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| | Label: Dimension Films
Salesrank: 40989
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| Our Price: $5.01 |
| Used Price: $4.87 |
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MPAA Rating: R (Restricted)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
The two-disc edition of Sin City easily makes the earlier single-disc theatrical-cut release obsolete by including the regular theatrical cut on the first disc, recutting the movie into four extended segments on the second disc (separated by story line), then piling on an impressive load of bonus features. But there's a catch. Billed as "Recut, Extended, Unrated," with "over 20 minutes" of new footage, the new set's four separate stories are extended by only about 6.5 total minutes of movie action (see details below in "What's New"); the rest of the added running time is the splashy new title shots (named by the title of the story or book) and the four minutes of credits that run at the end of each segment. Each addition makes the movie even closer to the comic books, and these extended segments are generally preferable to the theatrical equivalents (unfortunately, there's no Play All option), but don't expect the same impact as Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings extended editions. And although this version is unrated, the only risqué addition is a bit of violence from Miho that's no worse than the rest of the crazy violence in the film.
How Are the Bonus Features?
Robert Rodriguez has always loved DVDs, so the bonus features are extensive. On the first disc, there is somehow room for the theatrical cut of the film with its DTS track (the extended versions have only Dolby 5.1), two commentary tracks, an alternate audio track with a live audience in Austin, Texas, an interactive map of characters and locations, and 47 minutes of featurettes covering Frank Miller, Quentin Tarantino, cars, costumes, props, and special effects. The first commentary is Rodriguez and Miller discussing the concepts and the cast. The second commentary is mostly by Rodriguez, but Tarantino drops in briefly for the scene he directed (with Clive Owen and Benicio Del Toro in the car), as does an enthusiastic Bruce Willis for his segment.
The Tarantino scene gets a lot of attention on the second disc as well, in a 14-minute take in which he can be heard coaching the actors. Also on the disc are Rodriguez's usual "flic school" (among the topics is how scenes were created by merging footage of actors who never actually met), footage of Bruce Willis's band performing in Austin at the time of the shooting, and another Rodriguez cooking school (this time it's breakfast tacos). But the most interesting feature is the "green screen version" of the film: the entire film as it was shot in front of the green screen, sped up to play in only 12 minutes. You can see the actors (in color!) interacting only with the props and each other. Last, there's a DVD-sized complete comic book of The Hard Goodbye.
What's New in the Extended Version?
"The Customer Is Always Right" (the opening sequence with Josh Hartnett and Marley Shelton) has no new footage, but now goes straight into the one-minute epilogue with Hartnett and Alexis Bledel that closed the theatrical cut. "The Hard Goodbye" (with Mickey Rourke as "Marv" ) has two new sequences totaling about two minutes: Marv encounters his mother and finds his gun, and talks to Weevil in the club. In "The Big Fat Kill" (with Clive Owen and Benicio Del Toro), some short dialogue is restored, along with another wicked slice by Miho (Devon Aoki)--about a minute total. "That Yellow Bastard" (with Bruce Willis and Jessica Alba) has about 3.5 new minutes: there are more visitors to Hartigan's hospital bed, including his wife and a nurse; Carla Gugino's Lucille character comes to assist Hartigan when he wants to get out of jail (probably the best addition); and Mr. Shlubb and Mr. Klump have some more lines. --David Horiuchi
More Sin City at Amazon.com
The Graphic Novels and Books | 
Films by Robert Rodriguez | 
Our interview with Frank Miller |
The Soundtrack | 
From Graphic Novel to Big Screen | 
Films by guest director Quentin Tarantino |
Sin City Reviews:
Dark and grity classic 
2008-11-08 - This movie took me by surprise. I new who Frank Miller was but had never really seen any of his work. However after watching this movie I feel that I have been missing out. There is a great story that unfolds through out the entire movie. Everyone of the different characters are rich and interesting. Needless to say this is not a kid friendly movie, but for those who are a little older and aren't to squeamish, then this is a movie that you may want to check out.
Fantastic! 
2008-10-30 - This was a great movie! I suggest getting it, it is one of those movies you will want to watch over and over.
AWESOME AND DESTINED TO BECOME A CULT CLASSIC
2008-09-02 - The acting is great , the movie is awesome for it's comic book style. I can't guarantee you will like this , but hey , i did. highly recommended.
A Grim and Gritty Modern Noir
2008-08-21 - WARNING: This film contains graphic stylized violence including torture, as well as sexuality/nudity, coarse language, and disturbing themes.
Only a sick and twisted mind could conceive of the warped stories that are found in the graphic novel series Sin City. Frank Miller is just such a mind. His morbid fascinations with corrupt authority figures, hypocritical religions, sleazy yet strong-willed women, and violent anti-heroes are thrust into the spotlight in his work. With his comic books and graphic novels, we are given a disturbing glimpse into his worldview. His characters are tainted with cynicism, darkened by madness, haunted by guilt, plagued by lust, and drenched in blood. Naturally his stories have been a commercial success despite their controversial subject matter, so it's no surprise that Hollywood producers, directors, and writers have sought to adapt them into films. This is something Frank Miller has always been reluctant to allow... up until now that is. Filmmakers and friends, Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino unite their perverse adolescent minds and together they bring Frank Miller's Sin City to vivid life in a stark and oppressing film, which will leave its viewers desiring a thorough shower in order to wash away the residue of the film's immoral characters.
Basin City, better known to its inhabitants as Sin City, is a shady underworld of crime and corruption. It's a place where crooked cops patrol the streets, where serial killers and sex offenders go free, where the church buries its own sins, and the noblest men are psychotic vigilantes. In this dog-eat-dog environment, only the strong survive and the pressures and strain of survival fracture the human psyche. No one is innocent, no one is pure and even Sin City's most charismatic denizens are scum. In this world diversion takes the form of strip bars and brothels, evil hides behind the mask of propriety, and revenge and redemption are the same.
The film is divided into three stories. They are:
1. Detective Hartigan has been tracking down a powerful senator's son, who kidnaps, rapes, and murders young girls. Hartigan is betrayed by another cop, his partner in fact, who is under the pay of the senator. Hartigan takes the fall for the senator's son only to protect one of the intended victims. Years later he is let out of jail and tries to save that same girl from the senator's wrath, but she has become a stripper and fallen in love with Hartigan, the man who once saved her. Soon Hartigan realizes that he was part of a plan to bring her out into the open where the senator's son can carry out his wicked desires.
2. Dwight is an enigmatic criminal with a soft spot for damsels in distress. When his new girlfriend is beaten up by her abusive ex, Dwight plans to teach him a lesson. Dwight chases him into the red light district where a band of vigilante prostitutes kills him, only to discover that he was a cop with a destructive ego. Now Dwight and the prostitutes must fend off corrupt officials and the mob in order to keep their territory to themselves.
3. Meanwhile Marv, a deformed schizophrenic brute, seeks bloody retribution after the woman he slept with is killed and he's framed for the murder. In his attempt to solve the mystery of her death and avenge her, he discovers a plot that leads to one of the city's most powerful families, corruption within the government, police force, and the church. He pulls off his brutal revenge but he ultimately pays the price in the end.
These three tales interlock like pieces to a sinister puzzle, each piece bringing the audience closer to the story's completion, showing us the seedy underbelly of Basin City from multiple perspectives.
Much like Pulp Fiction in its fragmented narrative, Sin City unfolds out of chronological order, which is perhaps the film's greatest flaw. However the film is boosted by the dramatic visual style of Miller, Rodriguez, and Tarantino who imbue it with the atmosphere of a 1940s noir film and the savage violence of 1970s action cinema. Most of the movie was shot against a green screen and then CGI (Computer Generated Imagery) artists created the surrounding environments. This made it possible for the filmmakers to replicate Frank Miller's graphic style; the high contrast black and white metropolis, the inverted shadows cast upon brick walls, the saturated red of blood splatters, and the golden yellow of a vixen's hair.
The morally ambivalent characters are brought to life by a talented ensemble cast including Jessica Alba, Devon Aoki, Alexis Bledel, Rosario Dawson, Benicio del Toro, Michael Clarke Duncan, Carla Gugino, Josh Hartnett, Rutger Hauer, Jaime King, Michael Madsen, Brittany Murphy, Clive Owen, Mickey Rourke, Marley Shelton, Nick Stahl, Bruce Willis, and Elijah Wood.
The film won't appeal to everyone. It's gratuitous depictions of violence and sex are proof of that. However, if taken with a grain of salt, Sin City is an entertainingly over-the-top exploitation masterpiece that faithfully recreates Frank Miller's imaginative graphic novels.
Also recommended:
Frank Miller's Complete Sin City Library
Film Noir Classic Collection, Vol. 1
Dirty Harry Ultimate Collector's Edition
Reservoir Dogs
Pulp Fiction
Kill Bill Vol. 1
Kill Bill Vol. 2
El Mariachi
Desperado
Once Upon a Time in Mexico
AMAZON REWRITE YOUR DESCRIPTION!
2008-07-31 - I recently wasted a sellers time along with my own because AMAZON provided the description of the DIRECTOR'S CUT on this page instead of the run-of-the-mill theatrical cuts description.. Now I am left with a useless DVD and a mailing fee that I do not feel I need to pay due to AMAZON'S complacency with their product descriptions.
I DO LOVE THE MOVIE THOUGH...
