There are few directors that I rate high when it comes to true innovation and creativity in the realm of filmmaking. Most directors are content to stay within the boundaries set by film schools and the Hollywood status quo. Ranking high on my list is Robert Rodriguez. Like most directors, only a few of his films are really great as far as the entertainment value goes, but unlike other directors ALL of his films show what a creative (and frugal) genius he is when it comes to delivery. Rodriguez also has the distinction of crossing boundaries that very few directors cross. He has made films like “El Mariachi”, “Desperado”, “Once Upon a time in Mexico” and “From Dusk ‘Til Dawn”, all of which are bloody and excessively violent. Then turned around and created the “Spy Kids” series as well as “Shark boy and Lava Girl”, both of which are enormously popular with the younger set. What was next I had to wonder?

I mentioned the two films “El Mariachi” and “Desperado” because both of these films are important to Rodriguez’s career for different reasons. “El Mariachi”, which was released in 1992, was Rodriguez’s first feature length film. He shot it while a film student in Austin for an unheard of $7,000. With little money he created a film that caught the attention of critics worldwide with its frenzied pace and creative storytelling style. And as it told the story of a Mariachi (Carlos Gallardo) who unwittingly gets caught up in a deadly game with drug lords, Rodriguez chose to film the movie in Spanish, even though many of the cast didn’t even speak the language.

I remember the first time I caught “El Mariachi” on video; I was completely blown away by its style and humor. When I heard shortly thereafter that there was a bigger budget sequel being made, “Desperado”, I couldn’t wait to see it. That one I caught in the theatre, and I loved every minute of it. From its opening sequence in which Steve Buscemi (can you NOT love a movie that Buscemi is in?) tells a group of guys in a bar about the legendary Mariachi (now played by Antonio Banderas), “Desperado” reeled me in with its perfect blend of music and some of the most stylish camera work I have ever seen. The slow motion shootouts are reminiscent of Peckinpah, but are so extreme and over the top as to be as funny as they are violent. Even the third entry in the series, “Once Upon a Time in Mexico” failed to disappoint in any way.

A couple of years ago, my question to what was next for Rodriguez was answered when it was announced that he would helm the live action version of Frank Miller’s ultra-violent comic book series, “Sin City” And considering how incredibly visual that series is, Rodriguez was definitely the guy to do it. Unlike most directors who would take the material and change it to fit their mold, Rodriguez opted to not only use Miller’s books as actual storyboards, but even asked Miller to step in as co-director on the project. And herein lies the one big piece of controversy surrounding the film. The Director’s Guild, which Rodriguez was a part of, has had a long standing rule that allows only one director per picture. (They make allowances for certain directing teams, like the Cohen Brothers.) The Guild would not, under any circumstances, allow Miller to be credited as a co-director. So, Rodriguez did something that I believe no other director would have had the nerve to do. He quit the Guild. This keeps him out of being able to work for some of the bigger studios, but he gets enough offers from the smaller studios that he doesn’t have to worry about unemployment. And so, he and Miller teamed up (with a little extra help from Quentin Tarantino) to direct “Sin City.”

Trying to describe the film, which is almost literally shot-for-shot the comic book series, would not in any way do it justice. It is made up of three main stories, which are all interconnected. In the one that opens and closes the film, Bruce Willis stars as an aging cop who is determined at all costs to stop a deranged child molester (Nick Stahl) from harming a little girl. Because the fiend has family connections, he suffers greatly for his cause. He later returns to save the now grown-up girl (Jessica Alba) from the same people who would have done her harm years before. In one of the secondary stories, Mickey Rourke (totally unrecognizable under make-up) is Marv, a giant hulk of a brute who falls for a beautiful girl (Jaime King). When she is killed by a mysterious assassin (Elijah Wood), he vows to destroy her murderer, refusing to let anyone, cop or criminal, get in his way.

Clive Owen heads up the third story as Dwight, whose new girlfriend (Brittany Murhpy) has ‘issues’ with her insanely violent ex-boyfriend Jackie Boy (Benicio Del Toro). When the two finally face off (along with Jackie Boy’s… boys), he is aided by a group of murderous prostitutes. The end result leaves only the prostitutes and Dwight standing, and when certain facts come to light about Jackie Boy, the prostitutes realize that the ‘protection’ they have had from the cops who run the city, might have just come to an end.

I’d ask you to keep in mind that the above descriptions of the storylines are extremely simplified. They are much more complex than I make it sound, but anything else I tell you would only give away too many spoilers.

What makes “Sin City” such a great film, if not a popular one, is the highly stylized way that it is presented. Since Rodriguez wanted it to look like the comic series come to life, it is almost completely black & white, with only splashes of color where it might help to punctuate the scene. Blood is often seen as red, but true to the comic book style, there are times when the blood runs stark white and the image is startling. I realize there are a lot of people who won’t appreciate the look of the film, and for those I can only feel sorry for their utter lack of imagination.

Then there is the matter of the style of the stories, which were originally written to invoke the classic film noire of the 1930’s and 40’s. The setting is really timeless, but everything is dark and gritty, and everyone talks like they just walked out of a ten cent pulp novel. The acting is often over the top (in an understated sort of way), but it suits the material to a tea. Most of the film has voice over narration as it jumps from character to character, but it is never hard to follow. The situations are extreme, some to the point of unbelievable, but they are all acceptable if you remember this is a comic book world. There is also a LOT of nudity and extreme violence, so when I say comic book world, do not think this is for kids!!

“Sin City” offers terrific performances by a HUGE cast of big name actors, a couple of which really needed a comeback of this magnitude. The main one that comes to mind is Mickey Rourke, who in the past I’ve never really been a big fan of. He is awesome as Marv. Even under the immense prosthetic makeup, his intensity is such that I have never seen him deliver in any other film. As for the rest of the cast, Bruce Willis, Clive Owen and Jessica Alba are superb. Elijah Wood plays completely against type as a cold-blooded, depraved and sickening killer. Benicio Del Toro steals every scene he’s in, even though he plays most of them with a gun in his head (yes… that’s what I said…).

The DVD release of “Sin City” hits store shelves this week from Dimension Home Video, and while I would highly recommend it for the awesome transfer that it delivers, I have to shoot it down for its lack of extra features. There is only a smidgeon of a Behind the Scenes featurette and that’s all. Dimension is gearing up to do the ‘double-dipping’ thing by releasing a full-blown Special Edition down the road. I hate it when studios do this, ‘cause there are those (namely me) that HAVE to have a movie like this in their collection NOW so I can watch it at home. But then when the Special Edition comes out with all the extra features, I’ll HAVE to have that one, too. (Hence the term’, double-dipping’). I’d almost rather wait for the full blown version to come out, and not have them even release this one yet. Then of course, there’s the fact that there are four different slipcovers being released. Each has different characters on it. I don’t need them all, but there are those collectors who will shell out the bucks for all four. But I digress.

Aside from the complaint I have about the ‘double dip’, “Sin City” (the movie) gets a big recommendation from me. If you don’t need all the bells and whistles, grab this DVD for the movie. If you’d rather wait, borrow this one, then wait to buy the other.

Directed by: Robert Rodriguez
Starring: Jessica Alba, Benicio Del Toro, Brittany Murphy, Clive Owen, Mickey Rourke, Bruce Willis, Elijah Wood
Extras: Behind the Scenes Featurette
Specifications: Widescreen (1.85:1) Enhanced for 16x9 Televisions, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound, DTS 5.1 Digital Surround Sound
Studio: Dimension
Release Date: 8/16/2005
Region 1
MPAA Rating: R (For Sustained Strong Stylized Violence, Nudity and Sexual Content Including Dialogue)
Website

We'll give Sin City an A.