Dark City (1998)

The Definitive Version?

The main criticism I had about the original DVD release of this movie was the opening voiceover, which I felt was unnecessary and contained major 'spoilers'. It now transpires that this was added at the insistence of the studio who did not trust the audience to have the wit or patience to follow the story as it unfolds.
Thankfully, this new version omits the voiceover and adds a few other minor edits to restore the director's original vision.
It was also irritating to learn that the restrictive 'R' rating was given for the absurd reason that the movie was 'too weird' rather than a result of any sexual or violent content.
This underrated movie deserves to become a genre classic. As a more personal creation by writer/producer Proyas than his later "I, Robot" and for several outstanding performances, particularly Kiefer Sutherland as the tortured Dr Schreber.
August 26, 2008

Not region free

Important information especially for customers outside the USA. This movie is not region free, but instead region A (America). You cannot play this disc in any European country !!! I have to return my disc, because I cannot play it.
Since blue ray is the winner in the HD format, more and more blue ray discs are no longer region free.
One star for the wrong information by Amazon, not for the film. The film deserves a five star rating. August 22, 2008

Director's Cut: Superb Anamorphic transfer to DVD

This is a highly rated film--even by the professional movie critics. The Director's Cut--this is the version to buy-- its video and sound presentation are quite impressive--fantastic anamorphic widescreen picture that looks almost like a high-definition DVD! This is especially important for this movie because so many scenes are, well, in the dark. The blacks are deep and clear and the colors are rich and natural. The sound is also quite good (Dolby 5.1). The movie looked and sounded great on my large-screen high definition TV system with surround sound. It also helps if you have a high-quality DVD player (The "upconversion" feature of high defintion DVD players greatly enhances regular DVDs. My Toshiba 1080p HD DVD player is quite good at this--I believe the Blu ray players can more or less provide the same upconversion). Highly recommended! August 21, 2008

It's all right

This is a movie that tries really hard to be weird. It is very affected and not really mind blowing. It's like a super-deluxe episode of the Twilight Zone. The story wasn't hard at all to follow or understand.

If you're someone who really loves weirdness, then you'll probably like this movie more than me. I like conventionality more. I recently saw Jumper and Transformers. I liked those movies better.

Some people seem to think that if you make something more weird, that that makes it more deep and intellectual. But I don't think so.

The reason I watched Dark City was just to see something different. It is fairly different from the normal summer blockbuster movies I usually see. It was reasonably entertaining, but slightly pretentious and extremely affected.

I don't want to say anything about what actually happens in the movie, because I don't want to spoil it for you. Let it all unravel as you watch.
August 21, 2008

The greatest film of all time never gets the respect it deserves.

Yes, Dark City is my favorite movie ever made, and while this Blu-ray is the way to watch it, it still doesn't get the respect it deserves.

Included on the disc are the original Theatrical cut and the new Directors cut (who would have thought you could improve on near perfection?). Many great special features and generally everything you could ask for. Except good video quality.

While this release looks good (for a 10 year old film) and better than DVD, Dark City deserves better, so I can only give this 4/5. None-the-less, Dark City is worth your time and this Blu-ray is the best way to see it. As a film it stands with the best of dystopian Sci-Fi like Blade Runner, so if you haven't seen it, you need to.

I wish more reviewers would remember, we are rating the Blu-ray here, not the film. We have to consider the entire package, and while Dark City is a 5 star film, this is not a 5 star release. August 18, 2008

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