Sin City (film)

Sin City
Directed by	Frank Miller Robert Rodriguez Special Guest Director: Quentin Tarantino
Written by	Frank Miller
Produced by	Elizabeth Avellan Frank Miller Robert Rodriguez
Starring	Bruce Willis Mickey Rourke Clive Owen Jessica Alba Benicio del Toro Brittany Murphy Nick Stahl Elijah Wood Rosario Dawson Jaime King Michael Clarke Duncan Alexis Bledel Powers Boothe Michael Madsen Josh Hartnett Devon Aoki Carla Gugino Rutger Hauer
Cinematography	Robert Rodriguez
Edited by	Robert Rodriguez
Music by	John Debney Graeme Revell Robert Rodriguez
Distributed by	Dimension Films
Release dates	April 1, 2005
Running time	124 min. (Theatrical) 147 min. (Extended)
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$40,000,000
Box office	$158,753,820

Sin City is a 2005 neo-noir anthology film written, produced and directed by Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez. It is based on Miller's graphic novel series of the same name.

The film is primarily based on three of Miller's works; "The Hard Goodbye" focuses on a hulking man who embarks on a brutal rampage in search of his one-time lover's killer; "The Big Fat Kill" focuses on a street war held between a group of prostitutes and a series of mercenaries; and "That Yellow Bastard" focuses on an aging police officer who protects a young woman from the hands of a psychotic child molester. The movie stars Jessica Alba, Devon Aoki, Alexis Bledel, Michael Clarke Duncan, Rosario Dawson, Benicio del Toro, Josh Hartnett, Jaime King, Brittany Murphy, Clive Owen, Mickey Rourke, Nick Stahl, Bruce Willis, Elijah Wood and Rutger Hauer, among others.

Sin City opened to wide critical and commercial success, gathering particular recognition for the film's unique colouring process, which rendered most of the film in black and white but retained colouring for select objects. The film was screened at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival in-competition and won the Technical Grand Prize for the film's "visual shaping."

Plot

The Customer is Always Right

The film begins in a penthouse on the roof of a skyscraper overlooking Basin City. A fancy party is in progress. The Customer (Shelton) dressed in an evening gown is alone on the balcony. The Salesman (Hartnett), who is narrating, comes up behind her and offers her a cigarette. They exchange a little small talk, and she says that she is frightened and is tired of running. He tells her that he will save her, and take her far away. They kiss before he kills her. She dies in his arms. He says that he does not know who she was running from (implying that he is a professional assassin who doesn't like to know those who hire him), but will cash her check in the morning. The story ends and is followed by the Sin City logo.

On the back of the DVD Frank Miller tells us that the Customer had gotten herself into a bad situation. She dated a man who was in the Mafia, and when she found out and tried to break it off, he told her that he would kill her in the most terrible way possible. The Customer had used her connections to hire the Salesman to kill her.

That Yellow Bastard (part 1)

Bruce Willis as Hartigan.

The film then moves on to the docks of Sin City, where aging police officer John Hartigan (Willis) is attempting to stop serial killer and child molester Roark Junior (Stahl) from raping and killing eleven year-old Nancy Callahan. His partner Bob (Madsen) tries to stop him, but Hartigan punches him, knocking him out cold. Hartigan then knocks unconscious two local criminals Shlubb and Klump, who are guarding Roarke Jr's Ferrari. Junior is inside with the frightened Nancy and two henchmen, who are making sure that Junior and Nancy "get along" before leaving them alone (presumably so Junior can torture and kill the child). Hartigan shoots and kills the henchmen, but Junior grabs Nancy and runs out to the docks. Hartigan catches up to Junior and succeeds in shooting off his ear, arm and shoots him in the groin before being shot 3 times in the back by Bob. Bob tells Hartigan to stay down, but Hartigan knows that he needs to distract Bob from the girl, so he tries to pull his reserve gun and is shot again by Bob another 5 times before Bob hears the sirens of the backup coming and leaves Hartigan there with Nancy. Hartigan lapses into unconsciousness presuming that Nancy is safe and that he will die having traded his life for hers.

The Hard Goodbye

The story then cuts to Marv (Rourke), a hulking thug who is in a hotel room with the beautiful Goldie (King). After making passionate love, Marv awakens to find that Goldie has been murdered. Realising he has been framed, he attacks the corrupt police officers and storms the streets, vowing to avenge Goldie's death. He stops at the apartment of Lucille (Gugino), his parole officer, who unsuccessfully warns him to give up on the mission.

Marv then visits Kadie's Bar in search of information. He is visited by two hitmen who order Marv into the back alley behind the bar. There the two are beaten and killed after revealing who sent them. Marv then visits each informant for information, working his way up to a corrupt priest (Miller), who reveals that the Roark family was behind the murder of Goldie. Marv kills the priest and steals his car, but is then attacked and shot at by a woman with a strong resemblance to Goldie, which Marv considers to be an hallucination.

Marv arrives at the Roark family farm where he fights off a wolf playing the part of guard dog. He then uncovers remains of dead women. He is then attacked by silent stalker Kevin (Wood), who is revealed to be Goldie's killer. Marv is knocked unconscious and awakens in Kevin's basement, where the heads of past victims are mounted on the wall. Also present is Lucille, who, having lost her hand, reveals that Kevin is a cannibal and Goldie was a prostitute. Marv breaks free and flees with Lucille, but a group of soldiers arrive and kill Lucille. Marv kills them off and discovers that Cardinal Patrick Henry Roark arranged for Goldie's murder.

File:Marv and Wendy.jpg

Mickey Rourke as Marv and Jaime King as Goldie.

Marv goes to Old Town, a section of Sin City reserved particularly for prostitution. Marv is captured and beaten by the women of Old Town, including Goldie's look-alike, who is revealed to be her twin sister Wendy. After revealing that Kevin killed Goldie and the others, Marv and Wendy collect weapons and return to the farm, hoping to finally avenge Goldie's death. Marv attacks Kevin and severs his limbs before the wolf eats him alive. Marv takes his head to Cardinal Roark, who reveals that Kevin was a deeply religious boy who began eating prostitutes to swallow their souls. He persuaded the cardinal to join in, and when Goldie realised what was happening, she was killed. Marv kills the cardinal and is shot by his guards.

However Marv survives his wounds and is beaten by members of the corrupt police force in order to force him to sign a confession stating that he killed Roark. He refuses until he is told that if he doesn't sign the confession, his mother will be killed. He agrees and is quickly convicted of murdering Roark, the police officers that came to assassinate him at the farm, the prostitutes that Kevin and Roark had eaten, Lucille and even Goldie. Hours before his execution he is visited by Wendy who thanks him for avenging her sister.

Finally he is strapped into an electric chair and read his last rites before ordering the guards to hurry up as he 'Hasn't got all night'. The guards accept his wishes and proceed to electrocute him, although for not long enough to kill. Marv makes one last insult to the guards before he finally dies.

The Big Fat Kill

The story then cuts to Shellie (Murphy), a local barmaid who is being harassed by her drunk and violent ex-boyfriend Jackie Boy (del Toro). Her current boyfriend Dwight (Owen) is disgusted with his behaviour and shoves his head into a urine-filled toilet bowl after Jackie Boy punches Shellie. An embarrassed Jackie Boy flees with his friends, heading to Old Town to cause further trouble. Dwight follows them and watches them harass young prostitute Becky (Bledel). Also watching is Gail (Dawson), Dwight's on-and-off lover.

File:SinCityD.jpg

Clive Owen as Dwight.

When Jackie Boy threatens Becky with a gun, martial arts expert Miho (Aoki) sweeps down, severs Jackie Boy's hand with a manji shaped ninja star and mutilates his friends with a katana. She then causes his gun barrel to backfire, nearly killing him. After listening to Jackie Boy talk to himself, Miho nearly severs his head, making "a Pez dispenser out of him." As the prostitutes collect the dead men's money, they realise that Jackie Boy is a well-respected police officer; his death spells a certain end to the truce between the police and the prostitutes, and war against Old Town will be inevitable.

Dwight agrees to take the corpses to the local tar pit while a traumatised Becky returns home. While driving to the tar pit, he has a hallucinatory conversation with Jackie Boy's corpse, who taunts him as he is chased by a police officer. Dwight talks his way out of the situation and arrives at the tar pit but is shot by mercenaries. Meanwhile, head mercenary Manute (Duncan) arrives in Old Town and kidnaps Gail, explaining that an informant has revealed everything and that other mercenaries are currently invading Old Town.

Dwight kills the mercenaries but is knocked into the tar by a grenade; he sinks into the tar and nearly drowns before Miho arrives and saves him. However, the other mercenaries have escaped and have taken Jackie Boy's severed head with them. They chase after the mercenaries and have a car accident, followed by a violent shoot-out that ends with the death of both mercenaries and the retrieval of Jackie Boy's head. Dwight devises a plan and returns to Old Town.

Meanwhile, as Gail is being tortured, she learns that Becky informed the mercenaries out of fear and greed. Manute receives a letter from Dwight, offering Jackie Boy's head in exchange for Gail. They meet in the back-alley, where the trade is made; as the mercenaries prepare to kill them, Dwight activates a grenade he had placed in Jackie Boy's Head, completely destroying it and any evidence that could have been taken to the cops. The other prostitutes of Old Town then reveal themselves on the roof tops surrounding the alley and gun down the mercenaries. Amidst the gunfire, an injured Becky escapes while Dwight and Gail kiss passionately.

That Yellow Bastard (part 2)

File:SIN CITY-3.jpg

"That Yellow Bastard"

The story then returns to Hartigan, who is recovering in a hospital (this takes place many years before the past two stories). Senator Roark, Junior's father, arrives and informs him that Junior is in a coma and that all plans for the Roark legacy are now in serious jeopardy. Senator Roark reveals that Hartigan will survive, however, and will be framed for Junior's crimes and serve the resultant jail term. Additionally, if Hartigan tells anyone the truth, the informed person will be killed. A grateful Nancy visits and thanks him. She promises to write letters to Hartigan every week while he is in prison and departs.

Hartigan doesn't protest and goes to jail, where he receives the weekly letter from Nancy as promised. After eight years, however, the letters stop arriving, and then Hartigan receives a severed finger instead. Realising she could be kidnapped by the Roarks, Hartigan confesses to molesting the child and is freed from jail. He reunites with his old partner, Bob, who has changed and regretted what he had done to him. Bob finally leaves Hartigan in Nancy's apartment after telling him that Hartigan's wife has left him. As a deformed, yellow-skinned man stalks him, Hartigan searches for Nancy, eventually finding her at Kadie's Bar, where she has blossomed into a beautiful nineteen year-old stripper (Alba).

Realising that the severed finger was a fake, Hartigan is greeted by Nancy, who is overwhelmed and then plans to run away with him. Along the way, they are attacked by the yellow-skinned man but Hartigan successfully fights back. Upon arriving at a hotel, Nancy reveals that she is in love with Hartigan, much to his discomfort. The deformed man returns and attacks them, revealing that he is Junior and has now become the Yellow Bastard.

The Yellow Bastard, having been disfigured by the years of surgery necessary to regenerate his missing pieces, leaves Hartigan for dead and takes Nancy to the farm to finally rape and kill her. Hartigan escapes, however, and tracks the Yellow Bastard to the farm, where he is whipping and torturing Nancy. Hartigan kills the guards and then corners the Yellow Bastard and fakes a heart atack to fool him into letting go of Nancy, giving Hartigan the chance to stab him before castrating and killing him.

Hartigan tells Nancy his plans to reveal Senator Roark's corruption to the police and finally bring down the corruption in Sin City. After Nancy departs, Hartigan reveals that this would be impossible, and he then commits suicide in order to ensure Nancy's safety.

In the epilogue, an injured Becky is seen departing from a hospital. While riding in the elevator, she is met by the Salesman, who offers her a cigarette.

Cast

Notable Roles: (Organised by the story they primarily appear in)

The Customer is Always Right

• Josh Hartnett - The Salesman/The Colonel (known in the screenplay as "The Man")
• Marley Shelton - The Customer

The Hard Goodbye

• Mickey Rourke - Marv
• Jaime King - Goldie / Wendy
• Carla Gugino - Lucille
• Elijah Wood - Kevin
• Rutger Hauer - Cardinal Patrick Henry Roark
• Jason Douglas - Hitman
• Frank Miller - Priest

The Big Fat Kill

• Clive Owen - Dwight McCarthy
• Benicio del Toro - Det. Lt. Jack "Jackie Boy" Rafferty
• Rosario Dawson - Gail
• Michael Clarke Duncan - Manute
• Alexis Bledel - Becky
• Devon Aoki - Miho
• Brittany Murphy - Shellie
• Patricia Vonne - Dallas
• Nicky Katt - Stuka (Cameo)

That Yellow Bastard

• Bruce Willis - Det. John Hartigan
• Jessica Alba - Nancy Callahan
• Nick Stahl - Roark Junior / Yellow Bastard
• Powers Boothe - Senator Roark
• Michael Madsen - Bob
• Makenzie Vega - Young Nancy Callahan
• Jude Ciccolella - Liebowitz
• Rick Gomez - Klump
• Nick Offerman - Shlubb

Production

Proof of concept

After a particularly bad Hollywood experience on the third RoboCop film, Sin City creator Frank Miller did not want to release the film rights in fear of a similar result. However, Robert Rodriguez, a long-time fan of the graphic novels, was eager to make an adaptation. His plan was to make a fully authentic adaptation, follow the source material closely, and make a "translation, not an adaptation."

In hopes of convincing Miller to give the project his blessing, Rodriguez shot a "proof of concept" adaptation of the Sin City story "The Customer is Always Right" (starring Josh Hartnett and Marley Shelton). Rodriguez flew Miller into Austin to be present at this test shooting, and Miller was very happy with the results. Soon production was under way with Miller wanting to be as involved with the project as much as possible (this "proof of concept" adaptation was later used as the opening scene for the completed film).

Digital backlot

This is one of the first films (along with Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, Casshern, and Immortel (Ad Vitam)) to be shot primarily on a digital backlot. The film employed the use of the Sony HDC-950 high-definition digital camera, having the actors work in front of a green screen, that allowed for the artificial backgrounds (as well as some major foreground elements, such as cars) to be added later during the post-production stage. However, it should be noted that three of the sets on the film were practical (i.e. constructed by hand). They were:

1. Kadie's Bar, where all of the major characters make an appearance at least once and also the only location in which all objects are in color.
2. Shellie's apartment. The front door and kitchen are real, while bathroom and corridors are artificial.
3. The hospital corridor in the epilogue. Although the first shot of walking feet was done on greenscreen, the corridor in the next shot is real. The background becomes artificial again when the interior of the elevator is shown.

While the use of a green screen has become quite standard for special effects filming, the use of high-definition digital cameras is quite noteworthy in the production of this film. The combination of these two techniques makes Sin City (along with Sky Captain, which was produced the same way) one of the few fully digital, live action motion pictures. This technique also means that the whole film was initially shot in full color, and was converted back to high-quality black-and-white. Colorization is used on certain subjects in a scene, such as Devon Aoki's red and blue clothing, Alexis Bledel's blue eyes and red blood, Michael Clarke Duncan's golden eye, Rutger Hauer's grey eyes, Jamie King's red dress and blonde hair, Clive Owen's red Converse shoes, Mickey Rourke's red blood, Marley Shelton's green eyes, red dress, and red lips, Nick Stahl's yellow face and body, and Elijah Wood's white glasses. The film was color corrected digitally and, as in film noir tradition, treated for heightened contrast so as to more clearly separate blacks and whites. This was done not only to give the film a more film noir look, but also to make it appear more like the original comic. This technique was used again on another Frank Miller-adaptation, 300, which was shot on film.

Principal shooting

Principal photography began on March 29, 2004. Several of the scenes were shot before every actor was currently signed-on; as a result, several stand-ins were used before the actual actors were digitally added into the film during post-production. Rodriguez, an aficionado of cinematic technology, has used similar techniques in the past. In critic Roger Ebert's review of the film, he recalled Rodriguez's speech during production of Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams: "This is the future! You don't wait six hours for a scene to be lighted. You want a light over here, you grab a light and put it over here. You want a nuclear submarine, you make one out of thin air and put your characters into it."

The film was noted throughout production for Rodriguez's plan to stay faithful to the source material, unlike most other comic book adaptations. Rodriguez stated that he considered the film to be "less of an adaptation than a translation." As a result, there is no screenwriting in the credits; simply "Based on the graphic novels by Frank Miller." There were several minor changes, such as dialogue trimming, new colorized objects, removal of some nudity, slightly edited violence and minor deleted scenes. A full list of differences can be viewed here.

See also: shot-for-shot

Credits

Three directors received credit for Sin City: Miller, Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino, the latter for directing one scene in the film--a rather sprawling number for a film budgeted at just $40 million. Miller and Rodriguez were very much a team as far as directing the rest of the film. Despite having no previous directorial background, Miller was greatly involved in the direction of the film, providing direction to the actors on their motivations and what they needed to bring to each scene. Because of this (not to mention the fact that Miller's original novels were used as storyboards), Rodriguez felt that they should both be credited as directors on the film.

When the Directors Guild of America refused to allow two directors that were not an established team to be credited (especially since Miller had never directed before), Rodriguez first planned to give Miller full credit. Miller would not accept this, as he certainly could not have done it without Rodriguez. Rodriguez, also refusing to take full credit, decided to resign from the Guild so that the joint credit could remain.

Reception

The film opened on April 1, 2005 to largely positive reviews, receiving a 77% “Certified Fresh” rating at Rotten Tomatoes. Roger Ebert awarded the film four stars, describing it as "a visualization of the pulp noir imagination, uncompromising and extreme. Yes, and brilliant." Online critical reaction was particularly strong: James Berardinelli placed the film on his list of the ten best films of 2005. Several critics, such as Ebert, compared the film favorably to other comic book adaptations, particularly Batman and Hulk. Critic Chauncey Mabe of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel wrote, "Really, there will be no reason for anyone to make a comic-book film ever again. Miller and Rodriguez have pushed the form as far as it can possibly go."

Several critics were displeased, however, criticizing the film’s nihilism and graphic violence. William Arnold of the Seattle-Post Intelligencer slammed the film as "super-corrupt, super-violent, super-shadowy, and in every other way super-exaggerated." New York Times critic Manohla Dargis claimed that it is "hard to get pulled into the story on any level other than the visceral," writing the film off as Rodriguez's hermetic, "private experience" and a "bore." Fellow Times critic A. O. Scott, identifying Who Framed Roger Rabbit as its chief cinematic predecessor, argued that "Sin City offers sensation without feeling, death without grief, sin without guilt and, ultimately, novelty without surprise." Renowned movie critic Leonard Maltin gave the film one and half stars out of a possible four.

Sin City grossed $29.1 million on opening weekend, defeating fellow opener Beauty Shop by more than twice in its opening take. However, the film saw sharp declines in later weeks (dropping over fifty percent in its second weekend). Ultimately, the film ended its North American run with a gross of $74.1 million, against its $40 million negative cost. Overseas, the film grossed $84.6 million, for a worldwide total of $158.7 million.

The passions generated among moviegoers, both for and against the movie, were illustrated by an incident in Australia. A male cinema patron in Bathurst bit the tip off another man's nose, following an argument about Sin City. The two men, who were not known to each other, began arguing after a screening on July 17, 2005. The man's nose was restored by surgery and police were said to be searching for his attacker.

Release of DVD versions

The Region 1 DVD was released on August 16, 2005. The single-disc edition was released with four different slipcovers to choose from and featured a "Behind-the-Scenes" documentary. Then, on December 13, 2005, the special edition DVD was released, known as the "Recut, Extended, Unrated" edition.

File:REU.jpg

The Recut, Extended, Unrated Edition.

---

This file may be deleted at any time.

The Special Edition was a two-disc set, featuring both the 126 minute theatrical release, along with the 147 minute Extended edition (this edition restored edited and deleted scenes that were missing from the theatrical edition). Bonus material included an audio commentary with director Rodriguez and Miller, a commentary with Rodriguez and Tarantino, and a third commentary featuring the recorded "audience reaction" at the Austin, Texas Premiere. Also included were various behind-the-scenes documentaries and features, as well as the complete graphic novel "The Hard Goodbye," which is commonly priced at about USD $17.00 in bookstores.

The initial Region 2 release only features a 7 minute featurette on the movie. HMV stores had limited quantities of the four slipcases. Amazon.co.uk released another limited edition which housed the film, and the three books it is based on, in a hard case. In October 2007, the Recut, Extended, and Unrated edition was finally released in the UK. Although it does not feature the reproduction of The Hard Goodbye, it does come in steelbook packaging. This version of the movie was initially exclusive to HMV stores, with an RRP of £9.99, but is now available at most retailers in the UK. It is announced that Sin City would be released in a Home Theater format Blu-Ray Disc later in 2007.

Soundtrack

Main article: Sin City (soundtrack)

Original music was composed by Rodriguez as well as Graeme Revell and John Debney. The three main stories in the film ("The Hard Goodbye", "The Big Fat Kill" and "That Yellow Bastard") were each scored by an individual composer: Revell scored "Goodbye", Debney scored "Kill" and Rodriguez scored "Bastard". Additionally, Rodriguez co-scored with the other two composers on several tracks.

Another notable piece of music used was the instrumental version of the song "Cells" by the London-based alternative group The Servant. The song was heavily featured in the film's publicity, including the promotional trailers and television spots, as well as being featured on the film's DVD menus. The lyrical version is downloadable via The Servant's website.

"Sensemayá" by Silvestre Revueltas is also used on the end sequence of "That Yellow Bastard"

Sequels

Sin City 2 is the currently unproduced sequel to Sin City. Although specific plot details remain unknown, it is generally believed the film will be based on Miller's A Dame to Kill For, certain stories from Booze, Broads and Bullets and an original story involving Nancy Callahan.

Production on the film has been delayed, most notably due to Robert Rodriguez's involvement with a scheduled remake of Barbarella. There is also speculation that the box office failure of Grindhouse has caused the film to be delayed.

Even though the events confirmed for this film take place before certain events of the first film (allowing deceased characters such as Marv, Manute, and Goldie to return), they take place after the death of Hartigan, who will most likely not return. Bruce Willis has confirmed that he will not be involved in this film, but he has stated that he would love to reprise the role, if Frank Miller were to write some new Hartigan material for a subsequent sequel. It is unknown whether or not Becky (Alexis Bledel) or The Salesman/The Colonel (Josh Hartnett) will return to reprise their roles for this film. Miller has stated that they will do "a couple of 'Blue-Eyes' stories, and the character The Colonel is featured in all of them; the return of Josh Hartnett for the role of The Man/The Colonel depends on whether the characters are the same in the movie-continuum as they are in the comics. The use of "Blue-Eyes" may also be due to the possibility that the third film will consist primarily or entirely of Hell and Back, which features her as an important character.

Angelina Jolie was said to be Rodríguez's first choice in the role of Ava Lord, so much so that he was delaying production to correspond with her pregnancy, according to Rosario Dawson , but a subsequent article stated there are three rumored frontrunners for the role of Ava: Angelina Jolie, Salma Hayek, and Rose McGowan . Frank Miller himself confirmed that he and Rodriguez were interested in having Jolie as Ava, and that the director was discussing the possibility with her. Jolie later discussed in an article that she read the comic and planned to meet with the director when the movie was planned to be made . However, after this she reported that she will be having a year out of work in 2008 to spend more time with her family and partner Brad Pitt . Therefore, it was very unlikely that she would be available for Sin City 2. Following this it was reported that Angelina Jolie has been replaced by Rachel Weisz as the front runner to play Ava in Sin City 2.

Antonio Banderas has been rumored to star in the film. Johnny Depp and Addyson Medley have also been rumored to star in the role of Wallace. Depp not only has been rumored to star in Sin City 2, but Sin City 3 as well. According to Rodriguez, the role of Wallace was written with Depp in mind.

Frank Miller has confirmed that he and Robert Rodriguez have completed a script, but while at the 2007 Comic-Con, he blamed the Weinstein brothers for the delay.

External links

• Official Sin City website
• Sin City at IMDb
• Sin City at Metacritic
• Roger Ebert's original review of Sin City
• Template:Shh
• Sin City Trailer 1 (14.5 MB, Quicktime)
• Frank Miller`s Sin city & 300 & Spirit - Database articles, images and other files about Frank Millers and his comics adaptation.

• Sin City Trailer 2 (27.4 MB, Quicktime)
• Sin City at Rotten Tomatoes
• A list of differences between the books and the film
• An extensive interview with Miller and Rodriguez (59:39 minutes, click "Extended Audio")
• The Spoilers Alternate DVD Commentary of Sin City
• Peter Sanderson's indepth analysis of the film