Cypher 4K 2002 Ultra HD 2160p

Morgan Sullivan, tired of his boring life and unloving wife, eagerly agrees to spy for the powerful corporation Digicorp. He is given a new name and a simple task: to use a secret device to transmit the speeches of competitors at conventions across the country. Despite the onset of migraines and a strange pain in the back of his head, Morgan enjoys his new, secret life, but a chance encounter with the mysterious Rita fills him with fear and suspicion. According to Rita, the boring meetings are just a cover for the sinister operations of Digicorp, which turns its “spies” into obedient puppets who have lost their “selves.” She gives him an injection and asks him not to react to what he sees at the next convention...

User Review

It is true, as the saying goes, that if a person is talented, sooner or later they will make their mark with their talent. This conclusion, proven over the years, can be safely applied to a person like Vincenzo Natali. Despite his name, he was born in the City of Rock, Detroit, and began his film career with the auteur film Cube. No one expected that this blend of science fiction and thriller would become a cult film born in the depths of the B-movie category. It would seem that such success should not have gone unnoticed by the bigwigs in the film business, but Vincenzo Natali was passed over, not trusted with big-budget projects. But as we can see, Natali didn't dwell on this for long and quickly proved everyone wrong when he released the $7.5 million film Cypher, which wasn't heavily advertised but still gathered an audience before its premiere and then expanded it significantly.

Cypher was shot in the style of Cuba, with extensive use of darkened frames that lend an air of mystery and danger to the atmosphere of the film, which is instantly conveyed to the viewer from the screen. The film's cinematographer, Derek Rogers, deserves praise for this skillful work. He also worked on ‘Cuba’ and was later invited to work on films such as ‘The French Connection’, where he worked with a whole host of famous actors, and the second part of the famous ‘Resident Evil’. Somehow, he got his due, but Vincenzo Natali did not, although his participation in the film anthology Paris, Je T'Aime should have sweetened the bitter pill. Let's return to Cypher. The film is set in the near future, when intercontinental corporations have come to rule the planet almost entirely, and industrial espionage has become a source of income on a par with the most criminal activities: arms, drug, and human trafficking. And if the beginning seems a bit dull, don't rush to rewind, because every word and every scene in ‘Cypher’ holds the key to its mystery.

Screenwriter Brian King wrote a script that keeps you discovering something new until the very last frames, as you follow the situation in which the main character, Morgan Sullivan, played by British actor Jeremy Northam, finds himself. Incidentally, Morgan Sullivan could have fallen prey to personality disorder because, having embarked on the difficult and risky path of industrial espionage, he, like us, the audience, begins to forget who he really is and who he is becoming. In this case, it is worth noting that it seems that both Vincenzo Natali and Brian King did their work as an homage to Terry Gilliam's film Brazil, which in turn was inspired by the oldest science fiction film of all time, Metropolis. And Nattali and King did not in any way spoil their more cult (if I may say so) colleagues in the phantasmagoria of our future days. Of course, some viewers may be frankly annoyed by the fact that they do not understand certain parts of the film. In this case, it is necessary to remain calm: each scene is like a piece of a large mosaic that will inevitably come together as a whole, and all the answers will be revealed in the finale. It must be said that many will be surprised by the revelation of the main mystery of what is happening, and will agree that everything fits within the framework of the logic of events.

Actor Jeremy Northam is not a big star and is unlikely to have a large army of fans, but for his role as Morgan Sullivan (or whatever his real name is, right?), he received the Grand Prix for Best Actor at the 2002 Sitges Film Festival. Could he have earned more awards and prizes? Perhaps, if Cypher itself weren't such a clever, well-thought-out, and cunning film with no time for pauses. Not everyone likes such overly intellectual and mysterious films, and not all film festivals accept this format. In general, the main thing is that Jeremy Northam played the role convincingly, and it was clear that he approached the script with great attention, otherwise his character would not have looked so convincing in such a confusing film, which speaks to the actor's professionalism. Lucy Liu, with her character Rita Foster, remained a complete mystery for a long time. It was unclear what this girl was trying to achieve and what goals she was pursuing, but again, wait for the finale and everything will fall into place and the puzzle will come together. And then there is someone named Sebastian Rooks, who hovers like an invisible but significant shadow. This character is worth learning about if you decide to watch Cypher.

Info Video

Codec: HEVC / H.265 (75.0 Mb/s)
Resolution: Native 4K (2160p)
HDR: Dolby Vision, HDR10
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1

Info Audio

#English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
#German: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)

Info Subtitles