Dark City (Director's Cut) [Blu-ray]

Dark City (Director's Cut) [Blu-ray]
by Alex Proyas

Dark City (Director's Cut) [Blu-ray]

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DVD Cover Information

Actor: Jennifer Connelly, Kiefer Sutherland, Richard O'Brien, Rufus Sewell, William Hurt
Director: Alex Proyas
Brand: NEW Line Home Video
Cinematographer: Dariusz Wolski
Composer: Trevor Jones
Blu-ray: Region Code 0
Audio: English (Unknown), DTS-HD High Res Audio; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); English (Original Language), DTS-HD High Res Audio
Format: Color, Director's Cut, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 2.35:1
Running Time: 111 minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: 2011-01-01
Audience Rating: Unrated
Studio: New Line Home Video
Product features:

The critically-acclaimed triumph from visionary director Alex Proyas (I, Robot, The Crow) is back with a brand new directors cut featuring enhanced picture and sound, never-before-seen footage and three commentary tracks that take you deeper than ever before into the world of one of sci-fis most exciting and revered tales. When John Murdoch (Rufus Sewell) wakes with no memory at the scene of a gri

Movie Reviews of Dark City (Director's Cut) [Blu-ray]

Movie Review: We don't see enough intelligent science fiction these days....
Summary: 5 Stars

These days, "sci-fi" usually means one of two things:

1) Big budget CGI fests that are 99% special effects and 1% plot, or
2) Preachy over-the-top "Disaster" movies that are 99% fiction and 1% science.

In contrast, `Dark City' is a rare beast; a genuine, intelligent, thought-provoking science fiction film.

It's best to go into this movie without knowing anything about the plot, since unravelling the story is a key element of the film. For this reason, you should get the Director's Cut instead of the original (see below). Suffice to say that 'Dark City' takes a fairly well-worn opening (amnesiac wakes up in a strange room with a dead body) and expands it into something completely unexpected. We quickly realise that the murder mystery and John Murdoch's attempts to unravel his past are only a small part of a much larger story. This is a complex and intelligent film, and requires some concentration to follow. I must mention a scene early on that seems like a jarring continuity error at first....this forms a major part of the plot revelation later in the film.

The cast do an excellent job; Rufus Sewell nails the confused but driven hero Murdoch, and William Hurt gives an under-stated, sympathetic performance as Bumstead. Jennifer Connelly as Anna and Richard O'Brien as the sinister Mr Hand are also good in their roles. But the real star is Kiefer Sutherland, who gives what should have been an Oscar-winning performance as the creepy, enigmatic Dr Schreber. Filmed in Sydney, Australians will notice plenty of local actors in cameo roles (Colin Friels, Melissa George, Bruce Spence, Nicholas Bell, David Wenham...).

The production and direction are top-class as well. There is some use of CGI, but it's not overdone, and certainly doesn't take the place of plot and character development. There is effective use of subtle shading and artificial lighting by director Alex Proyas, since most of the action takes place in the dark. And the deliberately anachronistic setting is both film-noir and futuristic at the same time. The skyline of the city brings to mind `Metropolis', but many of the sets were later re-used for `The Matrix'.

It's best to get the Director's Cut over the original release now that it's available. There are several small scenes which help flesh out the story a bit, particularly involving Bumstead, but the main difference is the removal of the opening narration. Obviously the studio heads under-estimated the intelligence of sci-fi audiences, and forced Proyas to add a narration containing several spoilers to the theatrical release. The Director's Cut removes this...but if you do get the original release, you can just turn the volume down until Dr Schreber first appears. Trust me, this is one film you will enjoy working out for yourself instead of having it spoon-fed to you.

Really, this film just clicks. What could have been a very self-indulgent storyline is made tight and entertaining because the casting, production, script and direction work so well. If you expect a brainless popcorn "sci-fi" blockbuster then don't bother, but for those of us who were crying out for a return to "real" science fiction, `Dark City' is a masterpiece.

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Summary of Dark City (Director's Cut) [Blu-ray]

The critically-acclaimed triumph from visionary director Alex Proyas (I, Robot, The Crow) is back with a brand new directors cut featuring enhanced picture and sound, never-before-seen footage and three commentary tracks that take you deeper than ever before into the world of one of sci-fis most exciting and revered tales. When John Murdoch (Rufus Sewell) wakes with no memory at the scene of a grisly murder, he soon finds himself hunted by the police, a woman claiming to be his wife and a mysterious group of pale men who seem to control everything and everyone in the city. Starring Rufus Sewell (The Illusionist), Jennifer Connelly (A Beautiful Mind), William Hurt (A History of Violence) and Kiefer Sutherland (TVs 24).

If you're a fan of brooding comic-book antiheroes, 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-plus sets (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

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