For the most part, when I begin the review process of a Blu-ray disc, I have either seen the film in the theater or have a pretty good understanding of what the film is all about from reading media reports. This is not the case with Sin City. I was not familiar with the graphic novels by Frank Miller on which the film is based and had no understanding at all about what this film was all about. I went into this review with my eyes wide open looking to, hopefully, enjoy a film for what is is, namely entertainment. What I found was a very gritty, interesting, compelling, fascinating and original film that was a great cinematic experience and a real eye opener in more ways than one.

Film 

Sin City is based on a series of graphic novels by Frank Miller. There are two versions of the film presented on this release, the theatrical release and a re-cut, extended unrated version. Of the two, I found the extended unrated version the superior option. The film was written, produced and directed by Frank Miller and Robert Rodriquez with a special quest director credit given to Quentin Tarantino for his role in directing one scene in the film.

The film features an all star cast, including Bruce Willis, Mickey Rourke, Clive Owen, Jessica Alba, Benicio del Toro, Brittany Murphy, Elijah Wood, Rosario Dawson, Jaime King, Carla Gagino, Alexia Bledel, Rutger Hauer and Josh Hartnet. The unrated cut features four stories all set in Basin City, a gritty and grimy town with rampant corruption of the government and the police force. While all stories are different, they all take place in and around Basin City and feature some of the same characters who float in and out of the various stories.

The first story in entitled The Customer is Always Right which stars Marley Shelton as a woman wearing a red dress out on alone of a balcony who meets her demise at the hands of Josh Hartnett.

The second story is entitled That Yellow Bastard which stars Bruce Willis as police officer John Hartigan who has a bad ticker and is obsessed with saving the life of a young girl from a serial child rapist and murderer who happens to be the son of the powerful and corrupt Senator Roark. While rescuing the 11 year old Nancy Callahan from Roark Junior, Officer Hartnet shoots Junior Roark several times, including blowing off his genitals. He is framed by a corrupt officer as the child murderer and after an extensive hospitalization, agrees to a long prison term to save the life of Nancy Calligan and her family at the hands of the Roark family. After serving out his prison term, Officer Hartigan is released and is followed by the Old Yellow Bastard who is intent on capturing and killing Nancy who, along with Officer Hartigan, are the only ones who know his secret. Officer Hartigan sets out to protect Nancy who is now an erotic dancer played by the stunningly beautiful Jessica Alba. I Oh, by the way, did I forget to mention that this film has some stunning eye candy with Jessica Alba in erotic attire, a naked and spectacular looking Carla Gugino who is a real eye opener in her role as a lesbian parole officer, as well as Rosario Dawson, Brittany Murphy and Alexis Bledel, just to name a few, all of whom look incredible in high definition.

The third vignette is entitled The Hard Goodbye which stars Mickey Rourke as a disfigured thug named Marv, who finds a beautiful woman named Goldie who he had just met that night, murdered in his bed and him framed for the murder, He sets out to find the person who killed his angel after escaping from the police and tracks down the murderer on the Roark farm where he takes care of business before meeting his own demise at the hands of the criminal justice system.

The last of the four vignettes is entitled The Big Fat Kill and stars Clive Owen as a good guy, intent on saving the lives of a group of hookers who control a section of the city, protected by an agreement between them, the police and the mob.

As noted previously, this is a gritty and violent film that has plenty of eye candy. However, it is much more than the sum of its parts, as it successfully weaves together different story lines with common characters. I have never quite seen a film like Sin City. It captures your attention early and never lets go. It is an excellent film and is one that is a must see. Very highly recommended.

Video 

The word that leaps to mind to describe the look of this film on Blu-ray is flawless. I am sure the film isn’t perfect in all respects but it came close enough for me to give the video a perfect score of 5 out of 5. The film is presented in glorious black and white with just a slash of color, with the red dress in the The Customer is Always Right, the the golden color of Goldie’s hair to the red color of blood and the yellow skin color of the Old Yellow Bastard. The film delivers a deep and inky black that will surely test your display’s ability to render deep blacks. White, such as the band-aids on the face of the Mickey Rourke character in particular, are pure white and look stunning against the inky blacks in the rest of the image.

The film has a utterly three dimensional look to it with incredible clarity and detail. Shadow detail is excellent as well, which is important given how the film takes place at night. While I have seen many films presented in black and white, I have never seen one that looks quite like this one. This is a spectacular looking film that is presented in all of its glory on this Blu-ray release. Sin City is reference in all respects and fully deserving of a perfect score.

Audio 

The lossless audio track on this release is every bit as good as the video presentation. The lossless audio track is encoded with DTS HD Master Audio at 48 kHz/24 bit in a 5.1 mix and is one of the better sound designs I have yet experienced at home. The one thing that strikes you from the outset of the film is the quality of the dialogue track, which is presented with incredible fidelity. The actors sound as though they are in the room speaking to you rather than through a set of speakers.

The fidelity of the rest of the audio is just as impressive as the dialogue track, sounding smooth, rich and full with incredible transparency and imaging. Dynamics are just off the charts with deep and rich bass that will put your sound system to the test. Even better, the surround speakers are actively engaged throughout the film creating a totally immersive feel that helps draw you into the world of Basin City. This is one fantastic sound design that is presented with incredible fidelity on this DTS HD Master Audio track.

Special Features 

Disc 1 contains the theatrical release in addition to several extras, including a commentary with Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller, a commentary featuring Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino and an audio track containing the reaction of the Austin audience to the film. where the film was shot. The commentaries are accessible via Cine-Explore.

Disc 2, which has the extended unrated cut, features Kill ‘em Good, an interactive comic book which is exclusive to Blu-ray and is the only extra presented in HD. Also included are several Robert Rodriguez featurettes, including a 15 Minute Film School, All Green Screen Version, The Long Take, Sin City: Live in Concert and 10 Minute Cooking School. In addition and the most interesting IMHO, are the featurettes How it Went Down: Convincing Frank Miller to Make the Film, Special Quest Director Quentin Tarantino, A Hard Top with a Decent Engine: The Cars of Sin City, Booze, Broads and Guns: The Props of Sin City, Making the Monsters: Special Effects Make-Up, Trench Coasts and Fishnets: The Costumes of Sin City, all of which detail the topics you would expect from the titles. Also included are the teaser and theatrical trailers for the film. All in all, there is a ton of material here for fans of the film and the Frank Miller graphic novels.

Final Thoughts 

Sin City is a great film with reference audio and video. What more can you ask for? Very highly recommended.