Dark City

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Dark City

R

1998

1h 41m

Fantasy

Sci-Fi

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

78%

Tomatometer

91 Reviews

85%

Popcornmeter

100,000+ Ratings

John Murdoch (Rufus Sewell) awakens alone in a strange hotel to find that he is wanted for a series of brutal murders. The problem is that he can't remember whether he committed the murders or not. For one brief moment, he is convinced that he has gone completely mad. Murdoch seeks to unravel the twisted riddle of his identity. As he edges closer to solving the mystery, he stumbles upon a fiendish underworld controlled by a group of ominous beings collectively known as the Strangers.

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Critics Consensus

Stylishly gloomy, Dark City offers a polarizing whirl of arresting visuals and noirish action.

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Jake Cole

Slant Magazine

Jun 9

Dark City is ultimately positive, recapitulating noir’s post-WWII social anomie as a quest for self-actualization over complacency.

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Bill Boisvert

Chicago Reader

06/16/2022

1/4

Real humanists may have misgivings.

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Mike Clark

USA Today

01/09/2018

3/4

Dark City is fascinating, visionary filmmaking that captures the sensation of dreaming and being unable to wake up.

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Jeff Beck

The Blu Spot

Jun 24

3.5/5

It may have some problems with its finale, but this was a rather ambitious work that's mostly successful at accomplishing what it set out to do.

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Frank J. Avella

The Contending

Jun 16

B

The cast boasts impressive turns by Kiefer Sutherland, William Hurt and Richard O’Brien, with Jennifer Connelly delivering yet another wooden performance. How did this actress ever win an Oscar? Key to the film’s success is (Rufus) Sewell...

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David Reddish

CBR

May 5

4/4

The core of the film itself offers a meditation on human nature. Memories and personality do not define human beings; choices do. That haunting philosophy... makes Dark City live on as a classic; one of the most important sci-fi movies ever made.

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David T.

@Snake8811 Mar 6

Absolutely brilliant !!!!. Love this movie . I won’t put any spoilers in my review . I can’t count how many times I’ve watched this movie . So dark and many questions to be had .

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Jon T

@jon99 Feb 20

Wow this was terrible, really dated and all over the place. A real struggle to get through, despite the rather excellent talent trying to carry it. Watch something else.

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William S

@IronchefGorge Jan 30

I had hoped for a looked over cerebral gem and got a film worthy of looking over. The atmosphere and mood start brilliantly, the noir detective vibe is spot on kitsch, but the camp excesses miss the mark where Harry Potter hits. Maybe John Hurt gets some credo wrt acting, but honestly it’s mostly painful to watch the rest stumble through the wooden lines. Then cliches of the ‘mad man sketching in the walls’ and Kiefer Sutherland’s stuttering mad scientist doctor. The orchestral music is utterly dissonant and the crooning of Jennifer Connelly is almost well dubbed. A finale of orally eminating vibrations phallus fight was mind numbingly awful. It’s a real shame- the concept was interesting but i feel rose tinted retrospection has bumped up reviews way beyond how it deserves to be received, and i suppose it was appropriately received at the time .

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Darren P

@Darrenpatrick Jan 27

Dark City is ultimately positive, recapitulating noir’s post-WWII social anomie as a quest for self-actualization over complacency.

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Nathan Y.

@NathanYatesDouglass Jan 7

So much better than I anticipated. Like living in a graphic novel without the corny aspects that endeavor usually comes with.

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Jim P

@OspreyT Jan 2

A movie that keeps moving around in my mind after many years of seeing it the first time. It has a beautiful dreamlike quality to it, with a bit of disturbing nightmare, but I think it was pulled off terrifically. The story, the sets, the music, the acting. All superb. It is in my Top 10 all-time cinema experiences.

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Alex Proyas

Director

Rufus Sewell

John Murdoch

Kiefer Sutherland

Dr. Daniel Schreber

Jennifer Connelly

Emma Murdoch

William Hurt

Inspector Frank Bumstead

Richard O'Brien

Mr. Hand

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Synopsis

John Murdoch (Rufus Sewell) awakens alone in a strange hotel to find that he is wanted for a series of brutal murders. The problem is that he can't remember whether he committed the murders or not. For one brief moment, he is convinced that he has gone completely mad. Murdoch seeks to unravel the twisted riddle of his identity. As he edges closer to solving the mystery, he stumbles upon a fiendish underworld controlled by a group of ominous beings collectively known as the Strangers.

Director: Alex Proyas
Producer: Alex Proyas, Andrew Mason
Screenwriter: Alex Proyas, Alex Proyas, Lem Dobbs, David S. Goyer
Distributor: New Line Cinema
Production Co: New Line Cinema, Mystery Clock Cinema
Rating: R (Violent Images|Some Sexuality)
Genre: Fantasy, Sci-Fi
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Feb 20, 1998, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Jul 1, 2008
Box Office (Gross USA): $14.3M
Runtime: 1h 41m
Sound Mix: Dolby Stereo, Dolby A, SDDS, Surround, Dolby Digital, Dolby SR
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

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