Kill Bill Vol. 1 Description
Quentin Tarantino returns to the director's
chair with KILL BILL after a six-year hiatus. The movie proves
once again that he is a hyperactive visionary and the master of
cinematic coolness. Split into two volumes by Miramax in order to
ensure that Tarantino's vision would not be compromised (and
presumably to sell more tickets), KILL BILL: VOL. 1 tells the
first half of the sprawling story, which is quite simple at first
glance. A female assassin, referred to as "The Bride" (Uma
Thurman), is attacked on her wedding day. Dead are her soon-to-be
husband and unborn child. However, she doesn't die. Four years
later, she wakes up from a coma looking for revenge. Although her
ultimate target is her former boss, Bill (David Carradine), it's
quite clear that The Bride is saving the best for last. And before
she can track him down, she must methodically take out the minions
who ruined her life. VOLUME 1's targets include Vernita
Green/Copperhead (Vivica A. Fox), Sofie Fatale (Julie Dreyfus),
and the heartless O-Ren Ishii/Cottonmouth (Lucy Liu). Using a
blessed sword handmade by Hattori Hanzo (Sonny Chiba), The Bride
begins her relentless assault. Turning up the style and energy
levels that he kept under a threshold with 1997's JACKIE BROWN,
Tarantino's obvious glee and reverence for the underground kung fu
action pictures of the '70s, and Sergio Leone spaghetti westerns,
makes for a stunning visual spectacle. Employing split screens,
slow-motion, an anime sequence, and his trademark ultra-hip
musical selections, Tarantino's film dares viewers to be
unimpressed.
"...It's a tale of vengeance that hinges on
Tarantino's love of ferocity as spectacle..."
"...Quite brilliant....It's all here: the
sudden shifts of tone, the flip-flopping time structure, the
supercool slo-mo, the exquisite humour, the pitch-perfect
performances and, of course, the trademark dialogue..."
"...In KILL BILL, Tarantino brings
delicious sin back to movies -- the thrill you get from something
down, dirty and dangerous..."
"...There are some strong and diverse
flavors, as well as vivid colors in the mix, all of them deftly
reflected in the hip-hop artist RZA's clever, eclectic
score..."
"...Tarantino can glean excitement out of
someone walking across a room....And he's funny..."
"...The ultimate film-geek freakout, a
compendium of 1960s and 1970s cine-references..."
"...A strange, fun and densely textured
work that gets better as it goes along..."
Theatrical Release: October 10, 2003
"...This is a down-and-dirty kung fu
picture..."
"A new wrinkle on pastiche -- the first
bona fide mainstream mix movie, and long live the director as
DJ."
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