Darkman (1990)

Director:

Sam Raimi

Writers (WGA):

Sam Raimi (story)
Chuck Pfarrer (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

24 August 1990 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

Now, Crime Has a New Enemy, And Justice Has a New Face!

Plot:

A hideously scarred and mentally unstable scientist seeks revenge against the crooks who made him like that.

Plot Keywords:

Scientist | Revenge | Mask | Lawyer | Body Landing On Car

Awards:

2 wins & 6 nominations

Cast

Liam Neeson	...	Peyton Westlake / Darkman
Frances McDormand	...	Julie Hastings
Colin Friels	...	Louis Strack Jr.
Larry Drake	...	Robert G. Durant
Nelson Mashita	...	Yakitito
Jessie Lawrence Ferguson	...	Eddie Black
Rafael H. Robledo	...	Rudy Guzman
Dan Hicks	...	Skip (as Danny Hicks)
Ted Raimi	...	Rick (as Theodore Raimi)
Dan Bell	...	Smiley
Nicholas Worth	...	Pauly
Aaron Lustig	...	Martin Katz
Arsenio 'Sonny' Trinidad	...	Hung Fat
Said Faraj	...	Convenience Store Clerk
Nathan Jung	...	Chinese Warrior

Runtime:

96 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Canada:14A (Ontario) | Portugal:M/16 | Germany:18 | UK:18 (re-rating) (cut) | Finland:K-15 (uncut) (DVD rating) | Finland:K-16 (cut) (VHS version) | France:-12 | South Korea:18 | Australia:M | Finland:K-18 | Norway:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 (original rating) (cut) | USA:R | Singapore:PG | Germany:BPjM Restricted

Filming Locations:

3rd Street Tunnel, Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Renaissance Pictures

Trivia:

Cameo: [Jenny Agutter]

Goofs:

Factual errors: Westlake is viewing the synthetic skin cells with a light microscope, so when the power goes out in the lab the cells would no longer have been visible. Even if the laboratory lights were off to begin with, the cells would have failed to remain stable due to the fact that the microscope operates by the refraction of light through the sample.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Eddie Black: [on phone] 'Cause he's an asshole! Tell him no. Tell him no, too. Him, tell "fuck you." No, I'm gonna be here a minute. Got some guy coming up who thinks he's gonna muscle me out of my property. Just another tough guy, that's all.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Humanoids from Atlantis (1992)

Soundtrack:

Give It To Me

A Great Action Film That Works Because of the Characters

"Darkman" is one of those action films that succeeds because the characters remain the primary focus throughout. Scientist Liam Neeson has been disfigured in an explosion. However, he returns with the ability to produce 99-minute masks. Now he is going out and eliminating those who almost killed him. Frances McDormand is excellent as Neeson's love-interest and Larry Drake makes a great bad guy. The direction is solid and the screenplay is surprisingly smart. 4 stars out of 5.