Review Vitals
Official Synopsis
Welcome to Basin City, a town that attracts the ruthless, the corrupt, and the brokenhearted. Interweaving three stories of vengeance and redemption—a hulking outcast seeking his lover's killer, a private investigator protecting the ladies of Old Town, and an aging cop on one last mission—this groundbreaking film brings Frank Miller's iconic graphic novels to life with a visual style unlike anything seen before.
The Highlight Reel
- ✦ "A Significant Upgrade": The Recut & Extended DVD is a triumph, separating the stories into four individual movies that mirror the experience of reading Frank Miller's graphic novels.
- ✦ Mickey Rourke's Revival: Marv in "The Hard Good-Bye" is the standout; it’s refreshing to see Rourke doing inspired work again—hopefully the start of a trend.
- ✦ "Gorgeous" Visuals: The transfer is jaw-droppingly beautiful on a high-definition big screen, proving Robert Rodriguez’s ability to translate comics with absolute reverence.
- ✦ The Ultimate DVD: Packed with commentaries from Rodriguez, Miller, and Tarantino, this version qualifies as a "must own" for any fan of the source material.
Ray's Thoughts (2026)
Twenty-one years later, Sin City still stands as the gold standard for "literal" comic book adaptations. My 2005 hope that Mickey Rourke's performance would be the start of a trend certainly came true with The Wrestler, but Marv remains his most iconic high-concept role. While the CGI-heavy "green screen" look has evolved since then, Rodriguez's commitment to Miller's black-and-white aesthetic hasn't been topped.
Revisiting the Recut version today, the "The Hard Good-Bye" still hits with the same noir intensity. While I stand by my critique of the casting in the "Yellow Bastard" segment, the overall film remains a monumental achievement in digital filmmaking. It was a brave experiment that actually worked, reminding us that reverence for source material can lead to cinematic brilliance.
Cinephile Fun Facts
- Tarantino’s $1 Fee: Quentin Tarantino directed the scene where Dwight (Clive Owen) and Jackie Boy (Benicio del Toro) talk in the car as a "Special Guest Director." He was paid exactly $1, repaying Robert Rodriguez for scoring Kill Bill: Vol. 2 for the same amount.
- Resigning from the DGA: Robert Rodriguez resigned from the Directors Guild of America to ensure Frank Miller received a co-director credit. The DGA usually insists on a single director, but Rodriguez felt the film was Miller’s vision as much as his own.
- Digital Firsts: Sin City was one of the first major motion pictures shot almost entirely on green screen with digital backgrounds, allowing the actors to "live" inside Miller’s high-contrast black-and-white comic book frames.
- The Yellow Bastard: Nick Stahl’s "Yellow Bastard" makeup was actually blue on set. Since blue is the opposite of yellow, the digital team was able to isolate and flip the color more easily during post-production.
- Rourke's Return: Mickey Rourke's prosthetic makeup for Marv was so thick that he couldn't see out of one eye and had to be guided around the set. The role is widely credited as the "Marv-elous" spark that reignited his career.
Official Movie Trailer
"Walk down the right back alley in Sin City, and you can find anything."
The special edition dvd of Frank Miller's Sin City finally arrives, and it's worth the wait. The dvd is packed with tons of special features, and is a significant upgrade over the bare bones edition that came out several months ago.
The original theatrical cut is included on the first disc, and features commentaries by Robert Rodriguez, Quentin Tarantino and another commentary with Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller.
The real bonus of the dvd though is on the second disc where you get extended versions of each of the stories.
The stories are seperated into 4 different movies, complete with credits. Although there isn't a significant amount of footage added, the scenes are interesting, and do contribute to the overall story. It's also a cool feature to watch each story seperately from the others, almost like reading the graphic novels. There is also a fun feature where you can watch a speeded up green screen version of the entire film, so that one can have a taste of what it's like to work on a tech heavy movie like this.
The transfer of the movie is also impressive......actually it's gorgeous. On my high definition, big screen I found that my jaw had a habit of dropping every five seconds. I can say with certainty it's the best looking dvd available. My only complaint is that in the extended versions of the movie there's no option for DTS sound. DTS sound is, however, available in the theatrical cut.
But that's nit-picking the dvd easily qualifies as a must own, it's a triumph on every account.
As far as the actual movie, my favorite story line is the The Hard Good-Bye featuring Mickey Rourke's character Marv. It's refreshing seeing Mickey Rourke doing inspired work again. I hope it becomes a trend for him and not a fluke. Clive Owen and Rosario Dawson are also solid in the The Big Fat Kill story. The final story That yellow bastard suffers from the mis-casting of Bruce Willis as a 60 year old wronged cop, and Jessica Alba, who never really looks comfortable in her own skin as the stripper Nancy.
The movie is, however, a triumph for Robert Rodriguez. Frank Miller has been reluctant to allow his Graphic novels to be filmed in the past, but he was won over by the enthusiasim of Rodriguez, and his ability to translate the novels to film faithfully. They are planning several sequels to this movie, and frankly I can't wait.
If only more film makers followed the example of Rodriguez, and treated the source material with such reverance, we'd be treated to some good work.
Especially in the comic book world where lousy translations are common.
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