Thoughtful reviews, the Boulder film scene

" I know a guy married the same dame 3 times then turned around and married her aunt "
— William Demarest, The Lady Eve

MRQE Top Critic

Betty Blue

There can be beauty in tragedy, particularly when the key ingredient is the same in both —Marty Mapes (review...)

Betty arrives like a bolt from the Blue

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Forget cinema verité. With Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino at the helm, assisted by Sin City’s creator, Frank Miller (the graphic novel master behind the revisionist Batman in The Dark Knight Returns), it’s time for cinema purée.

There are a million stories in Basin City, affectionately referred to as Sin City, and this film adaptation of Miller’s series of graphic novels tells three of those tales. It’s a stunningly faithful adaptation, oozing with loads of violence, attitude, and bodacious bodies.

Handsome slipcase is one of only two extra features
Handsome slipcase is one of only two extra features

One story involves John Hartigan (Bruce Willis), a cop pushing 60 who refuses to die until an 11-year-old girl is rescued from a pedophile. Another follows Marv (Mickey Rourke), an incredibly ugly lug with a healthy respect for women. The third story involves Dwight (Clive Owen, Closer) as he seeks revenge against his new girlfriend’s ex.

It’s a simple concept told in eye-popping fashion, but there’s virtually no redeeming value. Nonetheless, Sin City does manage to create a giddy sense of sick, twisted fun as the unflappable good guys battle the Hell-bound bad guys. As an added bonus, there are plenty of quotable lines (“A hard top with a decent engine and make sure it’s got a big trunk.”) and it is satisfying to see the bad guys get their comeuppance.

Alas, Rodriguez and Tarantino (via Miller) have already desensitized their audiences with non-stop verbal assaults and/or blazing weapons in movies like Desperado and Pulp Fiction. Here, the only hope is to ratchet up the body count to such genocidal levels, Jason Voorhees and Michael Myers would blush.

The end result, then, is nirvana for fans of bloody mayhem and something of a non-event for almost all others. Make no mistake, this one’s not for the kids.

DVD Extras

Aside from the handsome cardboard slipcase, the only extra feature on this DVD is a short featurette with interviews from Rodriguez, Tarantino, and Miller. They do have some interesting stories to recount — Miller’s initial reluctance fighting against Rodriguez’ unstoppable persistence — but you won’t find a lot of information, nor will you find the usual cooking and home video segments so often seen on Rodriguez’ DVDs.

Picture and Sound

Not surprisingly, picture and sound quality are superb. The source material is all digital and all new, so nothing has had the chance to fade or get dirty.

The movie is presented in its original widescreen aspect ratio. The sound is encoded in both Dolby Digital and DTS.