Throughout April, we’re counting down to the release of Marvel’s Iron Man 3 with our picks for the Greatest Comic Book Movies of All Time; here’s #10….
Sin City, 2005.
Directed by Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller.
Starring Jessica Alba, Alexis Bledel, Rosario Dawson, Benicio del Toro, Carla Gugino, Josh Hartnett, Rutger Hauer, Jaime King, Michael Madsen, Brittany Murphy, Clive Owen, Nick Stahl, Mickey Rourke, Bruce Willis and Elijah Wood.
Filmmaker Robert Rodriguez teamed up with co-director Frank Miller to bring Miller’s seedy, violent world of Basin City to the screen in 2005’s stylish neo noir Sin City; based upon three of Miller’s Sin City comic book ‘yarns’ – The Hard Goodbye, The Big Fat Kill and That Yellow Bastard – the film recreated Miller’s visual style through the use of a digital backlot and stark black and white cinematography mixed with splashes of colour to deliver a unique comic book movie experience.
Sin City was both a critical and commercial hit, screening in competition at Cannes and going on to earn almost four times its $40 million budget at the global box office. Several of its cast members would go on to appear in further comic book movies – including Jessica Alba (Fantastic Four, Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer), Carla Gugino (Watchmen), Josh Hartnett (30 Days of Night), Rutger Hauer (Batman Begins), Mickey Rourke (Iron Man 2) and Bruce Willis (RED) – while Rodriguez and Miller are reuniting with much of the cast this year for the eagerly-anticipated sequel Sin City: A Dame to Kill For.
Sin City marks the second appearance in our list of the Greatest Comic Book Movies for Frank Miller, with Zack Snyder’s adaptation of 300 coming in at #32.
Keep up to date with our entire countdown here.
Holy Franchise, Batman! Bringing the Caped Crusader to the Screen – Available now via Amazon.co.uk
Originally published April 16, 2013. Updated November 30, 2022.
