Darkman (1990)

A brilliant scientist left for dead returns to exact revenge on the people who burned him alive.

Director:

Sam Raimi

Writers:

Sam Raimi (story), Chuck Pfarrer (screenplay)

Stars:

Liam Neeson, Frances McDormand, Colin Friels

3 wins & 8 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 only has 100 minutes per disguise.

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Plot Keywords:

scientist | mask | cat | helicopter | revenge | 

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Taglines:

They destroyed everything he had, everything he was. Now, crime has a new enemy and justice has a new face.

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Genres:

Action | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, close friends of Sam Raimi, did some uncredited doctoring on the finished script.

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Goofs

When Darkman is hanging under the helicopter and is flying just above the street, the camera pans left and you can see the shadow of the crane on which he is hanging.

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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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Alternate Versions

European DVD releases were all based on the cut UK version because Universal wanted to use just one master for everybody.

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Connections

Featured in WatchMojo: Top 10 Movies You'll Like if You Liked Deadpool (2017)

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Soundtracks

Give It To Me
Written and Performed by Judy Valenti

User Reviews

A movie that had no audience

At the time Darkman was an oddity. It was an R rated film in the superhero genre (dominated at the time by Batman) which was for kids/families. Along comes Sam Rami to make an "adult" superhero movie with horror overtones. Those of us who knew Rami was involved checked it out and at the time, I wanted it to have MORE horror and less superhero. At this point I can appreciate it for what it is and its a solid superhero movie that would fit much better today than it did at the time bc the adult audience for this genre exists today. Its a very ambitious movie for the time. Still a solid watch. The fx are adequate and the characters are top notch. The bad guys are hissable and the humor is amusing. The plot is clever and the violence and fx are solid. This is a movie worthy of rediscovery.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 August 1990 (USA)

Also Known As:

Darkman

Filming Locations:

Lower Bay Station, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$14,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$8,054,860, 26 August 1990

Gross USA:

$33,878,502

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$48,878,502

Company Credits

Production Co:

Renaissance Pictures, Universal Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1