Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)

Director:

Quentin Tarantino

Writers:

Quentin Tarantino (character The Bride) &
Uma Thurman (character The Bride) ...

Release Date:

10 October 2003 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Thriller

Tagline:

In the year 2003, Uma Thurman will kill Bill

Plot:

The Bride wakes up after a long coma. The baby that she carried before entering the coma is gone. The only thing on her mind is to have revenge on the assassination team that betrayed her - a team she was once part of.

Plot Keywords:

Bride | Assassin | Coma | Revenge | Assassination

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 12 wins & 41 nominations

Cast

Uma Thurman	...	The Bride
Lucy Liu	...	O-Ren Ishii
Vivica A. Fox	...	Vernita Green
Daryl Hannah	...	Elle Driver
David Carradine	...	Bill
Michael Madsen	...	Budd
Julie Dreyfus	...	Sofie Fatale
Chiaki Kuriyama	...	Gogo Yubari
Sonny Chiba	...	Hattori Hanzo
Chia Hui Liu	...	Johnny Mo (as Gordon Liu)
Michael Parks	...	Earl McGraw
Michael Bowen	...	Buck
Jun Kunimura	...	Boss Tanaka
Kenji Ohba	...	Bald Guy (Sushi Shop) (as Kenji Oba)
Yuki Kazamatsuri	...	Proprietor

Also Known As:

Kill Bill (USA) (informal short title)
Kill Bill Part 1 (USA) (informal title)
Kill Bill: Volume 1 (USA) (alternative spelling)
Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill: Volume One (USA) (promotional title)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong bloody violence, language and some sexual content.

Runtime:

111 min | Japan:112 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Japanese | French

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Taiwan:R-18 | Malaysia:18SG (re-rating) | Canada:18A (Alberta/British Columbia) | Iceland:16 | Germany:18 | Hungary:18 | USA:NC-17 (Special Edition DVD) | South Korea:18 (re-rating) (cut) (DVD rating) (uncut) | Singapore:R(A) | New Zealand:R18 | Canada:R (Manitoba/Ontario) | Argentina:16 | Australia:R | Brazil:18 | Canada:16+ (Québec) | Canada:18 (Nova Scotia) | Chile:14 | Finland:K-18 | France:-16 | Hong Kong:III | Ireland:18 | Israel:16 | Italy:VM14 | Japan:R-15 | Netherlands:16 | Norway:18 | Philippines:R-18 | Poland:15 | Portugal:M/16 | South Africa:18 | South Korea:Limited (original rating) | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | UK:18 | USA:R (certificate #40294)

Filming Locations:

Austin, Texas, USA

Company:

Miramax Films

Trivia:

The fight between the bride and Gogo is a reference to Musashi, by Eiji Yoshikawa, a novel about one on Japan's most famous samurai. Musashi, the hero, fights the villain Baiken, who uses a sickle, chain, and ball. It has since become a common scene in samurai movies; the hero uses a sword and the villain uses a ball and chain weapon, most notably in Zoku Miyamoto Musashi: Ichijôji no kettô (1955), the film adaptation of the novel. Furthermore, it is common in these scenes for the villain to be more skilled than they initially let on, causing the hero to struggle or improvise.

Goofs:

Incorrectly regarded as goofs: When the Bride boards the airplane she has the samurai sword with her in the cabin. Obviously, this wouldn't happen in reality. This is a stylistic choice for this film. The couple sitting directly behind The Bride have a sword as well, and a third sword can be seen.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Bill: Do you find me sadistic? You know, I bet I could fry an egg on your head right now, if I wanted to. You know, Kiddo, I'd like to believe that you're aware enough even now to know that there's nothing sadistic in my actions. Well, maybe towards those other... jokers, but not you. No Kiddo, at this moment, this is me at my most...
[cocks pistol]
Bill: masochistic.
The Bride: Bill... it's your baby...
[BLAM!]

Movie Connections:

References Shurayukihime (1973)

Soundtrack:

Urami-Bushi

Fantastic

Probably Tarantino's most universal movie to date, with a little less character dependency than most of his films and a more linear approach than usual, Kill Bill Volume 1 is a great place to start for anyone new to his movies. I don't mean to imply this is a shallow film (far from it), i simply found it easier on the mind than Tarantino's other movies.

Uma Thurman, left for dead by her ex-boyfriend (Bill) doesn't die and begins her quest for vengeance, by hunting down Bill's gang members in a search for Bill. Armed with a Samurai sword and a deadly blend of martial arts skills, Uma delivers action, violence and passion as she plays out the character with beautiful precision.

Need i say, this is excellently directed, brilliantly scripted and cast, and should be in everyone's Tarantino collection.

10/10 Second only to Pulp Fiction. Although it has wider appeal (I think)