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Sin City
R1 - America - Dimension Review written by and copyright: Noor Razzak and Tom Williams (6th January 2006). |
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The Film
 The movie adaptation of Sin City, Frank Miller‘s series of instant classic graphic novels, stands as one of the most true we have ever seen- and as a result, one of the most entertaining. Avoiding the temptation to completely change the plot, feel or characters of the original graphic novels and instead treating them as a storyboard, director Robert Rodriguez has created a film that not only sears the screen with an anarchic blend of love, justice and betrayals, but also kicks twelve kinds of ass. The film version of Sin City is essentially three of the original Sin City graphic novels- The Hard Goodbye, The Big Fat Kill, and That Yellow Bastard- framed by the shorter portions of The Customer Is Always Right, originally shot to prove to Miller that a movie adaptation could be made without sacrificing his original creative vision. The film’s first tale, The Hard Goodbye, stars Mickey Rourke in one of the film’s standout performances as Marv, who uses the same barbarian-like physique and skills that have ultimately left hi so alone to avenge the death of Goldie (Jamie King), a prostitute who gave him something he didn’t know he had. The resulting rampage through Basin City takes him to the very top of its corrupt system, a high-class hooker inspiring a heavyweight bruiser to affect massive change in the ruling class. The Big Fat Kill is the tale of Dwight (Clive Owen) and his efforts to limit the damage his girlfriend Shellie’s (Brittany Murphy) old beau Jackie Boy (Benicio Del Toro) can do. The macabre and stark yet amusing fate of Jackie Boy when he runs afoul of the Gail (Rosario Dawson) and the other hookers who run Old Town sets into motion a chain of events that force Dwight’s hand as he battles to maintain one of the old, shaky truces of Basin City. The final tale of the film, That Yellow Bastard, is one of the most star-studded; following the fate of Hartigan (Bruce Willis), one of Basin City’s few honest cops. Hartigan is pitted against the foul-smelling Yellow Bastard that is Roark Jr. (Nick Stahl), horribly reanimated after Hartigan took him apart during his efforts to commit unspeakable acts on the now grown up Nancy Callahan (Jessica Alba). Sin City was one of the most action-packed of the year- and an excellent demonstration of the fact that comic book movies don’t have to be licensed characters watered down to sell children’s toys. The grand, epic and devastatingly violent stories of Sin City are more extreme than many action movies- yet the hardcore violence that persists throughout the movie can be not only humorous, but stylish, fitting not only the gritty nature of the original source material, but also satisfying, as bad men meet their deserved fates. That some good men meet mad fates too only heightens our desire for justice. Justice and honour are two major themes of the film, which can make one feel as if it is at least sexist, if not outright misogynist- the women of the film exist largely as creatures to be rescued by the heroic men. For all that there are many strong female characters- notably the prostitutes of Old Town- even they inevitably get in over their heads, only to be bailed out by the boys. The overly violent world of Sin City is run by the same appetite for mayhem and destruction of Marv- and it seems this appetite is one that men find more easily. Though across the board, the acting is enough to maintain the story and allow us to believe in the world of Sin City, there are certainly stronger and weaker cast members. As mentioned earlier, Rourke’s Marv is one of the strongest performances in the film, a character that is sympathetic and deep, over-the-top, and yet believable, a subject with understandable motives that result in incomprehensible action. Strong performances also come from Owen, Dawson, Stahl and Del Toro, and Elijah Wood) certainly makes the most of his role- not to mention Willis walking through the movie with a part practically made for him. Other performances are not so strong, with Murphy dropping a couple of lines that absolutely clang, Alexis Bledel struggling a little to talk street and Alba almost refusing to act at all. However, none of these are enough to significantly reduce the quality of the film, or the enjoyment you’ll get out of it- and perhaps simply suffer by contrast to the quality of other performances in the film. Sin City is so good it hurts. The film itself is a stark contrast of good and bad- surprising, perhaps, given the many anti-heroes of the story, but then when the villains are so villainous, any hero shines brightly. This film is an absolutely brutal realisation of Frank Miller‘s graphic novels, brought stunningly to life by use of great actors, great effects, a gripping soundtrack and total dedication to the source material. As well as the theatrical version there are four recut and extended versions of the four stories that are now watch able on their own. Though the additional footage is advertised as 23 minutes, this includes the new credit and title sequences. The additional footage is really closer to ten minutes worth- wonderful, since more is better, but a little disappointing after what was promised. However, the three main stories- since The Customer Is Always Right is just those two scenes-each have at least one added scene worth watching.
Video
The film is presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen, much like the previous DVD instalment released the image is stunning, the contrast is clean, blacks are bold and shadow detail is impeccable, the second disc also includes the same transfer, however they are broken into 4 stories rather than one film but are still in their theatrical ratios.
Audio
The ‘Theatrical Cut’ on disc includes two audio selections, an English Dolby Digital 5.1 and an English DTS 5.1 surround track. Yet again my findings are that it is very similar to the audio track on the previous DVD, it may in fact be the exact same track. The ‘Extended’ versions on disc two are only presented in an English Dolby Digital 5.1 track, the Dolby track is just as good as the DTS but lacks the same amount of depth. While it’s a decent track the DTS still beats it, only just. It would have been nice to have the Extended’ versions in DTS though. Both ‘Theatrical’ and ‘Extended’ versions include optional subtitles in English for the hard of hearing and Spanish.
Extras
DISC ONE: Aside from housing the ‘Theatrical Cut’ of the film this disc also includes no less than 3 audio commentaries, the first of which includes filmmaker Robert Rodriguez with co-director and Sin City creator / comic legend Frank Miller. They discuss their experiences directing the film, and cover just about everything you wanted to know about the project. They look at the casting and shooting especially the challenges of shooting an entire film on green screen. How the original comic visuals translate on screen, as well as touch on the stylistic elements of the film that include why certain objects, blood, etc are highlighted in color among many other things they cover. This is a great track, fans will appreciate the hard work they did to make this film, as well as learn many interesting titbits and trivia from the film shoot itself. Track two includes audio commentary by filmmakers Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino as well as special appearance by actor Bruce Willis. Some information on this track is repeated, however mainly during the opening scenes, once the track kicks in it takes on a life of its own. Rodriguez focuses on the style and look of the film, mainly in translating what Miller had drawn and especially keeping faithful to the original source material (he mentions this numerous times throughout this track that it does become a bit tiring, we get the point already). Tarantino chimes in when the scene he directed comes up, he provides a surprising amount of information within that time, but then overstays his welcome and basically takes over the track until Hartigan’s story kicks in. Here is where Willis steps in with Rodriguez, who basically interviews him throughout that story line. Willis talks about his involvement and what attracted him to the project in the first place. Overall it’s a decent track with some great information given to the audience that’s certainly worth listening to. The third commentary track is basically an audio recording of the Austin, Texas audience reaction to the film. It’s basically some applauding and some cheering throughout the film and that’s about it. The commentaries are neat, especially having Bruce Willis to talk through the segment featuring Hartigan, though the audience reaction track of the premiere is probably not worth the effort. The only feature from the previous DVD, release reappears, in two parts- one about, convincing Miller to make the film, and the other on the Tarantino-Rodriguez relationship. The first is titled How it Went Down: Convincing Frank Miller to Make the Film this featurette runs for 5 minutes 41 seconds, and basically covers exactly what the title suggests, we also get some cool behind-the-scenes footage as well. The second of these featurettes is entitled Special Guest Director: Quentin Tarantino which runs for 7 minutes 13 seconds, and of course covers what exactly Tarantino did on the film and how he too was convinced to come down and shoot a scene. Although these two pieces include some new footage they are the only extras in this package that feature clips from the making-of on the first release, the rest of the extras are all new. The next featurette is entitled A Hard Top With A Decent Engine: The Cars of Sin City runs for 7 minutes 3 seconds and focuses on the vehicles that populate this city and how they are as much a character in the film as the people that drive them. We also learn how the cars in the comic were identified and located for the filming. Following that is the Booze, Broads & Guns: The Props of Sin City this featurette runs for 10 minutes 57 seconds. The prop makers and prop master on this film show us how each of the items was made. It’s a particularly interesting feature, which has quite a few surprises, especially regarding Miho’s (Devon Aoki) sword. Making the Monsters: Special Effects Make-up featurette runs for 9 minutes 4 seconds and includes KNB Effects maestro Greg Nicotero, who created the special prosthetics that the actors had to wear in order to look more like their comic book character they were portraying. It’s also interesting to hear about the florescent make-up effects used to key-in the white highlights for blood. Up next we have the Trench Coats & Fishnets: The Costumes of Sin City featurette which runs for 7 minutes 34 seconds. Here we get to see how the costumes were made to look like they did in the comic, the fabrics selected and also getting the look right. Sin-Chroni-City is an interactive feature, and I found it hard to puzzle out, but provides some information from Miller on how all the stories intersect by selecting location, characters, etc. Each segment you select features an audio clip from Miller. Rounding out the extras on the first disc are the film’s original theatrical trailer which runs for 2 minutes 6 seconds and the film’s original theatrical teaser which runs for 1 minutes 52 seconds. DISC TWO: Aside from including the ‘Extended’ versions presented here are 4 separate stories you also get a sub-section entitled Robert Rodriguez Special Features here you’ll find: The 15 Minute Flic School which really runs for 12 minutes 24 seconds, but is worth watching if only to blow your mind at how tiny the real stage was- barely big enough to hold one actor at a time. There are many other reasons to watch this sequence, however- that’s just the first of many. Simply watching how Willis on a treadmill can become Hartigan running through the snow in search of justice is also wonderful. The Movie in High-Speed Green Screen- All Green Screen Version runs for 12 minutes 28 seconds, and turned out to be the best feature. Which I was initially most sceptical about, the All Green Version is a sped-up (by 800 times) version of the entire feature film, but without any of the post-processed backgrounds. It’s simply fascinating to see the film without any of its effects. The Long Take is worth watching for fans of Quentin Tarantino (a guest director for the film). It features a brief introduction setting up the scene and the clip and we get a complete uninterrupted take from that scene Tarantino directed. The clip runs for 17 minutes 45 seconds. Sin City Live in Concert is a clip from the live concert the cast and crew put on it features Bruce Willis‘s band The Accelerators playing the song Devil Woman at a venue in Austin, Texas called Antones. This clip runs for 9 minutes 18 seconds. Rounding out disc two’s extras is a very neat feature. Rodriguez’ 10 Minute Cooking School although only runs for 6 minutes 25 seconds, which is similar to the one seen on the Once Upon a Time in Mexico DVD and is worthwhile too, here Rodriguez shows us how to make Sin City breakfast tacos.
Packaging
This DVD is packaged in a deluxe digi-pack, included is the interesting and downright cool hard copy reprint of The Hard Goodbye, set inside the front cover. Apart from being one of the best Sin City graphic novels, worth reading and rereading away from the movie, you can follow the first of the story arcs with the book in your hand, watching dialogue and shots follow practically identically. Better still, you can watch The Hard Goodbye on the second disc.
Overall
Overall, the film’s extras are worthwhile, and easily occupy you for some time. The relatively low extra footage count is a disappointment after the misleading advertising, but each of the extras deserves a look at least once- and some have you coming back for many more. The film itself is easily what draws me to this collection, but the extras, especially the included book, make this two-disc set well worth owning.
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