Darkman is a 1990 superhero action film directed by Sam Raimi. It is based on a short story Raimi wrote that paid homage to Universal's horror films of the 1930s. The film stars Liam Neeson as Peyton Westlake, a scientist who is attacked and left for dead by a ruthless mobster, Durant (played by Larry Drake) after his girlfriend, an attorney (played by Frances McDormand) runs afoul of a corrupt developer (played by Colin Friels). Westlake survives, but is left with burns over most of his body. While hospitalized as a comatose John Doe, he is unwittingly subjected to a radical treatment that destroys the nerve endings connected to his skin, neutralizing his ability to sense physical pain but increasing his brain's emotional output to compensate. Now half-crazed, Westlake escapes the hospital and decides to get revenge on the criminals who took his life away, but now as a masked vigilante, known as Darkman.
Unable to secure the rights to either The Shadow or Batman, Raimi decided to create his own superhero and struck a deal with Universal Studios to make his first Hollywood studio film. He was subjected to a grueling screenwriting process and equally difficult post-production battle with the studio.
Darkman was generally well received by critics and performed well at the box office, grossing almost $49 million worldwide, well above its $16 million budget. This financial success spawned two direct-to-video sequels, Darkman II: The Return of Durant and Darkman III: Die, Darkman, Die, as well as numerous comic books, video games and action figures. Over the years, Darkman has become regarded as a cult film.
Plot
Scientist Peyton Westlake (Neeson) is developing a new type of synthetic skin to aid burn victims. He is frustrated with a flaw in the "skin", which causes it to rapidly disintegrate after being exposed to light for 99 minutes; however, it remains intact in darkness. Despite his devotion to the project, he cannot get past this limitation.
Westlake's girlfriend, attorney Julie Hastings (McDormand), comes upon an incriminating document proving that corrupt developer Louis Strack Jr. (Friels) and mobster Robert G. Durant (Drake) have been giving bribes to members of the zoning commission. In search of the document, Durant and his minions attack and injure Westlake, retrieve the document, then blow up his lab. The blast throws Westlake clear of the lab and into the river across from it; he survives but is hideously burned. He is brought to a hospital and subjected to a radical treatment in which the nerves of the spinothalamic tract are cut so as not to feel the pain. Removing this sensory input gives him enhanced strength due to adrenal overload and keeps his injuries from incapacitating him, but it also destabilizes his moods and mental state.
Westlake escapes the hospital and sets out to get revenge on Strack and Durant. He also seeks to re-establish his relationship with Hastings. To hide his scarring and blend into crowds, Westlake rebuilds enough of his equipment to make his synthetic skin, but is still unable to overcome the 99-minute window of integrity. Thus, he can only appear briefly in public as himself (or later as others, whose features he is able to duplicate) in daylight, and otherwise wears bandages and a trenchcoat in his identity as Darkman. He is able to make masks in advance and store them for long periods by keeping them from light sources. He takes the opportunity to observe important people, such as his enemies, so he can masquerade as them.
Westlake eventually succeeds in destroying his enemies but is unable to return to his old life and thus continues his existence as Darkman. Running away from Julie as they leave an elevator, Westlake is seen from behind putting on a mask which, as seen in the final shot of the movie, is the face of Bruce Campbell.
Cast and characters
- Liam Neeson as Peyton Westlake / Darkman: Originally, Raimi's longtime friend and collaborator Bruce Campbell was set to play Darkman/Peyton Westlake, but the studio balked at the idea because they didn't think Campbell could carry the role (Campbell instead appears at the end of the film as "The Final Shemp," a mask that Darkman wears as he disappears into the streets).[1] Gary Oldman and Bill Paxton were also considered to play Darkman before Liam Neeson was cast.[1] For the role, Raimi was looking for someone who could suggest "a monster with the soul of a man, and I needed an actor who could do that beneath a lot of makeup" and liked Neeson's "old Gary Cooper charisma."[2] The actor was drawn to the operatic nature of the story and the inner turmoil of his character.[2] To research for the role, Neeson contacted the Phoenix Society, an organization consisting of people with severe disfigurements to help other accident victims adjust to re-entering society.[2]
- Frances McDormand as Julie Hastings: Raimi had wanted to work with Frances McDormand but the studio resisted this notion and almost cast Julia Roberts before Pretty Woman made her a star.[1] At one point, they wanted Demi Moore for the role.[1] The director even tested Bridget Fonda but felt that she was too young for Neeson.[1]
- Larry Drake as Robert G. Durant: He auditioned for the film and Raimi liked the way he underplayed the character, "quiet and careful, yet intense," the actor remembers.[3] The director had never seen L.A. Law but found that Drake's face reminded him of "a modern day Edward G. Robinson. He looked so mean, so domineering, yet he had this urban wit about him. I thought, 'My God, this guy is not only threatening-looking, he has a good physical presence - what a perfect adversary for the Darkman!'"[3]
- Colin Friels as Louis Strack Jr.: The corrupt and ruthless billionaire developer who runs Strack Industries. He bribes members of the city zoning commission to further his ambitious construction project (which he dubs the "City of the Future"), and employs Durant and his gang to eliminate anyone who gets in his way, even his own wife. He and Darkman have their final battle atop one of Strack's half-finished skyscrapers at the film's climax.
- Nelson Mashita as Yakitito
- Jessie Lawrence Ferguson as Eddie Black
- Rafael H. Robledo as Rudy Guzman
- Ted Raimi as Rick
- Nicholas Worth as Pauly
- Dan Bell as Smiley
- Dan Hicks as Skip
- Bruce Campbell as Peyton's last seen disguise
Development
Origins
For a long time, Sam Raimi had been interested in adapting a comic book into a movie. He had pursued and failed to secure the rights to both The Shadow and Batman and decided to create his own. The initial idea Raimi had for Darkman was of a man who could change his face.[4] He has said that he drew inspiration from those films as well as The Phantom of the Opera and The Elephant Man.[4] Raimi was also inspired by the Universal horror films of the 1930s and 1940s because "they made me fear the hideous nature of the hero and at the same time drew me to him. I went back to that idea of the man who is noble and turns into a monster".[5] He originally wrote a 30-page short story, titled "The Darkman", and then developed into a 40-page treatment. At this point, according to Raimi, "it became the story of a man who had lost his face and had to take on other faces, a man who battled criminals using this power".[4] It also became more of a tragic love story in the tradition of The Hunchback of Notre Dame. In 1987, Raimi submitted the treatment to Universal Pictures which they liked, greenlighted a budget in the range of $8-12 million, and suggested that he get a screenwriter to flesh out the story.
Screenplay
The more the director worked on it, the more Darkman became a crimefighting figure, "a non-superpowered man who, here, is a hideous thing who fights crime. As he became that hideous thing, it became more like The Phantom of the Opera, the creature who wants the girl but who was too much of a beast to have her," Raimi said.[4] The process of developing his treatment into a screenplay was difficult with Raimi hiring ex-Navy SEAL Chuck Pfarrer based on his work on Navy SEALs.[6] He wrote the first draft and then Raimi's brother, Ivan (a doctor), wrote drafts two through four with Sam. Ivan made sure that the medical aspects and scientific elements were authentic as possible given the nature of the story.[7]
As Raimi and his producing partner Robert Tapert progressed through various drafts, they realized that there was a potential franchise on their hands. Universal brought in screenwriting brothers Daniel and Joshua Goldin to work on the script. According to Daniel, they were presented with various drafts and "lots of little story documents. There was just material everywhere; drafts seemed to go in many directions."[4] Goldin said that they "spent a lot of time talking and pulling together a way of making the story work. I think that mostly we talked in terms of the nuts and bolts of the story."[1] The Goldins added new lines of dialogue, new characters and bits of action. The studio still wasn't satisfied so the Raimi brothers wrote drafts six through twelve before they had a shooting script.[7] For Raimi, he wanted to emphasize Peyton/Darkman's arc over the course of the film. He said, "I decided to explore a man's soul. In the beginning, a sympathetic, sincere man. In the middle, a vengeful man committing heinous acts against his enemies. And in the end, a man full of self-hatred for what he's become, who must drift off into the night, into a world apart from everyone he knows and all the things he loves."[7]
Pre-production
Working with Universal meant a significant increase in budget for Raimi. This allowed him to design and build a laboratory set for Darkman and afford helicopters and professional stuntmen to film the climactic helicopter chase through the city.[8] He was eventually given $16 million to work with, including a longer schedule and much more effects work.
Look-wise, the filmmaker was interested in paying homage to Universal horror films of the 1930s. Production designer Randy Ser remarked, "if you look at Darkman's lab that he moves into, which is an old warehouse, what was on my mind was Dr. Frankenstein. There were a number of references visually to what we were thinking about in regards to those films."[1]
McDormand and Neeson worked closely in rehearsals, rewriting the three love scenes they had together after he becomes Darkman. They got through these scenes, according to the actress, by depending on "each other's knowledge, of theater and each other."[2]
Principal photography
Reportedly, McDormand and Raimi were not always on the same page while making the movie. The filmmaker said that directing her was "very difficult".[9] Raimi said, "apparently I didn't know Fran as well as I thought I did ... The reason it was difficult was that our conception of the best movie to make differed, arguing in trying to make the best picture possible. We did come across disagreements, but they were very healthy."[9]
Durant's finger collection developed over the Pfarrer and Raimi brothers drafts. The director wanted a specific trademark for the character - one that hinted at a military background.[3]
Liam Neeson worked in ten-piece makeup, sometimes for 18 hours.[5] He saw the lengthy time spent in extensive makeup as a challenge and liked "the idea of working behind a mask on camera, and just exploring the possibilities of what that entailed."[2] He and the makeup artists did tests using certain glues and resins. They also timed how fast they could put the makeup and costume on. Neeson worked with the costume designer on his outfit, including aspects like the cloak.[2] The hardest part for the actor was speaking with false teeth and he ended up doing "a lot of work on my voice - I didn't want the [false teeth] to move at all."[2]
Editing
Raimi and Tapert ran into conflicts with the studio during post-production. Early preview screenings did not go well as people laughed in the wrong places and complained about a lack of a happy ending.[10] Then, two preview screenings, one with Danny Elfman's score, went well. Tapert remembers, "the experience on Darkman was very difficult for Sam and me; it isn’t the picture we thought it should be, based on the footage we shot and all that. The studio got nervous about some kind of wild things in it, and made us take them out, which was unfortunate."[1]
Soundtrack
Danny Elfman said of his score, "Again old-fashioned and melodramatic, but in a way that I'm crazy about. Sam Raimi has a wonderful visual style that lends itself easily to music. It was an enormous relief writing long, extended musical sequences, something which is very rare in modern films. No reason to hold back on this one."[11]
Track listing
- "Main Titles" 1:37
- "Woe, the Darkman...Woe!" 6:09
- "Rebuilding/Failure" 3:16
- "Love Theme" 0:56
- "Julie Transforms" 1:11
- "Rage/Peppy Science" 1:37
- "Creating Pauley" 3:19
- "Double Durante" 1:50
- "The Plot Unfolds (Dancing Freak)" 7:01
- "Carnival from Hell" 3:16
- "Julie Discovers Darkman" 1:59
- "High Steel" 4:19
- "Finale/End Credits" 3:39
Reaction
Ads asking "Who is Darkman?" began appearing on bus benches, public transit and television as early as June 1990. Universal Vice-President of Media Vic Fondrk said that the studio did not want to spend much money promoting the film in advance, "but we wanted to create some intrigue for the Darkman character."[12] On its opening weekend, Darkman grossed a total of $8 million in 1,786 theaters. To date, the film has grossed a total of $48.8 million worldwide.[13]
Reviews
The film enjoyed generally favorable reviews. Los Angeles Times film critic Michael Wilmington felt that Darkman was the only movie at the time "that successfully captures the graphic look, rhythm and style of the superhero books."[1] Terrence Rafferty of The New Yorker said, "Raimi works from inside the cheerfully violent adolescent-male sensibility of superhero comics, as if there were no higher style for a filmmaker to aspire to, and the absence of condescension is refreshing."[1] USA Today gave the film three out of four stars.[14] However, Richard Corliss in Time said that Raimi wasn’t "effective with actors" and People’s Ralph Novak called Darkman, a "loud, sadistic, stupidly written, wretchedly acted film."[1] Entertainment Weekly gave the film a "B" rating and Owen Gleiberman wrote, "The movie is full of jaunty, Grand Guignol touches (the main gangster enjoys snapping and collecting fingers), but Raimi's images also have a spectral, kinetic beauty".[15] In his review for the Washington Post, Joe Brown wrote, "Though Raimi seems to be trying to restrain himself, his giddily sick sense of humor still pops out all over the place - Darkman is a frenetic funhouse ride that has you laughing and screaming at the same time".[16] Darkman was singled out for notice by comic-book writer Peter David in the Comics Buyers Guide as "The Perfect Super-Hero Film of All Time," although this assessment was based upon other features of the film than general quality.[17] Darkman is now generally regarded as a cult film.[18]
Sequels
Darkman II: The Return of Durant
In this 1994 direct-to-video sequel, Scientist Peyton Westlake (now played by Arnold Vosloo) continues to work on his synthetic skin, whilst fighting crime as Darkman.
Despite looking as if he had been killed in the first movie, Robert G. Durant survived and was in fact comatose in the time since the helicopter explosion that occurred during the first film's climax, and returns to take over organized crime in the city with semi-automatic particle beam weapons being made by an inmate named Alfred Hathaway.
Trying to perfect his synthetic skin with the assistance of Dr. David Brinkman (Jesse Collins), Durant turns up, wanting Brinkman's building. In a scene reminiscent of the first movie, Brinkman is tortured and killed, leaving the work in ruins. It is up to Darkman once again to disguise himself as members of Durant's gang and he ultimately manages to destroy them from within.
When Westlake is infiltrating Durant's gang, reporter Jill Randall (Kim Delaney) discovers that Peyton Westlake is still alive while trying to prove that the facts and actions of Durant's gang show that Durant is back in business.
Darkman III: Die, Darkman, Die
In the second direct-to-video Darkman sequel, released in 1996, Peyton Westlake (again played by Vosloo) steals a bag of money from drug lord Peter Rooker (Jeff Fahey) to continue his research. Rooker is determined to find out how Darkman has his superior strength, and enlists the aid of Dr. Bridget Thorne (Darlanne Fluegel), a new character retroactively put into Darkman's origin as one of the doctors who first treated Westlake's body after he was burnt in the first movie. Obtaining a sample of Westlake's adrenaline, Dr. Thorne develops a designer steroid which enhances a person's strength at the cost of their mental agility. It is also revealed that Rooker funded her research which allowed her to develop the treatment used on Darkman in the first movie.
Learning of what has happened, Darkman plans his revenge against Rooker by impersonating him while in the company of his family and colleagues in order to bring him down. It is up to Darkman to destroy the formula to the steroid and seek vengeance against Rooker, but not at the cost of Rooker's wife and child. Darkman does create a stable synthetic skin but uses the only sample to fix the damage done to Rookers daughter.
This film shifts some of the focus from action to drama, during Peyton's scenes with Rooker's wife (played by Roxann Biggs-Dawson) and his child, reminding him of how life could have been for him.
Darkman III: Die, Darkman, Die was originally intended to be the first sequel to the original Darkman, but when Larry Drake became available to reprise his role of Durant, this entry was moved back until Darkman II: The Return of Durant had been finished and released.
Unaired television pilot
Universal Television financed a 30-minute television pilot based on Darkman, which was made sometime in 1992 and was to be shown on Fox.[19] The pilot retold the origin of the character (with some alterations) and introduced several new characters. Christopher Bowen starred in the role of Peyton Westlake/Darkman, Larry Drake reprised his role of Robert G. Durant, and Kathleen York played the cop, Jenny.
The origin is similar to the one in the original film as Peyton discovers his synthetic skin, is attacked and left for dead by Durant and his gang. In this version, however, Peyton is already married to Julie, and she is killed in the explosion. As in the films, Westlake becomes the Darkman, and seeks vengeance on Durant and his gang. Darkman's headquarters are based in an abandoned observatory overlooking the city, and he is wanted by the police for his actions against Durant's gang. The pilot ends with some scenes from the first movie (particularly of Darkman and Durant fighting) and Darkman stating that Justice will answer with a brand new face.
DVD
On August 7, 2007, all three Darkman films were released in a box set by Universal Home Video. Each is presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen, along with an English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround track.[20] No extra material was included. The high definition version of Darkman was released on HD DVD July 31, 2007.
Merchandising
Darkman has been the subject of two Marvel Comics series (one a movie adaptation, the other an original sequel), numerous novels, as well as a video game published by Ocean Software, Darkman (1991). Merchandising for the character all but disappeared for close to a decade until SOTA Toys obtained the rights to make a Darkman action figure. SOTA president Jerry Macaluso was interviewed by Dread Central:
"This leads to an interesting story on Darkman. Universal didn't know they owned the merchandise rights. It didn't show up on any of their merchandise sheets. I had to convince them to spend a little time and have their lawyers look into it. I knew at the time that film was made Sam (Raimi) didn't have the power to retain those rights so it HAD to be Universal even though they said they didn't have them. Turns out I was right and afterwards Darkman started to show up in all their catalogs of films available to license..."[21]
In 2005, SOTA produced two versions of their Darkman action figure (including interchangeable head and hands to allow the figure to be either bandaged or revealing his scarred visage), as well as a Darkman statue.
Dynamite Entertainment announced in 2006 that it had reached an agreement with Universal Studios Consumer Products Group to produce original comics based on Darkman.[citation needed] A bimonthly limited series entitled Darkman vs. Army of Darkness was published from August 2006 to March 2007.[citation needed] A regular solo series will follow in December 2007.[citation needed]
In November 2007, Sideshow Collectibles put up for pre-order a 1/4" scale "Premium" Format Figure version of Darkman that would be released 3rd Quarter 2008.
Comics
With the movie’s release in 1990, Marvel Comics published a 3 issue adaptation of Darkman in color along with a larger black and white magazine size adaptation consisting of all three issues. In 1993, Darkman returned in a 6 issue mini-series also published by Marvel Comics. In 2006, Dynamite Entertainment published a cross over that pitted Darkman against Sam Raimi’s popular Army of Darkness franchise.
Novels
Along with the movie’s release in 1990, Jove Books published the novel adaptation written by Randall Boyll. In 1994, Boyll returned to expanding upon the adventures of Darkman in a four novel miniseries from Pocket Books. Aside from the movie’s original script writers, Boyll has to be the one author with the most experience and insight with Darkman and his unique and unfortunate circumstances. Over Pocket Books’ four novels (The Hangman, The Price of Fear, The Gods of Hell, and In the Face of Death) Boyll further develops Darkman’s character and how he deals with his new existence as an outcast individual with the ability to help others.
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Muir, John Kenneth (May 2004). "The Unseen Force: The Films of Sam Raimi". Applause Books.
- ^ a b c d e f g Counts, Kyle (December 1990). "Heart of Darkness". Starlog.
- ^ a b c Counts, Kyle (January 1991). "Black Heart". Starlog.
- ^ a b c d e Warren, Bill (January 15, 2001). "The Evil Dead Companion". St. Martin's Griffin.
- ^ a b Johnston, Sheila (November 9, 1990). "Beauty Within the Beast". The Independent.
- ^ Italie, Hillel (September 12, 1990). "Beauties, Beasts and 'Biff!' 'Bam!' 'Pow!'". Associated Press.
- ^ a b c Stanley, John (August 26, 1990). "Darkman Brings Director's Talent to Light". San Francisco Chronicle.
- ^ Portman, Jamie (August 16, 1990). "Horror can be a labor of love". Toronto Star.
- ^ a b Warren, Bill (September 1990). "The Man Behind Darkman". Fangoria.
- ^ Arnold, Gary (August 23, 1990). "Sam Raimi's Flair Makes Darkman A Reel Delight". Washington Times.
- ^ "Darkman". Danny Elfman's Music for A Darkened People. http://elfman.filmmusic.com/filmography/darkman.html. Retrieved 2007-08-07.
- ^ Magiera, Marcy (August 20, 1990). "Studio to tease Misery". Advertising Age.
- ^ "Darkman". Box Office Mojo. May 23, 2007. http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=darkman.htm. Retrieved 2007-05-23.
- ^ Clark, Mike (August 24, 1990). "Darkman conjures up a thriller". USA Today.
- ^ Gleiberman, Owen (August 24, 1990). "Darkman". Entertainment Weekly. http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,318002,00.html. Retrieved 2009-07-07.
- ^ Brown, Joe (August 24, 1990). "Darkman". Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/movies/videos/darkmanrbrown_a0adc0.htm. Retrieved 2009-07-07.
- ^ David, Peter (October 5, 1990). "The Perfect Super-Hero Film of All Time". Comic Buyers Guide. http://peterdavid.malibulist.com/archives/001287.html. Retrieved 2007-11-08.
- ^ Tobias, Scott (July 2, 2009). "Darkman". The Onion A.V. Club. http://www.avclub.com/articles/darkman,29912/. Retrieved 2009-07-07.
- ^ Donlon, Brian (March 26, 1992). "Networks brim with series possibilities". USA Today.
- ^ Woodward, Tom (May 22, 2007). "The Darkman Trilogy". DVDActive. http://www.dvdactive.com/news/releases/the-darkman-trilogy.html. Retrieved 2007-05-23.
- ^ Butane, Johnny (January 22, 2005). "Macaluso, Jerry (SOTA Toys)". Dread Central.com. http://www.dreadcentral.com/index.php?name=Interviews&req=showcontent&id=63. Retrieved 2007-12-11.
External links
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