Darkman (1990)

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

Director:

Sam Raimi

Writers:

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

Stars:

Liam Neeson, Frances McDormand, Colin Friels

2 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

Peyton Westlake is a scientist who has discovered a way to produce synthetic skin. This could revolutionise skin grafting, except for one minor glitch; the synthetic skin degrades after 100 minutes of exposure to light. When gangsters attack Peyton, he is horrifically burnt, and assumed dead. In his quest for revenge, Peyton, aka the Darkman, is able to take on the appearance of anyone (using the synthetic skin,) but he's only got 100 minutes per disguise.

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Plot Keywords:

scientist | revenge | lawyer | mask | sacrifice | 

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Taglines:

Who is Darkman?

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Genres:

Action | Comedy | Crime | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 August 1990 (USA)

Also Known As:

Darkman - Der Mann mit der Gesichtsmaske

Filming Locations:

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

Box Office

Budget:

$16,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$33,878,502 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Renaissance Pictures, Universal Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Ivan Raimi:  alongside John Landis as a doctor in the burn ward.

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Goofs

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.

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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. What's it matter! Just another tough guy, that's all.

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Crazy Credits

The opening credit sequence is full of dark clouds and brief images of Darkman. The second A in the title is shaped like Darkman's silhouette.

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Connections

Referenced in Clerks. (1994)

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Soundtracks

"Give It To Me"
Written and Performed by Judy Valenti

User Reviews

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.