Overview: From Alex Proyas, visionary director of The Crow, comes Dark City, a mind-bending science fiction thriller set in a shadowy world where the sun never rises and nothing is quite what it seems.

John Murdoch (Rufus Sewell) wakes in a hotel bathtub with no memory of who he is or how he got there, but there’s a body on the floor with bloody spirals carved into the flesh and a voice on the phone that tells him to flee.

Soon Murdoch is on the run, wanted by the police, a woman who claims to be his wife and a group of mysterious pale men who seem to control everyone and everything in the city ... except him.

With a cast that includes Kiefer Sutherland (The Lost Boys), William Hurt (A History of Violence), Jennifer Connelly (Phenomena) and Richard O’Brien (The Rocky Horror Picture Show), and a script by Proyas, Lem Dobbs (Kafka) and David S. Goyer (Batman Begins), Dark City is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma, filmed through a lens of film noir and German expressionism ... an extraordinary feast for the cinematic senses.

4K Blu-ray Verdict: For those not in the late 90’s know, Dark City is a sci-fi thriller set in a neo-noir environment. The Strangers, beings with telekinetic abilities, treat human beings like laboratory mice, endlessly testing to see what makes them tick. However, when one human being demonstrates abilities similar to their own he becomes their prime target.

The cast is a pretty decent one although it doesn’t really have a big name attached. Jennifer Connelly was still a few years away from her Oscar win and Keifer Sutherland hadn’t yet been rescued from obscurity by his role in 24. Nevertheless, they show themselves to be capable actors, as do Rufus Sewell and the always-authentic William Hurt.

The story and setting bear resemblance to certain other sci-fi films down the years, though they cannily retain a sense of originality. The film hurtles along for the most part and lets the viewer piece together the mystery from the clues as they are presented. Nothing much moves slowly and for that alone I appreciate it as a visual entity.

Alex Proyas’s direction is well-handled, and the neo-noir cinematography is really quite appealing. The special effects are decent but certainly not comparable to today’s best efforts. I can’t really recall anything specific about the score, which suggests that it was average; neither good nor bad, and yet it was definitely on point as it never once spiked my attention watching the film and thus drew me away.

All in all, Dark City should be of interest to any and all sci-fi fans. It’s not quite on the same level as the greats of the genre but it’s a worthwhile diamond in the rough, of that you can be sure.

4K ULTRA HD BLU-RAY LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS:
Brand new 4K restoration from the original 35mm camera negatives approved by director of photography Dariusz Wolski
4K Ultra HD (2160p) Blu-ray presentations of both the Director’s Cut and Theatrical Cut of the film
Original DTS-HD MA 5.1, stereo 2.0 and new Dolby Atmos audio options for both cuts of the film
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing 60-page perfect bound collectors book featuring new writing by author Richard Kadrey, and film critics Sabina Stent, Virat Nehru and Martyn Pedler
Limited edition packaging featuring newly commissioned artwork by Doug John Miller
Double-sided fold-out poster featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Doug John Miller
Three postcard-sized reproduction art cards
Postcard from Shell Beach
Dr Schreber business card

DISC 1: DIRECTOR’S CUT:
Brand new audio commentary by director Alex Proyas
Brand new audio commentary with Craig Anderson, Bruce Isaacs and Herschel Isaacs, co-hosts of the Film Versus Film podcast
Archive audio commentary by director Alex Proyas
Archive audio commentary by film critic Roger Ebert
Archive audio commentary by writers Lem Dobbs and David S. Goyer
Archive introduction by Alex Proyas
Return to Dark City, a new hour-long documentary featuring interviews with director Alex Proyas, producer Andrew Mason, production designers Patrick Tatopoulos and George Liddle, costume designer Liz Keough, storyboard artist Peter Pound, director of photography
Rats in a Maze, a new visual essay by film scholar Alexandra West
I’m as Much in the Dark as You Are, a new visual essay by film scholar Josh Nelson on film noir and identity in Dark City
Design & Storyboards

DISC 2: THEATRICAL CUT:
Archive audio commentary by director Alex Proyas, writers Lem Dobbs & David S. Goyer, director of photography Dariusz Wolski and production designer Patrick Tatopoulos
Archive audio commentary by film critic Roger Ebert
Memories of Shell Beach, a 2008 featurette in which cast and crew look back at the making of the film from concept to reception
Architecture of Dreams, a 2008 featurette presenting five perspectives on the themes and meanings of the film
Theatrical trailer
Image gallery

Official Purchase Link

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