Dark City [Director's Cut]

Director: Alex Proyas Alex Proyas

Overview

Alex Proyas (The Crow) directed this noir-styled futuristic thriller, scripted by Proyas, Lem Dobbs (Kafka), and David S. Goyer (The Puppet Masters). In an unknown city, amnesiac John Murdoch (Rufus Sewell) awakens in a hotel with no idea how he got there. He soon discovers that his memories and reality itself are nothing more than an artificial construct. Murdoch's memory is gone, a definite minus when he learns he's wanted for several horrible murders. With little to go on, he sets forth into the night -- and enters a bizarre underworld controlled by the Strangers, a group of odd beings who can stop time and alter both the city and its inhabitants. Murdoch is amazed to find he shares some of their powers. Filmed in Sydney and Los Angeles. Originally scheduled for the 1997 Venice Film Festival but not ready in time. Music by Trevor Jones (G.I. Jane).

Product Details

Release Date:	07/29/2008
UPC:	0794043122965
Original Release:	1998
Rating:	NR
Source:	New Line Home Video
Region Code:	1
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround]
Language:	English
Time:	1:51:00
Sales rank:	24,871

Special Features

Closed Caption; Expanded audio commentaries by film critic Roger Ebert, director Alex Proyas, writers Lemi Dobbs and David S. Goyer; Documenatries: introduction by Alex Proyas, Memories of Shell Beach (making of), Architrecture of Dreams; Production gallery; Theatrical gallery

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Rufus Sewell	John Murdoch
Kiefer Sutherland	Dr. Daniel Schreber
Jennifer Connelly	Emma Murdoch
William Hurt	Frank Bumstead
Richard O'Brien	Mr. Hand
Ian Richardson	Mr. Book
Colin Friels	Walenski
Mitchell Butel	Husselbeck
Frank Gallacher	Stromboli
Bruce Spence	Mr. Wall
Mellisa George	May,Actor
John Bluthal	Karl Harris
Nicholas Bell	Mr. Rain
Satya Gumbert	Mr. Sleep,Mr. Sleep Filming Double
Frederick Miragliotta	Mr. Quick
Ritchie Singer	Hotel Manager/Vendor
Justin Monjo	Taxi Driver
Peter Sommerfeld	Stranger
Timothy Jones	Stranger,Composer
Jeanette Cronin	Stranger
Paul Livingston	Assistant Stranger
Michael Lake	Assistant Stranger
David Wenham	Schreber's Assistant
Alan Cinis	Automat Cop
Bill Highfield	Automat Cop
Terry Bader	Mr. Goodwin
Rosemary Traynor	Mrs. Goodwin
Edward Grant II	Hotel Manager
Maureen O'Shaughnessy	Kate Walenski
Deobie Oparei	Train Passenger,Actor,Actor
Marcus Johnson	Station Master,Actor
Doug Scroope	Desk Sergeant
Cinzia Coassin	Waitress
Tyson McCarthy	Murdoch (age 10)
Luke Styles	Murdoch (as a teenager)
Anthony Kierann	Murdoch's Father
Laura Keneally	Murdoch's Mother
Natalie Bollard	Naked Woman
Eliot Paton	Matthew Goodwin
Naomi van der Velden	Jane Goodwin
Peter Callan	Taxi Driver
Mark Hedges	Emma's Lover
Darren Gilshenan	Fingerprint Cop
Ray Rizzo	Policeman
Bill Rutherford	Police Officer
Marin Mimica	Hotel Lobby Cop
Tony Mosley	Four Piece Band Member
Glenford O. Richards	Four Pice Band Member,Actor
Stanley Steer	Four Piece Member
Greg Tell	Four Piece Member
William Upjohn	Forensics Cop
John Bluthall	Actor
Edward Grant	Actor

Technical Credits

Alex Proyas

Lem Dobbs

David Goyer

Alex Proyas	Director,Producer,Screenwriter
Glenn Boswell	Stunts
Mara Bryan	Special Effects
Tom Davies	Special Effects
Bruce Hunt	Special Effects
Andrew Mason	Producer,Special Effects
Valerie McCaffrey	Casting
Vanessa Pereira	Casting
Tad Pride	Special Effects
Arthur Windus	Special Effects
Brian Witten	Executive Producer
Shauna Wolifson	Casting
Lem Dobbs	Screenwriter
David Goyer	Screenwriter
Michael DeLuca	Executive Producer
David Lee	Sound/Sound Designer

Editorial Reviews

An extremely ambitious film about the nature of the human soul, Dark City is worth seeing for simply for its visual artistry. The film presents a bleak, film noir-ish urban landscape of no particular era and perpetual nighttime. The imaginative story begins as a crime thriller, though we quickly learn that the murder mystery is part of an all-encompassing puzzle that blends the realms of science fiction and philosophy. Dark City takes what could have been a wildly pretentious storyline and imbues it with skill and substance. Director Alex Proyas was responsible for the similarly desolate, dreamlike world of The Crow; with this film, he proves himself not just a visual wunderkind, but a deft storyteller as well (he co-wrote the screenplay with Lem Dobbs and David S. Goyer). Rufus Sewell is excellent as the brooding, justly paranoid John Murdoch, and Kiefer Sutherland is delightfully creepy as the wheezy Dr. Schreber. Those who like their stories straightforward and grounded in reality should be forewarned, but for those who don't mind mixing their entertainment with metaphysics, Dark City is one of the most overlooked films of the 1990s.