Dark City (1998) is an underrated prime sci fi for home projector owners.

Sadly not available in 4K HDR yet but rather “only” full HD SDR Blu-ray, Dark City* stands as a textbook example of how to show off contrast. The very simple title of this 1998 movie belies a masterwork of cinematography by Dariusz Wolski, who previously worked with director Alex Proyas on the equally noir The Crow from 1994.

Dark City combines influences from Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner and earlier sci fi noir movies with the late 1990s/early 2000s wave of “is it all real?” movies, which included The Matrix, The 13^th Floor, The Game, Avalon, and Vanilla Sky among others. Don’t expect lots of mega corporations, androids, and flashy neon supercities, though. Dark City is a low-key, smaller budget production that achieves its goals by manipulating light, above all else.

Indeed, Dark City stands out for its highly focused obsession with contrast, and so you’ll need a good projector worthy of the challenge, whether watching the Blu-ray version or streaming from Netflix. Projectors capable of smart HDR will be able to enhance the default Blu-ray image and provide a more impressive rendition of Dark City, even if it’s not in actual HDR.

*Note: not to be confused with the 1950 movie Dark City starring Charlton Heston and Lizabeth Scott.

Lights in the Gloom

As the film’s title suggests, the story takes place in a city shrouded by darkness and what might be eternal night. Thankfully for filmmakers and viewers alike, the city has lots of electricity, so we get a dazzling display of 1940s-style urban landscapes with concrete skyscrapers, elevated trains, and clunky automobiles. All have their own light sources to pierce the darkness, with shadows playing a role as important as that of the main characters.

Fans of cinematography and the balance of light and dark owe it to themselves to watch Dark City over and over again. This movie is taught at every film school on the planet for good reason. Additionally, there’s little CGI on show. Everything happens in-camera and the city is mostly practical models as opposed to digital artwork. This lends Dark City a very substantive, tactile feel that makes the conflict between light and shadow even more impressive.

Dark City: Sci Fi Cinema Noir with Less Neon

Lights in the Gloom

Looking for Meaning

Color and Sunshine

Colors in Movies

Ang Lee's Life of Pi Livened Up in 4K HDR

Pan’s Labyrinth Finds 4K Beauty in a Maze of Mystery

The Thin Red Line Draws on Love of Color and Nature

1917's conflict and passion through color

Strictly necessary cookies

Functional cookies

Performance cookies and advertising cookies

Dark City: Sci Fi Cinema Noir with Less Neon

Lights in the Gloom

Looking for Meaning

Color and Sunshine

Colors in Movies

Ang Lee's Life of Pi Livened Up in 4K HDR

Pan’s Labyrinth Finds 4K Beauty in a Maze of Mystery

The Thin Red Line Draws on Love of Color and Nature

1917's conflict and passion through color