Dark City (1998)

maquiladora · 29-11-2005 7:10pm #1

I only heard about this movie about a year ago, and finding it not available on region 2 dvd, it took me a while to find it and get to see it. I had heard great things about it and knew Roger Ebert said it was one of the greatest films of all time.
Well..I have to say, I really enjoyed it. Visually, its stunning - sort of like Brazil meets The Matrix meets Metropolis meets Blade Runner. The whole atmosphere felt original yet somehow familiar..the whole sci-fi / noir feeling just worked so well.
The story was also highly original and didn't feel like the same old things rehashed over and over.
There were some things I wasnt too crazy about, some of the acting was a bit...off and the incredibly fast editing, while working most of the time along with the beat of the score, at times felt dizzying.
Anyway, I really enjoyed this little known gem and was wondering what you thought of it?

super_furry · 29-11-2005 7:14pm

Fairly sure it is out on Region 2 - I have it. At least I think I do. It's a great film alright, but I felt the ending spoiled it slightly - it's a bit too 'Twilight Zone' for my tastes.

maquiladora · 29-11-2005 7:24pm

I checked amazon again and saw an old R2 dvd release there! You're right! Never saw that in the shops, but the one I think I was looking for was the New Line Platinum SE release which is only region 1.

Karl Hungus · 29-11-2005 9:50pm

Try here. for £6.99.

Amazing film though. Oddly enough, the script for the film was optioned to Warner Brothers at first, before New Line took it, but then WB came out with The Matrix a year later, which is quite similar in it's plot.

maquiladora · 29-11-2005 9:56pm

Yes, they are similar in plot and also in visuals. Have a look on this page at the screencaps comparing shots in Dark City to The Matrix. Some are quite iffy, but some are so similar, its downright scary :

http://galeon.hispavista.com/cinerama/actu2/matrixdarkcity.htm

Karl Hungus · 29-11-2005 10:01pm

maquiladora wrote:

Yes, they are similar in plot and also in visuals. Have a look on this page at the screencaps comparing shots in Dark City to The Matrix. Some are quite iffy, but some are so similar, its downright scary :

http://galeon.hispavista.com/cinerama/actu2/matrixdarkcity.htm

Some are definetly iffy alright, but you can't help compare Richard O'Brien's character who kept saying "Mr. Murdoch" quite condescendingly to Agent Smith who pretty much said "Mr. Anderson" in much the same way. Quite uncanny.

Tusky · 29-11-2005 10:11pm

maquiladora wrote:

Yes, they are similar in plot and also in visuals. Have a look on this page at the screencaps comparing shots in Dark City to The Matrix. Some are quite iffy, but some are so similar, its downright scary :

http://galeon.hispavista.com/cinerama/actu2/matrixdarkcity.htm

Thats crazy! Some are scary similiar.

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar · 29-11-2005 10:12pm

dark city owns the matrix.
If there had only been one matrix, it probably would have owned dark city... but matrices two and three really let the side down

ObeyGiant · 29-11-2005 10:25pm

Dark City is available on R2. Or at least it was - I've got a copy of it somewhere. Warning though, it's not anamorphic widescreen, and the transfer is a little crappy. Although there's supposedly a fancypants special edition on the way.

sobberandclean · 29-11-2005 10:31pm

i got the jap dts version but read this yeah guys exelent movie.

OVERALL: Draw
Between the R2 French release - for the DTS track and additional extras and the R1 for the second Commentary.
CUTS:
R1 America - (New Line) - No Cuts.
R2 France - (Seven 7) - No cuts
R2 Germany - (Kinowelt) - No cuts
R2 Holland - (New Line) - No cuts
R2 Scandinavia - (Sandrew Metronome) - No cuts
R2 United Kingdom - (Entertainment In Video) - No cuts
R4 Australia - (Roadshow Home Entertainment) - No cuts
If you have any corrections or comments on this comparison then please visit The Rewind Forums
Comparison added by Craig on July 20th 2001
Comparison last updated by minister_x on March 15th 2005

madrab · 30-11-2005 11:22am

really liked this movie when it came out & i was always recommending it to people (who i though would like it) when i worked in xtravision

01-12-2005 12:09pm

It's easily one of my favourite science fiction films in the past few years. Far superior to the Matrix.

Anyone remember The Thirteenth Floor. Parts of that we're also very similar to The Matrix

Lochaber · 01-12-2005 12:45pm

Deleted User wrote:

Anyone remember The Thirteenth Floor. Parts of that were also very similar to The Matrix

It was on tv recently and I'd heard that it was similar to The Matrix / Dark City so I had a look. It was alright and I'm a big Vincent D'Onofrio fan so I was happy but I didn't really think it was in the same league as The Matrix or Dark City... and for the record I'd say Dark City was the best out of the three...

madrab · 01-12-2005 2:05pm

dark city + black mask = matrix

Vokes · 01-12-2005 2:18pm

Yeah, i saw The Thirteenth Floor there the other week on tv. It wasn't half-bad. Made the same year as the Matrix as well!

Actually, does anyone know why it was called The Thirteenth Floor? I mean apart from the fact the computers were on that floor.

Lochaber · 01-12-2005 2:57pm

SofaKing wrote:

Actually, does anyone know why it was called The Thirteenth Floor? I mean apart from the fact the computers were on that floor.

Don't know if you've seen it already but there's a bit of a discussion going on IMDb (Link), I have no idea myself but there are a few ideas there...

Nevyn · 01-12-2005 4:10pm

Great film gritty and dark with lots of questions about what makes us who we are. Guess I will have to look out for a dvdcopy evnetually to replace my vhs copy.

Cactus Col · 02-12-2005 2:18pm

maquiladora wrote:

Yes, they are similar in plot and also in visuals. Have a look on this page at the screencaps comparing shots in Dark City to The Matrix. Some are quite iffy, but some are so similar, its downright scary :

http://galeon.hispavista.com/cinerama/actu2/matrixdarkcity.htm

And I'm sure if you look for them you'll find very similar shots in the matrix and the crow (off the top of my head the running on rooftops scenes).

NikNik · 02-12-2005 2:46pm

Brilliant movie. I definately recommend it

kasm · 02-12-2005 5:06pm

SofaKing wrote:

Yeah, i saw The Thirteenth Floor there the other week on tv. It wasn't half-bad. Made the same year as the Matrix as well!

Actually, does anyone know why it was called The Thirteenth Floor? I mean apart from the fact the computers were on that floor.

I thought it was named after the strip that was in the Scream "horror" comics a good few years back.

haven't seen the movie but it sounds sort of Twilight Zone-esque which would tie in with the comic

Dark City (1998)

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