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What isn't flawed, however, is the absolutely astounding production design and cinematography. Taking cues from Blade Runner's post-apocalyptic urban landscape, Fritz Lang's Metropolis, and the high-contrast, low color patina of many Tim Burton works, Dark City delivers dark but compelling images in a cumulative effort to set the tone. There's a lot of flair on display, but it's never flashy or attention grabbing, and the frequent homages to films past are subtle enough to avoid destracting from the narrative. Egyptian-born, Austrailian-raised director Alex Proyas clearly knows his film history, and I hope he returns to the type of thoughtful, deliberately paced filmmaking he delivers with this picture at some point in the future: in recent years, he has had some success with Hollywood blockbusters I, Robot and Knowing, both intelligent, well-made thrillers, yet it's Dark City that seems like his most personally invested picture, and has the strongest, most singular viewpoint.

Made for a modest budget of $27 million, Dark City took in only about $14 million domestically, and about $13 million in foreign sales, breaking even on pure production costs but probably coming in at a loss overall once marketing is factored in. In contrast, Proyas' previous (and first) film, The Crow, earned nearly $51 million in North America alone; Dark City's lackluster performance must've taken some of the bloom off the rose of his budding career. Perhaps that served as the impetus for a turn toward more commercial fare. Still, Ebert wasn't the only critic smitten with Proyas' work: the film scored 77% fresh at RottenTomatoes.com.

DVD is where Dark City really came into its own, premiering early in the format's life cycle and featuring one of the most stacked special features set available at the time: two audio commentaries, including one by Roger Ebert, film comparisons to Metropolis, information on set design, and a contribution from fantasy writer Neil Gaiman. Given the opportunity to unlock Dark City's delights in the comfort of the home, people seemed to give the movie a second chance, and it became more and more appreciated for both its acknowledgement of its forefathers in cinema history and its own boldly original vision. There's a great deal of texture throughout Dark City, and it's a picture that rewards multiple viewings.

Were it released today, would Dark City have done much better? That's a tough question to answer: audiences' appetites for intellectual exercise tend to vary virtually from day to day, and Dark City's not an easy picture to market. There is a simple, straightforward answer to all of the plot's mysteries at its core, yet it takes nearly the full running time to get there. How can that kind of patience be encouraged? Perhaps Dark City is one of those movies destined to be before its time no matter when its time is, a film that is spread virally amongst fans, the elusive cachet of cool that goes along with liking a picture others haven't even heard of driving viewers to seek it out

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