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Kill Bill, Volume 1 [2003]


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Editorial
Amazon.co.uk Review

Proudly billed as "the fourth film by Quentin Tarantino", Kill Bill, Volume 1 is actually half of it (if you include his chunk of Four Rooms it's really the fourth and a quarterth). If Jackie Brown achieved a certain maturity beyond callous cool, then this is his Mr Hyde's trash picture, which relishes all the things in cinema that are supposed to be bad for you. The opening Shaw Brothers logo and cheesy "our feature presentation" card, redolent of rancid Kia-Ora and stale Wrestlers, sets this up as defiantly a movie-geek's movie, whose touchstones are spaghetti Westerns, comic books, kung fu/samurai quickies and second-hand vinyl albums. If Kill Bill was a dog-eared paperback, it'd be confiscated by a teacher.

Tarantino's favoured flashback-and-forth structure means we begin with a shuffle between past and present as the Bride with No Name (Uma Thurman) is shown being apparently murdered at the climax of a Texas wedding chapel massacre and alive again tracking down the second person on her to-kill list. The bulk of the film takes place between these plot points as the Bride carries a vengeance feud to the first of her enemies, yakuza queenpin O-Ren Ishii (Lucy Liu). Like its soundtrack--everything from Nancy Sinatra to the RZA, with the Green Hornet theme along the way--it's an eclectic picture, with sequences done as a gruesome anime, particularly genocidal stretches in black and white, and segues from cheerful kung fu massacre to Kurosawa-look poised duelling. Tarantino holds back on his trademark motormouth pop culture references; in fact, much of the film is in sub-titled Japanese.

You have to lock your brain into trash-film mode to get the most out of it, but its cliffhanger fade-out--unlike the dispiriting "to be continued" at the end of Matrix Reloaded--makes you want to come back. It's not a spoiler to reveal that Bill (a barely glimpsed David Carradine) hasn't been killed yet, and Thurman needs to take out Daryl Hannah and Michael Madsen before she gets to him. --Kim Newman


Go and play a game instead
Review date: 2008-07-09 Rating: 2 out of 10

I suspect that this appeals to fans of 'games' rather than films.
Tarantino has undoubtedly proved his talent in the past, but this time was not only trying to be too clever but was aiming at a totally different audience. If you spend hours on your pc playing games or watching cartoons this may appeal. But if you're expecting a film with a half decent plot and a few characters you care about - forget it!

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Reviews


TOTALLY OVERRATED!
Review date: 2008-07-03 Rating: 4 out of 10

I don't understand the hype about this movie at all - or about any Tarantino film that is. I got the impression a 12-year-old wrote and directed it! The worst part about it: it is OVERLY CHEESY! Although probably intended that way, it totally ruined the film for me. Yes, many Asian films are cheesy, but in this one it simply doesn't fit.
The excellent acting by most of the cast is wasted. A really good fighting scene at the end doesn't save it either.
Being a revenge movie you will have to compare it to others of that genre - namely "Ms. 45 / Angel of Vengeance" and doing so KILL BILL simply doesn't stand a chance. KILL BILL is simply a motion picture comic book, a farce. The characters are so unbelievably ridiculous - a Japanese schoolgirl as a bodyguard? Sorry: no go!

Tongue firmly in cheek
Review date: 2008-06-17 Rating: 8 out of 10

Viewers tend to 'get' Tarantino or not, but you can't view any of his films without seeing them in the context of the styles he mimics. Everywhere Tarantino goes, there is an affectionate nod towards the legacy of film-makers and writers. Where his previous nods have included Elmore Leonard, important because Tarantino has learned well Leonard's 10 rules of writing, notably the most important: "My most important rule is one that sums up the 10: If it sounds like writing, I rewrite it."

And like Leonard, Tarantino "leaves out the parts that readers (viewers) skip." In short, forget profound meaning and concentrate on what matters: entertainment, but with his own mastery of small talk dialogue, bizarre camera angles and intricate construction and plotting into bijou chapters.

For Kill Bill volume 1, this means a beautifully stylised martial arts film that incorporates a very bloody anime sequence but works best if you view it as one big cartoon, absurd blood spray and all. How else could poor Uma Thurman fight off and execute literally dozens of heavily armed assassins? The choreography is simply breathtaking, on a par with the finest of its type - nobody could fail to be impressed with the flying bodies and swords, even if the lopped limbs are absurd.

This is not a film to be taken seriously: the director's tongue is very firmly in his cheek, no matter how deadpan the tale of bloody revenge. The weakness is really that Tarantino has robbed himself of half his strengths. The script in Kill Bill is minimalistic, deferred in favour of hugely extended all-out action sequences.

sewage
Review date: 2008-06-07 Rating: 2 out of 10

this is a hateful and vile ego trip and is one of the wrost films ever made.quentin tarantino has made a career out of making drivel except jackie brown which was quite good.but this is rubbish

Kill BIll - No 8 - All Time List 2008
Review date: 2008-04-08 Rating: 10 out of 10

Kill Bill was the first Tarantino movie that was released in my time - I'm happy I got to see it when it came out as well - this film is no second rate copycat film in homage to kung fu cinema - it adds so much more.
The Bride (Uma Thurman) is seeking revenge on Bill and his assassination squad for trying to kill `The Bride' on her wedding day, and placing her into a coma for four years.
What makes this film so great (to me Volume 1 + 2 is one film split in half) is that for the first 90 mins we get 100% adrenaline, action that is pure grin inducing. The Crazy 88 scenes (even better on the Japanese uncut DVD release) are out of this world - its ultra violence at its height and also cinematic art that you don't get to see very often.
Never before has bombastic killing been so much fun.

Then in Volume 2 it all gets moderately tame in comparison, we get the beginning and the end of the story, finding out what made the bride, how she came to be getting married etc. All the dialogue that is missing from Volume 1. Now let it not be said that there isn't any style in volume 2, there is, but it's nothing like Volume 2 - in my opinion they complement each other totally and by the end of the film and the Bride v Bill finale you are completely satisfied with the movie. Yes Volume one is better, but better where `better' refers to fun only - without the summation on Volume 2 you would say Kill Bill is all style and no substance - thankfully it is both. Fans of Tarantino, action / kung fu need look no further - this is three hours of popcorn heaven.

As for the DVD's - well basic at best - there is supposedly a deluxe set in the pipeline, but it's been in that pipe for 30 months already so I'm not holding out too much hope but extended scenes and one complete cut would be awesome. For now check out Volume one on the Japanese cut and Volume two on the UK release.

Product Details/Specifications


Actor(s):
Vivica A. Fox
Uma Thurman
Lucy Liu
Daryl Hannah
David Carradine

Creators:
Uma Thurman (Primary Contributor)
Lucy Liu (Primary Contributor)

Director(s):

Recording label: Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainm
Manufacturer: Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainm
EAN: 5017188812733
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 1
Format: PAL,
Release date: 2004-04-19
Number of discs: 1
Audience rating: Suitable for 18 years and over
Region code: 2
Running time: 111 minutes
Theatrical release date: 2003-10-10
Language: English (Original Language)
Language: French (Original Language)
Language: Japanese (Original Language)

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