Ultra HD Blu-ray Movie Reviews

There's a pretty nifty mystery at the heart of Dark City so I'll tread lightly in my plot summary. Alex Proyas' film draws largely from science fiction tales before it, most notably The Matrix and Blade Runner, yet giving us something uniquely his. We meet our hero, John Murdoch (if that is his real name) unconscious in a bathtub with no memory of how he got there. He soon finds himself in a world of trouble and on the run in an oddly old-fashioned city where the sun never shines. Everyone he meets in his quest for the truth behind his increasingly bizarre predicament is a little bit sus, making curious little comments that tease the brain but ultimately make sense when all is revealed.

Apologies for being vague but the story of Dark City is best discovered by watching it, not by reading a review. Proyas certainly and now Arrow Video show a clear preference for the extended 2008 Director's Cut, located on Disc One, where it is enhanced with all of this set's new special features. There are a great many extended scenes and additional snippets of dialogue reintegrated here that work to enhance the desired mood and further tantalize us, especially upon our first viewing. New Line Cinema made many changes before the film premiered theatrically in 1998—find that separately on Disc Two--most unfortunately with the addition of a massive exposition dump at the very beginning that completely changes the tone of the entire movie.

You've been warned.

Both versions look spectacular in these new 4K restorations from the original camera negative, approved by director of photography Dariusz Wolski and presented in Dolby Vision HDR. Most of the movie is highly stylized to recreate America in the 1940s, with a lot of muted colors although when the daring shades do appear, they dazzle. Bright highlights are always appropriate, fine details like a houndstooth coat or a man's stubble are rock-solid, a pleasing level of grain is present and shadows are wonderfully inky. The only flaw I noticed was some minor strobing in fast action, but in general Arrow has given us a remarkably filmic rendition. Visual effects were going through a bit of a transition 27 years ago, so we do need to be a bit forgiving of the combination of miniatures, blue-/green-screen and early CGI.

Dolby Atmos tracks are also provided for each cut, in addition to DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and 2.0 options. The new Atmos mix is first rate, with plenty of surround activity to convey the life of the city in addition to discrete cues as needed. Phasing between the speakers is super-smooth and the overhead channels do a great job not only with the more fantastical elements but in maintaining a sense of the world above us as well.

Settle in for a total of five (!) audio commentaries on the director's cut, including a new one from Proyas alongside his archival musings, a new expert commentary plus two more archival, among them the screenwriters and Pulitzer Prize-winning film critic Roger Ebert. Also on Disc One, a new hour-long documentary, two new visual essays and a design and storyboard slideshow. Over on Disc Two we have an archival jam filmmaker commentary and Mr. Ebert again, plus a pair of 2008 featurettes.

Arrow ain't foolin' around with this one, a limited edition in a rigid, slipcased box housing a deeply researched book printed on heavy stock, a two-sided poster, reversible cover art and three double-sided character cards. Perhaps best of all are a Shell Beach postcard and a business card, these last two items as seen in the movie.

Years after a botched initial release (watch the nonsensical trailer on Disc Two and see if you don't agree), Dark City has developed a ravenous fanbase, and this boxed set is a magnificent celebration of all things Dark.

Chris Chiarella