Keith asked:
"Can you compare, contrast to either Reservoir Dogs or Pulp
Fiction? Both pretty noir in terms of film genre. Though
clearly not graphic comic derived."
The only thing it really has in common with either of those
is that it has three sections, with very slight overlap, like
Pulp Fiction. However, while those Tarantino films drew from
films and books, this is clearly a comic book, with all of
the hyperbole and reduction of that medium. It is in no fixed
time or place, mixing and matching fashion, cars and
locations from all over space and time.
First of all, Sin City is largely B & W, with occasional
splashes of color, just like the comic books it's based on.
It directly replicates many of Frank Miller's frames and
pages. And I mean high contrast black and white; there aren't
even many greys here. It makes very evident just how much the
noir look owes to German Expressionism.
The stories and characters are equally exaggerated. Reservoir
Dogs and Pulp Fiction at least seemed to be taking place in
the real world, albeit a bit stylized. If this can be
compared to any Tarantino film, it should be Kill BIll. That
film made no claim to being real. Sin City is in a very
strange world that takes the conventions of noir and
exagerrates them ridiculously (not meant as an insult, just
meant to indicate how extreme this film world is). This makes
no claim to being about real people. It takes the most
extreme characters in noir books and films and uses them as
starting points. I was really struck by how much Marv, for
instance, simultaneously drew on, but also made Mike Hammer
look like a pussy. These characters take and mete out a
ridiculous amount of punishment.
Interestingly, the only thing that is not black and white in
this film are the "good" guys. They are certainly driving
down mean streets, but they are very tarnished. They all have
quests (they each have a woman they are trying to protect or
avenge), but they will be as mean as the worst predators they
are facing. They don't believe an eye for an eye is
enough.
Everything in this film is exaggerated to the extreme, from
the look to the voice-over narratives, from the stories to
the dialogue. I'm sure some will dismiss it as a collection
of cliches, but I loved it.
Mark
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This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : 02 Apr 2005 EST