2. Sin City (2005)
Robert Rodriguez said he didn't want to make Robert Rodriguez's "Sin City." He wanted to make Frank Miller's "Sin City." Rodriguez wanted Miller to be co-director and receive credit for it, but the Director's Guild of America wouldn't allow it because Miller wasn't a member of the DGA. So Rodriguez left the DGA. Rodriguez was merely the director for technical purposes. Being the director of photography was probably the second most integral behind-the-camera job after Frank Miller's job being Frank Miller. Rodriguez wanted Miller to direct the actors since he was their (characters) god, their creator. He's omniscient and made sure everything was faithful. Any changes made from the novels into the film were made with Miller's approval. There's a short snippet from "A Dame to Kill For" during "The Hard Goodbye." The panels from the novels were used as storyboard; you're essentially watching the books on a screen. Before I saw the film in theaters, I had read all seven of the graphic novels by Miller. Of the four stories translated into the film ("The Customer is Always Right," "The Hard Goodbye," "The Big Fat Kill," and "That Yellow Bastard"), the only one with any color in it was "That Yellow Bastard." The Yellow Bastard himself was the only element of the story in color. That's what I was most excited about for the movie; just black and white except the Yellow Bastard and his bodily fluids. But the choice of having some objects in color disturbed me. It took away a fair amount of the stories' darkness. Some were understandable; Nancy's tan skin & blond hair to accentuate her beauty (same thing for Goldie and the customer), and blood (both yellow and red). But other elements such as the prescription bottle in Lucille's apartment, Dwight's red shoes, Jackie Boy's blue car, so much (but not all) of Kadie's bar, and the flesh of other characters
occasionally being in color. The snowy night in "That Yellow Bastard" was as beautiful as "It's a Wonderful Life." The pouring rain in "The Hard Goodbye" was more beautiful than the light rain in "The Big Fat Kill." The novels themselves were pure black and white, no shades of gray anywhere. Robert Rodriguez didn't quite give the film noir other people and I were hoping for. But his cinematography prevented it from being too campy. The novels were no where near as campy (if at all). Rodrigo Prieto's work in "Brokeback Mountain" didn't do that much for the movie. It didn't make the movie any greater than anyone else could've. Don't know why he got a nomination, but Rodriguez deserved it more.