scripts to prepare her for whose reactions she wanted to focus on.[11] Finlay told NME that she had the scripts "before some of the cast had read it".[10]

Filming for the documentary wrapped in July 2018 alongside the eighth season of Game of Thrones.[12] Over 950 hours of footage was shot for the documentary over the course of 14 months.[13] Finlay delivered her final cut to HBO two weeks before the first episode of the eighth season ("Winterfell") premiered.[12]

Game of Thrones: The Last Watch was announced on March 27, 2019.[14] HBO wrote that the documentary "delves deep into the mud and blood to reveal the tears and triumphs involved in the challenge of bringing the fantasy world of Westeros to life in the very real studios, fields and car-parks of Northern Ireland".[15]

Reception

Ratings

Game of Thrones: The Last Watch was viewed by 1.63 million viewers during its initial airing in the United States.[16]

Critical reception

Despite the mixed reception to the eighth season of Game of Thrones,[17] the documentary received mostly positive reviews from critics and audiences. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 100% of 10 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.3/10.[18] Users on Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, gave the documentary a 7.0/10, based on 8 positive reviews, 7 mixed, and 1 negative.[19]

Writing for Mashable, Alexis Nedd called it "a better ending than the Game of Thrones finale", praising the documentary's scope, direction, and focus.[20] Nedd wrote that: "The documentary succeeds beyond its own merits though, because it reminds its audience of why they loved Thrones in the first place."[20] Writing for Stylist, Hannah-Rose Yee said the documentary was "better than season 8", adding that it "has as much drama, action and emotion as Game of Thrones itself".[21]

Writing for IGN, Jesse Schedeen gave the documentary 8.8/10, calling it "a very satisfying coda to the series", but felt that there were "many areas where the documentary could have gone into greater detail", especially in the writing department.[22] Writing for The Daily Dot, Michelle Jaworski gave the documentary 3.5 out of 5 stars, calling it a "love letter to the show's crew".[23] Jaworski was impressed by Finlay's direction, but felt that the documentary did not explore the post-production aspects of the season as well as it could have.[23]

In response to the mixed reception to Game of Thrones's eighth season, Finlay said: "There’s also going to be strong opinions so I sort of think that it’s OK for people to express their passion, in whatever form that takes."[24]

Accolades

At the 71st Primetime Emmy Awards in 2019, Hannah Peel won the award for Outstanding Music Composition for a Documentary Series or Special for her work on the documentary.[25]

References

  1. ↑ Finlay, Jeanie. "GAME OF THRONES: THE LAST WATCH". Retrieved January 9, 2023.
  2. ↑ Kram, Zach (May 27, 2019). "Seven Takeaways From the Behind-the-Scenes Documentary 'Game of Thrones: The Last Watch'". The Ringer. Retrieved August 16, 2022.
  3. ↑ Rossi, Rosemary (May 26, 2019). "How to Watch 'Game of Thrones: The Last Watch' Documentary Sunday Night". TheWrap. Retrieved August 16, 2022.
  4. ↑ Littleton, Cynthia (May 26, 2019). "Six Things We Learned From 'Game of Thrones: The Last Watch' Documentary". Variety. Retrieved May 3, 2022.
  5. ↑ "Game of Thrones: The Last Watch". Emmy Awards. Retrieved May 16, 2022.
  6. 1 2 Morton, Ashley (June 19, 2019). "GoT Documentary Director Can Never Watch the Show the Same Way Again". MakingGameOfThrones. HBO. Retrieved January 9, 2023.
  7. 1 2 Otterson, Joe (June 3, 2019). "'Game of Thrones: The Last Watch' Director on How Andrew McClay Became 'Heart of Our Film'". Variety. Retrieved January 9, 2023.
  8. ↑ Turner, Luke (May 31, 2019). "The Watch Is Ended: Game Of Thrones Doc Director Jeanie Finlay Interviewed". The Quietus. Retrieved January 17, 2023.
  9. ↑ Male, Andrew (August 23, 2021). "Jeanie Finlay: 'I don't film alpha males. They don't need more exposure'". The Guardian. Retrieved February 14, 2023.
  10. 1 2 Mylrea, Hannah (June 3, 2019). "Director Jeanie Finlay on her 'Game Of Thrones' documentary 'The Last Watch'". NME. Retrieved January 9, 2023.
  11. ↑ Lash, Jolie (June 4, 2019). "'Game of Thrones: The Last Watch' Director on Shooting the Cast's Season 8 Table Read". Collider. Retrieved February 14, 2023.
  12. 1 2 Maas, Jennifer (June 3, 2019). "Why the 'Game of Thrones' Stars Aren't the Stars of Filmmaker's 'Game of Thrones' Doc 'The Last Watch'". TheWrap. Retrieved February 14, 2023.
  13. ↑ Sharf, Zack (June 3, 2019). "950 Hours of 'Game of Thrones' Footage Was Shot for Documentary, So No Wonder Director Feared Leaks". IndieWire. Retrieved February 14, 2023.
  14. ↑ Evans, Greg (March 27, 2019). "HBO Announces 'Game Of Thrones' Feature-Length Doc; Sets Premiere Date". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved January 9, 2023.
  15. ↑ Yehl, Joshua (May 22, 2019). "Game of Thrones: The Last Watch Season 8 Documentary Photos Released by HBO". IGN. Retrieved February 14, 2023.
  16. ↑ Metcalf, Mitch. "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 5.26.2019". ShowbuzzDaily. Retrieved September 28, 2022.
  17. ↑ Shepherd, Jack (May 17, 2019). "More than a million people sign petition asking HBO to remake Game of Thrones season 8". The Independent. Archived from the original on June 22, 2019. Retrieved June 22, 2019. The final season of Game of Thrones has been met by mixed reviews from critics.
  18. ↑ "Game of Thrones: The Last Watch". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved August 16, 2022.
  19. ↑ "Game of Thrones: The Last Watch". Metacritic. Red Ventures. Retrieved August 16, 2022.
  20. 1 2 Nedd, Alexis (May 29, 2019). "Why 'The Last Watch' is a better ending than the 'Game of Thrones' finale". Mashable. Retrieved January 9, 2023.
  21. ↑ Yee, Hannah-Rose (May 28, 2019). "Missing Game of Thrones? You need to watch The Last Watch documentary". Stylist. Retrieved January 17, 2023.
  22. ↑ Schedeen, Jesse (October 21, 2019). "Game of Thrones: "The Last Watch" Documentary Review". IGN. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  23. 1 2 Jaworski, Michelle (May 20, 2021) [May 27, 2019]. "'Game of Thrones: The Last Watch' is a love letter to the show's crew". The Daily Dot. Retrieved August 16, 2022.
  24. ↑ Harris, David (June 4, 2019). "The Last Watch director responds to Game of Thrones backlash". WinterIsComing.net. FanSided. Retrieved January 17, 2023.
  25. ↑ "Outstanding Music Composition For A Documentary Series Or Special (Original Dramatic Score) - 2019". Emmy Awards. Retrieved January 9, 2023.
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