Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)

User Rating:

8.2/10   

Director:

Quentin Tarantino

Writers:

Quentin Tarantino (character The Bride) &
Uma Thurman (character The Bride) ...

Release Date:

10 October 2003 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Thriller

Tagline:

In the year 2003, Uma Thurman will kill Bill

Plot:

The Bride wakes up after a long coma. The baby that she carried before entering the coma is gone. The only thing on her mind is to have revenge on the assassination team that betrayed her - a team she was once part of.

Plot Keywords:

Wilhelm Scream | Cult Favorite | Duology | One Woman Army | Limb Shot Off

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 12 wins & 41 nominations

Cast

Uma Thurman	...	The Bride
Lucy Liu	...	O-Ren Ishii
Vivica A. Fox	...	Vernita Green
Daryl Hannah	...	Elle Driver
David Carradine	...	Bill
Michael Madsen	...	Budd
Julie Dreyfus	...	Sofie Fatale
Chiaki Kuriyama	...	Gogo Yubari
Sonny Chiba	...	Hattori Hanzo
Chia Hui Liu	...	Johnny Mo (as Gordon Liu)
Michael Parks	...	Earl McGraw
Michael Bowen	...	Buck
Jun Kunimura	...	Boss Tanaka
Kenji Ohba	...	Bald Guy (Sushi Shop) (as Kenji Oba)
Yuki Kazamatsuri	...	Proprietor

Also Known As:

Kill Bill (USA) (informal short title)
Kill Bill 1 (USA) (informal title)
Kill Bill: Volume 1 (USA) (alternative spelling)
Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill: Volume One (USA) (promotional title)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong bloody violence, language and some sexual content.

Runtime:

111 min | Japan:112 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Japanese | French

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Taiwan:R-18 | Malaysia:18SG (re-rating) | Canada:18A (Alberta/British Columbia/Ontario) | Iceland:16 | Germany:18 | Hungary:18 | USA:NC-17 (Special Edition DVD) | South Korea:18 (re-rating) (cut) (DVD rating) (uncut) | Singapore:R(A) | New Zealand:R18 | Argentina:16 | Australia:MA (cable rating) | Australia:R (original rating) | Brazil:18 | Canada:16+ (Québec) | Canada:18 (Nova Scotia) | Chile:14 | Finland:K-18 | France:-16 | Hong Kong:III | Ireland:18 | Israel:16 | Italy:VM14 | Japan:R-15 | Netherlands:16 | Norway:18 | Philippines:R-18 | Poland:15 | Portugal:M/16 | South Africa:18 | South Korea:Limited (original rating) | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | UK:18 | USA:R (certificate #40294)

Filming Locations:

Austin, Texas, USA

Company:

Miramax Films

Trivia:

Quentin Tarantino had intended for three actors of different nationalities to represent their respective countries. Chia Hui Liu represents China, Sonny Chiba represents Japan, and David Carradine represents the United States. Tarantino said that had Bruce Lee still been alive he'd have been asked to appear in Kill Bill as well.

Goofs:

Factual errors: Chapter Four, "The MAN from OKINAWA", implies that Hattori Hanzo was from Okinawa, when in fact, he is from Mikawa, Japan. The proper grammar would be "The MAN *in* OKINAWA".

Quotes:

[first lines]
Bill: Do you find me sadistic? You know, I bet I could fry an egg on your head right now, if I wanted to. You know, Kiddo, I'd like to believe that you're aware enough even now to know that there's nothing sadistic in my actions. Well, maybe towards those other... jokers, but not you. No Kiddo, at this moment, this is me at my most...
[cocks pistol]
Bill: masochistic.
The Bride: Bill... it's your baby...
[BLAM!]

Movie Connections:

References Tirez sur le pianiste (1960)

Soundtrack:

Il Grande Duello / The Grand Duel - (Parte Prima)

Instant classic, but not for all audiences.

I know it's a couple years late, but I had to write a review for some of the few people that haven't seen one of my favorite and refreshing I've seen over the last few years. Kill Bill Vol. 1 is yet another quality film of Tarantino's short, but distinguished list.

Kill Bill involves a nameless woman (Uma Thurman) who is slowing seeking revenge on her former hit squad the Viper Squad and her boss Bill (David Caradine.) Her former hit squad wronged her by gunning down her closest friends and family during her wedding and putting her into a coma while being pregnant. A few years later she awakens in a hospital, without child, and tries to track down each member of the squad. As the story progresses (through this film and the sequel), you find out who she really, why Bill wanted her dead and the fate of her daughter.

The movie is really a combination of Tarantino's love for the 70's over-dramatized Kung-Fu movie era and story of revenge with rich dialog. Yes, this movie is violent, but in a cheesy way. This created some controversy and really had audiences stirred up, failing to realize it was supposed to be over the top without no sense of realism. Like I said, it was supposed to be a tribute more so than a gruesome action flick. With all cheesiness aside, I can understand how some people could feel a little woozy after seeing someone lose an arm and having 4 gallons of Kool-Aid red blood shoot out of the body like a whale's blow hole. What really makes this movie is Tarantino ability to make bad to mediocre actors seem like good ones, a smart and hilarious dialog and a good storyline. Of course, this is what he does in pretty much in all of his movies.

There are various plot holes in the story, but we are really meant to ignore them unlike most movies. Just like the gory scenes, come to grips to the fact that the most of the implausibilities are there just to fill in the gaps of the movie. The movie also features a couple of classic Tarantino showdowns, including an unforgettable one with the Japanese infamous crime lord, O-Ren Ishii (Lucy Lui.) Once again, Tarantino puts his imagination at work again in his story telling by using some of his old techniques like jumping timelines and some new ones like adding Japanese animation for character backgrounds.

I wouldn't really recommend this film to someone who is really not from the Pulp Fiction era. This film is really just homage to flicks that frequently appear on Sunday Samurai Showcase, revenge and Tarantino's continuous fascination with Uma Thurman. This film contains extreme violence and sometimes strange dialog coupled with some pretty good acting and directing. If you're not a fan of Tarantino's films, you should pass on this one because it is doesn't stray to far from his other stuff. If you like his other works, this is a must see due to its originality and quality. And, if you just don't like Tarantino himself, and find him annoying like everybody else, I don't blame you but it's still worth your while seeing.