Despite Roger Ebert naming
it the best film of 1997, Dark City
failed to receive critical and popular attention during its theatrical
release. However, revisiting the film
on DVD should correct this under appreciation.
Similar to Blade Runner,
Director Alex Proyas’ sophomore effort deftly blends the stylistic ingredients
of film noir with thematic elements of science fiction, weaving a unique
introspective narrative for the search for human identity amidst the nebulous
divisions between society, technology, and the individual. Proyas reunites with writer Lem Dobbs,
frequent Soderbergh collaborator (The
Limey) and director of photography Dariusz Wolski from his feature
debut, The Crow. Like The Crow, Dark City’s plot unfolds in the
shady recesses of a city from no definable era. Dark City,
overtly indebted to Fritz Lang’s 1927 masterpiece, Metropolis, is a
shadowy urban center that combines German Expressionism and mid-century noir
within a society governed by technology to create a pastiche as complex as its
plot.
Dark City follows
John Murdoch (Rufus Sewell) in his quest for self-identity and his effort to
uncover the “truth” of his past.
Murdoch wakens to find himself naked in a bathtub with no recollection
of his whereabouts, let alone his own name.
His amnesia is complicated when he finds a slain woman in the
bedroom. With only a wallet, a business
card from the office of Doctor Schreber (Kiefer Sutherland), and the fear that
he is homicidal, Murdoch sets off to the address found on his license. At home, Murdoch finds Emma (Jennifer
Connolly), who claims to be his wife.
Fearful of being caught by the police and with no recollection of Emma,
Murdoch continues his quest motivated by a faint memory of Shell Beach, a sunny
vacation spot illustrated by various billboards and postcards that appear
throughout the film, and Doctor Schreber’s business card. Pursued by both Emma and Detective Frank
Bumstead (William Hurt) while searching for Doctor Schreber, Murdoch begins to
learn that the truth runs much below the surface, literally.
Ostensibly, the plot is
driven by Murdoch’s attempt for recollection, yet his search problematizes the
entire notion of individuality and memory.
Although Alex Proyas’ ambitious film leaves many baffled by the
convoluted narrative, Dark City
provides a stunning insight into larger social concerns regarding pervasive
techno scientific discourses and their impact on definitions of reality,
individuality, and memory. Two years
after Dark City, the
Wachowski Brothers explored the same themes in the more critically and publicly
lauded The Matrix. While a
stunning and intellectually complicated film in its own right, The Matrix, which acknowledges
the influence of the French postmodern intellectual Jean Baudrillard, does not
explore the depths of how a postmodern society governed by technology,
conformity, the lack of authenticity impact the individual. (However, The Matrix has two sequels
in which to flush out the narrative and further flush out its philosophical
inquires).
The true star of the film
is the city itself, reflecting the textual richness of issues the film attempts
to tackle. With the exception of
Sewell’s Murdoch, all other actors lend an intentional flatness to their
performance that only serve the film’s larger thematic issues, most notably the
role of memory in constituting individual identity.
The Dark City DVD, released by the
New Line Platinum Series, is two-sided disc with both a full-frame and
non-anamorphic widescreen presentations in 5.1 Dolby Digital. Unfortunately
because of the non-anamorphic print the film suffers a lack of the depth and
detail we have come to love with DVD’s that are anamorphically enhanced. The Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack recreates a
nice ambience for the film despite some of the limitations in fidelity. There are few scenes that really demonstrate
the use of sound for the film, but the five speakers do become active when
needed. The sub-woofer channel is
rather light in the kick and perhaps down the road New Line will want to
revisit this title with upgraded picture and inclusion of the DTS sound that
was so well received when New Line issued the film on LaserDisc, which would
add more fidelity and bass management.
As far as subwoofer sound
is connected to the plot, note how it is not present when Hurt’s Bumstead is
accompanied by the blonde policeman, but is on when that cop is nowhere to be
seen. This is another point that will
help you unravel the events in the picture.
The DVD extras includes
two separate audio commentary tracks, an essay from Neil Gaiman, star features
with cast and crew bios, an essay comparing Dark City to Metropolis,
and the “Find Shell Beach” interactive game.
Although the extra features provide some interesting information, the
comparison to Metropolis,
which includes H.G Wells’ original 1927 review, and the two commentary tracks
are the most rewarding features.
The first track by Roger
Ebert, who also has done commentary on Citizen Kane and the upcoming Floating Weeds, balances academic attention to detail and
influence with an unapologetic fondness for the film, lauding Proyas’s
craftsmanship and directing acumen.
Ebert, unlike many commentary tracks from actors and lesser directors,
seems to come prepared to record the commentary track, accenting important
details, contextualizing cinematic and thematic influences, and never fails to
complete an argument or insight that he alludes to earlier in the commentary.
The second track features
Proyas, the writing team, and the DP.
While the commentary track was indeed insightful, with each participant
discussing their contributions based from the standpoint of their craft, it was
not without some degree of disappointment.
On the commentary track of The
Limey, Lem Dobbs and Steven Soderbergh vociferously, and somewhat
comically, argue over the changes made to the script and the justifications for
such alterations. However, on Dark City, Proyas and Dobbs are
not as polarized, therefore the process of providing reasons for certain plots
and character choices are not as in depth.
Indeed, the comments are insightful and serve as interesting talking
points meriting further discussion, but with the crowded commentary track, no
one is able to express their ideas with great detail.
Of the landmark science
fiction films that explore humanity in light of technology run amok (The Matrix, Blade Runner, 2001: A Space
Odyssey, The Terminator, and Terminator 2), Dark City
may never receive the intellectual, let alone popular, attention it deserves,
indefinitely remaining a favorite of cinephiles and science fiction buffs. And yet, Roger Ebert did extol the genius of
Bonnie and Clyde while
others dismissed it as ultra violent exhibitionism.
- Ronald L. Von Burg
