Dark City

In the early 20th century, several film movements appeared, which bring different unique styles in filmmaking. German Expressionism a film movement which emerged in Germany during the years 1919 to 1924 (Hayward. S, 2013).

At the beginning of World War I, the German film industry had very small output although some impressive pictures had been made there. Movie theaters in Germany were mostly playing American, French, Italian, and Danish films (Bordwell. D & Thompson. K, 2009). German films were banned in America and France cinema. German government then began to support film industry to combat the imported competition, as well as to create its own propaganda films. In 1919, Carl Mayer and Hans Janowitz wrote a unconventional script, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari and they want it to be made in an unusually stylized way. Hermann Warm, Walter Reimann, and Walter Rohrig suggested that it be done in an Expressionist style. Because of the success of The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920), other films in the Expressionist style soon followed. German Expressionist is different with French Impressionism, which bases it style primarily on cinematography and editing, it depends heavily on mise-en-scene, it is like a moving Expressionist painting or woodcut print. Shapes are distorted and exaggerated unrealistically for expressive purpose. Actors often wear heavy make up and move in jerky or slow, sinuous patterns. All of the elements of the mise-en-scene interact graphically to create an overall composition. Expressionism became an acceptable style and it often functioned to create stylized situation for fantasy and horror stories. Dark City (1998) is an Expressionist film to be analysed.

Dark City is an American science fiction film directed by Alex Proyas. The story is about a man, John Murdoch who awaken alone in a strange hotel to find that he is wanted for a series of brutal murders, but he lost his memory. Murdoch starts to find out his identity and solve the mystery. He then stumbles upon a fiendish underworld controlled by a group of ominous being collectively known as the Strangers.

The first German Expressionist style that presented in the film is the low key lighting and high contrast visuals in the film. It is functioned as to generates the sense of mystery to audience and enhance the investigative nature of the whole film.

Primitive sexual savagery is seen from the depiction of primal and beastly instincts of Mr. Hand. He is one of the strangers who is sent to hunt Murdoch down. All the female victims that said to be killed by Murdoch are killed by him and he likes to craft on the victim's body after killing them.

Distorted setting can also be found in the film during the tuning. The tuning is when the strangers starts to make every citizens to fall asleep, wipe their memories, change the structure of the city. The building are spinning and changing which create distorted setting.

Distorted building.

Last but not least, the gothic and dark appearance of the strangers. They are pale, bald, wear only black colour clothing and have stiff, rigid, and constricted movement. Their walking movement that are reminiscent of the Somnambulist in The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920).

Dark City is characterized as a German Expressionist film with all the stylized mise-en-scene presentation in the film.