Sin City (2005) Directors: Robert Rodriguez, Frank Miller Starring: Bruce Willis, Mickey Rourke, Clive Owen, Jessica Alba, Rosario Dawson, Nick Stahl
Frank Miller's graphic novel was generally considered too violent, too bloodsoaked, too downright nasty to film - even if the author was willing to give up the rights. But along came Robert Rodriguez with a way of making it that was so faithful to the comic that Miller couldn't say no - although the perfect casting and involvement of Quentin Tarantino probably didn't hurt either. What's more, the hyper-stylised, ultra-monochrome look of the film made the violence on show bearable - it's still disturbing in black-and-white with flashes of colour, but imagine if this thing had been attempted in a realistic manner. We'd still be in therapy...
OldBoy (2003) Director: Park Chan-wook Starring: Choi Min-sik, Yu Ji-tae, Kang Hye-jeong
The credits to all Western films contain the words,"No animals were hurt during the making of this film." Well, Korean movies obviously have rather more lenient rules - during the making of OldBoy four octopus were eaten alive by lead actor Choi Min-sik (he did, however, say a prayer for each one). It's not the only controversial thing about the film. The scene in which our hero fights his way through a corridor jammed with baddies using a hammer can be difficult to watch. And the ending, with a truly twisted twist is definitely one for those with strong stomachs only...
