Certification. 18
Running Time. 1 hour 51 mins
Director. Quentin Tarantino
Rating. 82%
Kill Bill: Vol. 1 proudly announces itself as the fourth film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino (Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction and Jackie Brown). And like his three previous outings, the director plunders his cinematic lexicon to deliver a spectacular homage to the Saturday night, grindhouse cinema double bill of the 1970s. The cinematic influences are obvious, as Tarantino draws inspiration from Spaghetti Westerns, alongside Japanese samurai, Chinese martial arts and Kung Fu movies.
Planned as a single film with a 4-hour run time, Miramax Studios persuaded Quentin Tarantino to cut the film into two volumes. In Kill Bill: Vol. 1, a former assassin, The Bride, awakes from a coma and seeks vengeance on the members of The Deadly Viper Assassination Squad who gunned her down on her wedding day.
Uma Thurman is The Bride, in a career-defining performance. Bruised, battered, and bloodied in almost every scene, Uma Thurman more than manages to convince in a physically demanding female role rivalling the likes of Ellen Ripley (Alien), Sarah Connor (Terminator 2: Judgement Day) or Katniss Everdeen (The Hunger Games). Thurman's confident delivery ensures that The Bride's vengeance is not without honour or humanity.
The storyline is a non-linear timeline of 10 chapters (five chapters in Vol. 1, and five chapters in Vol. 2). Kill Bill: Vol. 1 opens with Chapter 2 - a kick-ass showdown straight off the blocks in suburban Pasadena with Vernita Green (Vivica A. Fox) and concludes with a 15-minute bloodbath between The Bride and O-Ren Ishii (Lucy Liu) and her army, The Crazy 88 in The House Of Blue Leaves.
Kill Bill: Vol. 1 is relentlessly violent. Unashamed and with no apologies for the body count, Tarantino delivers a film that is exhilarating, inventive and aesthetically appealing. Chapter 3, a startling 7-minute flashback sequence, the origin story of O-Ren Ishii is vividly recounted in anime, by the studio Production IG which produced the 1995 animation, Ghost In The Shell. Brutally sharp editing results in an increased pace as the film progresses. Yet, the serenity achieved in the final confrontation in the classical setting of a formal Japanese garden graced by light snowfall is truly breathtaking. This duel, shot in carefully framed compositions, has the precision of a chess match. The exquisite sequences are choreographed by martial arts fight adviser, Yuen Woo Ping (The Matrix and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon).
Like most Tarantino films the soundtrack adds another layer to the audience's enjoyment by elevating the scene with the addition of a perfectly chosen piece of music. Kill Bill: Vol. 1 is beyond eclectic. There are echoes of Errico Morricone's Spaghetti Western scores in acclaimed composer, Luis Bacalov's 'The Grand Duel - Parte Prima.' Energy is introduced to fight sequences through all-girl J-Pop group, The 5.6.7.8's performance of 'Woo-hoo' and Tomoyasu Hotei's anthemic guitar riffs in 'Battle without honor or humanity.' But it is the selection of Nancy Sinatra's 'Bang Bang - My Baby Shot Me Down' that is Tarantino's masterstroke. I struggle to think of a more appropriate opening track to accompany the opening credits of any film.
There is little of the sharp, acerbic dialogue, a trademark of previous Tarantino films, but Kill Bill: Vol. 1 undeniably bears his hallmark. Kill Bill: Vol. 1 is a film borne of Quentin Tarantino's imagination and a desire to celebrate a genre perceived to be of low artistic merit.
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