Sin City is succulently, quintessentially graphic.

Based on Frank Miller's series of graphic novels, Sin City, the movie, is faithfully recreated by Directors Miller and Robert Rodriguez in graphic and lush Black & White with splashes of vivid colors.

Undoubtedly, the violence is graphic. Though the bushels of blood, often rendered in flowing white, become more lyrical and less odious - especially when the balletic Miho, the Veg-o-matic avenger, rains down her two-fisted sword-filleting justice on hapless victims.

And has there ever been a character more graphically realized than the square jawed Marv, wonderfully vivified by Mickey Rourke. Indeed all the male leads seem perfectly cast, physically and psychically. Bruce Willis embodies Hartigan, the hard as nails cop with a heart of gold. And with his smoky internal dialog, Clive Owen invites us into Dwight's world.

Of course, Miller populates Basin City's Old Town with a bevy of bare assed babes including the sultry, saucy Rosario Dawson, the blue-eyed betrayer Alexis Bledel, and the lasso swinging, undulating Jessica Alba. Yippee ki yay, cowgirl!

If you never have seen Sin City, this Blu-ray release is a perfect way to enjoy the visual, visceral feast that Miller and Rodriguez are serving up. With the rich blacks oozing from every high contrast frame, this unrated version is a perfect showcase for a big plasma HDTV.

If you experienced the original in the theaters in 2005, Rodriguez has deconstructed the content and reassembled it into four self contained stories that better reflect Miller's ink and paper volumes. He also has added a dollop of additional footage to each recut version.

If you prefer the theatrical release, it's included on Disc One of this dual disc package.

Bonus Features

Rodriguez is passionate about filmmaking and his DVDs are overflowing with vignettes about the process and the behind-the-scenes artists who create the magic.

A great example of his love of teaching, his "15-Minute Flic School" reveals many of his techniques and tricks in translating Miller's drawings to film. As he concludes, "If you want to have fun, learn your technology."

As a follow-up, in "Sin City: The All Green Screen Version," Rodriguez pieces together his raw, mostly green screen, footage so you can see how much post-production work was necessary. Sped up 8 times and set to music, the pixillated montage barely gives you time to catch your breath.

In the seamy titled, "Booze, Broads and Guns: The Props of Sin City," Prop Master, Steve Joyner describes how they recreated all the weapons that whiz and whack in Miller's world. Did you know that Miho's samurai swords were resurrected from Quentin Tarentino's garage where they were resting after Kill Bill Volumes 1 and 2 duty?

For those with a predilection for "Trenchcoats and Fishnets," Costume Supervisor, Nina Proctor explains how they poured Dawson and her warrior ladies into those highly reflective and definitely seductive outfits.

But wait, there's more - bonuses galore - including Tarantino talking about his brush with digital filmmaking when he guest directed the delightfully delirious scene with Dwight conversing with a dead and dead panning Jackie Boy (Benicio Del Toro with a pistol shaft planted in his brain pan).

Finally, if you're famished after hours of entertainment and edification, Rodriguez includes another installment of his "10-Minute Cooking School." This time, he whips up soul soothing breakfast tacos. If you come down to this part of Texas, you'll discover that they're a staple of life.

Studio: Dimension

Director: Robert Rodriguez, Frank Miller, Quentin Tarantino (Special Guest)

Cast: Jessica Alba, Bruce Willis, Mickey Rourke, Clive Owen, Rosario Dawson, Elijah Wood, Carla Gugino, Benicio Del Toro, Brittany Murphy, Alexis Bledel, Michael Madsen, Rutger Hauer, Josh Hartnett

Length: 124 minutes

Rated: Unrated

Video:
Video codec: VC-1
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1

Audio:
English: 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1

Subtitles:
English SDH, Spanish