DVD Review:Kill Bill, Vol. 1
April 13, 2004; Matt's Dorm Room
Movie: * * * * (out of 4)
Features: * * * (out of 4)
I admit, I'm doing this in a maelstrom of personal anticipation for Kill Bill, Vol. 2, which comes out today. Even still, I have no qualms about this rating. Watching writer/director Quentin Tarantino's masterwork again is still the most fun I've had with a movie in quite a long time. I'll be seeing the second installment tomorrow morning, and it's got a LOT to live up to. Fortunately, I've heard it does that and more.
Kill Bill was originally intended by Tarantino to be a 3-hour epic revenge film, paying tribute to the foreign kung fu flicks, spaghetti westerns, and other styles that he grew up loving as a kid. However, Miramax told him that they wouldn't back the three-hour ride he handed them, so to get it released, he chopped his movie in two, and fleshed out the halves to make them both feature-length (Volume 1 closck in at 111 minutes, while Volume 2 will deliver about 127 minutes). No matter. It still rocks. Volume 1 is essentially the kung fu/Hong Kong action homage. It introduces us to The Bride (Uma Thurman), a former assassin who tried to leave that lifestyle in order to get married and raise the child she is now pregnant with. Unfortunately for her, this is not a plan that sits well with Bill (the never-fully-seen David Carradine; his part is greatly expanded in Volume 2), the leader of the Black Viper Assassination Squad and her former boss. Bill orders the squad to turn on its former member, inciting a massacre in an El Paso, Texas chapel that leaves her entire wedding party dead. The only problem is that despite a severe beating and a gunshot to the head, The Bride didn't quite die. The first action in the movie is The Bride arriving at the home of Vernita Green, one of The Bride's former "coworkers." After a bloody living room brawl ends abruptly due to the arrival of Vernita's preschool-age daughter, the two trade jabs over coffee, until Vernita has had enough and reincites the violence... finding herself dead moments later.
Jumping back in time to just after the massacre, The Bride wakes up in a hospital four years later, childless and lost, but remembering all the faces of the backstabbers who ripped apart any promise she may have had of a new life. After a... creative escape from the hospital, she sets off for Okinawa, Japan to acquire a tool with which to gain her "bloody satisfaction": a sword crafted by Hattori Hanzo (Sonny Chiba, in the same role he played in the 80's TV show Shadow Warriors). Once she has this, she takes flight again, this time to Tokyo to confront the first of her offenders, O-ren Ishii (Lucy Liu). Thus ensues the meat of Kill Bill, Vol. 1. The chapter entitled "Showdown at House of Blue Leaves" can only be described as an orgy of violence; there's blood - lots of blood - and flying limbs, but it's done in such a style that while gross, it's not realistic enough to condemn the movie as unnecessary. Tarantino described his film as a symphony of violence, and that's precisely what he delivers here in an extended fight that leaves O-Ren's entire protective army dead, with the blood-spattered Bride standing in the middle waiting for the fight she really showed up for. Afterwards, Tarantino gives a cliffhanger better than any other, finding the EXACT place to cut his movie to piss fans off to no end, and also build a ridiculous amount of anticipation and momentum to power today's release of the second half.
I was apprehensive about buying this DVD... I'm almost certain that there will be a "Director's Cut" edition released after the second part, showing the movie in all its three-hour glory as Tarantino intended it, and God knows I'll be buying it. But wanting to see the first part again before this weekend's conclusion, I picked this up anyway, and was disappointed to look at the packaging to see a startling lack of features. Included on this disc is the film, a "Making of" featurette, trailers for all of Tarantino's films thus far, and music videos by featured rockers The 5, 6, 7, 8s. No commentary... no deleted scenes... nada. I was sad. But then I put the damn thing in my player, and flipped on the "Making of" feature. This makes up for a lot of what is missing on the disc, at least until the next version comes to stores. In the featurette, you are treated to Tarantino talking up a storm about his latest film. Honestly, he sounds like an excited little kid, and that's an energy I've seldom seen recently from a director. Tarantino and Thurman get the majority of the screentime, and talk about every aspect of the film, from its conception during the shooting of Pulp Fiction through how Tarantino bought The 5, 6, 7, 8s album out of a clothing store's CD player in Japan to make sure he followed up on the lead. Tarantino obviously has a deep love for this movie, which became a 10-year writing process, and Thurman also expresses a significant attachment to her character of The Bride. Seeing this movie as a labor of love makes the film that much better, as you begin to pick up on little touches that could only be added by people who truly adore the material they're working with.
The only criticism I have of this movie is the extended black-and-white sequence in the House of Blue Leaves. I understand that had he left this scene in color, it's quite possible the film would have been slapped with an NC-17, cause there's just that much blood. Even still, the switch seems to blur some things that would have been more enjoyable had they been left in full color. I hear they were in Japan, and perhaps this will be restored in the U.S. director's cut DVD. Also, this is not a complete aversion of black and white; his choice of no color in the opening scene really highlights the severity and brutality of The Bride's near-death at the hands of Bill, and it just looks gorgeously grim and gritty.
I have always been a bit wary of Tarantino - his near-narcissistic appearances in every one of his films always irked me, mostly because as an actor, he's not very good. But he makes a better choice in Volume 1, forgoing an appearance that because of his recognizable qualities I think would have been more distracting than anything else. He focuses entirely on directing here, and, as Thurman says in the featurette, successfully teaches himself how to be an action director. However he studied, he did a damn good job. This film is exquisite in every aspect, and to be stiffed by even a nomination by the Academy this past year is, in my mind, a travesty. But that's the breaks, I suppose. If half of his movie can be the work of brilliance that is Kill Bill, Volume 1, I can't wait to see the conclusion this weekend.
April 13, 2004; Matt's Dorm Room
Movie: * * * * (out of 4)
Features: * * * (out of 4)
I admit, I'm doing this in a maelstrom of personal anticipation for Kill Bill, Vol. 2, which comes out today. Even still, I have no qualms about this rating. Watching writer/director Quentin Tarantino's masterwork again is still the most fun I've had with a movie in quite a long time. I'll be seeing the second installment tomorrow morning, and it's got a LOT to live up to. Fortunately, I've heard it does that and more.
Kill Bill was originally intended by Tarantino to be a 3-hour epic revenge film, paying tribute to the foreign kung fu flicks, spaghetti westerns, and other styles that he grew up loving as a kid. However, Miramax told him that they wouldn't back the three-hour ride he handed them, so to get it released, he chopped his movie in two, and fleshed out the halves to make them both feature-length (Volume 1 closck in at 111 minutes, while Volume 2 will deliver about 127 minutes). No matter. It still rocks. Volume 1 is essentially the kung fu/Hong Kong action homage. It introduces us to The Bride (Uma Thurman), a former assassin who tried to leave that lifestyle in order to get married and raise the child she is now pregnant with. Unfortunately for her, this is not a plan that sits well with Bill (the never-fully-seen David Carradine; his part is greatly expanded in Volume 2), the leader of the Black Viper Assassination Squad and her former boss. Bill orders the squad to turn on its former member, inciting a massacre in an El Paso, Texas chapel that leaves her entire wedding party dead. The only problem is that despite a severe beating and a gunshot to the head, The Bride didn't quite die. The first action in the movie is The Bride arriving at the home of Vernita Green, one of The Bride's former "coworkers." After a bloody living room brawl ends abruptly due to the arrival of Vernita's preschool-age daughter, the two trade jabs over coffee, until Vernita has had enough and reincites the violence... finding herself dead moments later.
Jumping back in time to just after the massacre, The Bride wakes up in a hospital four years later, childless and lost, but remembering all the faces of the backstabbers who ripped apart any promise she may have had of a new life. After a... creative escape from the hospital, she sets off for Okinawa, Japan to acquire a tool with which to gain her "bloody satisfaction": a sword crafted by Hattori Hanzo (Sonny Chiba, in the same role he played in the 80's TV show Shadow Warriors). Once she has this, she takes flight again, this time to Tokyo to confront the first of her offenders, O-ren Ishii (Lucy Liu). Thus ensues the meat of Kill Bill, Vol. 1. The chapter entitled "Showdown at House of Blue Leaves" can only be described as an orgy of violence; there's blood - lots of blood - and flying limbs, but it's done in such a style that while gross, it's not realistic enough to condemn the movie as unnecessary. Tarantino described his film as a symphony of violence, and that's precisely what he delivers here in an extended fight that leaves O-Ren's entire protective army dead, with the blood-spattered Bride standing in the middle waiting for the fight she really showed up for. Afterwards, Tarantino gives a cliffhanger better than any other, finding the EXACT place to cut his movie to piss fans off to no end, and also build a ridiculous amount of anticipation and momentum to power today's release of the second half.
I was apprehensive about buying this DVD... I'm almost certain that there will be a "Director's Cut" edition released after the second part, showing the movie in all its three-hour glory as Tarantino intended it, and God knows I'll be buying it. But wanting to see the first part again before this weekend's conclusion, I picked this up anyway, and was disappointed to look at the packaging to see a startling lack of features. Included on this disc is the film, a "Making of" featurette, trailers for all of Tarantino's films thus far, and music videos by featured rockers The 5, 6, 7, 8s. No commentary... no deleted scenes... nada. I was sad. But then I put the damn thing in my player, and flipped on the "Making of" feature. This makes up for a lot of what is missing on the disc, at least until the next version comes to stores. In the featurette, you are treated to Tarantino talking up a storm about his latest film. Honestly, he sounds like an excited little kid, and that's an energy I've seldom seen recently from a director. Tarantino and Thurman get the majority of the screentime, and talk about every aspect of the film, from its conception during the shooting of Pulp Fiction through how Tarantino bought The 5, 6, 7, 8s album out of a clothing store's CD player in Japan to make sure he followed up on the lead. Tarantino obviously has a deep love for this movie, which became a 10-year writing process, and Thurman also expresses a significant attachment to her character of The Bride. Seeing this movie as a labor of love makes the film that much better, as you begin to pick up on little touches that could only be added by people who truly adore the material they're working with.
The only criticism I have of this movie is the extended black-and-white sequence in the House of Blue Leaves. I understand that had he left this scene in color, it's quite possible the film would have been slapped with an NC-17, cause there's just that much blood. Even still, the switch seems to blur some things that would have been more enjoyable had they been left in full color. I hear they were in Japan, and perhaps this will be restored in the U.S. director's cut DVD. Also, this is not a complete aversion of black and white; his choice of no color in the opening scene really highlights the severity and brutality of The Bride's near-death at the hands of Bill, and it just looks gorgeously grim and gritty.
I have always been a bit wary of Tarantino - his near-narcissistic appearances in every one of his films always irked me, mostly because as an actor, he's not very good. But he makes a better choice in Volume 1, forgoing an appearance that because of his recognizable qualities I think would have been more distracting than anything else. He focuses entirely on directing here, and, as Thurman says in the featurette, successfully teaches himself how to be an action director. However he studied, he did a damn good job. This film is exquisite in every aspect, and to be stiffed by even a nomination by the Academy this past year is, in my mind, a travesty. But that's the breaks, I suppose. If half of his movie can be the work of brilliance that is Kill Bill, Volume 1, I can't wait to see the conclusion this weekend.
posted by Matt S. at
2:28 PM
