Read more about John Murdoch at: Wikipedia Official Site: New Line Cinema Dark City is a 1998 science fiction film directed by Alex Proyas. It was adapted from a screenplay written by Proyas, David S. Goyer and Lem Dobbs. The film depicts a city in which human inhabitants never see the sun, as their lives are manipulated by extraterrestrials referred to as the "Strangers", who masquerade as humans. The Strangers are committed to studying the race of humanity through experimentation. Rufus Sewell, William Hurt, Kiefer Sutherland, and Jennifer Connelly star in principal roles. Dark City explores the subject matter of murder, as well as abstract ideas such as hallucination and simulated reality. The film was primarily shot in Australia. Following its screening in wide cinematic release, the film was nominated for multiple awards, including the Hugo and Saturn Awards. It also won a number of awards; among them from the Brussels International Festival of Fantasy Film, and the Film Critics Circle of Australia. It was met with generally positive critical reviews from mainstream film journalists. A joint collective effort to commit to the film's production was made by New Line Cinema and Mystery Clock Cinema. It was commercially distributed by New Line Cinema theatrically, and by New Line Home Video for home media. Dark City premiered in theaters in the United States on February 27, 1998 grossing $14,378,331 in domestic ticket receipts. It earned an additional $12,821,985 through international release for a combined box office total of $27,200,316. The film was at its widest release in the U.S. showing at 1,754 theaters nationwide. John Murdoch (Sewell) awakens in a hotel bathtub, suffering from what seems to be amnesia. He receives a telephone call from Dr. Daniel Schreber (Sutherland), who urges him to flee the hotel from a group of men who are after him. During the telephone conversation, John discovers the corpse of a brutalized, ritualistically murdered woman, along with a bloody knife. Murdoch flees the scene, just as the group of men (known as the Strangers) arrive at the room. Eventually he learns his real name, and finds his wife Emma (Connelly). He is also sought by police inspector Frank Bumstead (Hurt) for a series of murders allegedly committed by Murdoch, who cannot remember killing anybody. While being pursued by the Strangers, Murdoch discovers that he has psychokinetic powers like them, and he uses these powers to escape from them. Murdoch moves about the city, which experiences perpetual night; the sun never shines (hence the movie title). He sees people become temporarily coma at midnight, when the Strangers stop time and alter the cityscape, as well as people's identities and memories. Murdoch questions the dark urban environment, and discovers—through clues and interviews with his family—that he was originally from a coastal town called Shell Beach. Attempts at finding a way out of the city to Shell Beach are hindered by lack of reliable information from everyone he meets. Meanwhile, the Strangers, disturbed by the presence of this human who also possesses psychokinetic powers, inject one of their men, Mr. Hand (O'Brien) with Murdoch's memories, in an attempt to find him.
John Murdoch has not been a contender in any CBUB matches.
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John Murdoch
