@@DonMachado Come on! It's just a medium-level action flick pretending to be sci-fi and the "philosophic" discussions are shallow at best, pretentious and silly at... well, at best. They're already at worst. It's a fun movie, but literally nothing beyond that, like all (the Matrix better than most) Wachowsky's brothers movies. BTW, yes, the movie "philosophy" is cliche and trite, mere quotes of so-called thinkers read in summary philosophy handbooks, but that doesn't mean that philosophy as a whole is not a dumpster fire of vanity and idiocy, which it is. You want actual thinking, go to science, the humanities are just, well... idiotic.
@@chrisbentley3988 He took a lot of queues from late, great character actor Peter Lorre. I dunno if that was in the script or if it was something Kiefer Sutherland pursued himself but yeah, he did a great job.
@@jedijessic Donald Sutherland had a unique style that made him a great character actor. You can see him playing a psychotic in Backdraft. He's the main bad guy in The Hunger Games. There are a ton of great movies of his from the 70's and 80's, like Ordinary People which is a 4 time academy award winner. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) was a remake of the 1956 movie of the same name. He really made that movie as terrifying as it was. And it was terrifying!
@@jedijessicI agree! He could scare the shit out of you like the last scene in Invasion of The Body Snatchers to playing the Southern drunk lawyer who comes out of retirement in A Time to Kill. Fine actor, he ran the gamut and then some. R.I.P.
That was a great basic DVD that was full of cool features. I especially loved the movie review of "Metropolis" by H.G. Wells where he essentially trashed the film.
Mask of the Evil Apparition, a short film written and directed by Proyas, set in the Dark City cinematic universe, was released in 2021. During a Q&A session after a screening of the short film, Proyas revealed he was in the early stages of developing a Dark City series.
I love seeing this movie in the theater in 1998. The score, the sets, the cinematography, and the special effects were creepy and cool. RIP to Kiefer Sutherland's father, Donald.
I saw Dark City in the theater at least four times. And I went to WorldCon in Baltimore that year and saw the world premiere of the director’s cut. Kudos Minty for bringing attention to this excellent movie! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I remember when this came out. My late husband and I went to the cinema to see it. (I'm the world's most ardent K. Sutherland fan and no way was I not gonna be first in line to see THIS one.) I still remember how the sun felt after, when we walked out of the cinema. And I remember that day with him every time I've watched it since. RIP SBZ RIP DSutherland.
John Murdock is almost literally a blank slate, except for his moral and kind nature, and his talent. It was a great choice to cast Rufus Sewell. O'Brian and Southerland were also genius strokes of casting!
I remember being so excited for this movie! As a kid I used to entertain and even make friends because of my own comic strip superhero character I created. All the characters were bugs and they lived in a city built inside a huge hollowed out mountain called Cavern City. Seeing the city in Dark City was pretty much like seeing what was in my head for Cavern City!
Very groovy, Minty! I was working at a theater in 1998 and I’ll never forget the trailer. It was a work of art that completely intrigued me. I thought “From the director of The Crow? I was sold!” I loved it as much as Roger Ebert and even snagged the poster! I don’t think I’ve sat down to watch Dark City in a long time but now you’ve got me wanting to treat myself to a rewatch. I’m looking at Proyas’s IMDB page and it really sucks that he hasnt directed a feature film since 2016, but it’s cool that he’s made 4 short films. Anywho, thank you for all the trivia. It keeps this movie geek happy.
Always enjoyed this movie and the Noir ambiance. Rufus Sewell was excellent and even watching it today, I look back on his performance and appreciate it.
I was lucky enough to see that one in theaters. It was definetly a trip, and has become one of my favorite films. I often ask people--to this day--"Do you know how to get to Shell Beach?"
Dark City is one of my favorite movies. I saw it in theaters, and I love listening to the Ebert commentary track. I also appreciate the restoration of Jennifer Connelly's singing in the Director's cut. This film has seemed like it fit well with Jean-Pierre Jeunet's films of Delicatessen and City of Lost Children, and of course Brazil, films that normalize unreality.
The Director's Cut of Dark City is simply one of the greatest science-fiction films ever made. I saw the theatrical release first, in the theaters, and still loved it. But when the DC DVD came out a few years later, I grabbed it up and was blown away by it. I had already been telling people about it, but when I got that DVD, I began to sit people down and make them watch it. They all loved it. This is probably my favorite film. I liked the original Matrix just fine. But I've always been a Dark City man.
I always felt the inspiration for The Strangers came from the Space Guild guys from the classic DUNE (1984) movie. They look identical (except when they wear hats), and even walk like them. Great vid Minty, thanks for making it!
I think I either also saw the directors cut first, or for some reason I missed the opening narration, because the first time I saw it, I don't remember the narration. It was upon rewatching that I first saw the narration sequence. It's much better without it.
Totally underrated movie! I loved Kiefer Sutherland in this, his performance was straight up Peter Lorre. Which fit nicely with the 40s noir theme of the movie.
I remember that one too! it had Space Ghost, Zorak and Brak in it who for some reason had a southern accent even though he never had that in the Space Ghost cartoons lol!
One of my three favourite movies of all time (the other two being Donnie Darko and Robot Monster). I just can't imagine anybody else playing Murdoch other than Rufus Sewell. And of course Richard O'Brien was amazing as Mr. Hand.
Here’s one thing I know about Dark City, it was friggin’ awesome!!!! Saw this banger in the theater opening night with no idea what it was about and had my mind blown proper😁
I told people I loved a sci-fi movie from the late 1990s where it turns out the world, as we know it, is an illusion controlled by shadowy figures, and in which a black-clad trench-coated hero discovers the truth and gains super powers to fight the shadowy figures. Of course, I was talking about _Dark City_ .
I really love this odd movie. When it was released back then, it was totally buried, hidden, so I totally missed it then. I've now seen it several times, and the piecing together of the mystery is the fascinating part.
Yes! This and Split Second, for some reason I remember fondly seeing in the theater, but almost everyone else has no idea wtf I'm talking about. F*king classic!
Fun fact: when Kief was learning his roping, he was driving everybody nuts backstage. At one point, he roped some poor little PA with full hands and tripped her. He did feel awful after, but dude... And it's not random. He was a cowboy for a couple years. Remember??
I remember the first time I saw this movie. I was 16 and absolutely loved it. This movie has been in my collection for most of my life and I still regularly watch it.
My favorite line: Mr. Hand : But I wanted to know what it was like... how you feel. John Murdoch : You know how I was supposed to feel. That person isn't me... never was. You wanted to know what it was about us that made us human. Well, you're not going to find it... [Murdoch points at his head] John Murdoch : ...in here. You were looking in the wrong place. Whats yours?:
THANK YOU! I've been asking in the comment section for years for you to do this! One of my favorite movies and I think the most underrated movie ever made!
Dark City was definitely an inspiration for the Matrix such a wondrously dark fantasy and it makes you think about important issues like identity and who is really in power , i just love this film and how it inspires you to think about what is really real around you great review Minty i always enjoy coming here for your great insights into movies . CHEERS mate .
Back then I had a good friend from my grade school years who I also worked with at a used music store that was massively into Dark City. We went to see it together in the theaters. I really enjoyed it but was not surprised when it wasn't a massive hit. It's a great film, but definitely a thinking person's flick. Later in 1998 that friend moved from the Midwest US to Sacramento, California, I took a different job, moved out of my parents house and so on. He came back to visit in 1999 on the weekend that The Matrix premiered. I had been so busy with life I knew nothing about it. He and I went to go see it on that opening weekend and we were both completely blown away! Back then it impressed me so much I went back the next weekend and took my father along with me! So while my friend and I were both big fans of Dark City, even before it was released, we nearly completely forgot about it for years after The Matrix debuted!
The scene where the cars all stop is filmed at the Rocks in Sydney, where the old warehouses are. I loved this film at the time and its still one of my favourites. A classic full of neo noir 90s cool
I so adore this movie. I've had it on DVD for years and recently upgraded to blu ray. I hope eventually this gets a 4k release with new commentary and deleted scenes and behind the scenes content.
I saw this in the theaters when I was 16 and definitely did not appreciate it at the time. I revisited it years later and was blown away. It's definitely the best of 1998 and one of the best from the 90s period.
Dark City wasn't released in a theater near me, so I didn't even know about the movie until the early 00's when I was browsing for new movies to watch on DC++. Saw someone with Dark City in their library, so I gave it a download. It's one of my favorite movies of all time.
This was your best video yet and all your commentary was on point Minty. I literally grew up in my grandfathers video store and was fortunate enough to be able to watch screener copies of movies before they would come out/come to VHS/DVD. I loved this movie and talked my grandfather into letting me keep the screener copy. When I went to film school in my cinematography class our teacher would often talk about how Dark City will one day be a cult classic and be known as a cinema masterpiece. Cheers Minty you got the nail on the head with this one.
Loved this movie when it came out. Definitely underrated and underappreciated when it released. My crush Jennifer Connelly is drop dead gorgeous as the lounge singer!
Yay! So glad you covered Dark City. I remember seeing it at the cinema with my partner at the time. We both loved it so much we bought tickets to the next session to watch it again. I bought the DVD as soon as it came out then the Blue Ray.
I watched Dark City in the theater when it came out. I don't remember seeing that voice over, or maybe I was late or didn't understand it. I thought it was great movie and with a fantastic twist. With us nerds it really heightened the appreciation for Jennifer Connelly.
I discovered this one at a small independent VHS video rental store. I think I rented it 4 or 5 times before I found my own copy to buy. I've always had a soft-spot for Noir and odd surrealistic style films. This one easily became a big favorite of mine.
Fantastic movie. I still remember seeing it in theaters and being blown away. If I’m correct, there is music throughout the entire film. Something that really struck me.
I'm glad this movie is at least belatedly getting the acclaim it deserves. I should see the director's cut; the theatrical version is a lot of fun to watch as it is. I remember seeing this when I was in college after it was out on DVD. A guy in my dorm was so jazzed about it, and I've been a fan since (also, in 1999, being a teenager with a dvd player was a FLEX)
My wife and I went to the theater and ALMOST walked out at the 40 minute point - it just didn't seem to go anywhere. Then? It hit us like a train and the rest of the movie was a huge thrill ride. One of the first 10 DVDs I bought.
What a great movie. I saw the Director's Cut and didn't know the original release had that voice-over expose intro. I loved it from start to finish. I especially loved the mystery of it and of trying to work out what was going on as it unfolded. The whole thing was very trippy.
