Sin City

Sin City
by Jaime King, Michael Madsen, Brittany Murphy

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DVD Cover Information

Actor: Alexis Bledel, Devon Aoki, Frank Miller (II), Jessica Alba, Robert Rodriguez
Director: Brittany Murphy, Jaime King, Michael Madsen
Brand: WILLIS,BRUCE
Writer: Jaime King
Producer: Clive Owen
Producer: Mickey Rourke
Producer: Nick Stahl
Producer: Bruce Willis
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1; Spanish (Subtitled); French (Dubbed), Unknown
Format: AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, Dubbed, DVD-Video, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 124 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2005-08-16
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: Dimension

Movie Reviews of Sin City

Movie Review: A great film gets a long-overdue Blu-Ray release
Summary: 5 Stars

This review is for the Blu-Ray edition.

Sin City is directed by Robert Rodriguez, with guest director Quentin Tarantino. The film is based on the graphic novel series by Frank Miller. Sin City stars Bruce Willis, Mickey Rourke, Clive Owen, Jessica Alba, Benicio del Toro, Brittany Murphy, Elijah Wood, Rosario Dawson, Jaime King, Michael Clarke Duncan, Alexis Bledel, Powers Boothe, Michael Madsen, Josh Hartnett, Devon Aoki, Carla Gugino, Rutger Hauer, and Marley Shelton. Music is composed by Graeme Revell and John Debney.

Sin City is a film adaptation of the graphic novel series created by Frank Miller, which appeared in its earliest incarnation in 1991. The film is set in Basin City, a place overrun with crime and less-than-favorable individuals. The police force is just as corrupt as the criminals. The film is actually multiple stories set in the same city, with intertwining themes and characters. There are three main stories - one follows an aging police officer (one of the few uncorrupted ones) and his efforts to prevent a child murderer from striking. One follows a hideous man's efforts to avenge the murder of a call girl who had recently paid him a visit. And the other follows a degenerate section of the city where prostitutes are in charge, and are struggling to maintain control.

Sin City is unlike any comic book/graphic novel adaptation that ever came before. And I mean that as the ultimate form of praise. This is a movie based on a graphic novel that actually LOOKS like a graphic novel. The stylized tone of the film, combined with a noir feel, gorgeous imagery, an all-star cast, and violence that makes most comic book adaptations look like kiddie movies.

The look and feel of the film are the greatest strengths. The film itself is primarily in black and white, albeit with certain elements colored for stylistic purposes (blood, certain characters' eyes, etc.) when necessary. Despite being filled with action, the film also borrows elements from the largely-extinct film noir genre. The result is something that looks and feels like no other movie ever made. Sin City stands on a plain all its own. It's rare you get a movie that has style AND substance to its name, but Sin City is one of the few.

Also worth mentioning is the all-star cast. I must say, I was AMAZED at how many big names have been brought into a single movie. And perhaps even more amazing is that everyone of them gives a great performance. Stand-outs include Bruce Willis as an aging, incorruptible cop and Mickey Rourke as a hideous man out for revenge. There's not a weak performance in this movie, though I wish some characters had more screen time and development. Michael Clarke Duncan is a great actor, but he hardly gets to be in the movie at all, for instance.

A word of warning for any prospective viewers - this movie is violent. EXTREMELY violent. If you're at all squeamish, this movie is NOT for you. In many ways I'm surprised this movie got away with an R rating, and not an NC-17. Sin City is gory, like no other graphic novel/comic book adaptation. You have been warned. Sin City is a product that has no equal. It looks and feels like a comic, and it has the all-star cast to back it up. It's a movie that words can't fully describe, and one that must be experienced to be appreciated. One of the most faithful adaptations of a graphic novel ever put on the big screen, and perhaps more importantly, one of the finest.

As for image and sound, WOW. The incredible look of this film translates beautifully to the world of high-definition movie viewing. The image doesn't contain any pops, hisses, or negative distortion. Detail is incredible, and the color scheme translates well to the format. This is the way Sin City was meant to be experienced. It looked good on DVD, no questions asked, but this presentation kicks it up more than a few notches. Lossless audio only sweetens the deal, and this disc takes full advantage of it. Long story short, this is one of the best-looking AND best-sounding Blu-Ray discs this reviewer has ever laid eyes upon. No fan of the film will be disappointed with its presentation here.

Unlike the bare-bones Canadian release (which was region-free) that came out on Blu last year with only the theatrical cut, this American release actually contains both cuts of the movies and some intriguing supplements. Both cuts of the movie are present , including the better-known theatrical cut, and an extended cut that exhibits each segment as its own individual presentation, with plenty of extra footage. The first disc contains the theatrical cut. Two commentary tracks are present as well (One Rodriguez and Miller, and one Rodriguez and Tarantino), as well as a track from the movie's theatrical premier (these things seem to be a standard on Rodriguez's discs.) Disc two has the extended version, an interactive game that would be only possible on Blu-Ray, and a whole slew of featurettes. Every aspect of the filmmaking process is detailed here, with cast and crew alike showing up for the content. Even if you already bought the Canadian bare-bones Blu-Ray release, you'll want to score this edition of the film. Having both cuts in one place and a ton of bonus content make this the definitive HD release of the movie.

Sin City stands on its own as a graphic novel adapted for film. It has no equal, nothing else looks like, feels like, or sounds like it. With a feel all its own and an all-star cast, what's not to love? This disc gets my highest recommendation - but it's NOT for the squeamish.

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Summary of Sin City

Sin city is infested with criminals crooked cops & sexy dames: some searching for vengeance some for redemption and others both. Studio: Buena Vista Home Video Release Date: 09/01/2006 Starring: Bruce Willis Mickey Rourke Run time: 126 minutes Rating: R Director: Frank Miller

Brutal and breathtaking, Sin City is Robert Rodriguez's stunningly realized vision of Frank Miller's pulpy comic books. In the first of three separate but loosely related stories, Marv (Mickey Rourke in heavy makeup) tries to track down the killers of a woman who ended up dead in his bed. In the second story, Dwight's (Clive Owen) attempt to defend a woman from a brutal abuser goes horribly wrong, and threatens to destroy the uneasy truce among the police, the mob, and the women of Old Town. Finally, an aging cop on his last day on the job (Bruce Willis) rescues a young girl from a kidnapper, but is himself thrown in jail. Years later, he has a chance to save her again.

Read our interview with Frank Miller.

Based on three of Miller's immensely popular and immensely gritty books (The Hard Goodbye, The Big Fat Kill, and That Yellow Bastard), Sin City is unquestionably the most faithful comic-book-based movie ever made. Each shot looks like a panel from its source material, and director Rodriguez (who refers to it as a "translation" rather than an adaptation) resigned from the Directors Guild so that Miller could share a directing credit. Like the books, it's almost entirely in stark black and white with some occasional bursts of color (a woman's red lips, a villain's yellow face). The backgrounds are entirely digitally generated, yet not self-consciously so, and perfectly capture Miller's gritty cityscape. And though most of Miller's copious nudity is absent, the violence is unrelentingly present. That may be the biggest obstacle to viewers who aren't already fans of the books and who may have been turned off by Kill Bill (whose director, Quentin Tarantino, helmed one scene of Sin City). In addition, it's a bleak, desperate world in which the heroes are killers, corruption rules, and the women are almost all prostitutes or strippers. But Miller's stories are riveting, and the huge cast--which also includes Jessica Alba, Jaime King, Brittany Murphy, Rosario Dawson, Benicio Del Toro, Elijah Wood, Nick Stahl, Michael Clarke Duncan, Devin Aoki, Carla Gugino, and Josh Hartnett--is just about perfect. (Only Bruce Willis and Michael Madsen, while very well-suited to their roles, seem hard to separate from their established screen personas.) In what Rodriguez hopes is the first of a series, Sin City is a spectacular achievement. --David Horiuchi

More Sin City at Amazon.com

The Graphic Novels and Books
Films by Robert Rodriguez
From Graphic Novel to Big Screen

The Soundtrack
Films by guest director Quentin Tarantino
Crime on DVD

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