My defense of this notion was rather elaborate. Tarantino often has kitchen-gathering scenes, and many of the most famous sequences in Tarantino's movies take place in bathrooms. In fact, in the sequence in question, Owen rams Del Toro's head into a toilet not unlike the manner with which Thurman does it to Hannah in KILL BILL VOL. 2.

Well, I was wrong.

Scores of readers (well, three) wrote in to correct me, and one even provided, at my request, actual citations of articles in which both Rodriguez and Tarantino talked about Tarantino having done the car scene.

I deleted that section from my SIN CITY review, but regretfully, doubtfully. I just couldn't believe that Tarantino didn't shoot the sequence that was so in line with his thematic concerns.

Now SIN CITY is out on DVD (Miramax, 2005, $29.95, Tuesday, August 16, 2005), and it gives conclusive proof that I was wrong and everyone else was right.

SIN CITY's DVD comes with an eight minute "making of" that shows Rodriguez on the kitchen set of that sequence, and Tarantino looking at playback machinery during the shooting of the car scene. I guess I just have to believe it now: Tarantino directed Del Toro and Owen in the car sequence, and not the oh so characteristic kitchen-bathroom sequence.

But like a dog with a sock, let me dwell on this matter a little further. The fact of the matter is that the scene also appears in the source book for this sequence, Frank Miller's THE BIG FAT KILL. Is it possible that Rodriguez, when conceptualizing the film, thought that Tarantino might be a likely candidate for that sequence, given its similarities to scenes he had seen in Tarantino's movies? But that when it came to shooting a scene for the film Tarantino found he had less time and so picked something relatively easier to shoot? As you can see, I just don't want to let go of the notion that the bathroom sequence and Tarantino were destined for each other.

SIN CITY still happens to be one of the best films of the year, if not the best film of the year. It's an accurate adaptation of Miller's SIN CITY stories. It is perhaps the best adaptation of a comic so far in movies, one that captures the tone and irony of the original, but also what it feels like to read a comic, the mix of quiet poignant interior thought processes over gross action. It's got a fantastic cast. It's got great looking chicks in hot tight leather gear. And all the stories that Rodriguez chose to adapt perfectly realize cinematically the spirit of Miller's homages to film noir.

I wish it could be said that this is one of the best DVDs of the year, too, but it's not (that's probably THE LIFE AQUATIC; so far, anyway). We all know that there is a bigger, deeper, more detailed DVD in the pipeline, that this slim release is meant only to sate the first wave of SIN CITY DVD buyers. That there is at least one more, maybe two or three more SIN CITY DVDs in our future, at least as long as the DVD format exists and thrives.

But the thing is, I have no objection to this DVD, really. It's got the movie in a great transfer, and good DTS and DD sound options (along with a French language track [but not a Spanish track!] and Spanish subtitles). There are trailers for MINDHUNTERS, some SPIDER-MAN cartoons, LOST, and DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES, but not for SIN CITY. And yet it was the trailer that helped create Insta-Fans of the film (at least among my set).

But still I am not really complaining. What would a super deluxe double DVD set of SIN CITY really have that isn't found in, say, the book FRANK MILLER'S SIN CITY: THE MAKING OF THE MOVIE, credited to both Miller and Rodriguez (Troublemaker Publishing, 272 pages, $30 dollars, ISBN 1 933104 00 7), which contains the script, panel to screen comparisons, a poster gallery, words and pictures on the props, cars, and the special effects work, Miller's sketches, and interviews (real or not) with cast members. Maybe future editions of the DVD will come with this book attached. Anyway, a DVD would probably have two or three yak tracks (Rodriguez or Miller or Rodriguez and Miller; reps from KNB; cast members; Tarantino over his sequence), more extensive "making of" EPK stuff; script to screen, and panel to screen comparisons; maybe someone's video diary; a score only track, or maybe the whole movie without the special effects, just the green screen footage; another one of Rodriguez's childhood shorts; maybe a video bio of Miller, the least "known" integer in this cinematic equation, or a profile of Miller's place in comic book history. And the trailer.

Yeah, all that stuff would be nice to have but based on eight years of DVD extras thus far, I doubt if at the end of the day future discs are going to have essential, knock your socks off, must-see, inspires-repeat-viewing extras like the kinds you find on the Criterion version of SPARTACUS or on the later STAR WARS DVDs, among so few other releases on disc. Since DVD material is now shot alongside the actual movie, Miramax, in its waning days, could have issued a cool set, but didn't (maybe they are saving it for the Weinstein Company, if they get to keep the SIN CITY franchise). But this bare bones platter is good enough for right now, and I doubt if I'll get the subsequent editions until I've read reviews that make it clear that the special editions are truly must have releases.

And incidentally, if you are interested in KILL BILL, you might find my new book, KILL BILL: AN UNOFFICIAL CASEBOOK useful. It is now available in fine bookstores everywhere, or from Amazon.

Not only that, I've got a new book coming out in October (fingers crossed) on an aspect of film noir I call film soleil, titled simply FILM SOLEIL. It is sure to alter film criticism as we know it to its very core. Order it now!

And if you are interested in what I sound like, I can be heard on KBOO radio (90.7 FM) the second and the fourth Wednesday of the month, at 9 AM in the morning (Pacific Standard Time) on Ed Goldberg's show MOVIE TALK along with Dawn Taylor. It's available via streaming audio (in 20 Kbps Stereo). The next broadcast is Wednesday, August 24th, at 9 AM.

COMING SOON:RED EYE, MY SUMMER OF LOVE, REMINGTON STEEL and other TV mystery shows, many STAR TREKS, and more!

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