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For some (and apparently, coincidental) reason, directors love to film Jen on a dock or pier.

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1. There was no opening scroll with Kiefer Sutherland's VO telling you about the aliens and how they had been watching us. The film just put you into the environment. We had no idea of time and place or that any "alien" was watching the human characters. We discovered these things slowly as the film developed. This change had a major impact on the whole film, because without that lame VO and scroll, you have no idea what kind of world the story is taking place in. Is this a comic book world? A period piece? A fantasy? Then when you discovered the answers, it packed a powerful punch. It was hands down one of the biggest Wow's I had at the movies ever.

2. The editing style had completely changed! The film originally played out it's scenes in a more Kubrick like fashion. The version I saw a year later was cut like a Michael Bay movie. I distinctly remember a scene where Jennifer Connelly and Rufus Sewell are having a conversation in a room. Originally, it was a wide master shot and two close ups. The pace was slow, methodical, but never boring. The tone was mysterious and engrossing. Suddenly, in the new version, this scene was harshly edited with 1 - 2 second cuts between the actors. THEY WERE JUST TALKING FOR GOD'S SAKES. Clearly, someone felt the pace was too slow, so they had to SPEED UP the tempo of the scenes. I found it intrusive.

3. The music, like the editing had changed. Now the cut I saw might have had a temp track, but the style was mysterious and outer worldly. The new cut was more pulsating, loud and clangy. Again, it seemed like they were trying to speed things up. Never mind that this loud clangy soundtrack was pounding during mere conversations.

4. In the first cut, the aliens themselves were like little scorpions when they left the humanoid shells. They were a more physical effect. Either stop motion, or puppets. Perhaps they were temporary effects, but they looked much better than the glowy MORTAL KOMBAT video game things that flew out of their bodies in the current version. The original creatures were goopy and real. The later ones were as you remember, a computery looking effect.

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Q. I applaud your recent addition of Alex Proyas' "Dark City" to your Great Movies collection. I saw the film for the first time when I was 14, and it changed my conception of what science fiction films could do. Yet my uncle, a true cinephile, assured me that it was a rehash of the superior "Blade Runner" and would be forgotten in 10 years. It has been seven years since I had that conversation. Has the film left any lasting imprint on the cinema yet in your mind?

Paul Babin, Yarmouthport, Mass.

A. After being missed by many moviegoers in its original release, "Dark City" has become a best-seller on DVD and developed a large and devoted following (see recent discussions at the blog Cinematical.com). Proyas is working on a new director's cut to be released in early 2006; I will expand my commentary from the original DVD to reflect the changes. Tell your uncle the movie stands on its own and is not a rehash of anything -- but that I feel I may have undervalued "Blade Runner." "Dark City" helped me appreciate the values of the earlier film.

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