Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)

After awakening from a four-year coma, a former assassin wreaks vengeance on the team of assassins who betrayed her.

Director:

Quentin Tarantino

Writers:

Quentin Tarantino, Quentin Tarantino (character The Bride) (as Q)

Stars:

Uma Thurman, David Carradine, Daryl Hannah

Top Rated Movies #173 | Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 27 wins & 101 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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
Shin'ichi Chiba	...	Hattori Hanzo (as Sonny Chiba)
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

Storyline

The lead character, called 'The Bride,' was a member of the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad, led by her lover 'Bill.' Upon realizing she was pregnant with Bill's child, 'The Bride' decided to escape her life as a killer. She fled to Texas, met a young man, who, on the day of their wedding rehearsal was gunned down by an angry and jealous Bill (with the assistance of the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad). Four years later, 'The Bride' wakes from a coma, and discovers her baby is gone. She, then, decides to seek revenge upon the five people who destroyed her life and killed her baby. The saga of Kill Bill Volume I begins.

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Plot Keywords:

bride | revenge | sword | martial arts | female protagonist | 

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Taglines:

Here comes the bride

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

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

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English Japanese French

Release Date:

10 October 2003 (USA)

Also Known As:

Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill: Volume One

Filming Locations:

American Cement Building, 2404 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$30,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$22,089,322, 12 October 2003, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$70,099,045, 28 May 2012

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$180,949,045, 28 May 2012

Company Credits

Production Co:

Miramax, A Band Apart, Super Cool ManChu

Technical Specs

Runtime:

111 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Black and White Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

One fan theory suggests Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003) and Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004) are in fact the failed pilot of Fox Force Five that Mia Wallace (played by Uma Thurman) says she acted in in Tarantino's Pulp Fiction (1994).

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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.

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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!]

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Crazy Credits

In the end credits the bride stunt double is listed twice

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Alternate Versions

There are two Japanese versions of the film, one with only Japanese subtitles only, and one with Japanese subtitles for the English dialogue and English subtitles for the Japanese dialogue. The House of Blue Leaves fighting scene is shown in color in both versions.

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Connections

Referenced in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories (2006)

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Soundtracks

White Lightning
Written by Charles Bernstein
Performed by Charles Bernstein
Courtesy of Metro Goldwyn Mayer Music, Inc.

User Reviews

Tarantino's Blue Period is OVER!

Just saw Kill Bill: Vol. 1 and was surprised, to be honest, at how incredibly GOOD this film is. Here is a craftsman (or artist, if you prefer) at the top of his game. Some of the shots are simply incredible; the score is, for the most part, vintage Tarantino selections- and the RZA does a very good job at filling the blanks; Uma Thurman is a great female lead, for sheer presence (and decent acting chops). Even Lucy Liu, who I expected was going to re-hash her Charlie's Angel character, burst on the scene like a flaming nunchuck.

The stringing together of the scenes was impeccable. The transitions, the intercutting between dialogue, the flashbacks... I simply could not get enough. Tarantino IS, indeed, having fun here. He is giving us a film that may not go down as a classic, Pulp Fiction style, but that shows us what is yet to come. I doubt that he's lost his writing talents (as some have claimed), and I actually disagree that the dialogue in the film is "poor", or that there are "no memorable lines" (Empire). The kung-fu genre has never been a particularly good park to display Shakespearean writing virtuosisms. The lines work fine. The plot is simple enough, but Tarantino takes a burger and serves it as "steak tartare with sauce au poivre and asparagus terrine". He basically manages to cram so much information into the film that plot is simply irrelevent. What is relevent is the Bride's thirst for blood, her primal sense of vengeance and our total devotion to her. Bill, of course, is one of the greatest characters to ever NOT appear on screen. Overall, a great movie and an example of how a filmmaker's tool is not his pen: it's his eye.