Dark City (1998)

User Rating:

7.8/10   

Director:

Alex Proyas

Writers (WGA):

Alex Proyas (story)
Alex Proyas (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

27 February 1998 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

They built the city to see what makes us tick. Last night one of us went off.

Plot:

A man struggles with memories of his past, including a wife he cannot remember, in a nightmarish world with no sun and run by beings with telekinetic powers who seek the souls of humans.

Plot Keywords:

Memory | Murder | Soul | Hotel | Night

Awards:

6 wins & 7 nominations

Cast

Rufus Sewell	...	John Murdoch
William Hurt	...	Inspector Frank Bumstead
Kiefer Sutherland	...	Dr. Daniel P. Schreber
Jennifer Connelly	...	Emma Murdoch / Anna
Richard O'Brien	...	Mr. Hand
Ian Richardson	...	Mr. Book
Bruce Spence	...	Mr. Wall
Colin Friels	...	Det. Eddie Walenski
John Bluthal	...	Karl Harris
Mitchell Butel	...	Officer Husselbeck
Melissa George	...	May
Frank Gallacher	...	Chief Insp. Stromboli
Ritchie Singer	...	Hotel Manager / Vendor
Justin Monjo	...	Taxi Driver
Nicholas Bell	...	Mr. Rain

Also Known As:

Dark Empire (USA) (working title)
Dark World (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for violent images and some sexuality.

Runtime:

100 min | 111 min (director's cut)

Country:

Australia | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | SDDS | DTS

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia) | Canada:18 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Spain:18 | South Korea:15 (original rating) | South Korea:18 (DVD rating) | USA:Not Rated (director's cut) | Argentina:16 | Australia:M | Brazil:14 | Chile:18 | Finland:K-16 | France:-12 | Germany:16 | Hong Kong:IIB | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:M | Norway:15 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:NC-16 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | USA:R (certificate #34966)

Filming Locations:

Fox Studios, Moore Park, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Company:

Mystery Clock Cinema

Trivia:

The name of Kiefer Sutherland's character, Daniel Schreber, is the same as that of a man who wrote a book titled "Memoirs of My Nervous Illness" during the heights of a period in which he was institutionalized for schizophrenia. The book has become a standard reading for many psychiatrists and psychologists, and many of the theories of both Sigmund Freud and Carl Gustav Jung were based on it (Freud never actually met Schreber, though). "Dark City" borrows heavily from the concept of "fleetingly-improvised men" which are found within Schreber's "Memoirs".

Goofs:

Continuity: After John uses his 'tune' to force the Automat slot open to get his wallet, the broken spring and lever for the food slot fall in. When it cuts to a close-up of his hand taking the wallet, the broken spring is gone.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Dr. Schreber: [voiceover] First there was darkness, then came the strangers.

Movie Connections:

References Repo Man (1984)

Soundtrack:

Sway

The Best Scifi of the Ninetees

This is probably the best Sci-Fi-Film of the Ninetees. Matrix is good, but this film is better. Both deal with the same question: What is reality? Not only was Dark City first, it also handles the subject much better and more adult than Matrix. Also its conclusion is far better than the one of Matrix.

Not only does this film deal with reality, it also deals with humanity, something which lacks Matrix. What makes us humans? To quote Dr. Schreber from the film "Are we more than just the sum of our Experiences?" This film is slowpaced, but not boring at all. And it deserves the title: Dark. The film is dark, "noir" and this gives the film a great atmosphere. The darkness and coldness of the strangers is in contrast to the bright light of the sun created by John Murdoch in the end.

This film is very philosophic, which I like. The best films are those which help us to think and this one clearly is such a film. Something which is needed in our society of marionettes and idiotic consumers who know more than anyone else before in history but who lack the ability to truly think.

The show down was a little weak, but the film made this up again at the very end with the last meeting between Murdoch and Mr. Hand. I remember Murdoch's words well and he speaks of a truth which is sometimes forgotten: What makes us human is not to be found in our heads, our brains and our minds.