Editorials > "Dark City" Re-Release with New Effects, DVD Special Features

Alex Proyas's "Dark City" has enjoyed the semi-fortunate fate of the "cult classic." Science fiction fans (and general cinema fans as well) have been slowly discovering it over the past ten years and have placed it in that hallowed sci-fi canon of brilliant financial flops that includes John Carpenter's "The Thing," "Blade Runner," and "Donnie Darko." 

Recently, David S. Goyer, who co-wrote the screenplay for "Dark City" recently sat down with the horror buffs over at BloodyDisgusting and had this to say:

[A re-release is] coming out fairly soon [and will] probably have limited theatrical, but Im not sure. I have seen almost all of it and I took part in an over hour long making-of.

[They re-did] the score and the cuts a little longer, all of the parties involved did fairly lenghtly interviews with us, they'll be incluced on there.

Goyer revealed that they've be doing some new special effects work as well. While this is all very exciting to Mr. Disgusting, I'll admit I'm a bit more skeptical. The shortest way of voicing my concern is the old rhetorical question: Why fix something that isn't broken? Have they not learned from George Lucas's mistakes? Fans feverishly hate that the man put Hayden Christensen's ghostly image in the end of "Return of the Jedi." They hate that Greedo fires first. Science fiction aficionados can be a hard bunch to please, and unless the minds behind "Dark City" make sure both versions are available on DVD (and Blu-Ray), they're going to have more angry fans on their hands than they know what to do with.

That said, I'm looking forward to the in-depth featurettes. That movie is fantastic. Though as Scott Weinberg points out, "this new DVD better keep that Roger Ebert commentary track!" The man's only done, what, six commentaries? (The "Citizen Kane" one is fantastic, incidentally.) And the way his health has been lately, it doesn't sound like he's got too many more in him.

-David Morgan