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 #175 | 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:

$22,200,000, 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

Sofie Fatale's (Julie Dreyfus') cell phone ring is "Auld Lang Syne", specifically the tune for the line, "Should auld acquaintance be forgot". However, the tune is also a popular tradition in Japan, where it is known as "Hotaru no Hikari". This version contains completely different lyrics, and is commonly associated with graduation ceremonies.

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Goofs

At the hospital Elle Driver draws a syringe full of medication with the plan to kill The Bride. She places the syringe without a cap onto a tray. In the room as she prepares to give the injection the cap has returned, which she removes with an audible pop.

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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

Shin'ichi Chiba (Hattori Hanzo) is listed as the samurai sword advisor. He played a maker of samurai swords in the film.

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Alternate Versions

On the DVD, the Bride's line, "I could see the faces of the cunts that did this to me and the dick responsible. Members all of Bill's brainchild - the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad." is altered to "I could see the faces of the cunts that did this to me. And the dicks responsible. Members all of the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad." (The TBS version uses "tramps" and "jerks" instead.)

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Connections

Referenced in The Last Breath (2009)

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Soundtracks

Il Grande Duello / The Grand Duel, A (Mix II)
Written by Luis Bacalov
Performed by Luis Bacalov
Courtesy of EMI General Music Srl

User Reviews

This movie was brilliant!

Man, what a film. As a fan of 70's martial arts movies, it was great to see all of the references. I also thought the use of B&W throughout was extremely effective. The cartoon sequences seemed a bit much, but did fit in with the overall feel of the film. I have seen many people posting about the sheer amount of blood and guts, but you have to remember this was Tarantino's homage to Bruce Lee-era action pictures. In those movies, the stories were very similar epics of revenge, and they never had much of a budget for good "gore" effects. It was more or less "throw some fake blood on the guy who just got killed" type of effects, which were duplicated accurately by some of the deaths in this movie. The plot also followed closely the plot of most 70's Kung Fu movies; something despicable happens to the weak hero (whole village razed, family slaughtered, etc..) and the hero goes away for years to learn the secrets of a particular style of Kung Fu. All of these movies contained the "secret move" which the master normally does not teach, except of course, in this rare instance. That move, as depicted in Kill Bill Vol. 2, is always used on the evil leader of the clan whom had brought death and chaos to the hero.

Kill Bill was a terrific modern take on those movies which were always set in ancient China. I was very impressed with Uma Thurman's swordplay, at no point did I feel that it looked scripted or fake. Even when fighting against more than 50 Crazy 8's, it replicated admirably the incredibly one-sided fights from some of the best martial arts movies made 30 years ago.

All in all, a great and original film! R.