Film Analysis: Sin City

Sin City Film Analysis

For my film analysis I decided to use Sin City, directed by Frank Miller, Robert Rodriguez, and Quentin Tarantino. Sin City is really unique in the way that the editing is done and in regards to mise-en-scene. There aren’t many movies out there that use the same style of filmmaking that these directors decided to use.

The first unique thing that is noticeable about the film is the directors’ choice of editing. There is a lot of editing work in this movie, from the color to the sounds that are incorporated. The main thing about this editing style that sticks out is the color. The movie is for the most part black and white. In this black and white world there is a lot of contrast. The shadows are mysteriously dark, most of the time covering people’s faces, and the whites are blindingly white. But there are instances throughout the movie when more colorful colors are incorporated. The color blue is seen once in the movie as the color of Jackie Boy’s car. Yellow also only shows up once in the form of Roark Jr.’s skin, towards the end of the movie. There are only a few points in the movie when everything has full color. The times when things were full color were around the gang of female strippers and in the bar that’s in their part of town. The most prominent color in the movie, by far, is the color red. Red is used to color everything from a dress, to a bed, and even police lights. Although red is used for a number of things, it is mainly used to color blood. The odd thing is that not everyone’s blood is red. Really only the important people in the movie have red blood. The movie follows three different main characters: Hartigan, Marv, and Dwight. All three of these characters bleed red when they bleed, while the guys they take out, or even when their allies bleed, the blood is stark white. A few of the main enemies also bleed red, but only part of the time. An example of this can be found in Jackie Boy. When the stripper killer named Miho is attacking Jackie Boy he only bleeds white blood, until she decapitates him and then the blood splatter is red. Color is really only used in this movie to emphasize certain things. From what I could tell color was only used in times when something needed to be paid close attention to, but at the same time it added a little bit of flare to the movie.

The second most noticeable aspect of the editing is the sound that is put to the actions. Almost every sound is over the top. The tires of the cars squeal unnecessarily loud, the gun shots sound like the most bad-ass shots ever fired, and bladed weapons sound like whistles cutting through the air when they are swung or thrown. The over the top sound effects just add to the feel of the movie, which is itself a little over the top.

The mise-en-scene of the film is also very interesting. Firstly, the costumes and personas of the actors in this movie go into great depth. The three main male actors, Hartigan, Marv, and Dwight all have sort of the same persona. They all have scars on them and all of their voices are raspy and harsh. This adds to the effect that they are supposed to be tough manly men who can conquer anything and defeat any villain. They also all have a confidence about themselves that is prominent when watching the movie. The three never show any fear, even in the face of death.

The style of the movie is one of Film Noir. The whole movie has a kind of old school mystery feel to it. It’s also in all black in white. Not to mention almost every person in the movie smokes a cigarette, mostly the main characters, which adds to the style that the directors were trying to achieve. In all of the old Film Noir movies everyone smokes and the smoking was definitely a big part of this movie. The weird thing is that the directors also incorporated a kind of old karate film feel to it also. The way that people fight really reminded me of an old cheesy karate movie. At one point of the movie there is a girl named Miho who jumps off a building and glides down with a katana, landing perfectly and unharmed. Every fistfight in this movie was also shot in this style. When a punch would land the recipient would go flying across the room and into the wall, much like the classic over the top karate films.

There was a lot of work involved in the creation and production of Sin City. The editing style is so unique that is almost unlike any other movie that I have ever seen. There are so many aspects of the mise-en-scene that are also unique. Basically the whole movie is unique and there was too much I saw to even fit into the analysis.

 

Slumdog Millionaire

Slumdog Millionaire

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1010048/?ref_=sr_1

Director: Danny Boyle and Loveleen Tandan 

Slumdog Millionaire is about a man named Jamal, who grew up poor in the Indian slums, entering a competition in India that is basically like America’s Who Wants to be a Millionaire. When he ends up winning the show he is accused of cheating and for the most part the rest of the movie is shot in flashback form, with each flashback telling how he knows the answer for every question. The flashbacks show most of Jamal’s life, including the girl he loved, Latika. 

I watched this movie at my house on Saturday night. It seemed like a perfect movie night so I decided to watch a movie that was required. 

I chose this film because it was on one of the lists of required movies. I chose this specific one off of the list because I had heard good things about it. 

One of the things I liked most about the film was the choice of actor to play Jamal. The actor’s name is Dev Patel and he starred in the first and second season of one of my favorite shows of all time, Skins. I thought he was really good in Skins and by doing a great job in this film he reaffirmed my thoughts of him being a great actor. 

The one thing I didn’t like about this film was how I couldn’t relate to the plot very well. Ive never been around slums, or even studied slums, so I didn’t really know what to expect about the slum life. The movie did a good job of letting me see what it was like but it still felt like I couldn’t relate to it. 

I would recommend this movie. The story was very heart warming and i thought it was shot pretty well. 

The Boondock Saints

The Boondock Saints

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0144117/?ref_=sr_1

Director: Troy Duffy

The Boondock Saints follows the two McManus brothers. The brothers become vigilantes and go around the city killing criminals. They are being tracked down by the best FBI agent around because the local cops can’t seem to get ahold of the brothers. Every time they kill someone they make sure to say a prayer and then after they shoot the person they put pennies over their eyes for purposes in the afterlife. The two men get into more trouble they can handle and are eventually tracked down by the FBI agent. 

I’ve seen this movie more than a couple of times but most recently I saw it last week in my dorm room.

I chose this film because it has always been one of my favorites. I really like action movies and movies that are center around Irish people. I just find the Irish so bad-ass for some reason. 

The thing I really like about this movie is how it is filmed. Some parts of it are almost like flashbacks. The FBI agent will analyze a crime scene and it will show a flashback to what the brothers actually did to kill the bad guys. 

The one thing I didn’t like about this film was the sound quality. I understad that it was made in 1999, but I almost can’t stand listening to the people talk because it just doesn’t sound good. 

I would reccomend this film 100% of the time. It is one of my favorite movies and I think that anyone can enjoy it. 

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World

Director: Edgar Wright

The plot of this movie follows a guy, Scott Pilgrim, who is 22 and lives in Canada. Scott is the basist in a band and doesn’t exactly have his life together. He begins to date a high school girl, which he is made fun of heavily for. One night at a party he sees a girl that he has been seeing in his dreams. He finds out her name is Ramona Flowers and tries to ask her out on a date, but to no avail. He finds out she works for a delivery service and orders something online just so she will drop the package off at his house. He finally asks her out on a date, while he is still dating his high school girlfriend, and she says yes. Scott invites both girls to his bands first performance, without realizing he had invited both. While Scott is playing his gig a guy crashes through the wall and says he is there to kill Scott for the Order of the Seven Evil Exes. The man then explains that in order to date Ramona he will have to fight all seven exes and beat them all. He then breaks up with his girlfriend and continues to fight exes in order to date Ramona, his one true love. 

I actually own this movie and i have seen it several times. I most recently watched it Saturday night with a few friends from my dorm. 

I chose this film because it is one of my favorites. Everyone I was hanging out with wanted to watch a movie and so I suggested Scott Pilgrim and everyone was in. 

There is so much to like about this film. The film is based on five manga comics and I have read them all. This was what first drew me to the movie. The style of the film is also really great. Its hard to describe but they actually made it pretty similar to a comic book. There is also some really awesome music in the movie. One of the main themes of the movie is music and almost every song on the movie is great. 

Its hard to not like something about this film. If I had to pick something I guess I would say that the supporting actors could have been better. Michael Cera did great with the lead role but all of the no-name supporting actors didn’t do a very good job in my opinion. 

I would recommend this film for anyone and everyone! Its really good about not including a lot of sex and violence. There is a small amount of cursing but not so much that it appalls you. So really anyone can watch it and enjoy it. 

The Man With the Iron Fists

The Man With the Iron Fists

Director: RZA

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1258972/?ref_=sr_1

The plot of this film focuses on a city that is ruled by different gangs, the main one being the Lions. The Lion gang is ruled by Gold Lion who has sergeants named Silver Lion and Bronze Lion. Gold Lion’s two sergeants sabotage Gold Lion and have him murdered so that they can take over the gang, even though Silver Lion clearly is the leader of Bronze Lion. Gold Lion’s son, Zen Yi, is then brought into the story and his goal is to make it back to the city in order to claim his rightful place as the head of the Lions and avenge his father’s death. Silver Lion hears about this and orders bounty hunters to kill Zen Yi. Meanwhile, the story also follows Blacksmith who is the towns blacksmith. All of the gangs go to the blacksmith to make their weapons. Blacksmith helps Zen Yi once he gets to the city and is found out by Silver Lion. Silver Lion has Blacksmith’s arms cut off and then Blacksmith has to ban together with Zen Yi and a few other characters in order to bring down the tyrant, Silver Lion.

I watched this film at my house over spring break.

I was browsing Redbox and I came across this movie and remembered seeing a trailer for it while it was in theaters. I remembered watching the trailer and being intrigued so i decided to watch it.

I really liked the style of the film, although it wasn’t executed well. RZA was going for an old karate type movie with cheesy fight scenes and over zealous flying kicks. The idea of a movie like this had me really interested, almost like a Spaghetti Western, but it seemed like the style was over emphasized, so at the same time I was kind of put off by it.

There were many things I didn’t enjoy about this movie, but the main thing was probably the soundtrack. Most people don’t realize the impact that music has on a movie, however, I believe that the soundtrack is one of the most important aspects of a film. RZA started out as a rapper and the whole soundtrack is his rap songs, which don’t go at all with the style of the movie. One specific part of the movie that exemplifies this happens as one of the gangs is riding horses into the town. Its in slow motion and a slowish rap song is playing in the background. I couldn’t even focus on the movie because of how surprised i was to be hearing the song.

I wouldn’t recommend this movie to anyone. To be honest, I consider it a was of the $1.30 I payed for it.

The Punisher

The Punisher

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0330793/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

Director: Jonathan Hensleigh

This film is about an FBI agent, Frank Castle, who goes on a undercover operation in which a mob boss’s son dies. The mob boss seeks retribution and kills Frank’s whole family, including his son, wife, mother, father, and in-laws, at a family get together they had on a tropical island. Frank is the only survivor and after he recovers he goes back to the city to seek revenge as a vigilante. He eventually takes out the whole mob boss’s family in one way or another and he finds love again in a girl that lives in his apartment building. 

I’ve seen this film numerous times since I was a kid. I own the movie and most recently watched it in my dorm room on my computer at the start of the semester. 

I chose this film because it has been one of my favorites since I was a kid. The movie is based on a comic book and I love comic based movies. It also helped that The Punisher has been my favorite comic book for as long as I can remember.

I really liked how much action the film had. I love action movies with a lot of violence and this movie is a perfect example of what I like. 

The one thing i didn’t really like about the movie was how almost everyone died. I think it would have provided for a better plot if some of the characters were chosen to live. 

I would recommend this movie to anyone who like action films or comic films. If you dont care for either genre then i would not recommend watching this movie. 

The 39 Steps

The 39 Steps

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0026029/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

Director: Alfred Hitchcock

The story focuses in on the main character, Hannay. Hannay witnesses a murder at a circus type show that he goes to in London and afterwards runs into a woman spy. A group called The 39 Steps murders the spy in Hannay’s apartment. Hannay is then blamed for the murder and is pursued by police across Europe. Hannay runs into a woman named Pamela while he is fleeing and she tells the police where he is. They run into each other again later on and she accompanies Hannay on the endeavors to follow. Hannay has to try and prove his innocence before the police catch him.

I watched this film last week with a couple of my other friends that are in film class with me.

I chose this film because it was on one of the lists that we have to watch a movie off of. I picked this particular one off of the list because I noticed that Hitchcock directed it and he is a legendary director.

I liked how the film kept my attention the whole time. I usually grow bored with old movies but this one was very suspenseful and kept me on the edge of my seat.

I didn’t really like how the movie took forever to get through the plot. It didn’t really seem like there was a lot going on throughout the whole movie, meaning that it probably could have been made shorter. My attention was still kept the whole time though so it wasn’t too bad.

I would recommend this film. It is probably the best black and white film I have ever seen.  

Pulp Fiction

Pulp Fiction

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0110912/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1           

Director: Quentin Tarantino

The movie follows two different people or groups of people. You follow around Jules and Vincent together while you also follow Butch. Jules and Vincent are hit men and Butch is a boxer. The movie follows the characters through different situations that they get in and it focuses on a lot of conversation. Eventually everything from all of the stories ties back in together.

I watched this movie on my laptop in my friend’s room last week.

I chose this film because it is a classic and everyone loves it. I hadn’t seen it before this. I also partly chose this film because I had to do my plot segmentation on it.

I liked all of the witty banter in the movie. A lot of the movie was just conversations that people were having but they were still entertaining and witty.

I can’t really complain about anything in this movie. It was a great movie all around. I guess if I had to find something to point out it would be the part where Tarantino is in the movie. I think he just needs to stick to directing because I didn’t find him very convincing as an actor.

I would recommend this film every time. I think I could probably watch it over and over again and it would never get old.

Plot Segmentation

Pulp Fiction Plot Segmentation

 

1. The Diner

1. A couple is sitting at the diner conversing about robbing places
2. They begin talking about robbing the diner
3. The couple begins to rob the diner and the scene is cut off

C. Credit Title.

2. The Car     

            A. Two men in nice black suits are sitting in a car talking about drugs

            B. They both get guns out of the car

            C. They talk about walking to a room and having to shoot people

            D. They get out of the car and walk over to a building

3. The Building

            A. The two men still converse as they walk into the building

            B. They take an elevator up a couple of floors

            C. They get off the elevator and walk to a room, still conversing

            D. They stop by the room and decide it isn’t time to go in anymore

            E. They continue walking down the hallway

            F. They finally walk into the room where three men are sitting

            G. One of the two men explains why they are there

            H. The two men’s names are revealed to be Jules and Vincent

            I. The two men find the briefcase they came for

            J. Jules shoots one of the three men and kills him

            K. Jules then talks to one of the other three men

            L. Jules shoots and kills the man he was talking to

4. The Bar

            A. A man named Butch is sitting in the bar talking to someone

            B. The man talking to Butch tells him to throw his boxing match for money

            C. Butch agrees and the man gives him the money

            D. The man turns out to be Marsellus (Jules and Vincent’s boss)

            E. Vincent and Jules walk into the bar looking for Marsellus

            F. Butch and Vince run into each other and almost have an argument

5. Lance’s Apartment

            A. Two women are sitting and talking about piercings

            B. Vincent shows up

            C. He is there to buy some drugs

            D. He buys the drugs and proceeds to take them

6. Marsellus’s House

            A. Vincent arrives to take Mia, Marsellus’s wife, out on a date for Marsellus

            B. Mia tells Vincent to make a drink while she is getting ready

7. Jack Rabbit Slim’s

            A. Mia and Vincent arrive at a themed restaurant called Jack Rabbit Slim’s

            B. The two converse while waiting on dinner

            C. Mia flirts with Vincent

            D. Mia goes to the bathroom and does some drugs

            E. Mia volunteers herself and Vincent to dance in a competition

            F. Mia and Vincent dance

8. Marsellus’s House (Part 2)

            A. Vincent and Mia dance into the house after returning from the restaurant

            B. Vincent goes to the bathroom

            C. Vincent tries to convince himself to not make a move on Mia

            D. Mia takes the drugs out of Vincent’s pocket while he is in the bathroom

            E. Mia takes some of the drugs and begins to O.D. on them

            F. Vincent drives Mia to Lance’s apartment

9. Lance’s Apartment (Part 2)

            A. Vincent and Lance take Mia into the apartment

            B. Vincent gives Mia a shot of adrenaline

            C. Vincent takes Mia back home

10. Butch’s Childhood Home (Flashback)

            A. Butch talks to a guy that knew his dad in the military

            B. The man gives Butch a watch he got from Butch’s dad before he died

11. Boxing Match

            A. Butch kills his opponent in his boxing match

            B. Vince walks down a hallway looking for Marsellus

            C. Marsellus is mad Butch didn’t throw the match

            D. Marsellus announces he wants Butch dead

            E. Butch gets in a taxi with a woman driving it

            F. Butch gets out of the taxi at an apartment

            G. Butch talks on the phone to Scotty about an agreement they had

12. Butch’s Hotel Room

            A. Butch has a hotel room with his girlfriend

            B. Butch and his girlfriend talk about fleeing the country

            C. Butch has a bad dream

            D. Butch can’t find his watch (the one that was his dad’s)

            E. Butch gets really angry at his girlfriend for not packing the watch

13. Butch’s Old Apartment

            A. Butch drives to his old apartment to get his watch

            B. Butch finds a gun on his kitchen counter

            C. Vincent comes out of the bathroom and Butch shoots him

            D. Butch sees Marsellus on the way home

            E. Butch decides to run him over

            F. Butch’s car is then hit by another car

14. The street

            A. Marsellus gets up

            B. He chases Butch while shooting at him

            C. They enter a pawnshop and Butch beats up Marsellus

            D. The Store owner holds Butch at gunpoint

            E. The store owner knocks Butch out

            F. The store owner calls a man named Zed

15. The Back of the Store

            A. Butch and Marsellus are tied up and gagged

            B. Zed turns out to be a cop

            C. The store owner pulls a man in a black suit (the gimp) out of a cage

            D. Zed and the store owner take Marsellus to another back room

            E. The gimp watches over Butch

            F. Butch breaks free and knocks the gimp out

            G. Butch almost leaves but then he turns around to look for a weapon

            H. Butch grabs a samurai sword.

            I. Butch goes back to the back room

            J. Butch kills the store owner

            K. Marsellus gets up and grabs a shotgun and shoots zed in the crotch

            L. Marsellus and Butch make a truce

            M. Butch leaves on Zed’s motocycle

            N. Butch gets back to his new apartment

            O. Butch and his girl leave on the bike

16. The Building (the one Vince and Jules were in at the first)

            A. Turns out there is a man in the bathroom

            B. The man in the bathroom shoots at Vince and Jules but misses

            C. Jules and Vince kill the man

            D. Jules and Vincent leave the building

17. Jules and Vincent’s Car

            A. Jules says he is quitting the hit man business

            B. Vincent shoots a guy in the backseat on accident

            C. They head to Jimmy’s apartment

18. Jimmy’s Apartment

            A. Jules and Vincent start to but heads

            B. They call Marsellus so he can help them with the dead body

            C. Marcellus says he is sending Wolf to help

            D. Wolf gets to Jimmy’s house

            E. Wolf tells everyone what to do to clean the mess up

            F. Vincent and Jules clean the inside of the car

            G. Vincent, Jules, and Wolf leave to go to Monster Joe’s

            H. They drop the dead body off at Monster Joe’s

            I. Wolf Leaves

19. The Diner (From the beginning of the movie)

            A. Vincent and Jules are eating breakfast

            B. Vincent goes to the bathroom

            C. The robbery from the first of the movie continues

            D. One of the robbers tries to get the briefcase from Jules

            E. Jules grabs the man and holds him at gun point

            F. Vincent comes out of the bathroom

            G. Jules lets the couple leave

            H. Jules and Vincent leave

20. The End

 

            Doing this plot segmentation really helped me understand the form and narrative of the movie. Pulp fiction can be a very complex movie to understand so the plot segmentation was important. The first way it helped me out was it really made me pay attention to the movie better. The movie jumps around so much that if I hadn’t done the plot segmentation I may not have been able to keep up. It also helped me understand how the movie “loops” back around. The movie starts where the beginning ends, meaning that the first scene of the movie cuts off hallway through and the end is the other half of the scene. By writing everything down it allows the watcher to understand it. The segmentation also kind of helped me learn the characters’ names. There were so many names  but I was continuously writing their names down and it helped me memorize them. Without the segmentation I also may not have caught the subtle little occurrences. I may have missed things like why Marsellus wanted Butch dead or why Butch shot Vincent or even why Mia almost overdosed on drugs. Those are all parts of the movie that could have been easily missed if you weren’t just involved in the movie like I was. This was the first time I have watched this movie so I’m thankful that I was able to do a plot segmentation. I really feel like I got a lot better of a view because of it.

The Machinist

The Machinist

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0361862/?ref_=sr_1

Director: Brad Anderson

The Machinist is about a man who hasn’t slept in over a year. His life is going just fine until he is involved in a mistake at his workplace, ending with one of his co-workers losing an arm. He spends most of his time at an airport diner because he is in love with a waitress named Marie. He also finds himself in love with a prostitute named Stevie. He begins seeing a man named Ivan everywhere. He then becomes really paranoid and thinks the world is out to get him.

I watched this movie last week in my room on Netflix.

I chose this film because it was under the category of psychological thrillers and it said it was similar to The Sixth Sense so I knew it probably ended with a big twist. I really enjoy psychological thrillers and movies ending with twists. Also, the main actor in the movie is Christian Bale, one of my favorite actors.

I really liked the ending of this movie. It really took me by surprise and I didn’t even expect some aspects of it. I also thought it was crazy that Christian Bale starved himself for this role. He was literally just skin and bones unlike in the Dark Knight trilogy.

One thing I didn’t like about the movie was the supporting actors. I didn’t think they were very good quality for such a good movie.

I would most definitely recommend this movie to anyone who likes psychological thrillers. Its one of the best I’ve seen.