For all its excesses, the movie is enormously fascinating, mostly entertaining, and always a delight to the eyes and ears (if not always to the stomach).
Lastly, there's the "look" of the film, which is probably its biggest asset. The stories may be deliberately old-hat, the characters exaggerated, and the violence excessive--subjects that might warrant criticism, to be sure--but the film's overall appearance is above reproach. It looks exactly like the artwork from the graphic novels upon which it's based. Along with Robert Altman's movie version of "Popeye," Miller's "Sin City" is without a doubt the best translation ever of comic-book images to the big screen.
Rodriguez has been a vocal fan not only of Miller's books but of digital photography, so by combining them here he was able to fulfill two ambitions. Additionally, the director shot everything in a studio against blue screens, later adding the background material digitally. In this regard Rodriguez's technique is similar to that used in "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow," also filmed digitally against blue screens at about the same time as "Sin City." In any case, I usually don't care much for digital photography because it not only doesn't have the resolution of traditional print film, its relative lack of grain seems to flatten out the picture; but in the case of "Sin City" and "Sky Captain," I liked the results. Both movies mean to capture a flat, comic-book effect, and they succeed.
"Sin City" is particularly effective in its use of black-and-white photography to recreate the appearance of Miller's graphic novels. And it serves the purpose not only of reminding one of the books but of deepening the menace of the stories' noir atmosphere (so dark that here literally everything happens at night). Then, to set it off, the B&W is punctuated occasionally with snippets of color: a red dress here, splashes of blood there, or, most effectively, the only character entirely tinted, the "Yellow Bastard." Intersperse the B&W with dabs of color, add a few actual animations, present each frame as though it were set in a comic book, and you've got the look and feel of Miller's graphic novels down pat.
OK, now I don't mean to leave readers with the idea that I think the film is perfect or that it will please every discerning viewer, even the most ardent admirers of the comic-book material it's based on. If the film suffers at all, it is from four things: (1) It's too long. At over two hours I found it dragging by the end and all of its stylistic devices beginning to lose their impact from overuse. (2) Its comic-book mentality is obviously shallow, which doesn't allow for any serious development of its characters. So we get exactly what the graphic novels intended--two-dimensional heroes and villains as noted above. (3) Its voice-over narration, also in keeping with its comic-book origins, can be a further burden when combined with the movie's excessive length. And (4) it's got so much violent action throughout the stories that the violence creates a cumulative numbing effect, eventually desensitizing us to the very shocks that are supposed to be so enthralling.
None of which are serious enough faults to keep "Sin City" from being mostly entertaining. I may not have fallen as completely under the movie's spell as many other viewers, but "mostly entertaining" is good enough for me to look forward to another visit to this "City" whenever possible.
Video:
As I've said, the movie was shot digitally against blue screens, so don't expect the depth of field or the exacting delineation one might normally experience with a conventionally photographed motion picture. That said, the black-and-white photography shows up well, thanks to a high bit rate and a good, anamorphic, widescreen transfer that measures out at about 1.75:1. Fairly deep black levels make for strong contrasts; delineation and detail are smoothly rendered; and the occasional splashes of color stand out sharply. Grain is pretty much absent, although there are a few shimmering lines here and there.
Audio:
The English soundtrack is available in both Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS 5.1. I listened in DD 5.1, and you can hardly fault it, unless you just have a thing against Dolby Digital's compression methods. The dynamics are terrifically potent and along with an equally robust bass make an impressive combo. Moreover, the front-channel stereo spread is quite wide and the surround sound quite abundant and pinpoint in its accuracy, furthering our enjoyment of every one of the movie's thrills and chills that come our way.
Extras:
I understand that Tarantino and Rodriguez are preparing a special, multi-disc set of "Sin City," but what we have at the moment is this single-disc edition. It doesn't contain much, so don't expect many bells and whistles. The principal item is an eight-minute behind-the-scenes featurette that includes interviews with Robert Rodriguez, Frank Miller, Quentin Tarantino, Bruce Willis, Jessica Alba, Benicio Del Toro, Brittany Murphy, Clive Owen, Mickey Rourke, and Rosario Dawson. It's not much more than the usual promotional stuff we see so often. There are also Sneak Peeks at four other Buena Vista titles; twenty-eight scene selections, with chapter insert; English and French as the spoken language options; and Spanish subtitles, with English captions for the hearing impaired.
In addition, the folks at BV have announced that the "the DVD will be available in one of four limited-edition collectible packages, while supplies last," meaning that there are four different slipcovers you can buy with different artwork on them (click on the "Cover Art" at the upper right of the screen for pictures). I'm not sure if this ploy is meant to encourage people to buy four separate copies of the disc in order to get all the cover art ("collectible"), or if it's meant to motivate people to get over to their video shop as fast as possible before other buyers have grabbed up the particular cover art they want. In any case, it seems like a harmless enough marketing gimmick.
Parting Thoughts:
For all its excesses, and "Sin City" wouldn't be "Sin City" without them, the movie is enormously fascinating, mostly entertaining, as I've said, and always a delight to the eyes and ears (if not always to the stomach). No, this one is not for the kiddies, although anything titled "Sin City" is going to be a distinct temptation when the cat's away. For open-minded adults, the film is a minor sensation.
Rodriguez has been a vocal fan not only of Miller's books but of digital photography, so by combining them here he was able to fulfill two ambitions. Additionally, the director shot everything in a studio against blue screens, later adding the background material digitally. In this regard Rodriguez's technique is similar to that used in "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow," also filmed digitally against blue screens at about the same time as "Sin City." In any case, I usually don't care much for digital photography because it not only doesn't have the resolution of traditional print film, its relative lack of grain seems to flatten out the picture; but in the case of "Sin City" and "Sky Captain," I liked the results. Both movies mean to capture a flat, comic-book effect, and they succeed.
"Sin City" is particularly effective in its use of black-and-white photography to recreate the appearance of Miller's graphic novels. And it serves the purpose not only of reminding one of the books but of deepening the menace of the stories' noir atmosphere (so dark that here literally everything happens at night). Then, to set it off, the B&W is punctuated occasionally with snippets of color: a red dress here, splashes of blood there, or, most effectively, the only character entirely tinted, the "Yellow Bastard." Intersperse the B&W with dabs of color, add a few actual animations, present each frame as though it were set in a comic book, and you've got the look and feel of Miller's graphic novels down pat.
OK, now I don't mean to leave readers with the idea that I think the film is perfect or that it will please every discerning viewer, even the most ardent admirers of the comic-book material it's based on. If the film suffers at all, it is from four things: (1) It's too long. At over two hours I found it dragging by the end and all of its stylistic devices beginning to lose their impact from overuse. (2) Its comic-book mentality is obviously shallow, which doesn't allow for any serious development of its characters. So we get exactly what the graphic novels intended--two-dimensional heroes and villains as noted above. (3) Its voice-over narration, also in keeping with its comic-book origins, can be a further burden when combined with the movie's excessive length. And (4) it's got so much violent action throughout the stories that the violence creates a cumulative numbing effect, eventually desensitizing us to the very shocks that are supposed to be so enthralling.
None of which are serious enough faults to keep "Sin City" from being mostly entertaining. I may not have fallen as completely under the movie's spell as many other viewers, but "mostly entertaining" is good enough for me to look forward to another visit to this "City" whenever possible.
Video:
As I've said, the movie was shot digitally against blue screens, so don't expect the depth of field or the exacting delineation one might normally experience with a conventionally photographed motion picture. That said, the black-and-white photography shows up well, thanks to a high bit rate and a good, anamorphic, widescreen transfer that measures out at about 1.75:1. Fairly deep black levels make for strong contrasts; delineation and detail are smoothly rendered; and the occasional splashes of color stand out sharply. Grain is pretty much absent, although there are a few shimmering lines here and there.
Audio:
The English soundtrack is available in both Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS 5.1. I listened in DD 5.1, and you can hardly fault it, unless you just have a thing against Dolby Digital's compression methods. The dynamics are terrifically potent and along with an equally robust bass make an impressive combo. Moreover, the front-channel stereo spread is quite wide and the surround sound quite abundant and pinpoint in its accuracy, furthering our enjoyment of every one of the movie's thrills and chills that come our way.
Extras:
I understand that Tarantino and Rodriguez are preparing a special, multi-disc set of "Sin City," but what we have at the moment is this single-disc edition. It doesn't contain much, so don't expect many bells and whistles. The principal item is an eight-minute behind-the-scenes featurette that includes interviews with Robert Rodriguez, Frank Miller, Quentin Tarantino, Bruce Willis, Jessica Alba, Benicio Del Toro, Brittany Murphy, Clive Owen, Mickey Rourke, and Rosario Dawson. It's not much more than the usual promotional stuff we see so often. There are also Sneak Peeks at four other Buena Vista titles; twenty-eight scene selections, with chapter insert; English and French as the spoken language options; and Spanish subtitles, with English captions for the hearing impaired.
In addition, the folks at BV have announced that the "the DVD will be available in one of four limited-edition collectible packages, while supplies last," meaning that there are four different slipcovers you can buy with different artwork on them (click on the "Cover Art" at the upper right of the screen for pictures). I'm not sure if this ploy is meant to encourage people to buy four separate copies of the disc in order to get all the cover art ("collectible"), or if it's meant to motivate people to get over to their video shop as fast as possible before other buyers have grabbed up the particular cover art they want. In any case, it seems like a harmless enough marketing gimmick.
Parting Thoughts:
For all its excesses, and "Sin City" wouldn't be "Sin City" without them, the movie is enormously fascinating, mostly entertaining, as I've said, and always a delight to the eyes and ears (if not always to the stomach). No, this one is not for the kiddies, although anything titled "Sin City" is going to be a distinct temptation when the cat's away. For open-minded adults, the film is a minor sensation.
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[release]16107[/release]