Dark City
Sometimes, the powers that be get something right. Most of the time, especially with movies, they get it horribly wrong, as they did when they compelled Ridley Scott to put a narration on the front of Blade Runner, and when they compelled Alex Proyas to do the same with Dark City. Neither film tested well, and neither did well on initial release. Even with narration, both films require a little work from the viewer, which American audiences in particular are often loathe to invest.
We all know the story of how Blade Runner slowly grew from cult favorite to mass fandom and is now widely regarded as a classic, due in no small part to the advent of home video and a subsequent re-release in theaters of a director's cut (and another cut after that, and one after that...enough already, Ridley - stop fussing with it). The film was vastly improved by the removal of the narration and letting the director work the film back into something that more resembled his original vision.
Dark City was barely a blip on the radar, but some of us caught on and it's been one of my favorites for years. It always pissed me off that the DVD print was a little muddy and there were absolutely no extras, but I was happy to have it any form.
Now, the unthinkable: a director's cut DVD. A beautiful crisp print, 11 minutes of extra footage, removal of the narration, and lots of extras including three commentary tracks.
Dark City is not brilliant and it will never reach the level of Blade Runner. But it's smart, provocative, and is one of the most gorgeous movies ever committed to film. It deserved a lot better than the crappy treatment it got, and I'm delighted with this release.
We all know the story of how Blade Runner slowly grew from cult favorite to mass fandom and is now widely regarded as a classic, due in no small part to the advent of home video and a subsequent re-release in theaters of a director's cut (and another cut after that, and one after that...enough already, Ridley - stop fussing with it). The film was vastly improved by the removal of the narration and letting the director work the film back into something that more resembled his original vision.
Dark City was barely a blip on the radar, but some of us caught on and it's been one of my favorites for years. It always pissed me off that the DVD print was a little muddy and there were absolutely no extras, but I was happy to have it any form.
Now, the unthinkable: a director's cut DVD. A beautiful crisp print, 11 minutes of extra footage, removal of the narration, and lots of extras including three commentary tracks.
Dark City is not brilliant and it will never reach the level of Blade Runner. But it's smart, provocative, and is one of the most gorgeous movies ever committed to film. It deserved a lot better than the crappy treatment it got, and I'm delighted with this release.