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 #176 | 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.

---

Plot Keywords:

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

---

Taglines:

The Fourth Film by Quentin Tarantino

---

Genres:

Action | Crime | Thriller

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

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

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

USA Japan

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:

$22,200,000, 12 October 2003

Gross USA:

$70,099,045

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$180,899,045

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

The paintings on the walls of Vernita's (Vivica A. Fox's) house, in the opening scenes, were provided by visual artist Rodney Grier, brother of Pam Grier, the star of Tarantino's earlier film Jackie Brown (1997).

---

Goofs

After the kitchen fight Vernita Green fires a round at Bride over her left shoulder punching a hole in the wall between the door and the cabinet. After Bride throws her knife and Green slides down the cabinet to her demise the next shot shows Bride standing in the same spot without the bullet hole in the wall.

---

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!]

---

Crazy Credits

During the opening credits, the actors playing the members of the Deadly Viper assassination squad are listed according to their number on The Bride's death list

---

Alternate Versions

Some prints of the film shows the "Written & Directed by Quentin Tarantino" credit before the final scene with the Bride in the Air-o-plane, and some have it right at the end.

---

Connections

References Twisted Nerve (1968)

---

Soundtracks

Super 16
Written by Klaus Dinger, Michael Rother
Performed by Neu! (as NEU!)
Courtesy of Grönland Records / Astralwerks
Under license from EMI Film and Television Music

User Reviews

Quentin's back---badder,bloodier,and better

Well,ladies and gentlemen,it's a new millennium and Quentin Tarantino has got a new movie for us. After changing the popular film landscape in the 1990's with the classics "Reservoir Dogs","Pulp Fiction",and to a much lesser extent,"Jackie Brown",Tarantino spent a half a decade in hibernation,accompanied by little more than a television set,a movie projector,and collection of Johnny Cash records and a bong. But now he is back after a six year hiatus with "Kill Bill",a thrill ride with the grand style of his earlier films and a brilliant tribute to those Shaw Brothers martial arts flicks of the 1970's and the action heroes of that same decade with includs Charles Bronson,Telly Savalas,Burt Reynolds,Clint Eastwood,Fred Williamson,Steve McQueen,Jim Brown and James Coburn. "Kill Bill" is also a chockablock of references to bygone movies like "Master Of The Flying Guillotine","The Wu",and the television shows like "Hattori Hanzo". This contains many of the elements that have made his earlier films so entertaining and he continues the tradition of that to.

You have the wicked wit,the funky score,the hip-retro cultural artifacts and lots of non-stop,brace in your face action that is not to be missed. Also once again,he has divided the action into chapters with voiceover narrattion to boot,plus he's even got a new trick up his sleeve in which the story is told with some fancy Japanese anime. Basically the film gives much of the screen time to actress Uma Therman and she carries the film with the assurance of a golden diva that she is. The film rises and falls with her,and Thurman pulls that off beautifully in one of the best performances of the year. Thurman plays a professional assassin,attached to a criminal group of bodacious martial arts-trained killers(Vivica A. Fox,Daryl Hannah,and Lucy Liu)who are lead by the unseen,shadowy Bill(unseen in the first installment played by David Carradine). Among the crew she was called Black Mamba,but otherwise simply known as The Bride because she was betrayed on her wedding day when they gunned her down and left her and her near-term child for dead. But she gets her revenge against the ones that tried to kill her and from there the story is a thrill ride of sorts leading up to the next so expect the unexpected. However,a lot of body parts get slashed here and some of it is very gruesome includes scenes of decapitation of heads and a half a head,a leg in severely cut off and a Achilles Tendon gets slashed,a eye and some fingers get chopped off too. This film also has brought back some really good Kung-Fu stars from the 1970's which includes Sonny Chiba,aka "The Street Fighter",and so many more....... I'm surprised that martial arts actress Michelle Yeoh is not in this one. And by the way,what Quentin Tarantino movie wouldn't be correct without his main man Samuel L. Jackson in the role as The Organ Man. Jackson,however was in two Tarantino films including the role he should have gotten the Oscar for in "Pulp Fiction",which also starred Thurman and opposite Pam Grier in "Jackie Brown".

However,the film ends in a cliffhanger so we will have to wait for the next installment which will be out in early 2004. Be forewarned,this not for the kiddies,so use caution when seeing it. In all,one hellva thrill ride.