Overall rating: 4/5
Director: Alex Proyas
Starring: Rufus Sewell, William Hurt, Kiefer Sutherland, Jennifer Connelly
Tagline: The best science fiction film you’ve never seen … and Jennifer Connelly to boot!
Film: Do yourself a favor: put your fingers in your ears and hum very loudly during the first 30 seconds of this film. There’s a voiceover, which was added after this film was test screened, that explains way too much. Assuming you’re not as dumb as the average American theatergoer (and why would you be, since you’re smart enough to come to this Web site), try to figure out what’s going on yourself.
You may remember a little film that Proyas did back in 1994 called The Crow. You could tell back then that this guy has a love for dystopian chic – one part Ridley Scott mixed with one part Tim Burton, but done in a style that is more fresh than derivative. Dark City is filled with eye candy, but it’s substantive eye candy; the eponymous city is filled with elements of German Expressionism, Gothic rooftops, Art Deco architecture… it’s a mishmash of visual metaphors, which fits the city’s purpose perfectly.
You’ll notice I’ve been avoiding talk of the plot, and that’s because I don’t want to give anything away. Basically, a guy wakes up in a hotel room with a dead hooker, and he has no idea who he is or whether he’s a murderer. That’s just the setup: the plot unravels slowly in delicate layers like the best puff pastry, and it will play over and over in your mind long after the end credits.
Did I mention Jennifer Connelly singing a jazzy number in a form-fitting dress?
Rating: 4/5
DVD: Letterboxed widescreen, anamorphic widescreen, pan-and-scan; English and French 5.1 Dolby Digital; English, French and Spanish subtitles.
Commentaries: 2 commentary tracks: one featuring the director, writers, director of photography and production designer; and the other with Roger Ebert. Yes, the “thumbs up” guy. The director’s commentary is about what you’d expect, but the Ebert commentary is one of the best I’ve heard on any DVD. The only other film he’s done a commentary track for is Citizen Kane, so that should tell you something about the general quality of Dark City.
Extras: A pointless interactive game, the usual cast and crew bios, trailer, gallery of production work, essays comparing the film to Metropolis and an essay about the film by Neil Gaiman.
Rating: 4/5 (only because of the Ebert commentary track)
The Crow – In case you’re hooked on Proyas’ visual style
Blade Runner – The seminal “Future Noir” movie that paved the way for films like Dark City and Minority Report
The Matrix – Another “things are not quite as they appear to be” movie
Spellbound – A different amnesiac accused of murder, without the sci-fi elements, by Alfred Hitchcock
Labyrinth – Because you just can’t have enough Jennifer Connelly
December 12th, 2002 at 11:20 pm
Proyas is now teaming with Will Smith to bring Isaac Azimov’s “I Robot” to the big screen. On the plus side, you have Proyas, on the minus side, you have Will Smith. We’ll have to see how it turns out. They jettisoned Harlan Ellison’s damn fine script, BTW.