First Time Watching Dark City (Director's Cut)! -- MOVIE REACTION -- bunnytails 

Dark City is the thinking man’s Matrix. People were so mind blown with the Matrix that they weren’t ready for a film like this.

From IMDB "In the movie Emma Murdoch (Jennifer Connelly) is depicted as a singer in a nightclub. Despite the fact she is seen performing two songs, actually she isn't singing them. They were sung by Anita Kelsey. However, in the Director's Cut, Connelly's vocals were used." So, it was Jennifers doing the singing.

Equilibrium with Christian Bale is a lesser known, but solid dystopian future flick.

I remember being so impressed at the time this came out. The visual effects combined with the uniqueness of the narrative and world in which it occurred really appealed to me. I'm a big Salvador Dali fan and the surrealist aspect of "the tuning" is something that sets this movie apart.

I would recommend 12 Monkeys (1995), The Thirteenth Floor (1999), Existenz (1999), and Donnie Darko (2001) for films with similarly strange vibes.

'Dark City', 'The Truman Show', and 'The Matrix' were modern takes on Plato's allegory of the cave. All released within the span of roughly a year (1998-1999).

As a kid, my Father took me to the last Automat in NYC just before it closed. Just so I could experience it before they went away. What a marvelous creation they were and actually ahead of their time.

I haven’t seen this in ages, such an imaginative, unique film. Let’s also not forget the beautiful Jennifer Connelly.

This movie is like A 1000 piece puzzle, but every piece is just straight edges, and the box is blank so you don't know the full picture till its assembled.... And I loved it.

This movie was a total surprise for me on release. I remember thinking it was an unusual role for Kiefer Sutherland, compared to some of his others around that time.

Oh, the effect Jennifer Connolly singing "Sway" had on teenage me...

This movie came out the year before the Matrix. The Wachowskis visited the set during filming and asked if they could use some of the set. Trinity's rooftop chase at the beginning of the Matrix is on the Dark City set.

If you've never seen 'Brazil' by Terry Gilliam, I highly recommend checking it out. Same ballpark, with a dystopian futuristic-ish city, but different in tone as it leans quite a bit towards absurd comedy. It's still pretty dark, though. As for 'Dark City', that's a good one too, thanks for sharing ! Still, I'm wondering : aren't Persona users supposed to come out during the dark hour ? 🤔

The late Roger Ebert raved about this film upon theatrical release. I saw his review on TV but didn't see "Dark City" until it became available on VHS, then later Blu-ray.

Bunnytail. You look Udderly amazing. Lol. Suddenly I want a cookie and I don't know why...

I think that "nature vs nurture " was the phrase you were in search of.

I'd like to suggest "Existenz", directed by David Cronenberg. I think it's your kind of movie.

Finally, in recent months I have seen 1-2 reaction videos about this masterpiece. I think it deserves much, much more recognition and attention than it has received. To me, this is one of the most unique dystopias ever made. Thanks bunnytailsREACTS!

This and The Crow are just 🧑‍🍳😘

"The Quick and the Dead" is a 16th-17th Century English Biblical translation, meaning "the living and the dead." So when they said "Mr. Quick, dead," it was a bit of a joke.

You should watch The Thirteenth Floor (1999)

5:20 "So, Husselbeck, what kind of killer do you think stops to save a dying fish." Ah. Key question.

@20:25 -- the aliens seem to be a hive mind without individuality. they kidnapped humans to see if individuality (the "soul") was the cure to their ills.

This is one of those incredibly weard and yet very interesting and entertaining films that sadly so few know about

Maybe try Outland starring Sean Connery. I’d say it’s a Film Noir/Sc-Fi Thriller/Western all rolled into one. Or Arrival starring Amy Adams. You’ll wonder what the heck is going on, then it’ll all click into place. Or there's the Twilight Zone film, 4 different stories in one movie.

@Bunny one of my favorite 20 to 25 films of all time, was a treat to see you fall in love with this amazing gem so many do not even know about. Tho the Matrix was far more popular this was my more favorite film between the two sci fi classics

Congratulations! Few reactors have watched this masterpiece, which is one of my 10 favorite science-fiction films. I loved your perceptive reaction to this. You did a spectacular job of figuring out what was happening at each stage. Like “Blade Runner,” this is a science-fiction noir, but with an actual 1940s noir setting. I especially like how the film imitates nightmares, so appropriate to its subject matter. The idea of aliens kidnapping a whole community of humans for an experiment was also the basis of one of the great episodes of the original “Outer Limits” TV series, titled “A Feasibility Study” (April 13, 1964). Based on what you said you like, I highly recommend “The Thirteenth Floor” (1999).

This came out about a year before "The Matrix", and there are a number of similarities. (Aside from kung-fu, bullet-time, and black leather.) The theatrical version of "Dark City" gave away most of the mystery in a narration in the first minute. So, the audience members like me weren't as confused about what was happening. Someone else mentioned watching "Casablanca" and "The Maltese Falcon" as other Film Noirs to watch. One benefit is that both of them feature actor Peter Lorre, whose unusual line delivery inspired Kiefer Sutherland's in "Dark City". RIP William Hurt (Detective Bumstead), who died of cancer a couple years ago.

If you liked this movie, you should check out Terry Gilliam’s Brazil. I love both of these movies and they’ve got a similar vibe. Though this one is more on the neo-noir side with a bit of The Matrix and as you said, Lovecraft,

I saw this in the theaters and I barely remember it so many years later. I’m excited to watch this reaction to revisit something buried so deep in my memory!

"Gattaca" (1997) has a theme surrounding its futuristic tale of a society molded to fit expectations and pre-dispositions. And some attractive people.

It took me a minute or two to realize you were dressed as a cow....at first, I thought you were dressed like a Dalmatian which is just as reasonable as being dressed like a cow ! 😊

Bunnytail! Did I miss a memo? Nice gloves! I love this film. When I saw the trailer that no one understood, I could not wait to see it. When I saw it I felt that many in the theater did not understand it. Even between my brothers I am the only one who liked it. As a teenager I begun to have lucid dreams, where I was aware I was in a dream. Instead of letting the dream dictate my actions, I stopped and looked around. I could never control anything, but once things got scary or dangerous I would scream again and again “Wake up! Wake up!!!!” A few days ago I realized I had a dream that I had forgotten, so spent the entire morning trying to remember, because I felt it was important. I looked at my son and I remembered. Four days ago I dreamt of ‘chapter 1’ of a dream, woke up and forgot all about it. The next day I dreamt of ‘chapter 2’, a continuation which made me remember chapter 1. Woke up and forgot both chapters. The next day I dreamt chapter 3, continuing the story where I remember the two previous chapters. It ends in a cliffhanger! I woke up and forgot all three chapters. The fourth night I dreamt the final chapter, with the memory of all three previous chapters. The stakes were high as I needed to save my son. There was a final ‘boss fight’ where I saved my son. I woke up and forgot about everything. Until I saw my son’s face that morning. I slowly remembered fragments, until at the end of the day I remembered four separate dreams that are continuation of one story with an ending. I know all that could be ‘false memory’ as a result of that last , OR only one dream. As an illustrator and sculptor I often fall asleep frustrated with projects where I hit a mental block. In my dreams I see the finished artwork or sculpture. I wake up and replicate what I did in the dream. Dark City is a personal favorite because of the way I dream.

Another great reaction; but I'm still waiting on Blade Runner 2049. Great outfit by the way!

Nice. Again, one of my favorites. Try "City of Lost Children" next. It's another truly great original sci-fi, it is a bit creepier. edit: Oh, it has subtitles.

I envy you, Bunny Lady. I saw the theatrical cut of this after it came out and before a director’s cut was available. The theatrical cut gives it all away in the opening, taking away all the questions and exploration. Makes me sad I didn’t get to see this as it was meant to be seen. I’m so glad you enjoyed it.

I don't know if "Altered States" (1980) is available, but that would be the earliest movie I know of in this genre. "Flatliners" (1990) feels like a variation on that theme. Also recommended are "The Matrix" and "Oblivion." "Vanilla Sky" is not as famous as those.

Are we not even going to talk about how you're dressed like a dairy cow? It's adorable, but why?

"What does she do?" Oh you sweet summer child.

Stigmata 1999 is dark and gritty With a score soundtrack that complements all scenes throughout the movie. It really is aesthetically pleasing beautiful.

Yay! I'm so glad you watched the Director's Cut... the studio made them add an intro that explained the entire plot for the theatrical version. Any chance of watching director Alex Proyas' previous movie The Crow?

This movie was the smarter and better version of the Matrix.

I would like to recommend another movie for possible reaction: What Dreams May Come (1998) starring Robin Williams is a serious drama with elements of surrealism. Giving any more detail might introduce spoilers.

The director is Alex Proyas who did another dark sci-fi movie called 'Knowing' that I think you would like. Another incredibly dark and mysterious sci-fi movie called 'Under the Skin' starring Scarlett Johansson would blow you away.

Great reaction 👍. I always loved this movie but haven't watched it for years. Now I see the similarities to The Matrix all over the place. The gritty grainy world reminds me of Blade Runner, but this is more green than blue. When do we get your Blade Runner 2049 reaction on RU-vid? Love your outfit btw 😉. If you want another creepy world like this you could try The City of Lost Children. "The weirder the better!"

You can sort of compare the Tuning ability to Wanda's ability in the MCU. They just manifest reality into existence.

Dark City was an amazing film, but it had a few things that really made it flop. First off it was made in Australia and released there first. As a result it got very little promotion before its U.S. release. Second, the last weekend in February is not a great time for a release. Third, it ran against very bad box office competition. Titanic was still in its theatrical run slamming everything else out there. Good Will Hunting was also dominating the press. You had movies like the Replacement Killers, The Wedding Singer, Sphere, and Blues Brothers 2000 which all were marketed to death. And then coming up right after this was US Marshals, The Big Lebowski, and Twilight. It basically just got lost and shoved in the smaller screens in the theaters. It did well for the time period, but just got heavily overlooked. And back before social media if you didn’t make a name opening weekend you didn’t get another chance.

Fantastic film and I enjoyed your reaction to it. You might like The City of Lost Children. It's French so there's not many reactions to it on RU-vid.

Dar City, The Thirteenth Floor and Matrix they debuted months apart and they have a lot of similarities, I think they are very good at showing perspectives on a good topic. Jennifer Connelly is perfect in any time

Yeah, this is a favorite of mine. The director is Alex Proyas, which means you should now check out his flick, THE CROW (1994). It's another stylistic flick with a similar dark vibe. That one, though, is based on a graphic novel about a dude back from the dead for revenge.

kind of missed out by not watching this in the dark.. it was made specifically to watch with no lights... to get the full effect.. whatever.

I really like this film. So did Roger Ebert, who picked it as his choice of best film of that year, and did an extensive commentary audio track on the DVD for this movie. I had only seen the theatrical cut, which apparently shortened dialogues throughout the film (based on what I'm seeing in this edited video) and added a Kiefer Sutherland monologue at the beginning where he mentions the Strangers were aliens. It gave away some of the puzzle, but only the outside edges of the puzzle. There was still a lot of pieces to be discovered. Based on BT's reaction, I think I would have liked seeing the director's cut more for a first viewing, but it is weird enough I can understand why they made the theatrical cut to make it more accessible to a wide audience.

If you liked this, then The 13th Floor is highly recommended!

If you like this... you'll love City of Lost Children.

Love this film.

Dark City is IMO the best movie of its type. I'd also recommend a movie called The Thirteenth Floor which stars Vincent D'onofrio and Craig Bierko. Similar themes but a very cool, underrated movie. Also, it's great that you watched the Directors Cut. The Theatrical had Kiefer spoiling much of the film in opening narration cos the studio was worried the dummies couldn't follow it.

watdh "existenz" for dark and weird... with a revelation

After six years of therapy as a child of abuse and neglect, I think upbringing has more to do with certain behaviors, like perfectionism, avoiding social situations, or being a people pleaser, but things like artistic talent, intelligence, or musical ability seem to be more genetic. Then there are things like empathy that seem to be equally affected by both genetics and upbringing.

The actor who played Mr. Hand was also in the movie Rocky Horror Picture Show as the character Riff Raff. Your reaction was great! I love this movie and it was like getting to watch it for the first time through your eyes! Thanks!

Richard O’Brien plays Mr Hands in this. Also famous for being in The Rocky Horror Picture Show film, hosting U.K. adventure puzzle show The Crystal Maze and was in the Flash Gordon movie along with loads of other things.

one of my favorite most under appreciated movies. glad you saw the directors cut they ruin it a bit in the original. thanks for shining a light on it a little more. and for doing it as a cow girl maid. because that's just fun. (and you rock at cosplay).

3:51 RIP William Hurt.

Can we give a round of applause for Trevor Jones? The visualization of the battle over the Strangers' machine was over the top, but the music during the fight ("You Have The Power") pushed it even higher.

The debate as to which film (Dark City or The Matrix) tells the story of a bleak dystopian society better rages on even today. Many of the visual effects artists who worked on Dark City also worked on The Matrix, so they are linked in that regard. Some even believe Dark City, conceptually speaking, was the first part of The Matrix. Regardless of where one stands on the issue, it's a fine film that's well-acted and has always been one of my personal favorites.

theres been a lot of twin studies, twins seperated at birth and there seems to be a lot of similarities between their lives. theres so many out there, one of the largest is twinsuk ac uk just put dots

Don’t spiral me, bro.

I love how deep ur discussions get when u get good material

Thank you, thank you, thank you! Ever since I discovered channels like yours I have been asking for this movie and I'm thrilled it was you who chose to take the leap. To one of your questions - there are studies of identical twins separated at birth and experiencing totally different lives. Throughout your reaction to this I found myself quoting a line from 'i Robot' again and again. "That is the right question." This movie blew my mind even more than the Matrix, and the Matrix ripped off many ideas and even camera angles and settings (eg the subway where Neo and Agent Smith battle) from this movie, as it also did from Tron. I have been a fan of Jennifer Connelly ever since her first movie as a teenager, The Labyrinth (with David Bowie). The Crow, by the same director has the same fantastic cinematography and is worth a look. Thanks again Miss Bunny!

Inception and a lot of others owe a lot to this sleeper! BTW: Richard O'Brien is the Rocky Horror author/composer! An all-around cool nerd! Saw this at a student early showing at the University of Minnesota and it was well-received! Based on your comments, watch "Trading Places!"

"You don't have a soul. You ARE a soul. You 'HAVE' a body." - C.S. Lewis If you haven't seen the Matrix movies, you should definitely check them out. Dark City was actually released a year before the first Matrix. A lot of the props from this movie were reused in The Matrix. "Predestination"' is another great movie to check out! That one will do a mind job on you for sure! "Reminiscence" is a good one. "Last Night in Soho" is good! Also, please watch "The Crow". It's not a mind-twisting movie or super weird like this one, but you mentioned you like super dark, gritty movies, and The Crow has that in abundance! Plus it's an absolutely GREAT movie!

37:48 Every single word u said describes "Shutter Island"

Existenz (1999) is a great mind bender from director David Cronenberg. Stars Jude Law and Jennifer Jason Leigh. As a bonus I also recommend Altered States (1980) starring William Hurt. Extremely trippy and out there. And for one more (a more recent film) recommendation, I highly suggest Gaspar Noé's Enter The Void (2009). A psychedelic trip from from death to resurrection.

I loved the premise, but thought the execution/casting/pacing/mystery could've been better. Decades later, "Vivarium" answers and IMHO is a better "Alien Abduction" film.

If you want another movie that will challenge you, you should watch The Fountain. Starring Hugh Jackman and Rachel Weisz. Amazing visuals, interesting concept, Aronofsky at his best. The musical score is beautiful.

You like putting things together? TRIANGLE with Melissa George is my top choice. Ending may surprise you and though explained, it doesn't do so with exposition. But perhaps THE MACHINIST with Christian Bale ( tied in a bow) or Bill Paxton's FRAILTY (pretty clear cut but what might you think?) might be easier for you. I'd even recommended the lower-budgeted MINE GAMES in a pinch.

Other Director's Cuts to watch, The Lawnmower Man, Brazil.

Great review, and you made some astute observations, like wondering about the dark ("jelly brain") men controlling the town, and the possible arrival of daytime and its significance, even while trying to work things out. Good to see you watching this one! An underrated classic, and not viewed on anywhere near enough reaction channels! And it features the fantastic British/New Zealand actor Richard O'Brien (from Rocky Horror Show, and original host of a classic British TV game show The Crystal Maze) as Mr Hand. "Let's go. We need some vitamin D up in here. Can you imagine the vitamin D deficiency that everyone has in this place?!" - that made me smile! 😅 Another good one sci-fi/mystery I'd suggest is The Thirteenth Floor.

For sure Gattaca is the movie you should react to in terms of concept, themes, characters, and atmospheres (great score). Then I suggest you three more recent movies: Coherence (2013), The Endless (2017), and Little Fish (2021). You may enjoy exploring different flavours of psychological sci-fi.

Glad I finally got to watch this movie which has been on my list for....decades? God I'm old 😂

Dear Bunny; ( are u a cow? Y?? Very cute ❤). If u want to review a movie “nobody“ has seen try Dream Child 1985. 100% rotten tomatoes 🎉. It’s based on the true story of Alice…I know…Alice of Wonderland ❤🎉

I wonder if you ever followed up on the research about identical twins separated at birth? I have watched your reaction to this movie several times now as I also have with your Blade Runner and Tron reactions, and always, to borrow a quote from I-Robot, "That is the right question." You are the "thinking person's" reactor, very analytical and rarely emotional. It baffles me why you don't have more followers.

Hey, Bunnytails! This is one of my favorite films! The Director's Cut was definitely the way to go because it eliminates the spoiling opening narration. I saw this five times in a packed NYC theater and the audience audibly gasped each time they burst through the wall at Shell Beach! Collective mind-blowing! Director Alex Proyas really should revisit this story to chronicle Murdoch's godhood and the search for home. Absolute power corrupts and Proyas once considered a sequel with a villainous Murdoch which would have been really interesting. Late film critic Roger Ebert was an outspoken champion of this film. The Wachowski siblings used some of the sets from this movie when they shot "The Matrix" at the same Australian studio. Rufus Sewell has also been in "Dangerous Beauty", "The Illusionist", "The Legend of Zorro", "The Man in the High Castle", "John Adams" and, currently, "The Diplomat".

The maid cosplay is udderly fantastic! Even the jellies have Riff Raff! This was only the second movie I'd ever seen with Richard O'Brien, who played Mr. Hand. He/they wrote The Rocky Horror Show and The Rocky Horror Picture Show; he/they also had a starring role and sang. Another fun mind bender is Strange Days (1995) starring Ralph Fiennes and Angela Bassett. Its director Kathryn Bigelow was married to James Cameron at the time, and he did some uncredited work on the movie. They also invented a special camera to shoot scenes from characters' points of view for this movie. Strange Days is quite different from Dark City in terms of plot, setting, characters, and direction, but to me the two films have a similar feel.

Yeah, the first time I saw it I couldn't quite figure out what it was bout early on. I don't think I've ever watched the directors cut but there seemed to be more scenes with Bumpstead and Emma. I have it on BD but never got around to watching it. You've inspired me to check it out soon. This come around the same time as The Matrix and while the stories are kinda similar, I really preferred this movie over that blockbuster. The production, music and acting is great. Jennifer Connelly didn't do her own singing. "THE EARTH IS FLAT!" LOL. Great reaction, Bunny. Why are you a cow?

Color Out of Space (2019) for a modern adaptation, but pretty decent one, of Lovecraft's short story..

What makes up human consciousness is far more involved than what most people can imagine. First off, what we are is not who we are. What we really are is a disembodied conscious spirit that is temporarily using a physical body to experience physical life with. This premise has nothing to do with religion whatsoever because God never created any religions nor did it create any religious books. But at some point it did allow the creation of smaller constituent parts of its conscious self to exist in a different realm separate from it's origin, so that it could experience itself differently. We are extensions of God experiencing itself differently but unfortunately this doesn't come without a lot of pitfalls, pain and suffering, as well as times of love, compassion, excitement and growth. Imagine a realm where once you enter into it all your memories are wiped from any past previous lives you may have had. Where your DNA is coded in such a way it harbors all memories of said past lives but not known to your current conscious mind. In addition to that all past lives of your ancestors are also part of your collective memories too but again hidden deep within your subconscious. And the only way to stop the constant flow of lifetimes from continuing on is to learn by becoming acutely aware of your environment in all aspects involved, both of the physical and non physical world that surrounds you. Now imagine that because this universe on all levels is electromagnetic by its very nature, all higher life forms have the ability to create reality through EM induction. Remember, the human brain itself is also electromagnetic. Electromagnetic thoughts creating reality is like trying to use a muscle that has very rarely been used by most humans, and yet it does work. History is rife with inventors who created the same gadget in different parts of this world at the same time without ever knowing each other ever existed. Some will claim this as coincidence but coincidence can be mathematically cancelled down to zero once you get to the 20th iteration of that same coincidence happening over and over again. All non physical phenomena is a part of this physical world, but most humans don't think in those terms. A physical permanent magnet still has the non physical property of a magnetic field despite we cannot see it, but you know it's there, and you know it can have an effect. The non physical spiritual world in all its glory and its horror is no different, and it surrounds us all the time. And it doesn't take all that much effort to connect to it. And if you do, be careful because it can become just as dangerous as the physical world can be. The reason why words and thoughts have power is because they are literally electromagnetically induced into reality, thus causing reality to shift, change and adjust to the collective efforts of us all. But when you understand how to use your thoughts and words to gain what you need, things will start to happen that will appear to be one coincidence following another, then another and so on. Some may claim this is witchcraft and they're correct, but we all practice spellcasting by simply wishing for things whether silently or out loud. How we go about using that ability is entirely up to each and every one of us.

You are fairly pretty for an obvious red shirt 😉....usually they got the girls standing outside of the NBC commisarry.

Sticking with the Jennifer Connelly angle, and featuring Jared Leto in whats for me his best film, you should give Requiem For A Dream a watch. Warning, it's tough going.

The 1990s did great things with neo-noir style. I appreciate it even more now.

Dark City is one of my favorite films, very under rated in my opinion. Another odd movie I found very interesting is The Fountain, with Hugh Jackman. It's another movie that slowly plays out and slowly makes sense.

Grear review per usual, this one was an odd one for sure I thought Kiefer was great (doctor) You’d would really like 2010 the year me make contact sequel to 2001- 2010 is better not necessary to watch 2001 first. From Alien series Promethus and Alien Covenant, I did rewatch Alien 3 and reconsidered it is worthy but def not Alien Ressurection its a dog with fleas ugh

Now check out the theatrical cut, just the opening, and see why the studio managed to make it so damn TERRIBLE.. 🤣

The movie didn't really flop. It's just the phenomenom when 2 similar movie came out roughly the same Time then one took the credits and maybe made into a franchise and the other one is almost forgotten. Like Armageddon/Deep Impact or Gru/Megamind. This one came out with The Matrix and it took the credits.

Alex Proyas' best movie. Have you seen "The Crow" also directed by him? um... moo. EDIT, I went to search for some twin studies for you. I've read three or four that were quite good but apparently the Internet has recently decided that everyone is always a victim so all I could find is "horror" stories about how the studies never should have been conducted in the 1st place. However, "separated twin stories" doesn't come with this baggage but is obviously more anecdotal.

There are some similarities between this and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Definitely worth a watch if you haven't seen it. Edit: I thought you were dressed like a cow as homage to the movie Top Secret, but it looks like you haven't watched it. So, you HAVE to watch it!

Loved your video but if I could please give you some unsolisited advice, I struggled listening to your commentary (with headphones) because of the gate that you have on your vocal recording - I would reccommend you use an equalizer to roll off the lower frequencies that aren't your voice (perhaps you have aircon or something in your recording space that's making this rumble sound) or record a minute or two of 'room tone' or 'atmos' to loop over your vocal track to fill in these gaps, although if you opt for this technique it will pollute the sound of the movie you are reacting to as well. If you have already fixed this please ignore. Thanks for reading!

Beautiful film. I love the slow burn. This film was critical acclaimed when it was released. Roger Ebert Called it "The best movie of the year." The era of great movies is over.

If you don't mind reading subtitles. I'm going to suggest a movie called, Amor, Dolor Y Vice Versa.

Have you ever watched the TV show Fringe? It's a great one that is X-files styled, but about fringe science. It's pretty trippy and altering like this movie. A suspenseful mystery thriller that is absolutely hilarious at times. I have a feeling you would love it.

The aliens are antagonists, but not exactly villains - they're fighting for their species' survival so you get where they're coming from. This reminds me of the original "Star Trek" pilot.