The defence The Big-Idea Head
“Form is the argument.”
Every composed frame and deliberate cut is evidence that control can be thrilling in its own right.
Back to trending 
Dark City
Drama · Thriller · Crime · 1950
Gamblers who "took" an out-of-town sucker in a crooked poker game feel shadowy vengeance closing in on them.
Movie details
Dark City
“A tense, tough drama of underworld violence and revenge !”
1950 Drama · Thriller · Crime 1h 38m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
6.5 / 10
Community rating
Gamblers who "took" an out-of-town sucker in a crooked poker game feel shadowy vengeance closing in on them.
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over Dark City?
For the defence
The Big-Idea Head
“You watch with your brain, not your gut.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Popcorn Loyalist
“Big screen, big feelings, no apologies.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
House of Games
Crime · 1987
A psychiatrist comes to the aid of a compulsive gambler and is led by a smooth-talking grifter into the shadowy but compelling world of stings, scams, and con men.
Sexy Beast
Crime · 2001
Ex-safecracker Gal Dove has served his time behind bars and is blissfully retired to a Spanish villa paradise with a wife he adores. The idyll is shattered by the arrival of his nemesis Don Logan, intent on persuading Gal to return to London for one last big job.
Nightmare Alley
Crime · 2021
An ambitious carnival man with a talent for manipulating people with a few well-chosen words hooks up with a female psychologist who is even more dangerous than he is.
The Air I Breathe
Drama · 2007
A gambler’s bet spiraling into chaos, a gangster's prophetic visions, a pop star’s dark entanglement, a doctor’s desperate race against time to rescue his beloved... Four interconnected stories reveal life unfolding through four emotional pillars — joy, passion, grief, and love.
Miller's Crossing
Drama · 1990
Set in 1929, a political boss and his advisor have a parting of the ways when they both fall for the same woman.
The Killing
Crime · 1956
Career criminal Johnny Clay recruits a sharpshooter, a crooked police officer, a bartender and a betting teller named George, among others, for one last job before he goes straight and gets married. But when George tells his restless wife about the scheme to steal millions from the racetrack where he works, she hatches a plot of her own.
L.A. Confidential
Crime · 1997
Three detectives in the corrupt and brutal L.A. police force of the 1950s use differing methods to uncover a conspiracy behind the shotgun slayings of the patrons at an all-night diner.
Casino
Crime · 1995
In Las Vegas, two best friends--a casino executive and a Mafia enforcer--compete for a gambling empire and a fast-living, fast-loving socialite.
The Big Sleep
Mystery · 1946
Private Investigator Philip Marlowe is hired by wealthy General Sternwood regarding a matter involving his youngest daughter Carmen. Before the complex case is over, Marlowe sees murder, blackmail, deception, and what might be love.
Blue Velvet
Mystery · 1986
The discovery of a severed human ear found in a field leads a young man on an investigation related to a beautiful, mysterious nightclub singer and a group of psychopathic criminals who have kidnapped her child.
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
William Dieterle
Written by
Lawrence B. Marcus · John Meredyth Lucas
Charlton Heston
Danny Haley
Lizabeth Scott
Fran Garland
Viveca Lindfors
Victoria Winant
Dean Jagger
Captain Garvey
Don DeFore
Arthur Winant
Jack Webb
Augie
Ed Begley
Barney
Court is in session
Put Dark City on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist
“Technique in search of a pulse.”
Immaculate construction is still construction. The film may be too busy proving its craft to feel alive.