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FILM DETAILS

Certificate 18

Cast Josh Hartnett Elijah Wood Bruce Willis Brittany Murphy Kate Bosworth Mickey Rourke Jaime King Nick Stahl Jessica Alba Clive Owen Rosario Dawson Michael Clarke Duncan.

Directors Robert Rodriguez Frank Miller.

Screenwriters Frank Miller.

Running Time 124 minutes

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Sin City
A treat for fans of good-looking girls in black-and-white, of classic film noir and of imaginative ultra-violence.

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Plot
Three hardboiled tales from Basin City, an American film noir community. Ex-con Marv (Rourke) avenges a murdered hooker, private eye Dwight (Owen) helps a red light district stay independent from the Mob and disgraced cop Hartigan (Willis) shields a dancer (Alba) from a psychotic sadist (Stahl).

Review

Of all the comic-book adaptations that have ever been mounted, from Flash Gordon in 1936 to The Fantastic Four in 2005, this is liable to score highest in the ‘fan satisfaction’ category. No niggling here along the lines of “Spider-Man shouldn’t have organic web-shooters” or “Batman’s parents shouldn’t be shot by the Joker”. This collaboration between two one-man bands, comic-book writer-artist Frank Miller and director-writer-editor-cinematographer-producer Robert Rodriguez, is as faithful to the source material as those cheapo ’60s Marvel cartoons that panned over panels from the comics while voice-over artists read out the word balloons. Like most successful comics, Sin City created a recognisable concrete-but-unreal world. Miller mixed a stew of thugs in trenchcoats out of Chandler or Spillane, a spice of the ‘bad girl art’ that made paperback covers of the 1950s stand out from newsracks and a splash of the manga-ish stylised goriness which inspired movies buffs like Quentin Tarantino (who guest-directs one scene) have only recently discovered. The film exactly matches the look of the comic: stark black-and-white images, with the occasional shocking or beautiful splash of rich colour. Most modern noirs incline to the blacker side of monochrome, but Miller’s scratchboard techniques, adapted superbly by Rodriguez, often get the most impact out of white – the blank round reflections of a killer’s sunglasses, crosses of sticking-plaster on a much-wounded face, arterial gushes of milky blood.

The movie script also matches the original stories virtually word for word. The original mini-series was about Marv (perfectly incarnated here by comeback kid Mickey Rourke) an unstoppable but soft-hearted freak who avenges the murder of his sweetie-for-a-night by taking on a ghastly cannibal (a blank-faced, wordless, far-from-Frodo Elijah Wood). The film adapts this (later retitled The Hard Goodbye) and two of its follow-ups, The Big Fat Kill and That Yellow Bastard, seemingly unconcerned about the similarities between the plots and characters, confident that the seductive images and picturesque people will hold the interest. Lifting structure from Pulp Fiction, which is hardly in a position to complain if it’s imitated, Sin City has top-and-tail scenes that frame the three episodes, which are told out of order.

Be warned, though – this is a working definition of a boys’ film. Men are either wounded, sensitive mass murderers (good guys) or repulsive, sadistic mass murderers (bad guys). Women are either improbably beautiful whores (good girls) or improbably beautiful pole-dancers (very good girls). Any exceptions, like Carla Gugino as a male-fantasy lesbian, tend to get killed off – nastily.

The extreme stylisation takes the sting out of the pandering, though, in that the hallucinatory female characters tend to be exploiting male desire while living their own lives removed from others’ ideas about them. Arguably, the male characters are even more of an insult to the sex; Rodriguez and Miller’s once-in-a-lifetime cast of bruised, near-unrecognisable faces bring to life an array of tarnished heroes, each tougher than Mike Hammer on steroids, and appalling villains who’d be too deformed and demented even for Gotham City’s Arkham Asylum.

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Sin City

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Average user rating for Sin City

Deadly little miho.

This is my favorate film apart from vampire hunter d :Bloodlust. Can't wait for number two. ... More

Posted by elimonator at 14:19, 16 May 2007 | Report This Post

best film ever

this is the best film i have ever seen. it blows all other film noirs out of the park and is just a classic. i love all the characters (except from maybe jessica alba she was the only thing that brought the film down) but i have to questions. 1. why is there no Sin city:recut and extended in the shops and 2. Where the hell is Sin city 2?????? >:( ... More

Posted by SINCITYISTHEBEST at 18:49, 17 February 2007 | Report This Post

"Walk down the right back alley of Sin City. and you will discover an amazing movie"

Two things you can say about Sin City, 1. Faithful as hell to the novels, 2. Spellbinding visuals. This is no doubt the Pulp Fiction of comic book movies (though I must confess I have never seen Pulp Fiction, its just that the quote is not new and it sounds really cool and impressive). Mickey Rourke steals the show with Clive Owen not far behind. There are also some very gorgeous ladies in this pic although I must say Sin City is definietly a male film with very little to impress the ladies. Sti... More

Posted by DrachirFilm at 05:26, 26 January 2007 | Report This Post

Sin city

Just watched this film and what can i say but how fantastic it was. I loved the black and white effect, sticking faithfully to the oh-so-great comic books. The way only certain colours of shoes, eyes, and dresses etc really made it something... well, different from the others. It gave it an atmosmosphere that no other adptation has created quite as well. Bruce Willis was fantastic, Mickey Rourke, well, what can i say really? no-one could have portrayed Marv as well as he did. And Clive Owen. His... More

Posted by Elf_princess1 at 14:48, 30 December 2006 | Report This Post

a beautiful visually stunning and sinister film noir. excellent ... More

Posted by iconzero at 22:14, 06 December 2006 | Report This Post

Sin City

In Old Town – Basin City’s crime capital – it’s always night time and the sin is palpable. Walk down the right back alley and you can find anything. A hit-man for hire, a call girl for rent, a sleazy strip joint. Even the corrupt cops keep their distance and an uneasy truce keeps out the mob and the pimps. Old Town belongs to the sleazebags, weirdos and whores – who look after their own. Honest cops, vigilantes and heroes in general, need not apply. Yet there are... More

Posted by kevin stanley at 21:23, 23 October 2006 | Report This Post

Sin City

From start to finish Frank Millers Sin City is an orchestrated masterpiece.The brilliant mix of colours and interesting charachters make this a must see film.Hell it even has Quentin Tarantino as "Guest Director".The only downside to the DVD is the lack of extras but seeing as the movie is perfect it doesn't really matter.You really have to see this movie to aprreciate its brilliance. ... More

Posted by RobertStehens at 13:14, 22 October 2006 | Report This Post

This really is a sin

Ok if you have not read the comics. But if you have it is rather rubbish. You will find the comics much more entertaining than the rather average film. ... More

Posted by solid snake at 18:18, 21 October 2006 | Report This Post

Fucking great!! ... More

Posted by huny_monster at 16:00, 14 August 2006 | Report This Post

Sin City

I loved this film and it's effects, however it wasn't as good as I thought it would be. It feels like the movie is dragging on the further through the film you get. That aside, Bruce Willis is fantastic and the same can be said for Mickey Rourke. For comic book fans you will love this film, but if you're expecting an action packed movie, you will be dissapointed. ... More

Posted by JACK M14 at 12:09, 25 July 2006 | Report This Post

RE: Sin City

An entertaining,stylish piece of almost ir.rcters are interesting and the stories are fun.Mickey Rourke makes a superb comback as the juvenile Maniac Marv and elijah wood plays a charcter as far away from frodo as he can get.The film is full of style but lacks the beat of a human heart.However it is still a truly enjoyable piece of cinema. ... More

Posted by G.O.B at 22:38, 07 July 2006 | Report This Post

RE: RE:

Juvenile drivel, that has all of the emotion of your average crossword puzzle. It is, however, visually stunning at times, though I frankly can't come up with a sure fire standout scene or visual. Mickey Rourke manages to wring a few drops of humanity from a film that has none, and for that his performance deserves an 'outstanding' rating. Otherwise, I really could have cared less. Rodriguez may have accomplished what he set out to achieve, and Sin City may be the most faithful recreation ... More

Posted by CaptVee at 09:12, 05 July 2006 | Report This Post

RE: RE:

Looks gorgeous, and the characterisation of the main roles are fantastic, they made some great choices. The car scene with Jacky Boy and Dwight was one of my favourites, just for the weird way his head keeps flipping back and forth. I also love Elijah Wood as Kevin, and inspired way of moving away from Frodo!     ... More

Posted by doubleshiny at 19:21, 23 February 2006 | Report This Post

RE:

it is very different from what i imagined but none the less a fantastic film ... More

Posted by pumpkin_ghost at 18:19, 23 February 2006 | Report This Post

RE:

L: Welsh Beds Great transition from paper to screen, can't wait for Sin City 2. More Frank Miller films on the big screen please!! Another of Miller's comic books has been floating around for ages. Its called Hard Boiled and its bloodly brilliant. Nicholas Cage was touted to play the lead but I haven't heard anything for ages. Probably in development hell. Hopefully the success of Sin City will get this superb 2 part graphic novel made!   See the review for the graphic novel be... More

Posted by MuckyMuckMan at 16:39, 22 February 2006 | Report This Post

RE: Dull City

I enjoyed it. It is very much a substance over style film but anchored by good performances from Mickey Rourke, Clive Owen and Bruce Willis as men with a strong sense of honour to help them survive in the hell of Sin City. I love old noir but this doesn't really have the edge or satire of it, even if the villains in the films deal with corruption in religion, the law and politics. Nonetheless, it's a fun ride. ... More

Posted by doctorolorinbats1975 at 16:27, 22 February 2006 | Report This Post

RE: RE:

i thought it was an excellent film, yes we all know that the film was beautifully shot and the charcters were great but i felt Sin City lacked any real depth and substance and as good as a comic book adaption as it may be i certainly don't think it's a five star film. I think amongst of lot of people it will be five stars and the film will emass a huge cult following, but a film that was strongly compared to Pulp Fiction i'm sorry we deserved better and is in no means no were near as good as Pu... More

Posted by doncopey1 at 21:59, 21 February 2006 | Report This Post

RE:

I sort of enjoyed the film. It has a very interesting style and looks fantastic. However I have to wholeheartedly agree with Mark Kermode's review when he said the film has no heart. So although I enjoyed it I forgot about it five minutes later and will not be looking to watch it again. ... More

Posted by King_Wah at 13:47, 21 February 2006 | Report This Post

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