Nigh Journal

Saturday, February 20th, 2010

Revisiting ‘Dark City’

I’ve never been one for Director’s Cuts. Mostly, you can see why various scenes were removed and in some cases (*coughDonnieDarkocough*) would arguably have been far lesser films if someone hadn’t got out the digital scissors… But then there’s Dark City.

When I first saw the enigmatic trailer, the cryptic mix of  film noir evolving into science fiction was always going to win a place in my heart. It was never a film for everyone but with a budget of $27 million, did it have to be?

But, despite the stellar, understated performances, the amazing production design and my own affection for the film, some things always niggled…

If you’ve seen it, then you know the theatrical cut starts with Kiefer Sutherland’s cat-out-of-the-bag voiceover that was the narrative equivalent of watching The Sixth Sense while sitting next to Bruce Willis wearing his ‘my character is a ghost’ sandwich-board. I then saw the film for the second time with the lovely Heather who, despite liking the film, didn’t like that the soundtrack score never bloody shut up.

Both these things were forced on the film by execs who didn’t trust audiences with the patience for the developing mystery. Surely the fun, if not the point, of the film was to follow amnesiac John Murdoch (Rufus Sewell) as  he wakes up accused of murder in a sunless city. 

But when I picked up the recent Director’s Cut, I was amazed at how much slicker and pacier the whole film felt - which is impressive considering the new version is fifteen minutes longer than its original hour and a half. Gone is the voiceover so you are now drawn in without being talked down to. Also, the music has been re-scored in several places so no one is trying to add a frantic chase soundtrack to dialogue scenes. 

But, perhaps most importantly (aside from it now being Jennifer Connelly singing instead of lip-synching a smoky jazz club number) are those added minutes. Now William Hurt’s overwhelmed detective doesn’t make a sudden character U-turn. Now the audience witness more of the strangeness along with Murdoch instead of before him and new special effects show a gradual growth in his abilities (as well as adding some new nice touches to other set pieces)

If you haven’t seen Dark City in a while then I strongly recommend picking the Director’s Cut up for a few quid and seeing the difference. If you haven’t seen Dark City at all, then I suggest you ignore the theatrical cut completely.

But if you’ve seen either version what did you think? For me, the Director’s Cut - while not making it perfect - has definitely boosted Dark City to being one of my favourite films.