Kill Bill

Kill Bill is a two-part action thriller film released in 2003 and 2004 by writer-director Quentin Tarantino, and starring Uma Thurman as The Bride. Originally conceived as one film, it was released in two "volumes" (in late 2003 and early 2004) due to its running time of approximately four hours. The film is an epic-length revenge drama, with homages to earlier film genres, such as Hong Kong martial arts films, Japanese Chanbara films, exploitation films and Italianspaghetti westerns; an extensive use of popular music and pop culture references; andaestheticization of violence. Filming took place in California, Texas, Beijing, Hong Kong, Tokyo, and Mexico

Plot

Kill Bill is one story, divided into two volumes with five chapters each, presented in a nonlinear narrative style, as is common among Tarantino's films. This synopsis follows the narrative structure of the film, meaning that the events are not all presented in chronological order.

[edit]Volume 1

The film opens with a shot of The Bride (Uma Thurman), on the floor, beaten, covered in blood, and gasping for breath. The unseen Bill (David Carradine) speaks to her about how he takes no pleasure in killing her and draws his gun. The Bride barely manages to tell him “It’s your baby”, right before he shoots her in the head.

In the next scene, The Bride arrives at the home of Vernita Green (Vivica A. Fox). Taking Vernita by surprise, The Bride engages her in a vicious fight; Vernita displays fighting prowess as the two end up in a knife fight, but the two women agree to cease the hostilities when Vernita's four-year-old daughter Nikki arrives home from school. The Bride's voice-over reveals that she and Vernita were acquainted four years ago as members of the Deadly Vipers Assassination Squad (DVAS), a squad of elite assassins under the employ of Bill. Vernita (codename "Copperhead") has since retired to a new life as a housewife and attempts to apologize for what she had done to The Bride (codename "Black Mamba") four years ago. The Bride is unmoved, insisting that the two have “unfinished business”. They arrange to continue their fight later that evening, but before The Bride can depart, Vernita attempts to kill her with a gun hidden inside a cereal box. The Bride dodges the bullet and kills Vernita. Nikki, walks into the room, and The Bride is dismayed that Nikki witnessed her mother being killed. However, she unapologetically informs her that her mother deserved what happened and offers her a chance for revenge should she seek it as an adult. The Bride leaves and strikes Vernita's name (the second name listed) off of her "Death List Five"—a list of five individuals whom she intends to kill in revenge for what they did to her four years ago.

It is revealed that four years earlier, in the city of El Paso, Texas, the pregnant Bride was attacked by the DVAS during her wedding at a small chapel, where they killed all in attendance, with Bill performing the coup de grâce on The Bride depicted in the opening scene. In the aftermath, Texas Ranger Earl McGraw and his son Edgar McGraw examine The Bride, but are amazed to discover that she is still alive, albeit comatose. She is transferred to the hospital as a Jane Doe, as her identity cannot be determined. After being admitted, another member of the DVAS, the one-eyed Elle Driver (Daryl Hannah) (codename "California Mountain Snake"), enters the hospital and prepares to administer a lethal injection, stating her extreme dislike for the unconscious Bride. At the last second, she is interrupted by a phone call from Bill, who orders her to abort the mission.

Four years after the attack, The Bride suddenly awakens from her coma, finding herself in a hospital ward. She is horrified to discover that she is no longer pregnant, leading her to assume that her baby is dead. She escapes from the hospital and swears revenge against the DVAS, determining her first target, O-Ren Ishii (Lucy Liu)—codename "Cottonmouth", who has since become the leader of the Tokyo underworld, to be the easiest to locate. After regaining full control of her atrophied limbs, The Bride travels to Okinawa to obtain a sword from Hattori Hanzō (Sonny Chiba), a renowned swordsmith who has retired to the life of a sushi chef and sworn never to forge another "instrument of death". She asks Hanzō to grant her a sword, which at first he refuses, but he then decides to forge his finest sword for her when he learns that she intends to wreak revenge on his former student: Bill. It takes a month for Hanzō to forge the sword, and in that time The Bride trains for her confrontation with each member of the DVAS.

The Bride then travels to Tokyo, where she confronts O-Ren at a night club called the "House of Blue Leaves". The Bride first severs the arm of O-Ren's best friend, Sofie Fatale (Julie Dreyfus), a protege of Bill's who was also present at the wedding chapel massacre. She then kills all of O-Ren’s immediate guards, including her personal bodyguard, Gogo Yubari (Chiaki Kuriyama). O-Ren's army of henchmen, the Crazy 88, arrive, and The Bride engages them in a lengthy fight, killing or seriously wounding all of them. She then duels O-Ren, and eventually kills her.

The Bride keeps Fatale alive, extracting the whereabouts of the rest of the DVAS from her by cutting off her other arm and dumps her off at a hospital. Bill visits Fatale, who tearfully informs him that The Bride now knows the names and locations of the remaining DVAS and is setting out to kill them (as seen at the beginning of the film with Vernita Green). Bill then asks Fatale if The Bride is aware that her daughter is still alive, ending the film with a cliffhanger.

[edit]Volume 2

The second volume begins with a depiction of the events leading up to the wedding chapel massacre. The Bride is at her wedding rehearsal, along with her groom-to-be and their guests. Bill arrives at the chapel, much to The Bride’s surprise. Through the ensuing conversation it transpires that The Bride has decided to retire from assassination (as well as leave Bill, her former lover), in order to settle down with her as-yet unborn daughter and soon-to-be husband. After Bill gives The Bride away to her husband-to-be, the Deadly Vipers enter the chapel (at the behest of Bill), opening fire on those assembled inside.

The film then continues from the the conclusion of the previous volume. Bill travels to warn his estranged brother Budd (Michael Madsen), another former Deadly Viper (codename "Sidewinder"), that The Bride is coming to kill him, as he is third on her death list. Budd has put his assassin days behind him, living in a trailer and working as a disrespected bouncer at a local strip club. Eventually, The Bride arrives at Budd's trailer, but Budd preempts her attack, shooting her in the chest with a shotgun loaded with rock salt and then injecting her with a sedative. Budd calls Elle and offers to sell her The Bride's Hanzō sword for $1 million; they arrange to meet at Budd’s trailer the next morning. He then takes The Bride to a cemetery, seals her inside a coffin and buries her alive.

The film flashes back to The Bride’s early days as Bill's protege and lover. In China, Bill takes her to the temple of the legendary and ruthlessmartial arts master Pai Mei (Gordon Liu). Bill explains that Pai Mei mastered the legendary "Five Point Palm Exploding Heart Technique", wherein he strikes five pressure points on the victim's body, leaving them with only five footsteps to take before their heart explodes in their chest, killing them. Though The Bride is intrigued, Bill informs her that Pai Mei teaches no one the technique, not even Bill himself. Bill leaves her with Pai Mei and though he expresses immediate dislike for her, over a period of brutal training she eventually wins his respect.

Now trapped in the coffin in the present, The Bride recalls her training with Pai Mei to break out of the buried coffin and dig her way to the surface. The next morning, The Bride watches unnoticed from a nearby hilltop, as Elle arrives at Budd’s trailer for their transaction. Elle brings with her a suitcase containing the $1 million for the sword. However, when Budd opens the suitcase, a black mamba hidden amongst the money bites him repeatedly. The venom kills him in a matter of minutes, as Elle explains to him that she hated The Bride, but respected her as her rival and the greatest warrior she has ever known; she regrets that a loser like Budd was the one to kill her.

Elle receives a call from Bill, and she tells him that The Bride killed Budd with a black mamba. At this point, The Bride’s real name–Beatrix Kiddo–is finally revealed. As Elle goes to leave Budd’s trailer, she is attacked by Beatrix, and a furious fight ensues. Elle reveals to the inquiring Beatrix that her missing eye was plucked out by Pai Mei after she insulted him during her training, and in retribution, she killed him by poisoning him. Angered, Beatrix plucks out Elle’s remaining eye, and leaves Elle completely blind and writhing and screaming hysterically in the trailer with the black mamba, her ultimate fate unknown.

After finding Bill’s location, Beatrix infiltrates Bill’s home. Here she is shocked to find B.B., her four-year old daughter, alive and well. The family spend the evening together peacefully with Bill making sandwiches and Beatrix watching a video in bed with her daughter. Once B.B. is asleep, Bill shoots Beatrix with a dart containing a strong truth serum and he begins to question her about why she left him.

A short flashback recalls that the moment Beatrix found out that she was pregnant, she was on an assignment, and her target had sent an assassin of her own to kill Beatrix. Beatrix managed to convince the assassin not to kill her due to her pregnancy and they agree to part ways. Beatrix then disappeared. In the present, Beatrix explains that she ran away without telling Bill in order to protect her unborn daughter from the dangers she would have faced being associated with him in their line of work.

Though Bill now understands, he remains unapologetic for what he did and Beatrix reiterates that they have "unfinished business". Bill draws his sword to attack Beatrix. A brief fight results in Beatrix disabling Bill with the Five Point Palm Exploding Heart Technique (secretly taught to her by Pai Mei). Bill, defeated, shares a tender farewell with Beatrix before rising to his feet and walking across the lawn; falling to the ground, dead, after five steps. Beatrix departs with B.B. in her arms.

The next day, in a hotel room, Beatrix is in a state of heightened emotion, while B.B. watches cartoons in the next room. Beatrix joins her daughter, and the film ends with a shot of the mother and daughter together.

[edit]Cast

See also: List of Kill Bill characters

• Uma Thurman as The Bride / Beatrix Kiddo (“Black Mamba”): A former member of the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad and described as "the deadliest woman in the world". She is targeted by her former allies in the wedding chapel massacre, and falls into a coma. When she awakens four years later, she embarks on a deadly trail of revenge against the perpetrators of the massacre.
• David Carradine as Bill (“Snake Charmer”): The former leader of the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad. He is also the former lover of Beatrix and the father of her daughter. He is the final of Beatrix’s revenge targets.
• Lucy Liu as O-Ren Ishii (“Cottonmouth”): A former member of the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad. She later becomes “queen of the Tokyo underworld”. She is the first of Beatrix’s revenge targets.
• Vivica A. Fox as Vernita Green (“Copperhead”): A former member of the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad. She later becomes a homemaker living under a false name. She is the second of Beatrix’s revenge targets.
• Michael Madsen as Budd (“Sidewinder”): A former member of the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad and brother of Bill. He later becomes a bouncer living in a trailer. He is the third of Beatrix’s revenge targets.
• Daryl Hannah as Elle Driver (“California Mountain Snake”): A former member of the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad. She is the fourth of Beatrix’s revenge targets.
• Julie Dreyfus as Sofie Fatale: Best friend and second lieutenant to O-Ren. She is also a former protégé of Bill’s, and was present at the wedding chapel massacre.
• Sonny Chiba as Hattori Hanzo: Revered as the greatest swordsmith of all time. Although long retired, he agrees to craft a sword for Beatrix.
• Gordon Liu as Pai Mei: An immensely powerful and extremely old martial arts master. Bill, Beatrix and Elle all train under him.
• Chiaki Kuriyama as Gogo Yubari: A sadistic 17-year-old who is O-Ren’s personal bodyguard.
• Perla Haney-Jardine as B.B.: The daughter of Beatrix and Bill. She is raised by her father while her mother is comatose.
• Chris Nelson as Tommy Plympton: Beatrix’s fiancé who is killed in the wedding chapel massacre.
• Gordon Liu as Johnny Mo: “Head general of O-Ren’s personal army; the Crazy 88.”
• Michael Parks as Esteban Vihaio: A retired pimp. He was the first of Bill’s “father figures”. Beatrix comes to him asking for Bill’s whereabouts.
• Michael Bowen as Buck: An orderly at the hospital in which Beatrix passes her coma. He has apparently been selling sexual access to her body while she was comatose.
• Helen Kim as Karen: An assassin sent to kill Beatrix. Her attack comes moments after Beatrix learns that she is pregnant.
• Larry Bishop as Larry Gomez: The abusive manager of the strip club at which Budd works.
• Jun Kunimura as Boss Tanaka: A Yakuza who is disgruntled when O-Ren assumes power.
• Bo Svenson as Reverend Harmony: The minister who was to officiate at Beatrix and Tommy’s wedding.
• Michael Parks as Earl McGraw: A policeman who investigates the wedding chapel massacre.
• James Parks as Edgar McGraw: The son of Earl McGraw. He is also a policeman.
• Samuel L. Jackson as Rufus: The pianist who was to perform at Beatrix and Tommy’s wedding.

[edit]Influences

Lists of miscellaneous information should be avoided. Please relocate any relevant information into appropriate sections or articles. (December 2010)

The overall storyline of Kill Bill—a woman seeks revenge on a group of people, crossing them off a list one by one as she kills them—is adapted from Lady Snowblood, a 1973 Japanese film in which a woman kills off the gang who murdered her family. The Guardian commented that Lady Snowblood was "practically a template for the whole of Kill Bill Vol. 1".^[5] Lady Snowblood was adapted from the manga of the same name written by Kazuo Koike and illustrated by Kazuo Kamimura. Koike also wrote Lone Wolf and Cub (see below).

The film also references Samurai Reincarnation (1981) by quoting its iconic line "If you encounter God, God will be cut". Hattori Hanzō is modelled on legendary sword maker Muramasa. The character is also a reference to the Japanese television show Kage no Gundan (Shadow Warriors in America), in which Sonny Chiba portrayed a fictionalized version of Hattori Hanzō, as well as his descendants in later seasons. Tarantino, in Vol. 1 special features, claims that his film's Hanzō is one of those descendants.

Kill Bill pays tribute to film genres including the spaghetti western, blaxploitation, Chinese wuxia, Japanese yakuza films, Japanese samurai cinema, and kung fu movies of the 1960s and 1970s. This last genre, which was largely produced by the Shaw Brothers, is given an obvious nod by the inclusion of the Shaw Scope logo at the beginning of Kill Bill Vol. 1.

Daryl Hannah has claimed that the more slapstick elements of Elle's brawl with Beatrix were inspired by Jackass: The Movie, which Tarantino watched during the filming of Kill Bill.^[6]

One influential exploitation film that Tarantino has mentioned in interviews is the Swedish Thriller - en grym film, released in the U.S. as They Call Her One Eye. Tarantino recommended that actress Daryl Hannah watch the movie to prepare for her role as the one-eyed killer Elle Driver.^[7]

The Japanese Lone Wolf and Cub series of manga and films are echoed in the characters of The Bride and her daughter. The Americanized compilation version of this series, Shogun Assassin, is actually viewed by the two characters.

The films also contains a number of references to specific American and European films, such as "Pussy Wagon" (taken from lyrics in the film Grease).^[8][9]

The closing credits to both films included a short list of deceased directors, writers and actors, under the title "R.I.P.": Charles Bronson,Chang Cheh, Kinji Fukasaku, Lo Lieh, Shintaro Katsu, William Witney, Sergio Corbucci, Lucio Fulci, Sergio Leone, and Lee Van Cleef.

[edit]Reception

After a six-year hiatus of Tarantino movies, Kill Bill was much anticipated by fans and critics and generated a tremendous amount of discussion. Reaction by film critics was very positive, each volume receiving a score of 85% on Rotten Tomatoes.^[10][11] Both volumes did well at the box office.^[12][13] Kill Bill Vol. 1 grossed $180,949,045 worldwide, followed by Kill Bill Vol. 2 with $152,159,461 worldwide, for a combined gross of $333,108,506.

[edit]A movie in two volumes

Church in Mojave Desert near Lancaster, California used as a filming location

Though released as two parts, the film differs from multi-part "franchise" series like Star Wars. The short duration between the releases of the two volumes, the film's internal structure, and the history of its development all strongly imply that Kill Bill be regarded as one movie (for example, the cast of Vol. 1 are credited at the end of Vol. 2). The dual-release strategy, ostensibly due to the film's length, has been criticized as an attempt by Miramax to sell two tickets to one movie.^[14]

The two-volume format also amplified what some saw as a structural problem with the film: most of the action occurs in the first half, while most of the dialogue and plot are conveyed in the second. Thus, the two volumes are noticeably different in style and tone, leaving some viewers enamored of one volume but disappointed by the other. Of Volume 2, Sean O’Connell of Filmcritic.com writes, "The drop-off in energy, style, and coherence from Volume 1 to its bloated, disinteresting counterpart is so drastic and extreme that you can hardly believe they come from the same director, let alone conclude the same storyline."^[14] Jeffery M. Anderson of Combustible Celluloid, like some other critics, preferred Volume 2, writing "…Characters actually talk to one another here rather than the stilted samurai movie-speak of the first volume."^[15]

Roger Ebert celebrated the films, saying "[When you] put the two parts together, and Tarantino has made a masterful saga that celebrates the martial arts genre while kidding it, loving it, and transcending it.... This is all one film, and now that we see it whole, it's greater than its two parts."^[16] In 2009, he placed the film on his twenty best films of the decade list.^[17]

[edit]Violence

Much criticism concerned the amount and presentation of bloodshed and general mayhem, especially in the first volume. One critic referred to Volume 1 as a "cocktail party in an abattoir".^[18]

[edit]Style and substance

Much of the controversy over the film reflects the differing expectations of those who look primarily at a movie for its style and craftsmanship against those who look at story and substance. "You never forget that Kill Bill is an exercise in genre-sampling," writes the Chicago Tribune’s Mark Caro.^[19] However, other critics found it well-constructed, with tightly edited action scenes, strong performances, often-clever dialogue, and an effectively exciting soundtrack.^[15] On the whole, both volumes of the film received positive reviews.^[18][20]

[edit]Awards

Each part was nominated at the Golden Globe Awards. Uma Thurman received a Best Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama nomination in 2004 and 2005 for her work in Volume 1 and Volume 2. David Carradine received a Best Supporting Actor nomination in 2005 for his work as the mentor-like titular character in Kill Bill: Volume 2. Uma Thurman was also nominated in 2004 for a BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for her work in 'Kill Bill: Volume 1.' The film was nominated for 5 BAFTAs at the 2004 BAFTA awards ceremony.

The film was very popular at the MTV Movie Awards. At the 2004 MTV Movie Awards Uma Thurman won Best Female performance forVolume 1, Lucy Liu won Best Villain in Volume 1, and the fight between The Bride and Gogo Yubari won Best Fight. Uma Thurman also thanked Chiaki Kuriyama during her acceptance speech. At the 2005 MTV Movie Awards, Kill Bill Volume 2 was nominated for best movie, Thurman was nominated for best female performance, and the fight between The Bride and Elle Driver in Kill Bill Volume 2 also won Best Fight. Uma Thurman also received the Saturn Award for Best Actress in 2003 for her work in Volume 1.

[edit]Music

Main articles: Kill Bill Volume 1 (soundtrack) and Kill Bill Volume 2 (soundtrack)

As with Tarantino's previous films, Kill Bill features an eclectic soundtrack comprising many musical genres. On the two soundtracks, music ranges from country music to selections from the Spaghetti Western film scores of Ennio Morricone. Bernard Herrmann's theme from the filmTwisted Nerve is whistled by the menacing Elle Driver in the hospital scene. A brief, 15-second excerpt from the opening of the Ironsidetheme music by Quincy Jones is used as the Bride's revenge motif, which flares up with a red-tinged flashback whenever she's in the company of her next target.^[21] Instrumental tracks from Japanese guitarist Tomoyasu Hotei figure prominently, and after the success of Kill Bill they were frequently used in American TV commercials and at sporting events. As the Bride enters "The House of Blue Leaves", go-go group The 5,6,7,8's perform "I Walk Like Jayne Mansfield", "I'm Blue" and "Woo Hoo." The connection to Lady Snowblood is further established by the use of "The Flower of Carnage" the closing theme from that film. The end credits are driven by the rock and roll version of "Malagueña Salerosa", a typical Mexican song performed by "Chingon", Robert Rodriguez's band.

[edit]Releases

Kill Bill: Volume 2 was screened out of competition at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival.^[22]

[edit]Home release

In the United States Kill Bill: Volume 1 was released as a DVD on April 13, 2004, while Volume 2 was released August 10, 2004.

In a December 2005 interview, Tarantino addressed the lack of a special edition DVD for Kill Bill by stating "I've been holding off because I've been working on it for so long that I just wanted a year off from Kill Bill and then I'll do the big supplementary DVD package."^[23]

The United States does not have a DVD boxed set of Kill Bill, though box sets of the two separate volumes are available in other countries, such as France, Japan and the United Kingdom. Upon the DVD release of Volume 2 in the US, however, Best Buy did offer an exclusive box set slipcase to house the two individual releases together.^[24]

Both Kill Bill movies were released in High Definition on Blu-ray on September 9, 2008 in the United States.

[edit]Forthcoming

Tarantino announced at the 2008 Provincetown International Film Festival that a single film version of Kill Bill with an extended animation sequence was to be released in May 2009.^[25] As of yet, no such release has been announced.

Tarantino told Entertainment Weekly in April 2004, that he is planning a sequel:

“

Oh yeah, initially I was thinking this would be my "Dollars Trilogy". I was going to do a new one every ten years. But I need at least fifteen years before I do this again. I've already got the whole mythology: Sofie Fatale will get all of Bill's money. She'll raise Nikki, who'll take on The Bride. Nikki deserves her revenge every bit as much as The Bride deserved hers. I might even shoot a couple of scenes for it now so I can get the actresses while they're this age.

”

According to Bloody-Disgusting.com, details have emerged about Kill Bill Volumes 3 and 4. According to the article, "Bennett Walsh said at the Shanghai International Film Festival the third film involves the revenge of two killers whose arms and eyes were hacked by Uma Thurman in the first stories". The article adds that the "fourth installment of the popular kung fu action films concerns a cycle of reprisals and daughters who avenge their mother's deaths".^[26]

Quentin Tarantino said at the 2006 Comic Con that, after the completion of Grindhouse, he wants to make two anime Kill Bill films. One will be an origin story about Bill and his mentors, and the other will be an origin starring The Bride. The latter is most likely to be a prequel, but could also follow the rumored (sequel) plot reported in Entertainment Weekly in April 2004.^[27][28]

On October 1, 2009, it was revealed while being interviewed on an Italian TV show after being asked about the success of the two Kill Billfilms, Tarantino addressed the hostess by claiming "You haven't asked me about the third one" then asking the woman to ask the question would he be making a third Kill Bill film, which he replied "Yes", and claiming "The Bride will fight again!" ^[29]

On October 3, 2009, at the Morelia International Film Festival, Quentin Tarantino announced that Kill Bill 3 would be his ninth film, and would be released in 2014.^[30] He said he intends to make another unrelated film before that date as his eighth film. He confirmed that he wanted ten years to pass between the Bride's last conflict, to give her and her daughter a period of peace

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