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* ExtremelyLengthyCreation: Creator/AlexProyas began writing the script in 1990, shortly before he directed ''Film/TheCrow''. He admits some of the design and city aesthetic ideas were shared between the two projects. After that film was a hit, studios began asking him what he projects he had up his sleeve he wanted to work on.
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* ExtremelyLengthyCreation: Creator/AlexProyas began writing the script in 1990, shortly before he directed ''Film/TheCrow''.''Film/TheCrow1994''. He admits some of the design and city aesthetic ideas were shared between the two projects. After that film was a hit, studios began asking him what he projects he had up his sleeve he wanted to work on.
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* AcclaimedFlop: Creator/RogerEbert heaped praise on it, giving the movie four stars; but it barely broke even in terms of box office gross. It has since been VindicatedByHistory and is held up as a classic.
* ActorInspiredElement: After Creator/RichardOBrien was cast as Mr Hand, the rest of the actors playing the Strangers were told to match his performance.
* BoxOfficeBomb: Budget, $27 million. Box office, $14,378,331 (domestic), $27,200,316 (worldwide). Although Creator/RogerEbert called this the best film of the year, most critics gave it OK reviews largely due to its ExecutiveMeddling mandated cuts. It quickly became a CultClassic and its subsequent director's cut allowed it to become VindicatedByHistory.
* CastTheRunnerUp: Creator/WilliamHurt was initially asked to play Dr Schreber, but ended up cast as Inspector Bumstead. Dr. Schreber himself was conceived as being an older man, but Alex Proyas felt that making the character younger gave him more reason to try and rebel.
* TheCastShowoff: Although her voice was, for whatever strange reason, dubbed by Anita Kelsey in the theatrical version, that's really Jennifer Connelly [[TheChanteuse singing at the jazz club]] in the director's cut, and she's really quite good at it.
* CreatorBacklash: Alex Proyas was dissatisfied with some of the effects, particularly the spiral that comes out of John's forehead when he's Tuning. This was fixed in the Director's Cut, which was made after special effects technology had evolved.
* DarkHorseCasting: Rufus Sewell was cast because audiences were unfamiliar with him, as it's a mystery for the first half whether he should be trusted.
* DuelingMovies: A four-way contest between ''Film/TheMatrix'', ''Film/TheThirteenthFloor'' and ''Film/{{eXistenZ}}''. Although ''The Matrix'' easily won that duel, ''Dark City'' wins second place for its cult following and for its influence on SciFi.
* DyeingForYourArt: The twins who played Mr Sleep, a boy and a girl, were required to shave their heads.
* ExecutiveMeddling:
** ViewersAreMorons, so we have to explain the plot in an OpeningNarration so they don't get confused and scared. Thankfully excised in the Directors Cut (or just mute the sound for the first few minutes). Alex Proyas recalls it being the first time he was told to "dumb it down".
** The movie was given an R rating by the MPAA mostly because it had a "weird" concept (there were a few shots of topless women, but their collective duration is very short). At least that's what they'd have you believe: according to [[Creator/TreyParkerAndMattStone Matt Stone]] and the documentary ''Film/ThisFilmIsNotYetRated'', the MPAA is extremely unkind to independent features and will rate them as anything, whether or not they see fit. Before they were bought by Creator/WarnerBros, Creator/NewLineCinema couldn't even get the MPAA to ''return their phone calls.''
* ExtremelyLengthyCreation: Creator/AlexProyas began writing the script in 1990, shortly before he directed ''Film/TheCrow''. He admits some of the design and city aesthetic ideas were shared between the two projects. After that film was a hit, studios began asking him what he projects he had up his sleeve he wanted to work on.
* FakeAmerican: Creator/RufusSewell (British), Melissa George (Australian), Colin Friels (Scottish-born Australian) and Creator/BruceSpence (New Zealand-Australian) all do very good American accents.
* FlipFlopOfGod: There are two differing opinions between the director Alex Proyas and the co-writer David S Goyer. Proyas believes [[spoiler:the humans are the inhabitants of an interstellar space ship that were abducted by the Strangers]]. Goyer on the other hand believes [[spoiler:they're all actually dead and the city is a sort of purgatory for them]].
* FocusGroupEnding: Test screening audiences were "troubled" by the notion that the entire city wasn't sucked out into space once the Shell City Wall was breached. Thus, a last minute SFX addition of Bumstead and a Stranger drifting through a force field was created.
* NeverWorkWithChildrenOrAnimals: Subverted! Despite apprehensions about the twin children playing Mr Sleep, they were apparently so enthusiastic to work on the film; both were also huge fans of ''Rocky Horror'', and were in awe of working with Richard O'Brien.
* NonSingingVoice: Creator/JenniferConnelly's singing is dubbed in the theatrical version, but her real voice is in the Director's Cut. If you listen to her voice in the director's cut, [[TheCastShowoff she sounds great]], only slightly unpolished and without the vocal training of a proper pro singer. [[spoiler:Which makes perfect sense; Emma Murdoch isn't a professional singer either, this is just the job the Strangers have most recently assigned her.]]
* PropRecycling: Several of the sets from this film were reused in ''Film/TheMatrix'', most recognizably the corrugated rooftops seen during Trinity's run from the cops in the opening, and the staircase with the black-and-white tile floor from the SWAT raid and Morpheus' capture.
* PlayingAgainstType: [[Creator/KieferSutherland Jack Bauer]] as a creepy, limping, and cowardly German scientist.
* ReferencedBy: In the prologue of ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII'', Roxas is confined to the city of Twilight Town, trying to reach the beach from there, just like Murdock is trying to reach Shell Beach. Both characters find it very difficult to reach the beaches they wish to visit, with the reasons being major plot twists. Both towns also feature anomalies like time stopping and mysterious parties in dark coats.
* ShrugOfGod:
** Alex Proyas says of those who suggest the Strangers parallel the Greek Gods manipulating mortals?
---> "I do like Greek mythology and have read a little of it, so maybe some of it has crept into the work, though I don't completely agree with that point of view."
** He also says he prefers to keep it vague why the Strangers really set up the city - beyond "looking for the human soul" - feeling it made for a richer film.
---> “The film was more about the impact they had as a result of that experiment on human beings, so…if it begged for more answers then I always thought that was a good thing.”
* UnbuiltCastingType: In one of his earlier roles, Creator/RufusSewell plays around with his later typecasting as villains - as it's left in doubt whether John Murdock is actually a serial killer. [[spoiler:He's not and he's meant to be implanted with that persona]].
* WhatCouldHaveBeen:
** Dr Schreber was first envisioned as an older man (and Keifer Sutherland assumed it was a mistake when the script was sent to him, thinking it was for [[Creator/DonaldSutherland his father]] instead). They opted to make the character younger to make him more tragic - as he had his whole life ahead of him.
** An early draft of the script would have had Dr. Schreber getting skinned alive during the climax. [[spoiler:The Strangers were also going to win, making for a complete DownerEnding in the process]].
** Another possible term for what the Strangers do was 'the occasion' (which the screenwriter preferred). They went with 'tuning' because it was a more obscure word and therefore sounded more alien.
** Bumstead was the main character in the early draft - which revolved around a 1940s detective who goes insane trying to solve a case where the facts do not make sense. Alex Proyas felt it was better to set it from the perspective of the guy being chased instead. Some of Bumstead's original characterization made it into Walenski in the finished film.
** The first draft of the script by Creator/AlexProyas was vastly different from the finished film. It includes the appearance of the Strangers, the setting of a perennial Dark City, and the fact that John Murdoch is wanted for a series of murders that he does not recall committing. Notable aspects of the initial script include an evil robotic puppy accompanying the Strangers (which would attack savagely with its steel jaws) and a climactic trial for John Murdoch. The reanimated corpses of the victims would testify against Murdoch in the trial, and even John's wife would be a witness.
** Alex Proyas has said that there are some scenes he would have liked to restore in the Director's Cut, but wasn't able to due to lack of resources. He has however said that the most important scenes have all been restored.
* WordOfGod:
** On the DVDCommentary, David S. Goyer reveals two possible explanations for the origin of the inhabitants of Dark City. In his original story outline, Creator/AlexProyas believed the humans to have been passengers aboard an interstellar spaceship which was captured by the Strangers. Goyer favors a more spiritual approach, supposing that the humans are in fact dead and that Dark City is a sort of purgatory made up of people the Strangers have selected or abducted from different eras in history.
** Alex Proyas says that the Strangers didn't get rid of Walenski earlier because he was an additional part of the experiment; to see how he would react, and people would react to him in turn.
* ActorInspiredElement: After Creator/RichardOBrien was cast as Mr Hand, the rest of the actors playing the Strangers were told to match his performance.
* BoxOfficeBomb: Budget, $27 million. Box office, $14,378,331 (domestic), $27,200,316 (worldwide). Although Creator/RogerEbert called this the best film of the year, most critics gave it OK reviews largely due to its ExecutiveMeddling mandated cuts. It quickly became a CultClassic and its subsequent director's cut allowed it to become VindicatedByHistory.
* CastTheRunnerUp: Creator/WilliamHurt was initially asked to play Dr Schreber, but ended up cast as Inspector Bumstead. Dr. Schreber himself was conceived as being an older man, but Alex Proyas felt that making the character younger gave him more reason to try and rebel.
* TheCastShowoff: Although her voice was, for whatever strange reason, dubbed by Anita Kelsey in the theatrical version, that's really Jennifer Connelly [[TheChanteuse singing at the jazz club]] in the director's cut, and she's really quite good at it.
* CreatorBacklash: Alex Proyas was dissatisfied with some of the effects, particularly the spiral that comes out of John's forehead when he's Tuning. This was fixed in the Director's Cut, which was made after special effects technology had evolved.
* DarkHorseCasting: Rufus Sewell was cast because audiences were unfamiliar with him, as it's a mystery for the first half whether he should be trusted.
* DuelingMovies: A four-way contest between ''Film/TheMatrix'', ''Film/TheThirteenthFloor'' and ''Film/{{eXistenZ}}''. Although ''The Matrix'' easily won that duel, ''Dark City'' wins second place for its cult following and for its influence on SciFi.
* DyeingForYourArt: The twins who played Mr Sleep, a boy and a girl, were required to shave their heads.
* ExecutiveMeddling:
** ViewersAreMorons, so we have to explain the plot in an OpeningNarration so they don't get confused and scared. Thankfully excised in the Directors Cut (or just mute the sound for the first few minutes). Alex Proyas recalls it being the first time he was told to "dumb it down".
** The movie was given an R rating by the MPAA mostly because it had a "weird" concept (there were a few shots of topless women, but their collective duration is very short). At least that's what they'd have you believe: according to [[Creator/TreyParkerAndMattStone Matt Stone]] and the documentary ''Film/ThisFilmIsNotYetRated'', the MPAA is extremely unkind to independent features and will rate them as anything, whether or not they see fit. Before they were bought by Creator/WarnerBros, Creator/NewLineCinema couldn't even get the MPAA to ''return their phone calls.''
* ExtremelyLengthyCreation: Creator/AlexProyas began writing the script in 1990, shortly before he directed ''Film/TheCrow''. He admits some of the design and city aesthetic ideas were shared between the two projects. After that film was a hit, studios began asking him what he projects he had up his sleeve he wanted to work on.
* FakeAmerican: Creator/RufusSewell (British), Melissa George (Australian), Colin Friels (Scottish-born Australian) and Creator/BruceSpence (New Zealand-Australian) all do very good American accents.
* FlipFlopOfGod: There are two differing opinions between the director Alex Proyas and the co-writer David S Goyer. Proyas believes [[spoiler:the humans are the inhabitants of an interstellar space ship that were abducted by the Strangers]]. Goyer on the other hand believes [[spoiler:they're all actually dead and the city is a sort of purgatory for them]].
* FocusGroupEnding: Test screening audiences were "troubled" by the notion that the entire city wasn't sucked out into space once the Shell City Wall was breached. Thus, a last minute SFX addition of Bumstead and a Stranger drifting through a force field was created.
* NeverWorkWithChildrenOrAnimals: Subverted! Despite apprehensions about the twin children playing Mr Sleep, they were apparently so enthusiastic to work on the film; both were also huge fans of ''Rocky Horror'', and were in awe of working with Richard O'Brien.
* NonSingingVoice: Creator/JenniferConnelly's singing is dubbed in the theatrical version, but her real voice is in the Director's Cut. If you listen to her voice in the director's cut, [[TheCastShowoff she sounds great]], only slightly unpolished and without the vocal training of a proper pro singer. [[spoiler:Which makes perfect sense; Emma Murdoch isn't a professional singer either, this is just the job the Strangers have most recently assigned her.]]
* PropRecycling: Several of the sets from this film were reused in ''Film/TheMatrix'', most recognizably the corrugated rooftops seen during Trinity's run from the cops in the opening, and the staircase with the black-and-white tile floor from the SWAT raid and Morpheus' capture.
* PlayingAgainstType: [[Creator/KieferSutherland Jack Bauer]] as a creepy, limping, and cowardly German scientist.
* ReferencedBy: In the prologue of ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII'', Roxas is confined to the city of Twilight Town, trying to reach the beach from there, just like Murdock is trying to reach Shell Beach. Both characters find it very difficult to reach the beaches they wish to visit, with the reasons being major plot twists. Both towns also feature anomalies like time stopping and mysterious parties in dark coats.
* ShrugOfGod:
** Alex Proyas says of those who suggest the Strangers parallel the Greek Gods manipulating mortals?
---> "I do like Greek mythology and have read a little of it, so maybe some of it has crept into the work, though I don't completely agree with that point of view."
** He also says he prefers to keep it vague why the Strangers really set up the city - beyond "looking for the human soul" - feeling it made for a richer film.
---> “The film was more about the impact they had as a result of that experiment on human beings, so…if it begged for more answers then I always thought that was a good thing.”
* UnbuiltCastingType: In one of his earlier roles, Creator/RufusSewell plays around with his later typecasting as villains - as it's left in doubt whether John Murdock is actually a serial killer. [[spoiler:He's not and he's meant to be implanted with that persona]].
* WhatCouldHaveBeen:
** Dr Schreber was first envisioned as an older man (and Keifer Sutherland assumed it was a mistake when the script was sent to him, thinking it was for [[Creator/DonaldSutherland his father]] instead). They opted to make the character younger to make him more tragic - as he had his whole life ahead of him.
** An early draft of the script would have had Dr. Schreber getting skinned alive during the climax. [[spoiler:The Strangers were also going to win, making for a complete DownerEnding in the process]].
** Another possible term for what the Strangers do was 'the occasion' (which the screenwriter preferred). They went with 'tuning' because it was a more obscure word and therefore sounded more alien.
** Bumstead was the main character in the early draft - which revolved around a 1940s detective who goes insane trying to solve a case where the facts do not make sense. Alex Proyas felt it was better to set it from the perspective of the guy being chased instead. Some of Bumstead's original characterization made it into Walenski in the finished film.
** The first draft of the script by Creator/AlexProyas was vastly different from the finished film. It includes the appearance of the Strangers, the setting of a perennial Dark City, and the fact that John Murdoch is wanted for a series of murders that he does not recall committing. Notable aspects of the initial script include an evil robotic puppy accompanying the Strangers (which would attack savagely with its steel jaws) and a climactic trial for John Murdoch. The reanimated corpses of the victims would testify against Murdoch in the trial, and even John's wife would be a witness.
** Alex Proyas has said that there are some scenes he would have liked to restore in the Director's Cut, but wasn't able to due to lack of resources. He has however said that the most important scenes have all been restored.
* WordOfGod:
** On the DVDCommentary, David S. Goyer reveals two possible explanations for the origin of the inhabitants of Dark City. In his original story outline, Creator/AlexProyas believed the humans to have been passengers aboard an interstellar spaceship which was captured by the Strangers. Goyer favors a more spiritual approach, supposing that the humans are in fact dead and that Dark City is a sort of purgatory made up of people the Strangers have selected or abducted from different eras in history.
** Alex Proyas says that the Strangers didn't get rid of Walenski earlier because he was an additional part of the experiment; to see how he would react, and people would react to him in turn.
