The Matrix vs Dark City

[lisa needs braces]

These two films are very similar in terms of plot. "Dark City" was released in 1998, and "The Matrix" came out a year later. Additionally, they were produced by the same company and "The Matrix" used some of the same sets from "Dark City."

I was always suspicious of "The Matrix" as I thought its writers ripped of "Dark City," but I found a script for "The Matrix" and supposedly it was written in 1996. So it could all be a coincidence.

This link explains in detail the eerie similarities between these two films:

http://www.retrojunk.com/details_articles/540/

If you've seen both, which do you prefer? 

[DavidW]

There were two virtual reality movies around that time that are closer to the Matrix than Dark City.  The Thirteenth Floor and Existenz.  The similarities between Dark City and The Matrix imo superficial, they are fundamentally different.

[lisa needs braces]

There were two virtual reality movies around that time that are closer to the Matrix than Dark City.  The Thirteenth Floor and Existenz.  The similarities between Dark City and The Matrix imo superficial, they are fundamentally different.

The basic plots are awfully similar though.

This reminds of the issue with Tarantino's "Reservoir Dogs." Tarantino pretty much lifted a lot of the plot from an 80s Hong Kong film, yet raising the similarities makes some fans of Tarantino angry.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7HgbSAL8OKY


In what way do see Dark City and The Matrix as fundamentally different?

[DavidW]

Tarantino is paying hommage to older movies, it's not a case of rip off with him imo.

The Matrix questions the nature of reality and how we perceive it.

Dark City questions the nature of humanity and if it can be reduced to a function of biology and memories.

And the plots look the same since they are clearly modeled after Campbell's hero mythos.

[lisa needs braces]

Tarantino is paying hommage to older movies, it's not a case of rip off with him imo.

I should say, I don't think there's anything wrong with Tarantino borrowing story threads from an older film and making a masterpiece. Still, he was pretty inconsistent as to whether or not he did in fact borrow from that film. In 1996 when the issue was raised apparently Tarantino claimed that he had never seen "City on Fire."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZKgptV4GmQ&feature=related

(for the MTV news segment...though the rest is worth watching as well to see that Tarantino borrows unabashedly   )

And I think the whole "there are only seven stories" theory is only trivially true (same with Cambell's theories). Perhaps speaking as broadly as possible we might be able to categorize many films and stories under seven basic plots but I think that's essentially meaningless.

Dark City questions the nature of humanity and if it can be reduced to a function of biology and memories.

There's a thematic difference certainly. However, the plots are essentially the same: in both, humans are duped by non-human beings into believing that the artificial world around them is real and one hero (with the power of the non-human beings) rises up to save humanity.

[DavidW]

I should say, I don't think there's anything wrong with Tarantino borrowing story threads from an older film and making a masterpiece. Still, he was pretty inconsistent as to whether or not he did in fact borrow from that film. In 1996 when the issue was raised apparently Tarantino claimed that he had never seen "City on Fire."

Oh I didn't know about that, not deliberate hommage then.

And I think the whole "there are only seven stories" theory is only trivially true (same with Cambell's theories). Perhaps speaking as broadly as possible we might be able to categorize many films and stories under seven basic plots but I think that's essentially meaningless.

That's great but I never mentioned that theory, nor have I ever heard of it.

There's a thematic difference certainly. However, the plots are essentially the same: in both, humans are duped by non-human beings into believing that the artificial world around them is real and one hero (with the power of the non-human beings) rises up to save humanity.

That's a stretch, Dark City does not have an artificial world, the world is real.  What is manipulated are their memories of the past.  The hero rising up to save humanity from the oppressors falls into the Campbell hero myth, that's what I was talking about.

If you want movies closer to the Matrix, watch those two movies I mentioned they were released around the same time and were made independently neither one really influenced by the other.

[Dr. Dread]

Blah vs. Meh