"Sin City": Semiotics of Non-Verbal Signs in Cinema

“Sin City” is a recently produced film, written and directed by Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez, with guest directing by Quentin Tarantino. The directors of the film have chosen first-class actors to act in it: Bruce Willis (Hartigan), Mickey Rourke (Marv), Jessica Alba (Nancy), Rosario Dawson (Gail), Benicio Del Toro (Jackie Boy), Clive Owen (Dwight), Elijah Wood (Kevin), Michael Madsen (Bob), Nick Stahl (Junior/Yellow Bastard), Michael Clarke (Manute), Brittany Murphy (Duncan Shellie). The language of the film may be characterized as that of “sustained, strong, stylized violence, nudity and sexual content” (www.rogerebert.suntimes.com), so, it is necessary to analyse what message it carries and what means are used to express it.
Speaking on the semiotics and intertextuality in movies, Umberto Eco says the following:
“It’s addressee must suspect it is not true that works are created by their authors. Works are created by works, texts are created by texts, all together they speak to each other independently of the intention of their authors. A cult movie is the proof that, as literature comes from literature, cinema comes from cinema” (Eco).1
He has full rights to say so, since the language of cinema (if it may be called so) consists of visual, auditory and other signs and their combinations that are often taken over by other script writers and film directors. …