Dark
City 4K
(1997/New Line/Warner/Arrow 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray + Blu-ray 2-Disc
Sets*)/Hysteria!:
Season One
(2024 - 2025/Blu-ray Set**)/Tale
Of Oiwa's Ghost
(1961/Toei/Radiance Blu-ray/**all MVD)/Woman
In The Yard
(2025/Blu-ray/*both Universal)
4K
Ultra HD Picture: A- Picture: B+/B/B-/B- Sound: A-/B/C+/B
Extras: B-/D/C/C Main Programs: B- & C/C/B-/C
Now
for some supernatural horror, et al...
Alex
Proyas' Dark
City 4K
(1997) gets a fine upgrade with new extras and more from Arrow,
repeating the two cuts form a previous Blu-ray and offering the film
in separate 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray and regular Blu-ray 2-Disc sets. An
increasingly favorite among film fans since its decent box office
debut a while ago, you can read more about the film in my coverage of
the older Blu-ray Director's
Cut
at this link...
https://fulvuedrive-in.com/review/7415/Dark+City+%C3%A2%E2%82%AC%E2%80%9C+Direct
And
we have this rave from one of our other great writers on the DVD at
this link:
https://fulvuedrive-in.com/review/88/Dark+City
I
remember Roger Ebert saying all films would look like this in the
future, he was half-correct as far as many stupid commercial films
were concerned. Its just they would be really digital, really phony,
really pointless and very, very forgettable. After suffering through
so many bad genre films since CGI became overused, seeing this film
will give you a new perspective on that too.
Extras
includes
four new featurettes, so you get a 60-page perfect bound collectors
book featuring new writing by author Richard Kadrey, and film critics
Sabina Stent, Virat Nehru and Martyn Pedler
Limited
Edition packaging featuring newly commissioned artwork by Doug John
Miller
Double-sided
fold-out poster featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by
Doug John Miller
Three
postcard-sized reproduction art cards
Postcard
from Shell Beach
Dr.
Schreber business card
DISC
1: DIRECTOR'S CUT
Brand
new audio commentary by director Alex Proyas
Brand
new audio commentary with Craig Anderson, Bruce Isaacs and Herschel
Isaacs, co-hosts of the Film Versus Film podcast
Archive
audio commentary by director Alex Proyas
Archive
audio commentary by film critic Roger Ebert
Archive
audio commentary by writers Lem Dobbs and David S. Goyer
Archive
introduction by Alex Proyas
Return
to Dark City,
a new hour-long documentary featuring interviews with director Alex
Proyas, producer Andrew Mason, production designers Patrick
Tatopoulos and George Liddle, costume designer Liz Keough,
storyboard artist Peter Pound, Director of Photography Dariusz
Wolski
Rats
in a Maze,
a new visual essay by film scholar Alexandra West
I'm
as Much in the Dark as You Are,
a new visual essay by film scholar Josh Nelson on film noir and
identity in Dark
City
Design
& Storyboards
DISC
2: THEATRICAL CUT
Archive
audio commentary by director Alex Proyas, writers Lem Dobbs &
David S. Goyer, director of photography Dariusz Wolski and
production designer Patrick Tatopoulos
Archive
audio commentary by film critic Roger Ebert
Memories
of Shell Beach,
a 2008 featurette in which cast and crew look back at the making of
the film from concept to reception
Architecture
of Dreams,
a 2008 featurette presenting five perspectives on the themes and
meanings of the film
Original
Theatrical Trailer
and
an Image Gallery.
Hysteria!:
Season One
(2024 - 2025) is a show that only got the greenlight because of the
phenomenally successful and smart success of Stranger
Things,
also set in the 1980s like that instant classic and pressing the
nostalgia buttons like crazy. Starting with a dual kidnapping, set
in a high school as well, we meet the characters and though I like
the casting, the teleplays are badly written, almost condescending in
how they treat the time period and everyone is not very bright here.
Thus,
this wears thin quickly and involves people making some obviously
dumb decisions and never totally feels like the period it is in, no
matter the songs licensed or other references. They are too
scattered and have no synergy. A would-be band decides to go satanic
to capitalize on the kidnappings (where is the parental guidance or
common sense?) and this backfires badly, very badly. From there, you
careless and less and less, but this was enough of a small hit that
it has a sequel season. I cannot imagine how that will work, but it
should be a real hoot if they can figure it out. I guess nothing
else was on when people tuned in. See at your own risk when you have
some serious spare time and if you have more curiosity than usual.
Julie
Bowen and Bruce Campbell co-star.
Unsurprisingly,
there are no extras.
Tai
Kato's Tale
Of Oiwa's Ghost
(1961) is an early entry in a cycle of Japanese horror films where
women who have been disfigured, usually purposely, coming back to
haunt those who tried to permanently throw them away. In a
male-dominated society like Japan, it has a certain weight to it.
Here, a married man (Tomisaburo Wakayama) finds a woman of means and
a well-off family is interested in him. Feeling the same way and
hoping to make his life better, he mutilates and kills his wife, but
that will not be the ned of it by any means.
An
interesting film from Toei, it holds up far better than the vast
majority of such films int eh cycle today and takes itself and its
audience far more seriously than I felt those films do, some of which
are discussed in the supplements. It has true suspense and nothing
is cheap about its approach, it is a mature work. Sure, it has not
aged brilliantly, with its limited budget an all, but it is a minor
classic in this cycle and worth a look for those interested. And
yes, ti is a bit ahead of its time.
Extras
include
an interview with Mari Asato (2025)
Visual
essay on tormented female ghosts by Lindsay Nelson (2025
Original
Theatrical Trailer
Newly
improved English subtitle translation
Reversible
sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Time
Tomorrow
and
a Limited Edition booklet featuring new writing by Tom Mes and an
archival review of the film.
Is
Jaume Collet-Serra the worst filmmaker in Hollywood and if so, why is
he still making movies? Over the years, I have had to suffer through
disasters like the 2005 House
Of Wax
remake, Run
All Night,
Orphan,
The
Shallows,
the horrid Jungle
Cruise
and especially the totally hideous Black
Adam.
He rarely has any hits and The
Woman In The Yard
(2025) sounds more like another lame M. Night Shyamalan dud. Running
less that 90 minutes, the underworked script offers nothing new in
the supernatural mystery genre.
Its
only saving grace and why it was even tolerable in spite of
Collet-Serra's
uninspired hand is the unknown cast giving it there all, having some
chemistry and much more talent than their director. Too bad this is
average at best, these actors and the rest of us deserve better, so
see this only if you are very, very curious. Otherwise, just do your
own yard work and you might have a better time!
Extras
include a Digital Code, while the disc adds a Making Of featurette
and second featurette Beneath
The Veil.
Now
for playback performance. The 2160p HEVC/H.265, 2.35 X 1, Dolby
Vision/HDR (10; Ultra HD Premium)-enhanced Ultra High Definition
image on Dark
City 4K
looks even better than the old Blu-ray did, despite some much older
HD CGI visual effects, scanned from the original 35mm negative with
the supervision of Director of Photography Dariusz Wolski, A.S.C., as
shot in the Super 35 format. That make it easier to do the visual
effects, as an actual anamorphic shoot would have made it impossible.
The 1080p 2.35 X 1 digital High Definition image on the regular
Blu-ray set also looks good, but no match for the 4K and both offer a
solid
DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 lossless mix that narrowly outdoes the
one of the old Blu-ray. The result in 4K is about as good as the
film will ever look and in both cases, the best it will ever sound,
so fans (et al) should be thrilled.
The
1080p 2.35 X 1 digital High Definition image transfer on the Hysteria
episodes look good, though it only takes advantage of that frame so
much, while the DTS-HD
MA (Master Audio) 5.1 lossless mix is fine and consistent, with some
life to it that is consistent throughout and is just fine. Still,
nothing too fancy or memorable.
The
1080p 2.35 X 1 black & white digital High Definition image
transfer on Oiwa's
Ghost
can look rough, partly because it is a horror film, but also because
of the older anamorphic lenses. In that, it looks good and proves
that scope film in monochrome are always something special. The
lossless Japanese PCM 2.0 Mono shows its age, can be boxy and limited
in range, yet is the best this film will ever sound.
The
1080p 2.35 X 1 black & white digital High Definition image
transfer on Woman
In The Yard
has some nice shots and moments at times, but the lossless Dolby
TrueHD 7.1 soundtrack (a mixdown from the Dolby Atmos original
soundmaster) sounds fine, but the better soundtrack likely has better
sonics and is being saved for a 4K version, if it ever comes out on
disc. This will do, we guess.
-
Nicholas Sheffo
