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Dark City [1998]
![Dark City [1998]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41K9BFXX94L._SL160_.jpg)
RRP: £19.99
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Editorial
Amazon.co.uk Review
If you're a fan of brooding comic-book anti-heroes, got a nihilistic jolt from The Crow (1994) and share director Alex Proyas's highly developed preoccupation for style over substance, you might be tempted to call Dark City an instant classic of visual imagination. It's one of those films that exists in a world purely of its own making, setting its own rules and playing by them fairly, so that even its derivative elements (and there are quite a few) acquire their own specific uniqueness. Before long, however, the film becomes interesting only as a triumph of production design. And while that's certainly enough to grab your attention (Blade Runner is considered a classic, after all), it's painfully clear that Dark City has precious little heart and soul. One-dimensional characters are no match for the film's abundance of retro-futuristic style, so it's best to admire the latter on its own splendidly cinematic terms. Trivia buffs will be interested to know that the film's 50-plussets (partially inspired by German expressionism) were built at the Fox Film Studios in Sydney, Australia, home base of director Alex Proyas and producer Andrew Mason. The underground world depicted in the film required the largest indoor set ever built in Australia. --Jeff Shannon
unconvincing
Review date: 2008-09-16 Rating: 6 out of 10
I have mixed thoughts about this film after wathcing it twice through. I was really looking forward to it - the idea of a film noir sci-fi set in a mysterious dark futuristic world appealed to me. Yet after watching it i feel somewhat unsatisfied.
it is definately more style than substance - the characters were lame, some of the lines really cheesy and the acting wooden. I wasnt sure wether to applaud or laugh out loud at sutherlands attempt at the mad professor.
i think this film has very high ambitions but the lofty heights it is after far outstrips the sum of its parts. As a whole it just doesnt feel succinct. I wouldnt be suprised if it was the case that different producers had been been working on different parts of the film without anyone overseeing it all.
A great idea and set is let down by a poor script and the direction of the film is too pacy - too much goes on within the first 20 mins - often a case with sci - fi films with a point to prove. There was no chance to set the scene, meet the characters, hence they appear a bit lifeless and wooden. Had this been a comic book adaptation I wouldn't have minded so much as that is what i would have expected, but as it sets out to be an intelligent thought provoking sci-fi thriller - I feel it should have either been one or the other. It seems to be stuck somewhere in the middle of flash in the pan blockbuster without attention to detail and characterisation and throught provoking indie thriller.
it certainly can't the budget that let it down - mr sutherland, miss connoly, richard o'brien and william hurt are all famous hollywood actors - i'm sure they cost a few million - but then you get really bad cheesy effects of the Strangers flying in the air alongside good effects of buildings rising from the ground and morphing in front of you.
it just seems like it deosnt all quite fit together - part comic book film noir - part intelligent sci fi - part low budget 60's b movie yet at least 4 hollywood actors in it - which could have easily been replaced with unkowns as there was no exceptional performances to note....
overall it's worth watching - but be wary of the reviews calling it a sci fi masterpiece - there are some bits of direction and production here that are fit of the types of movies you find on the Sky channel "Zone Horror" - which doesnt fit in with the script, the idea and the cast...?
and finally yes there are similarities with the Matrix - but there are also lots of derivitive elements from other films in Dark city - it is by no means original itself. Its in the same category as films like Cube and 13th Floor - good ideas let down by certian elements, be it script, production values or limitation of budget.
Persoanlly i preferred the matrix to this - yes its in a different league, but the Matrix succeeds in what it sets out to do much better than Dark City does - a lot goes on in a short space of time and the action scenes in Dark City are laughable and should have been edited - whereas the matrix - well the action scenes in that have been hugely influential (although again there are elements of martial arts movies in there too)and copied in good and bad ways dozens of times in countless movies.
Yet again i see dark city as a good idea that has been poorly executed - worth 2 viewings possibly - but i wont be watching it again soon.
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Reviews
WARNING: BLU-RAY VERSION NOT REGION FREE!
Review date: 2008-08-10 Rating: 6 out of 10
The Blu-ray for this movie is listed as being all regions, but it is actually a Region A release, rendering it unwatchable on U.K. Blu-ray players, which I had to find out the hard way. Take care when buying.
boring
Review date: 2008-06-11 Rating: 2 out of 10
simply rubbish. a complete waste of time. enough well known names to persuade you to buy or rent but pointless and one of the worst films i have ever seen.
a masterpiece
Review date: 2008-05-15 Rating: 10 out of 10
my wife being a huge fan of the matrix thinking it so original was dumb founded when i disagreed but this gem of a film {and ghosts in the shell} proved where the wachowski brothers "borrowed their ideas" the one etc buy it!
In the city, in the dark
Review date: 2008-05-03 Rating: 10 out of 10
Cult films don't come much more groundbreaking than "Dark City" -- it was bending reality before the Matrix ever did.
At first glance, Alex Proyas' movie seems like a basic sci-fi little-man-against-the-evil-night-aliens movie, with all the plot complexity that implies. But it isn't. Instead, it's a dark grimy nightmare where nothing is what it seems, and everything we think is real is just an elaborate illusion. This is one of the rare films that is creepy from start to finish.
The Strangers are pasty-faced, bald, leather-coat-wearing aliens (think Darth Vader, post-mask), whose survival depends on somehow imitating human souls and dreams. So they created the Dark City, to observe and manipulate the unwitting humans.
Our hero John Murdoch (Rufus Sewell) wakes up naked in a tub, with no memory of who he is, and the police hunting him for brutal murders that he is sure he didn't commit. And worse, hes being pursued by the Strangers, without even knowing who they are or why they're after him.
And then he starts seeing past the Strangers' illusions. Buildings are reshaped, people's memories change, and the sun never appears. As John searches for hints to his past, he finds that the places he knew never existed -- and it's connected to the Strangers. Now John and a suspicious cop will unravel the truth of the City -- and of why the Strangers want John.
It's not surprising that "The Matrix" and "Dark City" are often compared. They deal with an illusionary "real" world, malevolent manipulation, and one man who might be able to stop the bad guys. But "Dark City" is very much unique -- it's dark, angular, and haunted, like if Fritz Lang made a sci-fi noir with an eerie Philip K. Dick twist.
The Dark City is a pretty creepy place, like a... well, like a city at night, with some surreal skyscrapers, enormous cogs and giant clocks. Proyas gives all these scenes a creepy feeling, which is only increased by the fact that there are so few people in the streets and houses. Even everyday things like eating soup and going to work become unreal.
But it's also paired with a very suspenseful script, which is equal parts surrealism and gnostic philosophy. All the dialogue is well written ("You know something, I don't think the sun even... exists... in this place"), and very spare. But Proyas makes all the dialogue weirdly disconnected, as if the characters are never really communicating fully. It adds to the dreamlike feeling.
Sewell is well-suited to the role of John Murdoch, moving seamlessly from confusion to skepticism to a pretty wild action scene where he clashes with all the Strangers. Connelly has a good if underused role as his nightclub-singer wife. Kiefer Sutherland is a bit annoying, but he does a good Peter Lorre impersonation with all those nervous gasps.
The original DVD was rather bare-bones in its presentation, but apparently Alex Proyas slapped together a long-awaited director's cut. Apparently it restores a substantial amount of cut footage, some updated special effects, remixed sound, and a lighter-colored, techno-creepy cover that emphasizes the sci-fi elements over the noir darkness. Remember the director's cut cover of "Donnie Darko"? It's a little like that.
Like Kafka on acid, "Dark City" is a unique and compelling sci-fi movie, with outstanding direction and an amazing plot. Definitely a must-see.
Product Details/Specifications
Actor(s):
Rufus Sewell
Richard O'Brien
Kiefer Sutherland
William Hurt
Jennifer Connelly
Creators:
Rufus Sewell (Primary Contributor)
William Hurt (Primary Contributor)
Director(s):
Recording label: Entertainment in Video
Manufacturer: Entertainment in Video
EAN: 5017239190056
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 1
Format: PAL, Widescreen,
Release date: 1999-07-26
Number of discs: 1
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Audience rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
Region code: 2
Running time: 96 minutes
Theatrical release date: 1998-02-27
Language: English (Subtitled)
Language: English (Original Language)