How Sin City Revolutionized Visual Effects

When Frank Miller first created the world of Sin City, it was made to be virtually unfilmable. Until director Robert Rodriguez was able to prove that the world of Sin City would translate to film in a very specific way. But how exactly was Robert Rodriguez able to take Frank Millers vision and adapt Sin City so flawlessly to the big screen?

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[ghost]

"I don't want to make Robert Rodriquez's Sin City, I want to make Frank Miller's Sin City." If only all film makers were as reverent to the material they were adapting.

[dannyganelin]

One of my favorite movies, I remember watching it in the theater and leaving in awe. It was nothing like I've ever seen before.

[randfur]

When I saw the first Spiderverse I was like "finally, something that comes close to what Sin City achieved with film visual styles".

[BrendanPappas]

“Sin City” truly is a masterpiece. It has one of the most stunning visual styles I’ve ever seen. It works so well with the gritty noir themes and genres involved too. I honestly thought the sequel was a solid follow up too. Let’s just not talk about “The Spirit” 🙄

[Locadel]

Mickey Rourke was definitely awesome and great in this. Excellent performance, he almost stoled the show

[TheGodOfWarhammer]

this movie is fantastic and underrated. It’s style was so unique and true to the source material. plus that trailer? fire

[brucethdamneth]

It's really telling the way Sin City is a few years away from becoming 20 years old and yet it's still one of, if not the most 1:1 comic-to-movie translation in terms of writing and visual presentation.

[Pssybart]

With so many blockbusters nowadays being comic book adaptations, it's a shame they mostly end up looking so generic. Filmmakers are so obsessed with making things look photorealistic, they tend to forget giving their environments a soul. Thankfully, we are now seeing a small revolution in animation due to the influence of Spider-verse.

[professorthread]

I think the closest we've gotten to a moment like this was Into the Spiderverse. And it's had a ripple effect on animation that we've started to see in the last couple of years. The style and story were a huge risk in terms of what's typically done and it was a massive hit.

[rockero]

I saw it in theaters when it came out and it WAS an experience. brilliantly done. never read or even seen the original source and still loved it.
definitely a movie to watch on a BIG screen

[MarcelLWalker]

I was already a *_HUGE_* SIN CITY fan when it was announced that this film was in production. I saw it three times during opening weekend, and every time it got a phenomenal reaction from the audiences. (During the first viewing, an older couple in attendance who probably thought it was a more traditional noir movie, walked out less than fifteen minutes into its runtime.) Folks I knew who I thought would hate the movie ((loved)) it! The experience of seeing SIN CITY as something new was amazing, since I already knew every beat of the narratives. And the scene when Hartigan takes away the Yellow Bastard's final weapon? Oh, _THAT_ was a shared theatrical moment for the ages!

[townsville]

Helsreach: The Movie (2019) used a similar technique. Starts very roughly drawn and evolves to more HD as the story progresses. Well worth a watch, excellent movie.

[ImKhaos.]

I remember seeing it when I was a kid and the stylised look of it is still infested into my brain

[leecroft]

Just imagine a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie but set of the original 1984 black and white using this style, be awesome. And keep it violent like the original comics were. No PG13 crap, hard R.

[makatron]

One of those examples where the director wanted to truly honour the source material that ends up being almost a moving comic book.

[METAL-ADDICT]

PROOF that when you stick to the source material, the fans stick with you.

[MaguffinMan]

Sin City is my favorite movie. When I saw it in the theater it blew my mind that I was actually watching a comic book

[EricJae.]

This movie was really good especially the horror aspects in it

[VegimorphtheMovieBoy]

I have yet to see Sin City and am curious to check it out, but despite the complaints of Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow looking too glossy and unrealistic, that film is still one of my top favorites of all time. So much style and atmosphere. So much world-building and imagination. So much fun and exciting.

[exturkconner]

A couple years later another Miller property was also a pretty unique visual film that got a lot of people excited and directed by a guy who's widely known for a unique visual style that's pretty polarizing. That film being 300 that director being Zack Snyder.