A valentine to German Expressionism...

Rating: 8/10 (18 February 2000)

The classics that everybody talks about years down the road are, most often than not, not recognized as such when first released. Citizen Kane wound up getting knocked out by William Randolph Hearst and a public too content with happy endings to accept this bitter vision. Wizard of Oz didn't become a bonafide hit until it hit television in the 1960's. Night of the Hunter (one of the scariest films of all time in my opinion) was a complete financial disaster for first-time director Charles Laughton. So it does not suprise me overly much that Dark City has gotten similarly, unjustified, downright shabby treatment from most critics and the audiences.
At first, I thought Dark City "a Metropolis for the '90s". Then I thought that it could be seen as a cross between the aforementioned Fritz Lang masterpiece and his first sound film, M. Now, after several late-night viewings (which for the right effect, I began playing the tape just before dawn, giving my surroundings the right atmospheric touch), I have concluded that it is a valentine to the whole German Expressionist movement: Lang, Murnau, Pabst, Freund. Though I also see it as a precursor to The Matrix (another excellent film to which one could trace its roots back to Metropolis), I also think that, had this been made in the silent era, it would have fit right in.
First there's the city itself. Only too obvious that it was inspired by Metropolis, where its inhabitants run on a rigid schedule of unbreakable monotony. But instead of just being factory workers in the guts of a great machine, they're pawns on a chessboard, with the Strangers removing and placing them as they please. The Strangers, again obviously, are inspired primarily by Clive Barker's Cenobites, but Mr. Hand's look is actually more inspired by that of Count Orlok in Nosferatu, right down to the collar. Compare the scene where John Murdoch holds the knife to Hand's face with a close-up of Orlok and you can see that the only thing missing is the distinctive bushy eyebrows. Dr. Paul Daniel Schreber (Kiefer Sutherland), a pathetic, twisted, little gnome of a man, recalls not only some of father Donald's more off-beat roles, but also Peter Lorre's turns as complicated villain (most notably in M and Mad Love). The lisp didn't bother me so much, as I reasoned that it might have been a result of his obvious deformities. One of the film's most interesting twists is how this complex character plays a part in the endgame. Finally, there's the names of the main characters themselves. Consider: Murdoch, Schreber, Bumstead, Walinsky. All of them Germanic in origin. One could not make the connection between German Expressionism and this film more obvious.
Some decades from now, I believe that this film will be recognized for the instant classic it is. Mark my words.