Pai Mei's three inch punch is a reference to Bruce Lee's three inch knockout punch.
The brothel segment where the Bride meets with Esteban Vihaio (Michael Parks) was the very last scene of the movie to be shot, which was filmed at an actual Mexican brothel and all of the female extras were actual prostitutes that worked at the brothel.
Quentin Tarantino originally intended to only have Pai Mei's lips speaking Cantonese, while his voice would be in English, imitating a bad dub job. Tarantino was going to provide the voice himself. In the end, Tarantino abandoned this idea and Pai Mei (Chia-Hui Liu) speaks in his own voice.
Quentin Tarantino has the "Pussy Wagon" parked in the driveway of his home.
Robert Rodriguez scored this movie for $1. Quentin Tarantino said he would repay him by directing a segment of Rodriguez's project Sin City (2005) for $1.
This movie reveals that 3 of the 6 members of the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad are not named after any species of Viper. Bill is Snake Charmer. The Black Mamba (appropriately the most dangerous of all land snakes) is of the Elapidae family. Elle's codename is California Mountain King Snake, a completely non-venomous constrictor. It is famous for its ability to eat other snakes, particularly rattlesnakes like the Sidewinder (Bud's Codename).
When the first grade teacher (Venessia Valentino) takes roll, she calls out one real-life name: Marty Kitrosser. Martin Kitrosser has served as script supervisor on all of Tarantino's films.
Ricardo Montalban was cast to play Esteban. Unable to make an early read through of the script, his lines were read by Michael Parks, who impressed Tarantino so much that he recast Parks instead.
In the scene where Uma Thurman is being buried alive, the master shot has the pickup's headlights illuminating the graveyard. On the right of the screen, the exhumed body's gnarled hand casts a bunny-shaped shadow on its coffin.
The reason that The Bride no longer has the "Pussy Wagon" in Vol. 2 is because in the original script that included the character of Yuki Yubari, Go-Go's sister, Yuki had destroyed it soon after the killing of Vernita Green.
Although Quentin Tarantino is known for never using real brands for products like cereals and cigarettes, the brand of the bread he uses to make the sandwich during the "Emilio's killing story" scene, BIMBO, is a real and very popular brand of bread in Mexico.
The Character Pai Mei is based on Pak Mei, the originator of the "White Eyebrow" kung fu technique. According to legend, Pak Mei was one of the few masters left following the decimation of the Buddhist temples, and later sold out other masters to save himself and his team during an attack they had mounted that subsequently went wrong. For this reason, Pak Mei Kung Fu has always been known as the "forbidden technique," and Pak Mei himself has been a villainous figure in Chinese folklore and film for hundreds of years.
The chapter "Yuki's Revenge" was cut from filming to accommodate a new chapter, "Massacre at Two Pines" that details the attack on The Bride. An outline of the chapter was to have Yuki Yubari, Gogo's sister seek vengeance on the Bride for killing her sister, Yuki was to be played by Ko Shibasaki who co-stared with Chiaki Kuriyama (who plays Gogo in Vol.1) in the Japanese movie Batoru rowaiaru (2000).
At the film's first test screening in Austin, Texas the audience gave the film a five minute standing ovation. The reaction was so overwhelming that Harvey Weinstein did not have the research firm conducting the screening pass out response cards.
Was the first Oscar DVD to arrive in Academy mailboxes in 2004. It ironically received no Academy Award nominations.
Although "Kill Bill" was meant to play as one whole movie, "Vol. 2" is unofficially Quentin Tarantino's first sequel.
During the scene in which Bill shoots the bride with truth serum and then interrogates her, he calls her a "natural born killer" and also a "renegade killer bee," which references projects of the Wu-Tang Clan a member of which (RZA) wrote much of the original music for the two films.
Bill's speech about Superman was in part inspired by "The Great Comic Book Heroes" a book by Jules Feiffer.
Despite the Bride's name being bleeped out in Vol. 1 and for 2/3rds of Vol. 2. Her name is actually spoken or revealed on more than one occasion. When someone calls her Beatrix and it's bleeped, it is simply muffled and is still audible and if you're good at reading lips you may be able to figure it out. Also, Bill refers to The Bride as "Kiddo" in the flash back scenes. While this is both his pet name for her and a common term of endearment, it is also her last name.
Quentin Tarantino is a big fan of animator Bill Plympton, and named the groom Tommy Plympton after him.
Pai Mei punching through a wooden plank, leaving a round hole as opposed to "regular" wood splinters, may be a reference to this ability, attributed to several martial arts masters - among them Masusatsu Oyama (founder of the Kyokushin school of karate) who, in martial arts folklore, is said to have punched such a hole in an oak door to grab the wrist of a burglar trying to enter his house
From script to film, the Ten-Point Palm exploding heart technique is changed to the Five-Point Palm exploding heart technique.
The car seen behind Bill when he visits Budd at his trailer is a De Tomaso Mangusta, an Italian concept car put into limited production by De Tomaso. Later De Tomaso developed a related vehicle, the Pantera, which was sold through Lincoln-Mercury dealerships in the late 1960s. Because of its speed, agility, timing, and thick coat, the mangusta (Italian for mongoose) is the only animal capable of killing a cobra in a straight fight.
The film is a departure from most of Quentin Tarantino's films in that a number of actual products/brand names/etc. appear in the movie. Tarantino usually makes an effort to avoid product placement in his films.
The book that Esteban Vihaio (Michael Parks) reads is "The Carrucans of Kurrajong" by Jasmine Yuen. Jasmine Yuen Carrucan is one of the crew members.
Also changed from the original script - the story of Pai Mei is no longer told in a Jeep on the way to the cruel master's temple. Rather, it is now unfolded in front of a campfire somewhere in the Chinese countryside, the night before Bill and The Bride arrive. With the aid of a flute (one of the silent flutes from Circle of Iron (1978)), Bill tells the tale of Pai Mei in a "Peter and The Wolf" type fashion.
Early posters for Vol. 2 proclaimed it as "The Fifth Film by Quentin Tarantino". Subsequent posters have not used that blurb, while the film itself simply says "a film by QUENTIN TARANTINO". Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003) says "The 4th Film By Quentin Tarantino" at the beginning and Vols 1 & 2 two are supposed to be considered one film. The fifth film by Quentin Tarantino is actually Death Proof (2007).
Choreographer Woo-ping Yuen was originally set to play Pai Mei but could not fit it in with his choreography, so Quentin Tarantino considered playing it himself for a little while before picking Chia-Hui Liu for the part.
Michael Jai White filmed several scenes in Volume Two with David Carradine, but these were cut from the final theatrical version due to pacing concerns. A lengthy confrontation between the two is the one and only deleted scene on the Vol. 2 DVD.
Bill's truth serum, The Undisputed Truth, is the name of a 70s soul group.
In the documentary, "A Man Can Do That," Quentin Tarantino notes that Budd in Kill Bill was a nod to director Budd Boetticher. Budd's sense of morals is certainly an homage to those of Randolph Scott's in Boetticher's 'Ranown' films.
The turquoise car that The Bride drives in Vol. 2 is a Volkswagen Type 14 "Karmann-Ghia", named after its German/Italian designers. Judging from design details, it seems to be manufactured in about 1970 by Volkswagen's Brazilian branch.
The name of the book that Esteban is reading is "The Carrucan's of Kurrajong" by Jasmine Yuen. This is not a real book; the book functions not only as a prop but as an inside joke. It's a tribute to a member of the film crew, 'Jasmine Yuen Carrucan'. Kurrajong is a town in Australia - Jasmine Yuen Carrucan is Australian. In other words, the Carrucans who live in Kurrajong (the native aboriginal name for a town). Kurrajong is located in the far north west of Sydney between Palm Beach and the Blue Mountains (near Richmond). Kurrajong is a species of bottle tree native to Australia and New Guineas as well as New Zealand from 50m years ago. (Kurrajong comes from Dharuk Garraju, the language of a now extinct Aboriginal tribe, and means "fishing line" as fishing lines were made from kurrajong bark.)
Julie Dreyfus suggested two popular pieces of music for the movie. The first one being "The Chase" where Elle drives to Budd's trailer. The second one being "The Sunny Road To Salina" where The Bride walks through the desert to Budd's trailer. Julie's father is a record producer who owns the rights to the soundtrack of Road to Salina (1970) where the pieces of music are from.
When the Bride first arrives at the hacienda where Bill is staying, she walks past several hotel clerks in the lobby who are all out of focus on camera. One of the clerks in the background is the film's producer Lawrence Bender.
Warren Beatty was considered for the role of Bill.
As the Bride is walking under a very bright sun through the desert just before the trailer incident, the music played is "Sunny Road to Salina", composed and performed by french 60s crooner Christophe. Later on, the Bride is told that Bill's hacienda is "on the road to Salina", a reference to the film the aforementioned track was originally heard in, Road to Salina (1970).
The spit-can that Budd (Michael Madsen) uses is labeled Oak Ridge Coffee. Oak Ridge is a town in Tennessee about 15 miles from Quentin Tarantino's hometown of Knoxville.
Daryl Hannah (Elle Driver) owns the car - a 1980 Pontiac Trans-Am - her character drives in the film. However, she owns the one that was used for promotional shots because Michael Madsen (Budd) got the working Trans-Am before she got to it.
Unlike every other Quentin Tarantino film (including Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)), Vol. 2 doesn't end with "written and directed by". Instead, Tarantino shows his own credit at the end of the main credits, but before the crew credits for the various locations at which Kill Bill was filmed.
The gun that Bill uses appears to be a Colt Single Action Army, or "Peacemaker", it has a bird's head grip (a modern innovation). It is obviously chambered for .45 Colt as seen on the back of the bullet fired in the internal gun shot in Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003).
Despite the fact that this was filmed in Super 35, "Filmed in Panavision" is listed in the end credits.
The Acuña Boys is a fictional gang in Rolling Thunder. Quentin Tarantino has cited that movie as a favorite. The plot of Rolling Thunder involves 5 Mexicans murderers who kill the wife and son of a PWO and how he embarks on a quest for revenge.
Director Trademark
Quentin Tarantino:
[cereal]
Quentin Tarantino features old boxes of cereal in his movies, in the final scene there is an old box of Lucky Charms on the table in the hotel room.
Quentin Tarantino:
[long take]
The "Massacre at Two Pines" ends with the camera following The Bride down the aisle away from Bill to the altar. We then "float" away from the altar, down the aisle, past Bill, out the door to the awaiting members of the DiVAS. Once they enter, the camera cranes up off the ground where we hear the pandemonium inside the chapel until finally fading out. All in a single take.
Quentin Tarantino:
[body view]
Once Budd is bitten by Elle's Black Mamba we see the camera through his eyes at Elle looking down at him.
Quentin Tarantino:
[Red Apple Cigarettes]
The brand of cigarettes smoked in this film, as noted by the eagle logo below the filter seen in close-ups, is American Spirits. However, when The Bride meets with Esteban (Michael Parks), a pack of Red Apples, Quentin Tarantino's signature brand of fake cigarettes, can clearly be seen on the table.
Spoilers
Daryl Hannah improvised the scene where Elle Driver's eye gets removed by Beatrix Kiddo and she goes "nuts". She did this because she thought it would make Quentin Tarantino laugh. He did and that scene entered the final film. She sustained injures from breaking so many things in the bathroom.
Every person killed on screen, excluding the ones in the anime sequence, is killed by a female character. (The Bride: Vernita Green, Buck, Gogo, the Crazy 88s, O-Ren Ishii, Bill; Elle: Budd, Pai Mei; O-Ren Ishii: Boss Tanaka; Gogo: Tokyo Business Man)
Quentin Tarantino has hinted at two possible spin-offs, one being an all anime backstory of the DiVAS, the other being a spin-off in the future where Vernita Green's (Vivica A. Fox) daughter, Nikki (Ambrosia Kelley), goes on a quest for revenge against Beatrix Kiddo.
In the first film forty-one people are seen killed. In this film only three are seen killed (Budd, Bill and Pai Mei). Beatrix only kills Bill.
In an earlier draft of the script Beatrix Kiddo doesn't remove Elle Driver's remaining eye. In that same draft Elle is killed by having her throat slit, in the final film, however, Beatrix Kiddo leaves Elle Driver alive.
During the end credits, the names of actors playing characters on The Bride's "Death List Five" list are crossed off, that is, those characters who die onscreen. In order, as per the "Death List Five", it is Lucy Liu (O-Ren Ishii),Vivica A. Fox (Vernita Green), and Michael Madsen (Budd). However, a question mark appears over Daryl Hannah (Elle), since it is technically unknown as to her condition, though, being now completely blind, heavily bleeding from her (second) destroyed eye and being in the middle of a desert, she has very little, or not at all, hope to be survived. David Carradine (Bill), who supposedly dies onscreen, has his name appear before the aforementioned cast members, yet his name is not crossed off.
Although he's a famously skilled and prolific killer, the character of Bill is not shown to kill anyone himself on screen. The only person he wounds on screen (Beatrix) survives.
The climax of the film was originally written as a sword-fight on the beach under the moonlight between Beatrix (clad in her wedding dress) and Bill. When the production ran long, Harvey Weinstein insisted Quentin Tarantino cut the scene back. All that remains is Bill's brief reference to such a fight while Beatrix sits on his sofa, and the poster for the film with Beatrix in the dress holding her sword.
In the original script, the fight between Beatrix Kiddo and Elle Driver was supposed to resemble her fight with O-Ren Ishii. Quentin Tarantino revealed in an interview with Entertainment Weekly that he changed it the day after catching a showing of Jackass: The Movie (2002) at the Alamo Drafthouse in Austin, Texas.
Through both parts of the movie, Elle Driver (Daryl Hannah) and Budd (Michael Madsen) are the only fellow assassins that Beatrix Kiddo does not cite as having "unfinished business" with her. She kills neither.
Before Chapter Six was changed from "Can She Bake a Cherry Pie?" to "Massacre at Two Pines", Samuel L. Jackson's wife, LaTanya Richardson, was supposed to play a character named L.F. O'Boyle, a casino owner whom Bill personally dispatches after toying with her.
Esteban Vihaio (Michael Parks) explains to Beatrix that Bill is passionate about blonde women after seeing Lana Turner in The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946), that he saw with Vihaio when he was 6 years old. According to this, Bill is 64 years old during the events of the movie.
