Dark City [Blu-ray] [1998] [US Import] [Region A]

Dark City is a film so filled with secrets that I can only describe a fraction of the plot and hope that my fellow critics have done likewise. John Murdoch (Rufus Sewell) wakes up in a strange apartment with a prostitute's bizarrely mutilated corpse. He has no idea how or why he found himself there, but is contacted by psychiatrist Dr. Schreber (Kiefer Sutherland) who claims he's in terrible danger. John is then pursued by the police and a group of aliens.And that's all I'll say. The rest you'll have to discover yourself, as I did; it's an incredible journey, full of beautiful, surreal images and a screenplay which masterfully encompasses several genres, including two of my favourites, noir and sci-fi. The humans dress and talk like characters in a hardboiled drama; there's dames, cops and johns, and they live in a city which echoes Tim Burton's Gotham, with steam always rising from the sewers. The aliens, meanwhile, bear a striking resemblance to Nosferatu, and possess powers that evoke hypnotic visuals. The special effects are great, springing not just from technology but also imagination. What I love most about this film is its perfect marriage of imagery and story; neither element has been neglected, unlike, say, the Transformers series, which spends all its budget on special effects then gives them no reason to exist. Dark City is a banquet both visually and mentally.The cast also does a magnificent job. Sewell gives a sturdy performance as the kind of hunted, haunted man beloved by Alfred Hitchcock, and Sutherland plays the nervous, eccentric shrink with his usual aplomb. Sutherland, perhaps best known for playing TV action hero Jack Bauer, is I think underrated when it comes to his subtler roles.Dark City is an almost perfect masterpiece, and if I had to pick a flaw it would be its romantic element, which feels contrived and tacked on. I think it also creates a plot hole that I won't go into. Otherwise, however, Dark City is a smart, exciting mystery which is one of my favourite films, blending genres I love and all that makes cinema such a magical art form.A note on the DVD: this isn't a feature packed disc, containing only a five minute "making of" segment and a two minute trailer.

A year before The Matrix, but from the same sound stage. In my view, more imaginative without the infantile story premise of the matrix, that of keeping humans alive as batteries. Here we have strange world, days, people and landscapes can and are reset around cities unconscious inhabitants.

Dark City starts with a man, John Murdoch (Sewell), waking up confused, alone and memoryless in a gloomy hotel in the middle of the night; committed of murders he didn't commit and pursued by ghostly agents who want him on account of the mysterious psychic power he has developed.It so happens that I wanted to watch 'Dark City' because having seen Rufus Sewell in 'The Illusionist' I wanted a comparison and this intriguing film seemed a good option. In fact I'm very glad I bought it because the film is a masterpiece of science fiction. Combining a tense surrealism with incredible visual effects and an indescribable sense of foreboding, Dark City draws you into its dark heart. I was not sure quite what to expect, but from the first intriguing moment to the cosmic finale I was gripped by the mystery; the pace; and the queer malevolence of 'the strangers' whose hidden purpose both intrigues and discomforts.On the one hand, Dark City could be described as an extended 'escape quest' along the lines of the Truman Show, but that would be an injustice. For whereas in the Truman Show everyone was conspiring against Truman, in Dark City everyone is oblivious to the monstrous 'experiments' conducted upon themselves by the alien strangers, leaving only John Murdoch sentient and aware except for one (somewhat unappealing) scientist traitorously acting on behalf of the strangers. Dark City is profoundly philosophical in its treatment of what constitutes identity, the value of memory and what it is that fundamentally makes us human, for the way the 'strangers' callously tamper with the human mind is enthralling and it is only when one distances oneself from the dreamlike quality of the film that the troubling nature of such a possibility is realised.All in all, I loved this film and I recommend it to anyone who's ever considered the question 'who am I?'. It's a fast-paced exciting story with a great performance by Sewell, convincingly backed by Jennifer Connelly and William Hurt, filled with stunning effects; creepy music; supernatural powers; and the haunting dilemma of existentialism that will leave you - strangely in sympathy with the 'strangers' - pondering long after the ending.

This is a crazy movie, but worth watching

Novel for its time but plot twists and special effects have not survived the ravages of sci-fi cinema.

This is an enjoyable movie, and nicely this Blu-ray comes with both the director's and theatrical cuts of the movie. The transfer is very good, and the sound is good. It's a great noir film. I'm not going to say anything more about the movie itself. If you haven't seen it yet, go into this one cold and watch the director's cut first. Don't learn anything about it beforehand. Then watch the first ten minutes of the theatrical cut and wonder for yourself just what the studio was thinking when they meddled with it.

La version longue, une autre dimension du film.

Guter Film

Must watch if you are into science fiction

La compré de segunda mano y no sabía qué me iba a llegarCaratula y disco en estado impecableLa carátula está en alemán pero lleva selección de idiomas castellano , español latinoamericano inglés y alemánSe ve perfectamente, gran calidad para lo antigua qué es la películaMuy contenta con la compra, no conseguía encontrarla en ningún sitio