Dark City (4K UHD Review)

Reviewed by: Stephen Bjork
Review Date: Jun 27, 2025
Format: 4K Ultra HD

Director

Alex Proyas

Release Date(s)

1998 (June 24, 2025)

Studio(s)

Mystery Clock Cinema/New Line Cinema/Warner Bros. (Arrow Video)

Film/Program Grade: See Below
Video Grade: See Below
Audio Grade: See Below
Extras Grade: A

https://www.arrowvideo.com/

Review

While it’s true that there’s nothing new under the sun, sometimes a work of art comes along that takes familiar elements from other sources and combines them in a way that manages to feel fresh and innovative—the whole can be greater than the sum of its parts. Such is the case with Alex Proyas’ Dark City, which felt like a breath of fresh air in 1998 despite the fact that it pretty much wears all of its influences on its sleeve—in this case, it’s not just greater than the sum of its parts, but also greater than the sum of its influences. At the most basic of levels, it mixes science fiction with film noir (after all, it’s right there in the title), but it carries a heavy influence from German Expressionist works like Metropolis, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, and M, while also throwing in a generous dose of Jean-Pierre Jeunet films like Delicatessen and The City of Lost Children (for that matter, there’s a touch of Terry Gilliam here as well). All of that is fairly obvious, but there’s another influence on Dark City that tends to be overlooked: anime, especially Akira and Urotsukidoji. All is not vanity of vanities where creative filmmakers are concerned, and while there may be nothing new under the sun, Dark City solves that problem by removing the sun entirely.

Proyas had originally conceived of Dark City years earlier, but it took his newfound cachet after the success of The Crow in order to get the project off the ground. He eventually brought in Lem Dobbs and David S. Goyer to refine his story ideas, with the final draft credited to all three of them. It’s structured as a noir detective story, although the detective ended up becoming a supporting character in the revised narrative. As a result, Dark City is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma. It’s a noir mystery story where the protagonist isn’t sure who he really is, let alone sure of what’s happening around him.

Dark City takes place in a dark (naturally) world where the sun never seems to shine, and nothing is ever quite what it seems—quite literally so, since everything changes from day to day. John Murdoch (Rufus Sewell) wakes up in a dank apartment with no memory of who he is or how he got there, and when he discovers a mutilated body on the floor, he gets out of there as quickly as he can. That ends up putting him in the sights of Inspector Frank Bumstead (William Hurt), who is investigating a string of similar killings. Murdoch’s wife Emma (Jennifer Connelly) is also looking for him, spurred on by his supposed psychiatrist Dr. Schreber (Kiefer Sutherland). Yet the real threat that he faces is a group of mysterious Strangers that includes Mr. Hand (Richard O’Brien), Mr. Book (Ian Richardson), and Mr. Wall (Bruce Spence). As the Inspector investigates Murdoch, Murdoch investigates these Strangers, leading to a confrontation that exposes what’s really been going on behind the scenes—and offers some hope for a sunlit future.

Dark City interrogates the nature of identity, trying to find an answer for what makes us what we are. That’s a question that the Strangers are trying to answer as well—are we just the sum of our memories, or something deeper that that? Do those memories define who we are and what we will do, or does free will allow us to change the roles that we appear to be destined to play? That’s where the noir influence in Dark City is at its strongest, but it’s also where the underappreciated anime influence can be felt as well. The film ends with a massive psychic battle between Murdoch and the Strangers, high above the city, that’s clearly inspired by Akira. Yet it also borrows from Urotsukidoji—note the flying posture that Murdoch uses, his body tilted forward but his arms held behind him with his elbows raised. While the Strangers tend to fly fully upright, Mary Poppins style, Murdoch’s pose is a direct lift of Amano Jyaku’s flying stance at the end of the Legend of the Overfiend arc of Urotsukidoji while he’s battling his rival Suikakujū. The whole of Dark City is indeed greater than the sum of its parts, but it’s endlessly fascinating to delve into the sources of those components. There’s no end to the thematic depths in Dark City, but there’s no end to the influences on its style, either.

Unfortunately, that dark depth destined Dark City to commercial failure. It’s not the kind of project that studios like to back in the first place, so props to New Line Cinema for having the courage to see the possibilities in the script. That courage failed them, however, once they started test-screening the film. While they had left Proyas alone during production, post-production became another story, and Proyas was forced to compromise on the final cut, adding a voiceover at the beginning that spelled out exactly who the Strangers were long before it’s revealed in the narrative, and there were other tweaks as well. To New Line’s credit, they eventually allowed Proyas to revisit the film for a director’s cut that was released on Blu-ray ten years later. It removes the opening voiceover, expands on the spiral imagery throughout the film, and adds or extends scenes that build up the relationships between some of the characters, and clarifies a few other details. It also moves other scenes around and tweaks some of the early digital visual effects, as well as restoring Jennifer Connelly’s own voice to her singing scenes (she was overdubbed by Anita Kelsey in the theatrical cut).

To be clear, the director’s cut of Dark City is not the film that Proyas originally intended back in 1998. It’s a revision made ten years down the road, with the benefit of hindsight and the ability to rethink some things. So yes, it does incorporate changes that he would have made back then without studio interference, but it goes far beyond that. Yet it’s unquestionably the superior version of the film, although to be fair to New Line, it wouldn’t have done any better at the box office than the theatrical cut did. The reality is that like many other visionary works, Dark City was never going to make a profit in any incarnation. The flip side to there being nothing new under the sun is that viewers generally don’t like being challenged by something that seems to break the traditional mold. Dark City may be a pastiche, but it’s a pastiche that requires effort in order to unlock, and that’s a bridge too far for mainstream audiences. But while New Line had second thoughts about what Proyas delivered, they still were willing to take the chance in the first place, and as a result we have a visionary film that broke the mold in 1998, and it still broke the mold ten years later. It’s the strange case of a film that will always feel unique regardless of how much that it borrows from what came before it.

Cinematographer Dariusz Wolski shot Dark City on 35mm film (in Super-35 format) using Panavision Gold II and Platinum cameras with Panavision Primo spherical lenses, which was blown up to anamorphic for release prints framed at 2.39:1. For this version, the original camera negative was scanned in 16-bit 4K at Warner Bros. Motion Picture Imaging, with digital restoration work and grading performed at Duplitech (both Dolby Vision and HDR10 are included). Since the director’s cut was completed on video, the added and/or altered footage from that was upscaled from the 2K master—in other words, this version of the director’s cut is a hybrid that uses as much as it can from the original negative, but it’s not a full rebuild. The final results for both cuts were approved by Wolski.

While Dark City does include some digital effects, everything was composited optically, so the opening titles and much of the VFX work is softer and less detailed in both versions. So, the upscaled 2K footage isn’t entirely out of character with the look of the original production, which already varied a bit depending on whether or not dupe internegative footage was cut in for optical effects. That said, the theatrical cut is still noticeably more consistent throughout. Either way, the actual 4K scans from the camera negative are sharp and nicely detailed, and there’s no noticeable defects aside from those that were inherent to the original production (and the later work that was done for the director’s cut). Dark City is all about texture, and Arrow has wrung out as much of that texture as possible from the disparate source elements that had to be used.

Of course, Dark City is also all about lighting, and it’s long been a prime candidate for High Dynamic Range, and this new grade delivers. The contrast range has been visibly expanded, with brighter highlights and deeper blacks, all of which helps to clear up some of the murk from the aging Blu-ray master. That also helps to improve the perception of detail in the image—depending on your display, it may or may not seem a little brighter overall compared to Blu-ray, but it will definitely look cleaner and clearer. The colors can be a bit warmer than they were before, but the sickly teals, yellows, and greens have been carefully preserved. (For anyone who thinks that teal was an invention of home video masters during the 2000s, Dark City stands as a good reminder that it’s always been an artistic choice.) Regardless of any variances with the quality of the unique footage in the director’s cut, these 4K versions of Dark City are an improvement across the board.

Audio for both cuts is offered in English Dolby Atmos, 5.1, and 2.0, with optional English SDH subtitles. Dark City was released theatrically in 5.1 Dolby Digital and SDDS (although it’s not clear if there was an actual 8-channel mix for that format), with optical Dolby Stereo as a backup for screens that weren’t yet equipped for digital. The new Atmos mix that was completed at Deluxe Audio in London takes the original effects and gives them added dimensionality and directionality. Sometimes that’s subtle, like with the dripping water in the bathroom after Murdoch wakes up, which has been pulled forward into the mix in order to make it sound like it’s inside the listening space. Other times it’s more obvious, like when Murdoch throws away the luggage, which now sails over the viewer’s left shoulder and splashes into the left rear of the soundstage. Overall, it’s more immersive than the original 5.1 mix, although the bass response can get a little muddy at times—the notes from the upright bass during the club scenes aren’t as cleanly delineated as they should be. It still has the slight edge, but the 5.1 is still included, so the choice is yours. (Hell, you can also listen to the alternate Dolby Stereo mix if you prefer.)

DIRECTOR’S CUT (FILM/VIDEO/AUDIO): A-/A-/A-
THEATRICAL CUT (FILM/VIDEO/AUDIO): B+/A/A-

Arrow’s 4K Ultra HD release of Dark City is a two-disc set that includes the director’s cut and the theatrical cut on separate UHDs. The insert is reversible, featuring new artwork by Doug John Miller on one side and original theatrical poster artwork on the other. It also includes a double-sided foldout poster with both artworks, as well as three art cards, a Shell Beach postcard, and a reproduction of Dr. Schreber’s business card. It also includes a 60-page booklet featuring essays by Richard Kadrey, Sabina Stent, Virat Nehru, and Martyn Pedler. Everything comes housed in a rigid keepcase with the Stella artwork, and there’s also an oversized slipcover to match. The following extras are included:

DISC ONE: DIRECTOR’S CUT

Introduction by Alex Proyas (Upscaled SD – 4:51)
Commentaries:
- Alex Proyas (2025)
- Craig Anderson, Bruce Isaacs, and Herschel Isaacs (2025)
- Alex Proyas (2008)
- Lem Dobbs and David S. Goyer (2008)
- Roger Ebert (2008)
Return to Dark City (HD – 58:55)
I’m as Much in the Dark as You Are (HD – 19:50)
Rats in a Maze (HD – 14:33)
Design & Storyboards (HD – 14:08)

The Introduction by Alex Proyas is actually an introduction by Proyas and Roger Ebert, each of them appearing via separate interviews. It was originally included on the 2008 Director’s Cut Blu-ray release of Dark City. While Proyas has said some conflicting things regarding both cuts over the years, he states pretty emphatically here that the director’s cut is overall a much better film.

Arrow has added two new commentaries for this edition, and also ported over all five of the previous tracks (more on those in a moment). The first is with Proyas. Revisiting the film fifteen years down the road since the last time that he’s watched it, he’s struck by how similar so many of his films are. He describes Dark City as being a “roller coaster experience,” noting some of the reactions to the quick cutting, but he says that by today’s standards it’s not quick at all. He discusses some of his influences (and freely admits that he did channel the psychic battle from the end of Akira). He also notes some of the differences between the two versions, and points out that he was left alone during the entire original shoot and only ran into trouble during post-production.

The second new commentary features Craig Anderson, Bruce Isaacs, and Herschel Isaacs from the Film Versus Film podcast. They specialize in comparing and contrasting two different films, and in this case they lean into comparing Dark City to The Matrix. Like Proyas, they also examine some of the influences on the film—and they add another one to the usual lists: computer adventure games. The discuss the narratives and themes of Dark City and debate whether or not it has a “happy” ending, ultimately declaring the film is a tour of the endless possibilities in the cinema.

Now, regarding the previous commentaries: two different tracks were originally recorded for the 1998 LaserDisc and DVD releases of Dark City: the first with Proyas, Lem Dobbs, David S. Goyer, Dariusz Wolski, and production designer Patrick Tatopoulos, and the other with Roger Ebert. The filmmaker commentary was a curated track, with the participants recorded separately and edited together. (The standard LaserDisc only included the filmmaker commentary since the other analogue track was used for the 5.1 AC-3 soundtrack, while the DTS LaserDisc and the Platinum Edition DVD had both.) When New Line produced their Director’s Cut Blu-ray in 2008, they recorded a new commentary with Proyas, but then used the original 1998 recording sessions with Lem Dobs and David S. Goyer to create a separate track with the two of them (and it’s filled with extended gaps, too). They also recorded some new material with Ebert and created a hybrid track with his old commentary and the new additions.

Clear as mud? Welcome to the weird and wonderful world of Dark City. Taken as a whole, the original curated filmmaker track is probably the best place to start, even though it doesn’t address any of the changes that were done later for the director’s cut. But all of the commentaries have something unique to offer despite any inevitable repetition between them.

The rest of the extras on the first disc are new ones that were produced by Arrow. Return to Dark City is a retrospective documentary on the making of the film, covering everything from development to production, and also examining its style and its themes. It includes interviews with Proyas, Wolski, Rufus Sewell, producer Andrew Morton, costume designer Liz Keogh Palmer, storyboard artist Peter Pound, makeup artist Leslie Vanderwalt, VFX director Peter Doyle, and production designers Tatopoulos and George Liddle.

I’m as Much in the Dark as You Are is a visual essay by film Josh Nelson, focusing on notions of identity in Dark City and other film noir. Rats in a Maze is a visual essay by critic Alexandra West, tracing the psychology and symbolism of mazes in the film, building on Edward Tolman’s concept of a cognitive map. Finally, Design & Storyboards is just that, a collection of storyboards and production artwork by Patrick Tatopoulos, George Liddle, Peter Pound, and Mark Sexton.

DISC TWO: THEATRICAL CUT

Commentaries:
- Alex Proyas, Lem Dobbs, David S. Goyer, Dariusz Wolski, and Patrick Tatopoulos (1998)
- Roger Ebert (1998)
Memories of Shell Beach (Upscaled SD – 43:26)
The Architecture of Dreams (Upscaled SD – 33:41)
Theatrical Trailer (Upscaled SD – 2:23)
Image Gallery (UHD, 293 in all)

The commentaries here are the original ones from the 1998 New Line Platinum Series DVD, both the curated filmmaker track and Roger Ebert’s theatrical fanboy track (although they’re misidentified on Arrow’s menus as being from 2008.) Aside from the newly extended and upgraded Image Gallery, the rest of the extras are ported over from the 2008 Blu-ray. Memories of Shell Beach is a featurette including interviews with Alex Proyas, Lem Dobbs, David S. Goyer, Dariusz Wolski, Rufus Sewell, Richard O’Brien, Liz Keogh Palmer, and second unit director Bruce Hunt. It traces the making of Dark City from the development of the script through casting, design, shooting, visual effects, post-production woes, box office failure, and rebirth as the director’s cut.

The Architecture of Dreams, which is subtitled Five Perspectives on Dark City, examines postmodernism and how it found new expression in the themes of Dark City. The five sections include A Postmodern Film with Dobbs; Identity Theft with UCLA professor Vivian Sobchak; Worlds Constructed with NYU professor Dana Polan; Cities As Spectacle & Collective Memories with Dobbs & Roger Ebert; and Memoirs of My Nervous Illness with Proyas & Rosemary Dinnage. (The latter looks at the real Daniel Paul Schreber who served as the namesake for Dr. Schreber in the film.) Ebert also makes another appearance in order to sum everything up—whatever you may think of his criticism as a whole, there’s no question that he was passionately devoted to Dark City!

The only things missing from New Line’s DVD and Blu-ray releases of Dark City include the Director’s Cut Fact Track, which offered text boxes to explain the differences between the two versions and provide some general trivia. There were also a few still-frame extras like Neil Gaiman on Dark City and the Metropolis Comparison, which included the original 1927 reviews of Metropolis from Weekly Variety and The New York Times—the latter was written by H.G. Wells, who was singularly unimpressed with the film.

Other than a variety of different text-based filmographies and trailers for unrelated films, there’s nothing else missing here from any other releases aside from a few vintage EPK featurettes and a different Metropolis Comparison that was on the Region 2 DVD from Seven 7 in France. So, you can safely clear off shelf space for this Arrow 4K Ultra HD release of Dark City by dumping any and all previous versions in your collection—unless you happen to have that French DVD, which is unlikely, or else you’re really attached to the Director’s Cut Fact Track. In every conceivable way, this set puts all others in the dust. It collects nearly all of the existing extras and adds a substantial quantity of new ones, and while the nature of the production of Dark City and its director’s cut means that it’s never going to look perfect, this 4K remaster is as good as it’s probably going to get. Perfect or not, it’s still a major upgrade.

-Stephen Bjork

(You can follow Stephen on social media at these links: Twitter, Facebook, BlueSky, and Letterboxd).