Dark City - Arrow Video Limited Edition 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray

A new high-quality release of Dark City has been a long time coming. Like the endless nights depicted in the film, we’ve lived with this film trapped by a VC-1 encode on a 1080p disc for seventeen long years. And now thanks to Arrow Video, we can observe both cuts of Alex Proyas’ cult classic Sci-fi Noir in their full glory. My love for this film dates back to 1998 when I was 15 years old. My dad and I saw the trailer for this wild, crazy-looking film from the director of The Crow and we knew we had to see it. Dutifully trekking out to our local multiplex opening night, we bought some snacks and took our seats. In fact, we were the only ones to take our seats in the theater that night. 

Unfortunately, Dark City was a notable flop that year. Despite an enthusiastically strong review from Roger Ebert (Ebert called it the best film of the year and his commentary is excellent), the film didn’t find an audience in the dead cold of February. It took home video and several years for it to grow into a cult classic. Ten years later we finally got the version of the film we always should have seen. Proyas’ Director’s Cut is a different beast that wisely doesn’t treat the audience like a bunch of hapless idiots who can’t follow the plot. The changes are vast improvements with no needless narrated opening, paced differently, and reveals of the Stranger’s powers occur in different places delivering a more satisfying and complete-feeling film. 

That isn’t to say I don’t enjoy the Theatrical Cut. I do. I have to enjoy it because I was such a fan of that version I kept pulling friends in front of the television any chance I could so they could see what I was raving about. I didn’t make converts out of everyone but I had more wins than losses in that endeavor. Similar to what I wrote about The Outlaw Josey Wales, Dark City is among the number in my collection that I only return to every so often when the time and conditions are right. It's got to be dark, and it's got to be cold. Thankfully it's been damned cold and plenty stormy out lately! It’s not a film I just throw on for background noise, nor is it one I want to start and have to stop and finish later. After getting our consignment of check discs, it took me a couple of days for my schedule to clear and conditions to righten so I could truly give every ounce of my attention to this film (both cuts). The wait was worth it. 

Theatrical Cut: 4.25/5
Director’s Cut: 4.5/5

Back in 2008, we turned out a great review of this film at HDD. Sadly it was done before my time and apparently before we had proper bylines for our writers and so it’s counted among our uncredited reviews. To the reviewer who wrote what I’m about to paste below, thank you, and if you read this please reach out so I can give you the proper credit for your work. Now, here’s our 2008 Blu-ray Review of Dark City 

Even though The Wachowskis have continually acknowledged the various films that influenced their sci-fi masterpiece, ‘The Matrix,’ audiences and critics give the film a bit more credit than it deserves. A year before ‘The Matrix’ descended on theaters, director Alex Proyas’ dystopian noir, ‘Dark City,’ offered genre fans a nightmarish vision of an imprisoned populace, a deceptive group of reality-altering captors, and a hero who develops the power and understanding to break through the illusion of his world and fight to free his people.

When a disoriented amnesiac (Rufus Sewell) wakes up in a disheveled hotel room, the only clues he has to his identity are a suitcase, a goldfish, a broken syringe, and a murdered prostitute. As he struggles to remember his name and the demise of his guest, he gets a phone call warning him that a group of dangerous men are coming for him. After escaping the building and a trio of menacing humanoid creatures, the man deduces his name is John Murdoch, discovers he has an adulterous wife named Emma (Jennifer Connelly), and learns he had been visiting an eccentric doctor named Daniel Schreber (Keifer Sutherland) before he lost his memory. As he begins to uncover the truth of his existence, the identity of the eerie strangers, and the purpose of the city itself, Murdoch must face the possibility that everything he’s ever known is a lie. With the reluctant help of a homicide detective named Frank Bumstead (William Hurt), Murdoch works to prove he isn’t a killer and that the world isn’t what it seems.

Like ‘The Matrix,’ ‘Dark City’ owes its existence to numerous noir and sci-fi classics that proceeded it (‘Metropolis,’ ‘M,’ and ‘Blade Runner,’ to name a few). Proyas’ cityscape was even inspired by his own work on ‘The Crow,’ as well as a hodgepodge of other genre influences that allowed him to set his story in a vague time period that combines elements of every decade in the twentieth century. However, to Proyas’ credit, ‘Dark City’ transcends its sources to fashion a compelling vision that feels more substantial than its patchwork production might suggest. His script is tight and twisted, his characters are subconsciously unsettled by the disparities of their reality, and his cast deftly elevates their performances from simple genre homage to something more significant and momentous. Despite avoiding long-winded dissections of pop philosophy or providing viewers with a detailed origin of the Strangers, Proyas blends his plot and characters together into a fairly complex study of belief, perception, and identity.

Even so, the original theatrical version of ‘Dark City’ was hampered by some studio tampering. After being told that audiences wouldn’t have the patience required to dig through a dense mystery, Proyas was forced to trim down some extraneous subplots and add narration that would reveal the nature of the Strangers and the city at the beginning of the film. The new 111-minute Director’s Cut (being released concurrently on Blu-ray and DVD) finally eliminates the narration and gives Proyas the opportunity to present the film as he intended. For the most part, the new changes improve the experience. The visual representation of Murdoch’s abilities are more subtle, Connelly’s actual vocals are used when her character sings, enhanced special effects add more detail to the city, and the appearance of a young girl allows Bumstead to transition from skeptic to believer more naturally than before. Alas, a few things aren’t so successful. The spiral pattern makes a new, nonsensical appearance, a few additional interactions between minor characters are quite arbitrary, and the film’s pacing isn’t as intense as it was before. Even so, I have to say I prefer the Director’s Cut and will probably revisit it more often than not.

Regardless of which cut you settle on, ‘Dark City’ is an absorbing mix of classic noir and science fiction helped along by a sharp script and gripping story. Granted, anyone who doesn’t dig the throwback performances and dialogue will have a difficult time sinking into Murdoch's journey, but those who enjoy Proyas’ multi-genre hybrid will find themselves lost in the director’s imagination.

Vital Disc Stats: The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray 
For this review, we received only check discs for both cuts for the 4K release of  Dark City, but they should represent how the final pressed discs turn out. Final retail editions will have reprint posters, art cards, a reproduction business card, and a booklet along with reversible insert art for the case. The Theatrical Cut and Director’s Cut get their own BD100 discs to occupy. Each disc loads to an animated main menu with Arrow’s standard navigation system. 

Note for the screenshots, these are sourced from the Director’s Cut disc, which was the only one I could rip at the time of this writing.

For its time, the Blu-ray release of Dark City on 1080p was a top-tier event for the format. It looked far better than the DVD and that’s what mattered. But seventeen years is a long damn time and modern restoration and encoding tech has left that disc far behind. Now Arrow Video gets to deliver to fans the latest and possibly greatest home video release this film is likely to see for a long time. For a very dark film employing any number of visual tricks, I was flabbergasted that this film looks this good! Considering the grim Dariusz Wolski cinematography (he approved the new transfer), scale miniatures, and early-generation CGI effects, there’s a lot that could trip up this release, but by and large, this transfer handily vaults those issues. 

As great as everything is, there is a “however”  to consider, and that’s the quality of the footage between the different cuts of the film. The Theatrical Cut transfer is more uniform and impressive throughout whereas the unique footage of the Director’s Cut can be a little inconsistent from one shot to the next. While the specs mentioned when this was announced that the film was sourced from the original camera negative, the extra footage for the Director’s Cut has some of the hallmark appearances of being up-rezed from a different more dated source, probably the HD master used for the old Blu-ray. The detail levels for these moments are just a tad crunchy with some apparent leftover edge enhancement. Thankfully the film edits cut around so quickly that those distinct moments within any given scene don’t linger for too long, but they’re there. Between both cuts, there is that one shot of Jennifer Connelly in Schreber’s office that still looks gauzy and odd - it looked strange on Blu-ray too, but the timing was so dark on that disc it wasn’t as noticeable. Here it stands out more, but again, edits are quick and don’t linger long. 

Generally, fine details in facial features, the early period-style production design and clothing, the miniature cityscapes and buildings, and the depths of the Strangers’ subterranean lair look fantastic. When and where they really built it physically to scale or in miniature, it shows through beautifully. I was even impressed with how well some of the early CGI effects come off. The morphing buildings hold up nicely. Some of the CGI extensions might falter a little, a scene with Schreber walking through the new mansion pillars looks like one of those early ‘90s cinematic games like Wing Commander III and doesn’t fully hold true. The big showy finale is a bit of a mixed bag between the practical stages and blue screen backgrounds (I can only imagine how rough Hell is going to look for Spawn in 4K). But the big finale has always had that obvious vibe to it, it’s part of the flavor.

Graded for Dolby Vision and HDR10, the deep blacks and shadows look excellent. Color is something of a subjective term for this film, but the splashes of green and the moments where primaries get their due, they look excellent. This transfer also appears to have scaled back the blue tone ever so slightly but still maintains that haunting green/yellow vibe. Skin tones are about on point as no one particularly looks very “healthy” here for obvious reasons, but no one is overly flush or too pinked. Bitrate for both cuts is healthy and stable. While I wish the Director’s Cut had come off a little better, I’m not altogether disappointed. It’s a hell of an upgrade all around. 

Theatrical Cut - 4.5/5
Director’s Cut - 4.25/5

For our listening pleasure, we can click into a DTS-HD MA 2.0, DTS-HD MA 5.1, or Dolby Atmos track. The 2008 Blu-ray had a terrific DTS-HD MA 7.1 track and honestly, I can’t figure on why that’s not available here. Starting with the Atmos I have to catalog this one as one of the more lackluster arbitrary efforts. Yes, it’s active and engaging and it does make strong use of the overhead channels and surrounds with clean dialog, but I also feel like it neuters the impact of Trevor Jones’ thunderously intense score. While the different cuts use some of the music cues in different places, the overall effect for this track is similar for key sequences. A primary example where I felt like something was off was the first time we saw the Strangers tune, the score just sounded weaker on Atmos. In other places, it seems just fine, well appointed and works well, but then other big moments like the finale that score again just sounded weirdly thin and distant.

In contrast, the DTS-HD MA 5.1 track sounds much more impactful. Listening at the same volume levels, flipping over to the 5.1 track from the Atmos the score was like having a truck burs through my sound system for the big action sequences. The 5.1 track nails the score placement and intensity while also delivering a terrific satisfying surround experience. For the big finale, the sound of the memory rush is more pronounced and again, more impactful. With that, popping over to the 2008 Blu-ray, the 7.1 track is a beast and I wish that was brought over for this disc, that's the only track we really needed. As is, the 5.1 is a nice contender and a strong rival to the 7.1 experience overall. 

Speaking briefly of the DTS-HD MA 2.0 track, it’s a fine mix, but compared to the 5.1 or the Atmos, it’s an oddly redundant inclusion. It’s effective for what it delivers but the 5.1 is the best of the pack with the Atmos close behind. 

DTS-HD MA 5.1 - 4.5/5
Dolby Atmos - 4/5 
DTS-HD MA 2.0 - 4/5

Leave it to Arrow Video to take us all to Shell Beach with a fully packed assortment of new and archival bonus features for Dark City. When was the last time you had a release with seven unique audio commentary tracks? We have two new excellent audio commentaries for this release on top of the three from the 2008 Blu-ray release and two more from the original Theatrical Cut DVD release in 1998. The new Return to Dark City documentary is a great retrospective look at the film that fans will love to see. The two new video essays are thoughtful inclusions. Including commentary time, new materials, and archival extras, you’re looking at almost fifteen hours of bonus features to enjoy after watching both cuts of this fantastic film!

Director’s Cut 4K UHD Disc:

• NEW Audio Commentary featuring Alex Proyas
• NEW Audio Commentary featuring Craig Anderson Bruce Isaacs, and Herschel Isaacs
• Audio Commentary featuring Alex Proyas (2008)
• Audio Commentary featuring Lem Dobbs and David S. Goyer (2008)
• Audio Commentary featuring Roger Ebert (2008)
• 2008 Introduction (HD 4:51)
• NEW Return to Dark City (HD 58:55)
• NEW I’m as Much in the Dark as You Are (HD 19:50)
• NEW Rats In a Maze (HD 14:33)
• NEW Design and Storyboards (HD 14:08)

Theatrical Cut 4K UHD Disc:

• Audio Commentary featuring Alex Proyas, Lem Dobbs, David S. Goyer, Dariusz Wolski, and Patrick Tatopoulos (1998)
• Audio Commentary featuring Roger Ebert (1998)
• Memories of Shell Beach (HD 43:26)
• The Architecture of Dreams (HD 33:41)
• Theatrical Trailer (HD 2:23)
• Image Gallery

It happens more often than it should. A great movie comes to theaters, and either people don’t “get it” or it just fails to find an audience. Thankfully, when people do realize what they missed in theaters, they make up for it by checking it out on home video. Dark City missed its chance in theaters, but the years and home video formats have been kind to Alex Proyas’ follow-up to The Crow. The film is a visually stunning nightmare of Sci-fi Noir and was made better with a more satisfying Director’s Cut. That doesn't mean the Theatrical Cut didn't work, one version is just simply better than the other. Now Arrow Video delivers what could be considered a definitive release of Dark City. Both cuts score strong 4K Dolby Vision transfers, the Director’s Cut footage is a slight step back but not serious. We get three strong audio tracks, some may enjoy the new Atmos mix, but for me, the 5.1 track is the better choice. Best of all we have a deep well of new and archival extra features topped off with seven audio commentaries for the film! 

 Highly Recommended