Dark City
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Details At A Glance
|
General
|
Extras
|
| Category |
Science Fiction/Drama |
Theatrical Trailer(s) |
Yes, 1 - Windowboxed at 1.33:1
Dolby Surround 2.0 |
| Rating |
 |
Other Trailer(s) |
None |
| Year Released |
1997 |
Commentary Tracks |
None |
| Running Time |
96:31
(Not 100 minutes as stated on the packaging)
|
Other Extras |
Menu Animation
Biographies
Untitled Featurette
Interviews with -
Alex Proyas (director)
Rufus Sewell (lead actor)
Jennifer Connelly (lead actress)
Kiefer Sutherland (actor)
Richard O'Brien (actor) and
William Hurt (actor) |
| RSDL/Flipper |
No/No |
Cast & Crew
|
| Start Up |
Movie |
| Region |
4 |
Director |
Alex Proyas |
Studio
Distributor
|
Roadshow Home Entertainment
|
Starring |
Rufus Sewell
Jennifer Connelly
Kiefer Sutherland
Richard O'Brien
Ian Richardson
William Hurt
Melissa George (!) |
| RRP |
$34.95 |
Music |
Trevor Jones |
|
Video
|
Audio
|
| Pan & Scan/Full Frame |
Pan & Scan |
MPEG |
5.1 |
| Widescreen Aspect Ratio |
2.35:1 |
Dolby Digital |
5.1 |
| 16x9 Enhancement |
|
Soundtrack Languages |
English (Dolby Digital 5.1 and MPEG 5.1) |
| Theatrical Aspect Ratio |
2.35:1 |
Miscellaneous
|
| Macrovision |
Yes |
Smoking |
Yes |
| Subtitles |
None |
Annoying Product Placement |
Yes, mildly |
| Action In or After Credits |
No |
Plot Synopsis
There is one reason I can name for not buying this film
- it is directed by Alex Proyas, whose other credits include The
Crow. Proyas is somewhat like Stanley Kubrick in that
many people rave about his directing, but there is little in his actual
work to justify it. However, Kubrick is miles ahead of Proyas in terms
of delivery - at least he has some peaks. Another good reason is that the
film contains former Home And Away star Melissa George
in a cameo as a prostitute, which is enough to damn the percieved abilities
of Australian actors forever, in spite of the surprise appearance of former
Water
Rats star
Colin Friels. If you thought Melissa couldn't
act in what I like to call Please Go Away, then you will wish you had a
special edit-Melissa-out function on your DVD player when she is finished
in this film. However, there is some justice, as we later get to see her
dead body in a moderate state of mutilation. For those who really care,
I'll deliver a vague summation of the plot. The story begins with John
Murdoch (Rufus Sewell) awakening in a bathtub with a dead prostitute
in the room. A cryptic phone call from a man claiming to be his psychiatrist,
Paul Schreber (Kiefer Sutherland), sets him off on a quest to discover
the meaning of his identity. Along the way, he discovers some rather odd
things about the city he lives in, and the nature of the identities of
the people living in it. Also along for the ride are his wife, Emma (Jennifer
Connelly, who has also starred in Labyrinth opposite
David
Bowie), and a police inspector known only as Bumstead (William Hurt).
Okay, you can stop laughing now.
While this film is almost certainly a passable exploration
of the mysterious nature of identity, there are far better examples of
this style out there, such as Paul Verhoeven's Total
Recall and David Lynch's Lost Highway.
All the references to this "tuning" ability that come out during the film
have the same effect as a lecture on biblical evidence (a total misnomer
if there ever was) - the next time someone mentions it, you start to wish
they'll be decapitated by some unseen natural force. The Ghostbusters
DVD contains an audio commentary in which we are told that suspending the
viewer's disbelief is a gradual process which should be done in graduating
steps, and this is something which director Alex Proyas would do
well to listen to. The approach shown to suspension of disbelief in Dark
City is basically to throw the viewer in the deep end and hope
that they float. To give the film its fair credit, Kiefer Sutherland,
Rufus
Sewell, and Jennifer Connelly put in stellar performances as
the main heroes. The special effects are, in spite of the film's unbelievability,
quite memorable in execution.
Transfer Quality
Video
The video is of reference quality on this disc, and
it is presented at an aspect ratio of 2.35:1, complete with 16x9 enhancement.
To make a long story short, the video quality on this disc would make it
an excellent choice for displaying the superiority of the DVD format in
a store showroom. MPEG and film artefacts are completely (and amazingly)
non-existent. Film-to-video artefacts were extremely small and trivial,
with some aliasing that resided on the border of visibility. This DVD strongly
supports my theory that the transfer quality on DVDs can often be inversely
proportional to the quality of the content. Everything in the film is clear
and easy to make out, in spite of how dark the vast majority of the film
was. Shadow detail, a vital component given that ninety-five percent of
this film is situated in the dark, is absolutely perfect, with the resolution
allowing you to make out every wrinkle and tone change in Rufus Sewell's
face even in pitch-black shots. Daylight, when it finally does come in
a constant stream about 90 minutes into the film, is almost an assault
on the senses. If there is one gripe I have with the visual content of
this film, it is simply that the credits are too small and thus suffer
from some distortion, making them extremely hard to read.
Audio
The audio is encoded in Dolby Digital and MPEG, both
using 5.1 channels. The menu also lists a Dolby Surround option, which
just points back to the Dolby Digital. Another example of careless menu
authoring on the part of Roadshow Home Entertainment, but I think we can let this
one slide. All of the soundtracks are abnormally loud, but I believe this
has more to do with the actual film after having experienced the same problem
with the VCR version of The Crow.
It seems to be a passing trend among studios - when in doubt about the
quality and substance of the film, make the sound three times as loud as
it actually needs to be. The dialogue was consistently audible except for
some moments where I believe it probably wasn't meant to be. This only
applies to the odd word here and there, and thus can be overlooked. The
audio is mildly out of sync during the first three chapters, but settles
by the end of chapter three. This problem has been spotted by a friend
of mine using two different players, so it appears to be a problem inherent
with the production of the disc rather than anything to do with the player.
Thankfully, there are few close-ups in this part of the film to make it
any more noticeable.
The original score music by Trevor Jones suits
the film quite well, providing a constant sense of thematic relevance and
pace. The only part of the music which isn't overwhelmingly gloomy or powerful
is a jazz number performed early on in the piece that, while substandard,
is only mildly detracting. Someone, however, should have told Jennifer
Connelly that real musicians of all walks of life, regardless of the
piece they are actually playing, tend to put a bit of emotion into their
performance. The surround presence of this film is remarkable, as every
sound is wholly carried by every speaker, with even the subwoofer getting
consistent use to support the music and ambient sounds. All in all, a first
class job in nearly every department.
Extras
A nice selection of extras are included.
Menu
The menu contains some animation whenever a major option
is selected. However, it has an annoying habit of freezing on the Grundig
GDV 100D if left idle for too long, due to the power saving features of
the player. Getting around this is simply a matter of hitting the menu
button again.
Cast And Crew Interviews
Pretty ordinary - the "interviews" are mere thirty second
snippets corresponding to the questions presented in the menus. Not a very
good way at all to present such an extra.
Cast And Crew Biographies
Of limited interest, given that most of the
people who appear in this film are unknown to Australasian audiences. Most
of the actors who would be familiar with such audiences (Melissa George
and Colin Friels) are not included. The only name that is of any
real interest to viewers of most regions is Kiefer Sutherland, and
his performance in this film is definitely not a high for him. But that
is understandable given what he had to work with.
Theatrical Trailer
The trailer is presented in 1.33:1 Windowboxed format
with Dolby Surround 2.0, and is generally more exciting than the film itself.
R4 vs R1
In a nutshell, you'd have to be really into this film
to consider sourcing it from Region 1. I don't care what differences there
are - there are directors and films that are far more worthy of importing.
Given the differences between PAL and NTSC formatting, I think it would
be better to stick with the Region 4 version just to make the video formatting
that little bit better.
Summary
Dark City is a passable movie on a high-grade
DVD.
The video quality is superlative, and a paragon for
all video transfers to emulate.
The audio quality doesn't quite match the video quality,
but close enough to make no difference.
The extras aren't worth the effort.
| Video |
 |
| Audio |
|
| Extras |
 |
| Plot |
|
| Overall |
|
© Dean McIntosh
January 7th, 2000
|
Review Equipment
|
| |
|
| DVD |
Grundig GDV 100 D |
| Display |
Panasonic 51cm and 68cm |
| Audio Decoder |
None |
| Amplification |
Sony STR-DE535 |
| Speakers |
Panasonic S-J1500D front speakers, Sharp CP-303A back
speakers, Sony SS-CN120 centre speaker, subwoofer |
