Dark City (Director's Cut) [Blu-ray] | John Bluthal, Jennifer Connelly

Dark City (Director's Cut) [Blu-ray] | John Bluthal, Jennifer Connelly | Movie rocks. The "bonus digital copy" is a farce.

DVDs:

Dark City (Directo...

	Dark City (Director's Cut) [Blu-ray] John Bluthal, Jennifer Connelly New Line Home Video, 2008 average customer review:based on 499 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Exceptional film presented (on Blu-ray) in both the original version and "Director's Cut" (DVD has only DC)

"Dark City" was ahead of its time a year to be precise. Examining many of the same themes (an example of simultaneous evolution of ideas, themes and "the look")as "The Matrix" (with a somewhat different mystery/plot at its core although ironically "The Matrix" used some of the same sets) Alex Proyas' "Dark City" looks at the nature of memory and its definition of our humanity.

The Blu-ray looks quite good although there is an overuse of Digital Noise Reduction to eliminate the film grain (something that is an important part of the "look" of the film as much as the color scheme is for "The Matrix"), the images are crisper with a great deal more detail than on the previous DVD (having seen a DVD rental copy for comparison the DVD looks quite good as well) but some fine detail does occasionally get lost in some of the darker noir influenced sequences of the film due to the overuse of DNR. Still, it is a step up from the previous DVD edition which looked quite good for its time. It doesn't look as bad as "Patton" (where complexions had a waxy, pasty sheen to them and, again, fine detail in the faces were often lost)but looks better than some digitally overprocessed films. The Blu-ray has both editions of the film--the original theatrical cut and Director's Cut of the film both subjected to DNR to about the same degree,while the DVD has ONLY the "Director's Cut" of the film. It's a pity because the original DVD certainly is in need of a decent upgrade.

Audio sounds terrific.Both the DVD and Blu-ray editions come with a Digital "bonus" copy of the film that is Windows compatible. Unless you watch it a lot on your PC, you may pull it out once or maybe twice. It is NOT compatible with Apple or ipod devices however.

This new edition ports over almost all the original special features from the DVD including the commentary tracks plus adds additional ones as well. Some special features are in 480i while some others are in 1080p and these include a new documentary "Memories of Shell Beach", "Architecture of Dreams", a production gallery, introduction by Director Proyas and the film's champion film critic Roger Ebert (from a 2005 video interview for this edition), text essays, a review of the film by Neil Gaiman and a "Director's Cut Fact Track" that is a pop-up trivia text extra that notes differences in the "Director's Cut" vs. the theatrical version of the film, various subtle changes, etc.

As to whether you like the "Director's Cut" or the original theatrical cut that depends on you. I personally preferred the DC because it adds footage (including some alternate angles of shots that Proyas prefers)while subtracting the distracting narration that Keifer Sutherland had to read (it was forced on Proyas by New Line and he never liked it feeling it gave away too much of the plot of the film and was somewhat like the "Blade Runner" narration--it's not THAT bad but it doesn't add to the enjoyment of the film for me). We get the original theatrical trailer as well.

For those who HAVEN'T seen the film a synposis of the plot: John Murdoch (Rufus Swell)awakens in the bath to find two things--1) He doesn't know who he is and a trio of mysterious people are after him 2) there is the body of a prostitute in his hotel room who is the latest victim of a serial killer. He has no memory of having committed the murder nor does he know who he is or why he's there. Murdoch must complete the puzzle of his what happened, figure out who he is before a detective (Willim Hurt)catches him and figure out how the wife he has never seen before (Jennifer Connelly)figures in this mystery. His only guide aside from the clues he can find is a mysterious doctor (Keifer Sutherland)who claims to know who he is, how he lost his memory and that he is involved in some bold, bizarre experiment.

Regardless of which version of the film you like, "Dark City" is well worth seeing as it prefigures "The Matrix" a over a year. While it didn't catch on at the box office the same way, it did earn critical raves including Roger Ebert naming it the Best Film of 1998.

Film- 4 stars
Video-3 stars (Too much Digital Noise Reduction used to eliminate film grain)
Audio-4 1/2 stars

Overall--a terrific film gets its due even if the video isn't perfect it looks stunning at times (although there is a signficant amount of edge enhancement througout the film to compensate for the DNR).

Great extras from New Line.

Recommended.

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Movie rocks. The "bonus digital copy" is a farce.

OK, first things first. The movie is awesome. 5 stars.
The thing that irritates me, is that the "digital copy" is Windows Media and works on WINDOWS ONLY.
That's not even the most irritating part about it. The printed instructions that contain the "security key" has a picture of a MACBOOK! Why show a MacBook when the contents in question will absolutely not work on a Mac unless it's running Windows? Stupid, stupid, stupid.
I used virtualization to get to the files, and there were so many hoops to jump through, it's just retarded.
Upgrade WMP - upgrade security components, etc, etc.
And then the file is limited to your hardware. If Windows gets fubar, which is not uncommon for Windows, I'm SOL, as I will have already used my ONE TIME ONLY AUTHENTICATION.
Draconian DRM schemes do not deter or prevent piracy. They simply annoy legitimate customers like me.
Also, if they're going to allow digital copies like this, why Windows only? How about offering an AppleTV alternative for us Mac users?

OK, bitching out of the way.
Movie rocks, transfer is great, extras are great, Director's cut is cool but it's a completely different movie.

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Rent it

Acting and Plot arn't that great, neither are special affects. I'm not saying it's not worth watching but it isn't worth buying.

Fun to see but the original is best.

I concur with the opinion that, though fun to see, the added footage is underwhelming. The "bloat" definitely undermines the quirky, incongruous nature of the theatrical release. The DC cut seems cheaper and the characters more predictable. I did enjoy the opening sequence without the narration but beyond that the added 12 minutes made the movie a bit slow. Though I'm pleased I bought this version so I could experience the new footage, my yearly viewing of Dark City will be the original cut.

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