Dark City - 4K Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Dark City



Movie:
4K Video:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:


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Movie
Well, well, well. We're delighted to welcome a new studio to our review repertoire, and what better way to introduce one of my favorite boutique labels than with one of my all-time favorite movies? Yes, we have the much-lauded Arrow Studios and Alex Proyas' masterpiece, Dark City, to get the ball rolling. Most notable for directing Brandon Lee’s swan song in The Crow (also, one of my favorite movies), Proyas’s best film is easily 1998’s Dark City. An ambitious film that paved the way for The Matrix, Fringe, and influenced countless video games over the years (the creator of the “Bioshock” games specifically stated that Dark City heavily influenced his aesthetic choices for the game), acts as a weird counterbalance to The Matrix. Only released one year apart, watching the two films back to back lets the viewer look at the various themes and subplots of both films and realize that at their core, they’re two sides of the same coin sharing a common thematic thread. To summarize it succinctly, Dark City is philosophical with a little action, while The Matrix takes the same ideas and creates a film that’s mostly action, with a little philosophy thrown in. Just with a much higher budget and lots of Kung-fu and guns.

Normally, I would include a synopsis of the plot and discuss it, but I think that would be a bit unwise here. Half the fun of Dark City is watching everything unfold and experiencing the revelations as our protagonist unlocks answers throughout. It’s one of those films where spoiling it for first-time viewers robs much of the fun, even though the flick holds up so incredibly well upon repeat viewings that people returning multiple times will discover something new each time. My suggestion for people wanting a little information is to watch the trailer and see whether it piques your interest. And yes, I’m sure it will.

While I won’t provide a synopsis, I will say this. The film is an absolute mind bender, utilizing an extremely ambitious script that delves into the psychological nature of what makes someone human. All under the guise of a Neo Noir steampunk sci-fi guise. Proyas crafted the film as a heavily atmospheric experience, complete with 1950s Neo Noir detective trappings in a story that goes deeper and deeper down the rabbit hole as you go. It’s not a movie to put on in the background as noise, but rather one that requires the audience to be paying attention at all times. Even then, I find myself picking up new clues and new Easter eggs strewn throughout after each subsequent viewing. Proyas has always had a knack for casting, and the cast here is FLAWLESS. Rufus Sewell is fantastic as our protagonist, Mr. Murdock, while William Hurt is perfect as the 1950s-style detective trying to track him down. Jennifer Connelly was THE person to cast in the 90s, and she does really good work here, though not AS good as some have given her credit for over the years (personally, I like her role here, but she’s a teensy bit flat. Nothing wild, just a minor nitpick). But it’s the villains that add layers to the film, especially the “main” one with Murdoch’s memories. The counterbalance of what is, and what was SUPPOSED to be, with the implanted memories on two different subjects is an absolutely fascinating dichotomy. At the end of the day, Dark City is a cinematic masterpiece with Proyas giving us his most ambitious film of his career. One that has stood the test of time and remains one of the best sci-fi movies in cinematic history.

Arrow not only packs the discs with special features (my goodness, it’s nice to see special features on a film again. Something we lost since the early days of the DVD and Blu-ray formats), but also give separate encodes to both the Theatrical cut and the Director’s cut, allowing for maximum bitrates, and the special features spread across both discs. It’s universally unanimous that the Director’s cut is the version to see, and I agree, but the theatrical cut is still an amazing cut of Proyas’s masterpiece. It’s just that the Director’s cut fleshes out several character beats and introduces a few plot elements that help with the finale. One thing I must make note of is that my review copy is disc only, meaning the physical swag and packaging listed in the special features list are not something I’ve viewed personally. I’m simply listing them there, as that is what the consumer will get on retail.




Rating:

Rated R for violent images and some sexuality




4K Video: Video

Arrow’s remaster is nothing short of spectacular, absolutely blowing away the 2008 Warner/New Line Blu-ray that we’ve had up until this point by a goodly margin. According to the information from the insert booklet, it looks like Dark City was scanned at 4K over at Warner’s MPI facility, while scanning in the director’s cut scenes at 2K, to be spliced in and upscaled for the director’s cut disc. Not only that, but the Director of Photography approved the entire remaster.

Whatever the case, Arrow’s results speak for themselves, as this is just a fabulous experience on screen. Dark City is an aesthetic treat to begin with, and the new 4K scan does wonders for the film. I was always a bit frustrated by Warner’s Blu-ray, with its use of the inefficient VC-1 codec, the DNR and compression that went along with it, and the dulled colors. This new 4K UHD looks light years better, with a more precise color timing, and the incredible amount of details that are present. I honestly have never seen this so clean and clear. It’s a 35mm film with all of the lovely grain that crops up during dark sequences (and the ENTIRE film is bathed in darkness), but said grain is so fine and unobtrusive that it almost fades from your conscious viewing. You can literally see every fiber on Jennifer Connelly’s green dress, down to the lines and curves of her face. Heck, I never realized that you could see the peach fuzz on her face until I watched this version. Even the newly minted Blu-ray from Arrow doesn’t show that much.

The color palette is a bit grim and green/blue for the most part, with dark patches of sterile stone structures to complement it. Faces are a bit more parchment colored for the most part, but the light of the nightclub provides more natural skin hues, as well as the last few moments out in the sun near Shell Beach. Otherwise, it’s very pale, very green/blue, and accented by amber highlights due to the dim street lighting. The HDR/DV application adds a lot of punch to the colors, even though the heavy color grading would suggest that they wouldn’t. Proyas intentionally allowed the reds, greens, and other primary shades to pop against the grim background, and comparing against the Blu-ray, they look so rich and well saturated that it made the hairs on the back of my arms stand up. This is simply a gorgeous-looking remaster that is worth the price of admission alone.







Audio:

The original Blu-ray sported a 7.1 DTS-HD MA track that was a slight upmixing of the 5.1 theatrical mix, but Arrow’s version includes 3 separate audio choices for us today (and these choices are identical across the 4K UHD release and their Blu-ray release, so this portion will be the same for both reviews). A newly minted Atmos track, the original 5.1 DTS-HD MA theatrical mix, and a down-mixed 2.0 DTS-HD MA track for night listening. The theatrical mix is nice, but I was shocked to find that I preferred the Atmos experience. It’s not a complete reworking of the 5.1 mix, but rather takes the 5.1 experiences and adds layers that accentuate how fantastic the sound design for this film was. The track is incredibly foreboding, with a heavy sense of dread and ominous pressure throughout the room. The surrounds are in near constant use, with the heavy score as well as a near continuous amount of hubbub in the city. Overheads get used a lot during the final confrontation with the villains, and even outside of that, I noticed a good bit of the score floating in from above. Bass is intense and powerful when needed, but mainly sticks to adding weight to the score and subtly enhancing some of the automobiles and the “tuning” that goes on. Simply put, this is a superb mix that is every bit as good as the video.






Extras:

Disc 1: Director's Cut
• Brand new audio commentary by director Alex Proyas
• Brand new audio commentary with Craig Anderson, Bruce Isaacs, and Herschel Isaacs, co-hosts of the Film Versus Film podcast
• Archive audio commentary by director Alex Proyas
• Archive audio commentary by film critic Roger Ebert
• Archive audio commentary by writers Lem Dobbs and David S. Goyer
• Archive introduction by Alex Proyas
• Return to Dark City, a new hour-long documentary featuring interviews with director Alex Proyas, producer Andrew Mason, production designers Patrick Tatopoulos and George Liddle, costume designer Liz Keough, storyboard artist Peter Pound, director of photography Dariusz Wolski, actor Rufus Sewell, hair & makeup artist Leslie Vanderwalt and VFX creative director Peter Doyle
• Rats in a Maze, a new visual essay by film scholar Alexandra West
• I'm as Much in the Dark as You Are, a new visual essay by film scholar Josh Nelson on film noir and identity in Dark City
• Design & Storyboards

Disc 2: Theatrical Cut
• Archive audio commentary by director Alex Proyas, writers Lem Dobbs & David S. Goyer, director of photography Dariusz Wolski, and production designer Patrick Tatopoulos
• Archive audio commentary by film critic Roger Ebert
• Memories of Shell Beach, a 2008 featurette in which the cast and crew look back at the making of the film from concept to reception
• Architecture of Dreams, a 2008 featurette presenting five perspectives on the themes and meanings of the film
• Theatrical trailer
• Image gallery

Physical Swag
• 60-page perfect bound collectors book featuring new writing by author Richard Kadrey, and film critics Sabina Stent, Virat Nehru and Martyn Pedler
• Limited edition packaging featuring newly commissioned artwork by Doug John Miller
• Double-sided fold-out poster featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Doug John Miller
• Three postcard-sized reproduction art cards
• Postcard from Shell Beach
• Dr Schreber business card

Final Score: ​

Even though I had to be a bit coy about what goes on in the film, I’m sure you can tell by now that Dark City is an utterly phenomenal experience. It somehow manages to blend pieces of The Matrix, Fringe (you’ll know what I mean when you see the villains), Neo Noir detective stories, and wrapped it all up in an excruciatingly dark steampunk sci-fi wrapper. It is easily in my top 5 films of all time, and Arrow’s release is absolutely stunning. I’ve been a huge fan of Arrow’s remasters for years, but this is by far their best release to date. Both cuts are remastered meticulously, and the extras are top tier. Audio and Video blow the old Warner Bros disc out of the water (both for this 4K UHD and the remastered Blu-ray they released this same week), and the extras are a collector’s dream come true. Don’t hesitate, this is 100% on the Must Buy list. Not to mention that it's the first film in YEARS that I've given a perfect 5/5 down the list for film, A/V, and special features.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Rufus Sewell, Kiefer Sutherland, Jennifer Connelly, William Hurt, Ian Richardson
Directed by: Alex Proyas
Written by: Alex Proyas, Lem Dobbs, David S. Goyer
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 HEVC
Audio: English: Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 Core), English DTS-HD MA 5.1, English DTS-HD MA 2.0
Subtitles: English SDH
Studio: Arrow
Rated: NR/R
Runtime: 112 Minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: June 24th, 2025

Recommendation: Must Buy!