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agentorange [Celluloid 03.11.09] movie news scifi horror dystopic

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It’s no secret that we’re huge Dark City fans here at Quiet Earth, in fact the film is probably one of my favorites of all time. I hadn’t seen it for a few years so when I watched the recent director’s cut I was amazed at how thought provoking the themes still are and how breathtaking the film’s visuals remain, regardless of the over ten years of SFX innovations that have occurred since it was released. You can read more about that version of the film here.

Another secret that’s not so secret is that the film sort of bombed upon release. Ardent fans (and Alex Proyas) love to claim that the film was "ahead of it’s time" but the fact that the similarly themed The Matrix was so successful only a year later makes me wonder if it was really just "one of those things." Regardless, Dark City has gone on to do great business as a cult film which has apparently spurred recent discussions about a sequel. MTV talked to Proyas (whose apocalyptic thriller Knowing opens in 10 days) and he revealed that:


"It’s had this shelf life and just lately it’s done well enough that there have been some discussions about a sequel."

He also went on to describe how he's always envisioned a sequel to include our hero as the villain.

"I always thought it would be intriguing to have Rufus [Sewell], who was the hero in the first one, be the bad guy. He should turn nasty because he’s got unlimited power. That’s something I’d like to explore."

Of course, none of us should hold our breath. Proyas currently has three high profile projects in the works including a steampunk version of The Invisible Man, an adaptation of John Christoper's Tripods ("The White Mountains"), and Dracula Year Zero. Oh Mr. Proyas how you tease us!


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bad dog (2 years ago) Reply

Good choice for a favorite film - it's a classic... Great premise for a sequel, too...

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trogen (2 years ago) Reply

I only saw the first one recently, blown away, great film, and id love to see a sequel

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Anonymous (2 years ago) Reply

I just want to point out that /film currently has Alex Proyas blogging for them, doing about 10 posts. Todays post is regarding Dark City...

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sound n fury (2 years ago) Reply

It wasn't "just one of those things." The overwhelming popularity of The Matrix and the relative obscurity of Dark City are, I think, a pretty clear indication that for the majority of the fans of The Matrix it really was all about the shoot-outs, the chases, and the wire-fu. Take that slick, easily digested pop-cult surface away and they just lose interest; see: Dark City.


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