Sin City

[theMaximus]

This DVD is coming out tommorow in the U.S., and I wanted to know if this is worth purchasing. Please let me know what you guys think after watching it. Thnx.

[George Bellefontaine]

The trailers sure looked good. I'll be interested to hear what others have to say who have seen it, too, Maximus.

[Shane Martin]

THE SE is coming at the end of the year.

I'm going to rent this version to see if I want to purchase the SE or not.

[David Meek]

If you have read the Sin City comics you'll love it. If you are into over the top amounts of hyper-agressive violence you'll love it. If you are into stylized color palettes - think B&W with various colors inserted as highlights - you'll love it. If you are into bada$$ women wearing skimpy clothing and kicking butt you'll love it. And, let me repeat: If you are into over the top amounts of hyper-agressive violence you'll love it.

Otherwise pass on it.

[theMaximus]

If you have read the Sin City comics you'll love it. If you are into over the top amounts of hyper-agressive violence you'll love it. If you are into stylized color palettes - think B&W with various colors inserted as highlights - you'll love it. If you are into bada$$ women wearing skimpy clothing and kicking butt you'll love it. And, let me repeat: If you are into over the top amounts of hyper-agressive violence you'll love it.

Otherwise pass on it.

Since I am into all of those thing, especially bada$$ women wearing skimpy clothing and kicking butt, I'm sure I would love it. I'll rent it tonight and find out if it's worth owning.

[George Bellefontaine]

Leave it to Tex Meek to highlight all the important things about the film. Sounds like my cup of tea. But after watching some of those trailers, I'd say this one could be rainbow hell for dlp tv/projector owners who are bothered by such.

[theMaximus]

After watching this movie, I was very impressed. Both PQ and SQ (DTS track) were excellent. I guess if there ever was a good movie to test black level of your display or DVD player, this DVD would be it. At times colors seemed exaggerated against rest of the black and white background, but I've got to admit they looked so darn vivid and pretty. IMO, this is definitely worth owning for the SQ and PQ alone. You can hear nice surround steering and clear dialogues through out the movie.

[ht_addict]

Watched the movie yesterday on my Denon 2900 and calibrated Panny 47 RPTV. All I can say is spectacular. :T :T

[Adz]

The DVD received WideScreenReview's highest picture quality rating of 5, which I hardly ever see. Here is an excerpt:

"If ever there was a movie that could be compared shot-by-shot to the pages of a comic book, this would be it. With scenes adapted straight from panels in the original Sin City comics, the anamorphically enhanced 1.82:1 DVD picture delivers pure visual excitement. The picture is mostly comprised of high contrast black-and-white imagery, with endless blacks and bright whites, and a gray scale that offers a perfect gradation between the two extremes. Spot colors accent details like Goldie’s golden locks, Becky’s blue eyes, and Yellow Bastard’s putrid skin. You will notice a touch of amber in the prescription bottle as Marv dumps pills down his throat or scenes that offer a slight monochromatic tobacco stain that provide a bit of western warmth to Kadie’s saloon. The more you watch, the more you revel in the sights that accompany the storytelling. While there may be a bit of pixelization here and there, the bit rate often stays well above average and compression artifacts are limited. Edge enhancement is not a problem with this title. (Suzanne Hodges)"

[PewterTA]

Definitely an amazing film PQ and SQ wise. While it's not on par with something like LOTR Trilogy as far as sound and picture.... it's very close.

The artist/comic book styling of the picture has to be commended for keeping it close to the comic...definitely did a heck of a job there.

The DTS track on it is really good for what it does. Sound will (seemingly) explode from the rear channels when required, and the dialog is firmly (and almost earily) fixed in the center channel as it should be when doing Monologues... They really seemed to take care is really capturing Bruce Willis' and the other characters when they are describing what's going on or talking about someone...it really comes through crystal clear.

All in all, a thoroughly entertaining movie...I'm not a fan of the comic (not a big comic fan in general) and I instally was pulled into this movie as soon as the opening hit.

Very well done!!!

Some people might have a slight issue with the B&W picture presentation with just hints of Blue and Green, but the Red for the blood and lipstick and women's clothing is really over saturated (but intended that way)...they come off as some of the most amazing "reds" I've ever seen in a movie.

[Razvan]

The DVD looks and sounds great but the movie itself is moronic.

R

[Adz]

The DVD received WideScreenReview's highest picture quality rating of 5, which I hardly ever see. Here is an excerpt:

"If ever there was a movie that could be compared shot-by-shot to the pages of a comic book, this would be it. With scenes adapted straight from panels in the original Sin City comics, the anamorphically enhanced 1.82:1 DVD picture delivers pure visual excitement. The picture is mostly comprised of high contrast black-and-white imagery, with endless blacks and bright whites, and a gray scale that offers a perfect gradation between the two extremes. Spot colors accent details like Goldie’s golden locks, Becky’s blue eyes, and Yellow Bastard’s putrid skin. You will notice a touch of amber in the prescription bottle as Marv dumps pills down his throat or scenes that offer a slight monochromatic tobacco stain that provide a bit of western warmth to Kadie’s saloon. The more you watch, the more you revel in the sights that accompany the storytelling. While there may be a bit of pixelization here and there, the bit rate often stays well above average and compression artifacts are limited. Edge enhancement is not a problem with this title. (Suzanne Hodges)"

My follow-up:
1. Reference picture quality - 3D like
2. Very good sound - top notch for sure
3. Movie itself sucked - It's no Pulp Fiction or anything like it; in fact it sucked. oh, wait, i said that already. what a dopey mindless flick. AndI'm a huge fan of movies like Kill Bill I and II and Pulp fiction and others, but what a joke this one was.
4. P.S. Jessica Alba is a smokin piece of A. Wow!

[BlazeMaster]

I don't understand why people are comparing this movie to the other works of Tarantino, just because he directed ONE scene of Sin City. This movie was directly adopted from the comic book, DIRECTLY, so if you never picked up a comic book and sat down and read one, you'd probably find this movie not your cup of tea. Overall, this is one of the best movies that's derived from a comic franchise.

[Adz]

I don't understand why people are comparing this movie to the other works of Tarantino, just because he directed ONE scene of Sin City. This movie was directly adopted from the comic book, DIRECTLY, so if you never picked up a comic book and sat down and read one, you'd probably find this movie not your cup of tea. Overall, this is one of the best movies that's derived from a comic franchise.

That is true - he directed only one scene and I was trying to think of other movies with lots of cartoonish type senseless violence but QT's were the only ones that came to mind last night after watching this one and to me, this one is at the bottom, the BOTTOM.

[Foxman]

I was luke warm to the movie, my wife thought it was a waste of time. I had the knowledge that it was a movie adapted from a comic book and while there are many comic book character movies, there arent that many that jump around like a comic book does. So, I think when people associate comic book's and movies, a lot of people think Spiderman or Hulk and this is clearly neither. I have to say I had no prior experiance with the Sin City comics or anything really since I read the archies way back in the day, so I wasnt very entertained. I was not able to find the DTS option in the setup, thought PQ was fine and the SQ appropriate. Overall I'd say a 2 out of 5.

[George Bellefontaine]

Looks like this will be one of those either love it or hate it flicks.

[Azeke]

Good for a rental if you like action and violence, but not a keeper in my opinion. Viewed it via the DTS version (in Languages menu). 2 1/2 out of 5.

Regards,

Azeke

[Adz]

Good for a rental if you like action and violence, but not a keeper in my opinion. Viewed it via the DTS version (in Languages menu). 2 1/2 out of 5.

Regards,

Azeke

If you want to have a reference DVD for picture quality; I have to believe this is about as "HD like" as you're gonna get out of a DVD video as of today. That's one way to rationalize the purchase (at least that's what I needed to do!).

[Foxman]

If you want to have a reference DVD for picture quality; I have to believe this is about as "HD like" as you're gonna get out of a DVD video as of today.

I was much more impressed with LOTR Extended Editions than Sin City for VQ, JMHO.

In fact I am still impressed with the VQ of Van Helsing and while I didnt do an A/B comparison, I remember being very impressed with the VQ of that movie.

[Sonnie Parker]

Gee... you guys sure are a lotta help for someone trying to figure out whether to rent it or not.

Oh heck... what's five bucks... I've blown more on buying DVD's not worth a pea in the bucket.

[Burke Strickland]

Sonnie --

One word of warning -- the visuals look like a comic book and the characters act like cartoo ... uh, what was that? It's based on a comic book? Don't bother renting "Sin City". Go ahead and buy it instead -- they did a great job on this one. One more reference disk in your collection can't hurt! :>)

Burke

[Adz]

I was much more impressed with LOTR Extended Editions than Sin City for VQ, JMHO.

In fact I am still impressed with the VQ of Van Helsing and while I didnt do an A/B comparison, I remember being very impressed with the VQ of that movie.

I don't know -- I showed off the picture quality yesterday to a friend and its something about Sin City which is one of the most spectacular visual experiences I've seen on a DVD video (oh wait, maybe its seeing Jessica Alba 3-D like) and it (including Jessica) has the added advantage of just about filling my entire 114" 16:9 screen (the DVD has an aspect ratio of 1.82:1).

[Nick M]

I was looking for my old review of this film when I saw it in the theaters but I couldn't find it. Bought it last Tuesday when it was released.

I quite enjoyed this film, and felt it had a bit more than a "Guest Hand" by Tarantino. Very interesting and great use of colors to underline sex and violence.

Of the three main storylines in the film, there was one I felt was a bit boring (the old-town/tar-pits story). Overall I thought it was great, and the DVD quality is superb. Micky and Willis were excellent main characters.

:35: out of :5: (damn close to four stars)

[BlazeMaster]

I dunno...maybe it's just a movie that someone in their 20s would enjoy more, it seems that only I and Nicholas enjoyed it. I certainly thought it was, every minute of it.

[gostan]

I dunno...maybe it's just a movie that someone in their 20s would enjoy more, it seems that only I and Nicholas enjoyed it. I certainly thought it was, every minute of it.

I saw the theatrical release with my 20 year old stepson. It was a great guys' night out at the movies. I don't know how it would fly at home with the boys and girls together.

[Snap]

maybe I am missing something. Me and my wife got 20 minutes into the thing and turned it off and went to bed!

[David Meek]

Jim, let's compare choices here: You can go to bed with your wife or watch Sin City. You are a smart man. :B

[Sonnie Parker]

At least you got your priorties right!

I finally watched it (as a rental) and I must say I was impressed by the PQ. BUT, the movie itself... I don't know. I'm not sure whether I liked it or not. While it was very violent, at least the blood wasn't red so it was less of an impact on the viloent side to me. Definitely a different kind of movie.

[George Bellefontaine]

Well I finally got around to watching it. Certainly was a different visual experience . I liked it okay, but to be honest, I'm glad I rented it as I really wouldn't enjoy it a second time around. DTS sound was pretty good. And what little we saw of Miss Alba was electricfying, to say the least. Good job by Willis and Rourke.

[Chris D]

Since this was so well received by some good critics (i.e. Roger Ebert) I made a blind purchase and picked this up. I really liked the movie! Not that the story was overwhelming or anything, and I'm not into uber-violence or the other stuff mentioned above. I don't know... maybe what I liked about it was the innovative comic-style. VERY well done. VERY... in the way that Matrix was innovative with bullet-time camera moves.

Not an Oscar winner or anything, but I'm glad I bought it. Didn't know that a SE would be coming out, though. Wonder if I should have waited.

[David Meek]

I'm glad I did. : I'll just go straight to the SE.

[aud19]

Watched this last night off of HD...

As everyone mentioned the PQ is stunning. I would imagine they're using this one in film schools already as an example of shadows/lighting/camera work etc.

I agree with Adz's comments comparing it to Pulp Fiction (and about Alba! :E :P ). It's a similar style of storytelling that IMO was not as well accomplished here. Where Pulp Fiction seemed to intertwine the story and characters together in a much more entertaining fashion, I found Sin City's story and characters merely "rubbed elbows" for the most part. And while the seperate parts are fairly entertaining on their own, they just seemed a little "clumsy" as a whole to me.

Otherwise if it had a slightly tighter story, this movie would have likely got a perfect score from me. As it is though it's a solid 4 out of 5

[aphexist]

It's a similar style of storytelling that IMO was not as well accomplished here. Where Pulp Fiction seemed to intertwine the story and characters together in a much more entertaining fashion, I found Sin City's story and characters merely "rubbed elbows" for the most part. And while the seperate parts are fairly entertaining on their own, they just seemed a little "clumsy" as a whole to me.

Otherwise if it had a slightly tighter story, this movie would have likely got a perfect score from me. As it is though it's a solid 4 out of 5

You are probably not familiar with the origin of the stories (and the script). Sin City was not written as a movie script; it was adapted for the screen from a selection of three (plus one quickie) short stories from Frank Miller's Sin City graphic novels. Each of these novels stands on its own, but there are often shared characters and cameos (like when Dwight shows up in Marv's story or when Shellie shows up in Hartigan's). They are not really supposed to intertwine much, otherwise Miller would have had to butcher his original stories

Also, I think the Sin City movie is supposed to give a different feeling from the Pulp Fiction style of interweaving storylines. While Pulp Fiction had a very cinematic feeling to it with its backwards chronological order, untransitioned cuts, and lack of narration, Sin City gave me a feeling of actually witnessing the plot unfold in person and was chronologically ordered once a main storyline got going. Sometimes it felt as though I was just another hardened denizen of this sordid metropolis. For me, it was much more involving sensation than watching Pulp Fiction.

[aud19]

I was familiar with the origins (though not expertly by any means). I think my point is that it's quite telling it's three seperate stories as IMO it didn't work as well as a whole movie as the individual parts do. The 3 seperate stories on their own were quite good however

[Kevin D]

Anyone watched the director's cut yet? Is it worth picking it up for another 45 minutes?

Kevin D.

[David Meek]

Good question. Anyone. . . ?

[wkhanna]

I just watched it this weekend, and thoroughly enjoyed it. While it did use a similar style from ‘Pulp’, I did not think it was intended to be used as a vital component of the theme as in ‘Pulp’, and was solely intended as a vehicle to tie the three stories together.

Ultra-Violent, Very sexy, and to some, like my wife, (she only watched the last ten minutes, not quite her favorite genre of film) morally decadent. Again, I loved it!

I’m not sure which female actress you guys were referring to, but I thought the parole officer was drop-dead gorgeous, and the little blonde with the samurai sword was a real cutie.

BTW, was the cop who was beheaded that same ‘Bad’ guy from the first ‘Highlander’?

I picked it up at the New and Used CD shop I have been frequenting lately for $11. I’ll trade it back in, get a $4 credit and get something else this weekend. It’s almost as good a deal as renting, but I have the luxury of watching and/or keeping it when I want, with no worries of late fees.

Oh! And hey David M…………….. Niiiiiice Jacket you got there!