Dark City
I watched Robert Ebert's commentary on the film "Dark City" today and it reminded me why I found the movie so intriguing when I first saw it.
Made in 1998, the film presaged many of the elements used in the similar film "The Matrix" in 1999. Both are stories about humanity being controlled by unseen and unknown (to most, but not all) jailers -- in The Matrix the prison is the human mind, in Dark City it is a planetoid.
Both films make extensive use of rain, green tinting and fetishistic attire to convey an artificial feeling. Both films have a hero that possesses qualities that can interfere with the plans of their oppressors -- qualities that the oppressors possess, as well.
The main difference is The Matrix's directors decided to use an ultra-modern mileiu and the Dark City director used a noir 1940s setting.
The similarities between the two films are striking, so much so that many Dark City diehards were calling The Matrix a ripoff the 1998 film. Ebert said he believed Dark City was going to be seen as one of the most important and influential science fiction films ever -- he would've probably been right had The Matrix not come along a year later and garnered all the praise for being visionary.
Myself, I see visionary qualities in both films, but the use of stylized futuristic combat fx in The Matrix propelled it into a higher class than Dark City. Still, Dark City is a very sharp and deliberate film and I recommend it highly for those Matrix fans that haven't seen it...
Made in 1998, the film presaged many of the elements used in the similar film "The Matrix" in 1999. Both are stories about humanity being controlled by unseen and unknown (to most, but not all) jailers -- in The Matrix the prison is the human mind, in Dark City it is a planetoid.
Both films make extensive use of rain, green tinting and fetishistic attire to convey an artificial feeling. Both films have a hero that possesses qualities that can interfere with the plans of their oppressors -- qualities that the oppressors possess, as well.
The main difference is The Matrix's directors decided to use an ultra-modern mileiu and the Dark City director used a noir 1940s setting.
The similarities between the two films are striking, so much so that many Dark City diehards were calling The Matrix a ripoff the 1998 film. Ebert said he believed Dark City was going to be seen as one of the most important and influential science fiction films ever -- he would've probably been right had The Matrix not come along a year later and garnered all the praise for being visionary.
Myself, I see visionary qualities in both films, but the use of stylized futuristic combat fx in The Matrix propelled it into a higher class than Dark City. Still, Dark City is a very sharp and deliberate film and I recommend it highly for those Matrix fans that haven't seen it...
posted by D.Rey at 12:25 AM
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