Sin City

[Pielorinho]

I saw in an E! Interview with Robert Rodriguez that the reason he liked the dialogue of the Sin City strips was that, like Film Noir was shocking to the audience of the 1930's and 1940's, presenting an image of life that was not normally seen in movies, Sin City did the same sort of shock for audiences of the 1990's and now the 2000's. It just seems to take more to shock an audience now.

That may be, but I wasn't really shocked by the dialogue; in fact, when I noticed it, I liked it. Dialogue in The Maltese Falcon, on the other hand, had me laughing with delight the first time I saw the movie: it was just so snappy, so smart, so sparkling. I don't much care for the Maltese Falcon storyline, and in fact barely remember it (or that of The Big Sleep), but the dialogue rocked.

I think maybe it's that Sin City has got more monologue and less dialogue. Lots of voiceovers, lots of character speeches to one another; and these are pretty well done ("I took away his weapon. Both of them.") But when characters engage in battles of wits, there's precious little wit flying back and forth. And I missed the dangerous banter, which is one of my favorite aspects of film noir.

Daniel

 

[Jeremy]

I think that's another sign of how literally they put the comic book into the movie, Daniel. I don't know if you followed Krug's link to comic/movie comparisons for this movie, but it's so exacting that I wouldn't be surprised if the internal monologues were straight out of the comic.

And the internal monologues are normally heaviest when walking somewhere, driving somewhere, or otherwise in between scenes where in a movie you have tons of available dead air. Most comic book quips and insults are handed out in the comic book speed-talking bullet-time of a few missed punches. And just like Spiderman, those will never transfer to the screen.

Had it been based on a noir play or some such that was always intended as spoken art, I believe you would have had more of what you were seeking, but they treated this like a tribute to the graphic novels for better or worse and that's one of the detractions/bonuses (depending on your point of view) that comes up when you do the conversion with the ridiculous level of detail that they did.

I sometimes felt as if the comics had been printed on transparencies and used as the film in the projector. But again, I loved the movie so I'm biased.

 

[theburningman]

I gave the movie a 6.


I gave Carla Gugino a 10.

 

[Pielorinho]

I think that's another sign of how literally they put the comic book into the movie, Daniel. I don't know if you followed Krug's link to comic/movie comparisons for this movie, but it's so exacting that I wouldn't be surprised if the internal monologues were straight out of the comic.

Oh, I wouldn't be surprised, either--I've not read either Krug's link or the original graphic novel.

And not to be crass, but those things don't really matter to me. I enjoyed The Maltese Falcon and The Big Sleep before I read the novels on which they're based (and in fact like both of them better than I like their respective novels, although I do think Raymond Chandler is a superior writer). The things I like in a movie tend to be things that exist within the movie, not things that exist outside of the movie. Whether the director was faithful to these graphic novels just doesn't affect my aesthetic judgment of the movie. Does that make sense?

The lack of sparkly dialogue was a disappointment, true, based on my expectations about film noir in general, and to a degree it's therefore a disappointment drawn in relation to something outside of the film. However, I'm not faulting the film for a lack of sparkly dialogue; I'm just saying that I was disappointed at its absence.

Daniel

 

[Mark]

I gave Carla Gugino a 10.

Are you hoping for a "Spies Kids 4: Spy Mom"?

 

[mojo1701]

Are you hoping for a "Spies Kids 4: Spy Mom"?

Spy MILF (sorry, couldn't resist).

 

[Umbran]

That, and the name, seemed to scream violent to me, if not very violent.

Hm. To me, "Sin City" evokes an image of illicit behavior, rather than violent behavior. The Seven Deadlies are greed, lust, envy, gluttony, sloth, pride, and anger. While any of them might lead to violence, only one of them really makes one think that violence is imminent.

The dialog shocking? As compared to dismemberment and bloody emasculation? I found the movie's verbiage to be downright quaint and tame by comparison.

 

[Mark]

Anyone know how much this is making compared to how much it cost to make? It certainly seems like it will keep raking it in for a while, too.

 

[Pielorinho]

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0401792/business

It cost $45 million to make; opening weekend it took in $29 million. I don't know how good that is for an April release, but it doesn't sound like a flop, either.

Daniel

 

[Viking Bastard]

According to Warren Ellis:

So, according to what I read this
morning, SIN CITY has opened at
around $28 million, making it the
#1 film in America this weekend.

I don't recall the reported budget --
will check when I get home -- $45M?
Stick another five or ten mill on top
of whatever the budget was for
advertising etc. Even if the film
fades out quickly, you can assume
it'll have made $45M by this time
next week, and around $70M at
the end of its first month. That's
American domestic. SIN CITY's
going to make some decent coin.

.

As for the movie: I gave it a 9. I'd give it a 10, but I never give a 10. There's no
perfect movie to give a 10 to or at least, until I find one I won't.

But anyway, I loved it. The mood, the dialogue (GREAT dialogue! It wasn't smart or witty, but it did it's job: Gettin' the feel across, creating the world), the violence,
the style. Perfect!

Not just a fun movie, but a great movie. A movie that made me go 'Whoah!'.

The last time that happened was, I dunno, Fellowship of the Ring. American Splendor
maybe, but still not really.

I may even go as far as calling it a... masterpiece. Maybe. I'll tell you in July (when
the movie officially premiers here and I can see it a few times again).