JohnDoe
Bryn
BrentonDark City (1998)
August 16th 2006 09:39
DARK CITY
DVD Cover
Writers:Lem Dobbs, David S Goyer and Alex Proyas
Starring:Jennifer Connelly, William Hurt, Rufus Sewell and Keifer Sutherland.
Picture:Widescreen
Audio: 5.1 Dolby Digital
Dark alleys, heavy rain, 1940’s style noir cinematography and lighting, welcome to a riddle filled Sci-Fi Mystery called Dark City.
John Doe (Rufus Sewell) wakes up in a bathtub and must solve the mystery of who, what & where he is. Following the labyrinth of clues he is forced to deal with a plethora of memorable characters. There’s an obsessed detective, (William Hurt) a mad scientist, (Keifer Sutherland) and a drool worthy wife. (Jennifer Connelly) Who seem almost sane next to a host of albino Strangers dressed like gum shoes.
Instantly recognized by sci-fi fans, but ignored by the general public on its initial release. (See; Brazil, Donnie Darko, 2001 etc) This cult favourite takes its visual cues from Blade Runner, with a script to make Ray Bradbury and Rod Serling smirk.
Thick in atmosphere and sparse on answers there is a constant sense of looming menace and non stop food for the brain. Contemplating the great questions of existence, reality and the nature of perception, prepare for a sensory experience.
John Doe says: (8/10)
With a plot line so original and clever it was recycled by no less than 2 films within 1 year of it being made, I was ensconced with Dark City on the big screen. (Not very objective, am I?)
This is the thinking man’s Matrix, delving far deeper into the philosophical psyche, sans kung-fu and a Hollywood ending. Cinematic story telling and bold editing, shot on a small budget, proves that you don’t need big moola to create visual splendour.
An immersive, cerebral script and creative set design really hurled me into its maze. I pondered the puzzle for days afterwards. William Hurt and Keifer Sutherland bring their unique quirks and peculiar presence to their characters. Rufus Sewell fascinates and Jennifer Connelly is lit like a curvaceous goddess.
The DVD:
The sound and image DVD transfer are crisp, the extras brief. There are rumblings of a new 2 disc edition in the works as we speak but no release date as yet, fingers crossed for an Alex Proyas commentary.
Imaginative visuals, stunning ideas with food for thought this is everything quality think piece Science Fiction should be. A must view DVD that stands up to the scrutiny of repeat screenings and always enthrals. Trivia: Shot on the same sound stage, watch closely and you will see many of the sets, and camera angles reused later in The Matrix.
Audio: 5.1 Dolby Digital
Dark alleys, heavy rain, 1940’s style noir cinematography and lighting, welcome to a riddle filled Sci-Fi Mystery called Dark City.
John Doe (Rufus Sewell) wakes up in a bathtub and must solve the mystery of who, what & where he is. Following the labyrinth of clues he is forced to deal with a plethora of memorable characters. There’s an obsessed detective, (William Hurt) a mad scientist, (Keifer Sutherland) and a drool worthy wife. (Jennifer Connelly) Who seem almost sane next to a host of albino Strangers dressed like gum shoes.
Instantly recognized by sci-fi fans, but ignored by the general public on its initial release. (See; Brazil, Donnie Darko, 2001 etc) This cult favourite takes its visual cues from Blade Runner, with a script to make Ray Bradbury and Rod Serling smirk.
Thick in atmosphere and sparse on answers there is a constant sense of looming menace and non stop food for the brain. Contemplating the great questions of existence, reality and the nature of perception, prepare for a sensory experience.
John Doe says: (8/10)
With a plot line so original and clever it was recycled by no less than 2 films within 1 year of it being made, I was ensconced with Dark City on the big screen. (Not very objective, am I?)
This is the thinking man’s Matrix, delving far deeper into the philosophical psyche, sans kung-fu and a Hollywood ending. Cinematic story telling and bold editing, shot on a small budget, proves that you don’t need big moola to create visual splendour.
An immersive, cerebral script and creative set design really hurled me into its maze. I pondered the puzzle for days afterwards. William Hurt and Keifer Sutherland bring their unique quirks and peculiar presence to their characters. Rufus Sewell fascinates and Jennifer Connelly is lit like a curvaceous goddess.
The DVD:
The sound and image DVD transfer are crisp, the extras brief. There are rumblings of a new 2 disc edition in the works as we speak but no release date as yet, fingers crossed for an Alex Proyas commentary.
Imaginative visuals, stunning ideas with food for thought this is everything quality think piece Science Fiction should be. A must view DVD that stands up to the scrutiny of repeat screenings and always enthrals. Trivia: Shot on the same sound stage, watch closely and you will see many of the sets, and camera angles reused later in The Matrix.
Knock Knock, Albino calling
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Comment by Sisi
Comment by JohnDoe
Film & TV on DVD
Dark City can't take credit for the trench coat look.
It's a noir staple, Humphrey Bogart had a stylish one.
Leonardo Di Caprio revived the full length leather trench in The Basketball Diaries.
Deckard in Blade Runner, which also largely influenced the films look wore a trench coat.
Any advice for this newbie to the blog scene??
Comment by Sisi
Comment by JohnDoe
Film & TV on DVD
Comment by Luke
Old Movies
Cane Toad Warrior
Both Matrix and Dark City also have Bruce Spence in them.
Comment by JohnDoe
Film & TV on DVD
Good call with Bruce Spence. Hope Proyas returns to form soon, his last few have been a dissapointment. the premise of Knowing shows promise.
i was just reading through your reviews and firstly let me say there are ome really great films in there.
In fact you've chosen a few I was planning on critiquing myself. (Eg: Bullitt) Would you mind??
Comment by Cibbuano
Hunt Famous
Orble Post of the Day
Fat Cult
Techbreak
You hit it on the mark - it's got Blade Runner all over it. I can't remember, but I think the ending left me unsatisfied...
Comment by Adrian
Philosophy Blog
Oh, the wonders they could have been if they'd had a larger budget.
I'd forgotten that this was a Jennifer Connelly film. Must go back and watch it again
Keifer Sutherland must have been happy with the opportunity to do something very different. In my memory, he's barely recognizable.
Comment by JohnDoe
Film & TV on DVD
He has got quite dull as an actor these days. He seems to have lost that eccentric menace he used to carry into every characters deeper reaches. I miss the days of Stand By Me, Lost Boys, A Killing Time, Truth Or Consequence N.M etc
Comment by Georgie
I think I've watched it twice, once when I was really young and it scared the hell out of me, and the second time in my teenage years just before the first matrix came out. I really must look into getting it on DVD.
A pre-24 reminder that Sutherland can indeed do things other then play the beefed up hero (not that he's bad at that either)
Comment by JohnDoe
Film & TV on DVD
Im sure from my review you can tell I rank Dark City very highly. (I only review films I dig here)
I have been a huge fan of Keifer since Stand By Me.
It seems 24 took one of the most unique and eccentric actors on the planet and mad him into a dull, generic action hero. I only hope he isnt typecast.
Comment by Georgie
like you said he's too good an actor.
Comment by JohnDoe
Film & TV on DVD
Comment by postmoderncritic
Postmodern Critic
Relativity Watch
Padsoc
I can't wait to see this now... Will get back to you when I do!
Comment by JohnDoe
Film & TV on DVD
The title character John Doe did have a mild effect on my tag, so did John Doe in Seven and the Classic film Meet John Doe....also like the general anonymity that comes with it, plus the tie in with morbid fascination.
Hope you dig on Dark City, I look forward to reading your feedback.