Kill
Bill Volume One (2003)
If you don't like Quentin Tarantino,
then something is seriously wrong with your head.
The motherfucker is a cinematic genius, a walking
film genre mixmaster with an encyclopedic knowledge
of movies. Even if you're not into the genre he is
paying tribute to, you will love his films. Or you
should. Dude, if you don't like Tarantino, go hock
your entire fucking entertainment center right now.
With "Kill Bill Volume One" (and
by now everyone who is old enough to have eight bucks
to see the movie knows that it's been split in two
by Mirimax and that Tarantino is cool with it) the
auteur pays homage to revenge movies in a martial
arts style while somehow also tipping his hat to the
recent spat of Guuurrrlll power action flicks, like
"Charlie's Angels," that have become quite the norm
for Hollywood. He picks the perfect female actress
for his lead: Uma Thurman.
Thurman kicks ass here - literally
and figuratively. She's a fucking rock star. She's
in nearly every frame of this film and she blows the
doors off of every scene she is in. Tarantino wastes
no time getting the film underway, either. Before
you can giggle at his hilarious opening credits, with
numbered actors and a "feature presentation" introduction
lifted from drive-in theaters circa 1973, Thurman
is knocking on the door of Vivica A. Fox's house and
the two are throwing down like women possessed. It's
Criz-azy, man.
I don't want
to give away the plot. (But I do below! So beware!)
What you know about the film from the pre-release
hype makes it easy enough to follow even though Tarantino
reverts back to his trademark anti-chronology stance.
He flits around in time as if it never were a constant.
But, as is so significant in his films, he never once
loses dramatic tension or our rapt attention while
utilizing this device.
And Tarantino's use of music, so
wonderful in other films, is just as vibrant and as
amazing here. The "theme" song heard on the trailer,
used when Lucy Liu walks in a restaurant with her
entourage here, is the coolest music I've heard in
days. And Tarantino is so cool with his knowledge
of music, he makes everything fir just right. He starts
the film with Nancy Sinatra's version of "Bang Bang
(He Shot Me Down"). He uses "Music Box Dancer" early
in the film. I haven't heard that in ages. Music is
everywhere here. It's even on the screen. The Asian
all-girl band The 5,6,7,8's appear in the film and
do several of their songs in the background. And how
about that retro Philly-sounding disco tune that plays
when Thurman and Liu have their showdown. What the
fuck is that song? That's an awesome tune.
And - if you haven't seen the film,
stop reading. Because I've got to give shit away to
talk about the film - so click over to something else.
Check out my coverage of Austin Film Festival or go
to a "Notes from Austin" and see who I'd like to blow
this week.
Okay - for those of us who have
seen it: Isn't it cool how Tarantino not only mixes
chronology and genres here, but he even inserts a
20 minute Anime segment that acts as flashback and
makes it work! Granted, the scene goes on a little
too long but it is an amazingly daring feat that works
and it contains story ideas that simply couldn't be
don't with live actors. Not only that but it's some
of the coolest Anime I've ever seen (not that I've
seen that much).
Dude - serious spoilers coming here
- You have been warned.
The scene where Fox shoots at Thurman
using the cereal box. Wow! Did you see that coming?
I did not fucking see that coming. That's when the
film had me by the balls, baby. That's when I knew
it was going to be awesome.
And what about Daryl Hannah's appearance.
Isn't her costume fucking awesome. When she puts on
the white eye patch with the red cross on it. How
cool is that!?! The scene that follows with the orderly
is fucking crazy too. And Pussy Wagon. Dude, I laughed
my fucking ass off. You know were going to see cars
and trucks with that written on the back for the next
ten years. Tarantino is just too fucking crazy and
cool.
I love the huge fight scene in the
restaurant, but my favorite part is when Thurman goes
upstairs and we can here all the mutilated hit-men
on the floor wailing as if they are in enormous pain
down below (as if they are in the pit of hell). I've
never seen (or heard) that in a film before. And then
when the scene turns dark blue and the fight continues.
Awesome.
And how bout all those cute fucking
young Asian men in that scene! Dude, my biggest wish
right now is that those black Kato masks come into
style because I would love to see all the college
hotties guys from UT going out on 6th Street wearing
those things. Boner City, dude. It's just kinky enough
to turn me right the fuck on. And the cutie boys wearing
them in the film! Boi-fucking-oing.
And dude, I'm gay as hell and still
- Chiaki Kuriyama is the most delicious hottie I've
seen for a while in a film. She's crazy hot. I can
see why Tarantino cast her, she's awesome. And she
rocks the house as hard as Thurman, Fox and Liu. I
don't know who she is exactly, but she is going to
be HUGE!
And dude, did you notice that in
the black and white section of the restaurant scene
there are three or four times where blood drops fly
towards the screen and Tarantino has them colored
red. Check it out when you watch it again (and you
will). It's like a little fleck but once you see it,
you'll notice it all throughout the scene. The first
time I watched it I only saw it once, but the second
time, I saw it three times. (That's right, I got to
see the last half twice, cause I rock).
I love Tarantino. He takes things
and amps them up to be amazing, cool and eye-widening
awesome. Even stuff we've seen before becomes cooler
than cool in his hands. "Kill Bill Volume One" is
no exception. Even the gorgeous final scene, the fight
between Thurman and Liu, has that crazy wooden water
fountain thing and the cool slow-falling snow. It's
simply gorgeous and cool, cool, cool.
Tarantino may try to tell his audience
that "Volume One" stands on it's on, and it does to
a certain degree, but it ends with a cliff-hanger
and it makes you hungry to see "Volume Two." Fuck
"Lord of the Rings" and seeing three films in one
day when it comes out. I'm waiting with baited breath
for February 2004 when I can see both of the "Kill
Bill" films back-to-back. I don't care if I have to
take a day off work and pay 50 bucks. I'm not even
a big Tarantino fan but after waiting six years for
his next film, I was hungry. Dude, "Kill Bill Volume
One" left me satisfied and yet hungry for more. I
could have easily sat another 2 hours and paid twice
as much for the privilege of watching the film. This
is why movies rock! Tarantino made directors rock
stars. Look at the rock stars of the 90's: Pearl Jam,
Stone Temple Pilots, Soundgarten... Dude, their day
is done. Tarantino is like the Bowie of film. Thank
God he will be here forever.
Notes:
Also with Michael Parks, David Carradine,
Michael Madsen, Sonny Chiba, and Julie Dreyfus.
Produced by Tarantino mainstay Lawrence
Bender.
Original music by RZA. Tarantino,
as I stated and as is his wont, populates the film
with endless pop songs and bits from other film scores.
The music of Bernard Herrman, Al Hirt, Quincy Jones,
The Human Beinz, and others are also used.
Robert Rodriguez is thanked in the
end credits with the words "My Brother" following
his name. (Rodriguez thanked Tarantino at the end
of "Once Upon a Time in Mexico.") Peter Bogdonovich
is also thanked.
Under a section marked "R.I.P.,"
The name Charles Bronson is listed.
Partially shot at the studio of
the Shaw Brothers, their logo is at the front of the
film and they helped make many films that Tarantino
used as reference here.
There are two loud beeps in the
scene with Fox that sound like a fire alarm signal.
This is Uma Thurman's character's name being bleeped
out by Tarantino. Fox claims it is Beatrix. All other
references to here are called: The Bride.
Tarantino waited several months
for Thurman to have a baby and recuperate so she could
star in the film. He offered the role of Bill to Warren
Beatty and Kevin Costner.
At one time, the proposed release
wait between the two halves of the film was going
to only be two weeks but eventually that time period
increased to about five months.
Note (added 11/12): Apparently the
red dots I saw as Tarantino's brilliance during the
bloody fight sequences turn out not to be the work
of the director's vibrant imagination but rather the
manifest idiocy of the distributor's paranoia.
Yes, folks, those red dots are mark
put there by the lab to "identify" the print (for
tracking purposes) in case it is copied and disseminated
illegally. I began to notice these spots on other
films, like "Runaway Jury" and "Radio" and noted that
they were revealingly apparent in "light" areas of
a scene. Turns out that the markings have always been
there but until recently they were hidden stealthily
on the print. Now the labs that make the 35mm prints
for exhibition are being told to make the markings
in clear, bright, patches of the film where they will
no doubt easily disturb the viewer.
What a fucking ignorant rip-off.
I maintain that piracy is a bullshit issue. The amount
of money that Hollywood is losing in America to piracy
is next to nothing. In fact, when they came up with
technology that worked for consumers and made it affordable
(DVD's) distributors saw a huge increase in profits.
To mar 35mm prints in this obvious and ridiculous
manner and distract the audience already paying too
high a price to see the film in theaters is idiotic.
What a waste of time, energy and money.
