Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)
Here comes the bride
Starring: Uma Thurman, David Carradine, Lucy Liu, Daryl Hannah, Vivica A. Fox, Michael Madsen, Michael Parks, Sonny Chiba, Chiaki Kiriyama, Julie Dreyfus, Gordon Liu, Jun Kunimura, Kazuki Kitamura, Akaji Maro, Larry Bishop, Laura Cayouette, Julie Monase, Chris Nelson, Kenji Ohba
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Running Time: 111 minutes
US MPAA rating: N/AUK BBFC rating: 18
Action, Crime, Thriller
With only three feature films to his name - 'Reservoir Dogs' (1992), 'Pulp Fiction' (1994) and 'Jackie Brown' (1997) - at least two of which were hip classics, Quentin Tarantino has a peculiar status. On the one hand he is the most influential director of the 1990s, whose postmodern resuscitation of 1970s sensibilities and forgotten actors redefined the exciting potential of cinema for a whole new generation, delighting critics and the public alike. On the other hand, he has become a victim of his own influence, being unjustly blamed for the many inferior imitations which his films have inspired. So it is good to see the genuine article once again, and 'Kill Bill: Volume 1', Tarantino's first film in six years, is a timely reminder of his extraordinary talent.
'Kill Bill' was originally conceived as a single, epically long film, but Miramax, keen to double both their profits and their chances at the Oscars, persuaded Tarantino to cut it neatly into two (much as its sword-bearing heroine does to her opponents). Still, after seeing this first volume, with its 111 minutes of over-the-top violence, raven-black humour, complicated narrative and stunning visuals, its show-stopping twenty-minute action climax and a final revelation in the best 'Luke, I am your father' tradition of cliffhangers, you will be too busy cleaning up your own drool to feel in any way short-changed. Tarantino has taken all the very best ingredients from Chinese kung-fu flicks, Japanese yakuza films, spaghetti westerns, the French new wave and all manner of 1970s exploitation cinema, thrown them all together into one big pot, and distilled from it entertainment in its purest form.
Uma Thurman puts in another instantly iconic performance as 'The Bride', a woman-with-no-name righteously annoyed at her former partners in the Deadly Vipers Assassin Squad and in particular at her boss and ex-lover Bill (David Carradine, never properly seen in Volume 1), who gunned her down at her own wedding. Awoken from a four-year coma with a metal plate in her head and a thirst for vengeance, she sets out to challenge her betrayers to the death, one by one. Yet what sounds like a straightforward revenge plot turns out to be something altogether more involving, as Tarantino's dramatic breaches of standard chronology not only keep things interestingly non-linear, but also enable the introduction of a number of subplots, equally about revenge, which complicate our interpretation of the main revenge plot, its causes and its consequences.
'Kill Bill: Volume 1' is simply beautiful to look at and listen to. Different sections are told in different genre styles. There are sequences in colour, in black-and-white, a long episode in exquisite animé, and the final duel with O-Ren Ishi (Lucy Liu) - after the Bride has brutally slashed, gouged and hacked her way through her 88 henchmen on a modern club dancefloor - takes place in a snow-swept Japanese garden that looks like a classical painting. And in this mixed palette there is the ever-dominant colour of yellow (as often as not splattered in blood red) which this film truly makes its own signature. Yet for all its bold experimentation, 'Kill Bill: Volume 1' never ceases to be anything but accessible, guaranteeing that you, at least, will get all the satisfaction you demand.
It's Got: EVERYTHING you have ever wanted from a bigscreen film - AND lots of yellow to boot.
It Needs: A sequel - oh, it's got one...
Alternatives: Pulp Fiction, Ichi the Killer
Summary: Quentin Tarantino is a genius, and this is his masterwork. Exuberant, inventive, kinetic, violent and fun, it grabs your attention right from the beginning and never lets go. Quite possibly the reason cinema was invented.
Review Date: 13th October 2003
External Links
Official Web Site
Kill Bill: Vol. 1 at the IMDB
Comments9 Comments |
| The best movie in the WORLD! I don't care if people say the effects are cheesy, that's the whole point! Gogo rocks, Bill rocks, and The Bride is killer! (Obviously) I'm a little upset that Quentin Tarantino didn't have a cameo like in his other films, all of which are great. |
| Comment by:- Anonymous | | 10 October 2004 | ip: logged |
| excellent movie, excellently reviewed. |
| Comment by:- cliche | | 15 October 2004 | ip: logged |
| i thought it was crap |
| Comment by:- the bride | | 22 October 2004 | ip: logged |
| it was amazing |
| Comment by:- beatrix kiddo | | 03 November 2004 | ip: logged |
| oh **** you cliche it's a movie, not a 'purposely made for money' film anyway, i watched it like centuries ago and until now im still die hard fan |
| Comment by:- bitchy anti-anti-kill bill-fan | | 05 November 2004 | ip: logged |
| Tarantion seems talented and with many ambitions but he is not a genious. He will never become Felini |
| Comment by:- Ekaterina | | 18 November 2004 | ip: logged |
| SCREW ALL YOU WHO HATE TARINTIO! Kill Bill was a blood and gory no rules barred action packed movie. Its a great storyline with a quest for revenge! ANd boy does The Bride get that sweet revenge TWO THUMBS WAY UP its an awesome film |
| Comment by:- gabeLA | | 02 January 2005 | ip: logged |
| For me, the best in Tarantino's movies are the speaches and the caracteres. This one is not so good as Pulp Ficton, though there a lot of exotic caracteres, such the Japonese crazy girl and the half-french woman. But this movie doesn't have so many speaches, there only actions. |
| Comment by:- tylacinium | | 04 June 2005 | ip: logged |
| I have a question. In the beggining of the movie is written that it is the fourth Tarantino's movie. I thought he already did four movies: Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, Jackie Brown and From Dusk Till Dawn. So, it's his fifth movie. Am I right? |
| Comment by:- tylacinium | | 04 June 2005 | ip: logged |
