Dark City (1998) - Written By Zach Frances

Dark City is a film unlike most others. It is strangely compelling, visually extraordinary, and an unbelievably rich experience from beginning to end. A film that has almost been forgotten, it has achieved a well earned cult status. In Dark City, a man struggles with memories of his past, including a wife he cannot remember, in a nightmarish world with no sun and run by beings with telekinetic powers who seek the souls of humans. Dark City is the finest film of its decade, one of the best of its genre, and one of the greatest ever made.

The style is pitch-perfect. Dark City is Laura meets Metropolis, Blade Runner meets M, or even The Cabinet Of Dr. Caligari meets Night And The City. Fritz Lang proposed a challenge with his astonishing 1927 opus Metropolis. Dark City has accepted the challenge, has risen to the occasion, and succeeds in every imaginable way. To view Dark City as Metropolis' offspring is not a bad way of viewing this picture. Dark City takes the best visual elements of Metropolis and builds upon them. Its as if Alex Proyas understood exactly what it was that made Metropolis tick, and channeled the same artistic ambition seventy years later. I still can't believe it took seventy years for another science fiction film to pass the bar set by Metropolis, but I'm happy it finally happened.

Dark City can accurately be classified as Neo-Expressionism, and the ways in which it echoes films like Metropolis, M, Mabuse, Pandora's Box, and Caligari are unmistakable. This borrowed style never feels old, if anything it feels fresh and unexplored. The city itself looks amazing, and the lighting is exquisite. This is a city I can look at for hours, and notice more and more detail the more I watch the film. Also, Dark City never feels like an homage to days past, in fact it feels raw, uninhibited, new, and one-of-a-kind. German Expressionism and Surrealism quite frequently lend themselves to the imagination of the filmmakers. And in the end, taking Expressionism as a jumping board is one thing, but to pull it off so well is another, as it takes a great deal of imagination and creativity to be fully realized. I am still taken aback by the creative wonder and virtuosity of the filmmakers, especially Alex Proyas, and how they so efficiently created a world so vivid in a visual style so difficult to manage. The end result is an artistry that rises above that of Lang or Wiene. I am truly astonished by this film. German Expressionism in film is constantly undergoing re-examination and scrutiny, but is seldom re-imagined. Time and time again the filmmakers give us far more than what is expected of them, and showcase for us a visual wonderland that abides by the laws of a forgotten movement that put visual storytelling on the map. As an audience, we are rarely treated so nicely, and catered to so thoughtfully.

The Film Noir touch compliments the Expressionism beautifully. We are reminded of The Night Of The Hunter in a scene in which the hero travels by boat with a twisted and dark city in the background. Unlike other science fiction films that incorporate several aesthetically appealing visual trademarks popularized by Film Noir, Dark City is injecting German Expressionism with the genre, not Science Fiction. I think it adds up to a remarkable result. Adding layers to the visual feast, and allows for far more detail and far more interesting characters. You could say, I suppose, that Dark City features Noir characters in an Expressionist Environment. The man from nowhere, the sexy lounge singer, the lonely detective- they are all products of the Film Noir influence. On the other hand, characters like Keifer Sutherland's mad scientist, and the pale 'Strangers' are rooted deeply in Expressionism.

As far as the cast is concerned, I thought everyone was just fantastic, especially Rufus Sewell as the Hero, John Murdoch. I wish he was given better roles after Dark City, he would have been a superb leading man. The empathy he brings to his character here is telling of a truly gifted actor. Jennifer Connelly is wonderful as well as the desexualized film noir heroine. William Hurt as Inspector Frank Bumstead is not only classic Noir but classic Hurt as well. His own personality compliments the character well in this outing, whereas in later efforts, the actor would seem to lose sight of his character and simply be himself. Kiefer Sutherland is absolutely wonderful, and reminds me personally of Dwight Frye's portrayal of Renfeild in Tod Browning's Dracula. Sutherland says he was inspired by Peter Lorre's performance as the child murderer in M, and that can be seen very easily. Richard O'Brien of Rocky Horror fame appears as one of the 'Strangers', and turns in very solid performance as Mr. Hand, by far the most interesting of the villains.

I love this movie. LOVE IT. This film inspires me to be creative, and to believe in an idea no matter how nonsensical or weird it may seem to other people. This is one of the few cult films that can really stand on its own, and be perfectly fine without a legion of followers giving it street cred. If you have never seen this movie before, do yourself a favor and watch it. I could not recommend it in a higher regard.

The blu ray is wonderful. Both theatrical and director's cuts are worth watching. Lovely commentaries by Roger Ebert. Great insight.

Chinatown (1974) - Written By Zach Frances

 Roman Polanski's genius is questionable. Whether or not he does possess a certain cinematic genius is neither urgent or necessary to conclude. His body of work speaks for itself, his 1974 magnum opus speaks for its decade, reality in the face of theatricality, and for the sanctity of the cinema itself. Now although it is not completely justifiable to prove whether Polanski is or is not a genius, it is rather important to discuss the life of this idolized and wanted man. Roman Polanski was born in the year 1933 in Paris to Polish parents. When his mother and father were forced into concentration camps for being Jewish, Polanski was faced with the unmeasurable difficulty of surviving the Holocaust on his own. His Mother ultimately fell victim to the horrors of Auschwitz. If that's not enough, if you would so melodramatically, fast forward to the year of 1969. To the Summer Of Love. To the end of the small portion of Polanski's life he would later recall as the happiest he's ever had. He had a beautiful, talented, and adoring wife. Her name was Sharon Tate. The baby inside of her, she and Roman would never name. In August of 1969 the Manson Family laid slain to Sharon Tate and the baby inside of her, both terrorizing and taunting, the darkest chapter of Polanski's life was marooned with notoriety and fear. It was only a few years after the death of his wife where Roman would leave his mark on the world forever.

Chinatown flows with a lavishly perfected Noir tone, and I should add here, the film is the Neo Noir archetype, the best of its kind and one of the best that Film Noir carries in its respective canon. Also, whenever one sets out to write about Chinatown, one cannot understate the delicacy, the supreme handling of pacing which is to be found in this particular film. Not before, and not since, has pacing been so well thought out, so marvelously calculated, and devilishly crafted.

Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway stand immortal in this film, bellowing through the tenement halls inside of every dirty city confined within every Noir film in rotation. If Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway stand luminous as Kings of their respective Kingdom, then John Huston stands apart; shrouded in darkness, transparent, eager, vicious, immediate. John Huston's 'Noah Cross' exists, alright, and the most dangerous thing about the 'Noah Cross's of the world is that the evil within them is otherwise ordinary, bottomless, and unstoppable. Robert Towne's script is simply impeccable. Flawless storytelling accompanied by snappy dialogue, and a climax that cuts deeper than that of documentary reality.

But it is Polanski who is the true star of this picture. You can see him in every shot, peering in through the lens, and directly into your heart. You can taste him in every dry patch of dialogue, smell him in the midst of gun smoke, and fear him as the tension culminates into the wake of tragedy. It is there, in the tragedy, he dares you to hope for the best, he wants to feel safe because films make you feel comfortable. He takes the trust that he'd earned from the audience, and crushes it, oh, and he makes sure it stings. He makes sure it hurts. And in in the aftermath of the his final act, his final betrayal, the ultimate tragedy, he makes sure you can feel him. He leaves you in pain. He leaves you guilty in satisfaction. Knowing that tragedy is the most universal of luxuries, Polanski makes that perfectly clear, and for the first time, his voice is heard, his war cry. Coherent and horrifying.

While Rosemary's Baby is my favorite Polanski film, Chinatown has always been a close second. Rosemary's Baby has also been selected by Criterion (along with other Polanski classics like Knife In The Water and Repulsion). While Rosemary's Baby has been given the care and respect it deserves with a stunning Blu Ray transfer by Criterion, Chinatown is in a sad state. A film this important should be treated as such.