HERE COMES THE BRIDE (Kill Bill Vol. 1 (DVD))

Member Name: Mauri

Product:	Kill Bill Vol. 1 (DVD)
Date:	17/09/04 (297 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Superb Action, Innovative direction, Excellent visuals

Disadvantages: Violent, Not for everyone

In recent years ‘fusion’ cuisine has become very trendy, this is when flavours, spices, ingredients and cooking methods from different countries and continents are blended together to produce new and hopefully tasty dishes. Kill Bill Vol. 1 is the first instalment of an attempt by king of cool director Quentin Tarantino to create ‘Fusion’ Cinema and he has been very liberal with his ingredients. So is this a recipe for disaster or a gourmand’s dream?

One major criticism of this film, which I have heard again and again, is that it is self indulgent and pretentious. I came to watching this as a huge Tarantino fan but with many reservations and yet I was pleasantly surprised. Yes, this certainly is a fusion of film styles, combining Honk Kong martial arts, Manga, Samurai films, Spaghetti Western, Japanese Gangster movies, and traditional big budget Hollywood action movie all wrapped up in Tarantino’s own distinctive style and it works!

THE STORY

The plot of this film is simple enough this is a revenge movie. The Bride (we don’t find out her name, it is beeped out every time any character mentions it!) is a member of a top-secret assassination squad ‘The Deadly Vipers’, but for reason as yet unexplained she decides to ‘retire’ and get married and settle down to a mundane life in a small town. This doesn’t please the squad chief Bill and on her wedding day rehearsal the by now heavily pregnant Bride and her entire wedding party is massacred by an assassination team of made up by her former colleagues. Everyone is murdered but by some miracle The Bride (even though shot in the head) survives and spends 5 year in a coma. On awakening she has only one thing on her mind Revenge-KILL BILL!

CAST, PERFORMANCES AND OPINION

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
Sonny Chiba .... Hattori Hanzo
Chia Hui Liu .... Johnny Mo (as Gordon Liu)
Michael Parks .... Earl McGraw
Michael Bowen .... Buck
Jun Kunimura .... Boss Tanaka

Written and directed by Quentin Tarantino.

Tarantino wanted to make a true action movie and he has certainly done that. From the very first opening sequence to the dramatic end of this instalment the action is non-stop. I loved it, as usual with Tarantino the film oozes style and visually it is superb, the use of the various settings, the vivid comic book type colours interspersed with atmospheric black and white and Manga sequences. Sure Tarantino is exposing us to his favourite film genres but this is not self indulgent but infact very accessible and any lover of action thrillers can’t avoid being impressed by Tarantino deft touch in the direction of the action sequences.

The choreography of the stunt work is superb, I couldn’t tell how much of it was CGI but I suspect little as Tarantino is a great fan of the martial arts wire work that is employed extensively in the Honk Kong School of martial arts cinema. The special effects are fantastic as we see close range bullets axes and knives flying through the air. Slow motion cuts are used to emphasise the action and there is plenty of blood and gore for the more ardent fans of action flicks. The violence portrayed in the film could be an issue to some but it is displayed in such a stylish almost cartoon strip way that it can’t be taken seriously although an 18 certificate is probably necessary.

Do you need to be a movie buff to enjoy the film?…yes and no the film certainly stand out on it’s own merits but if you do know your ‘Spaghetti’ from your ‘Manga’ you’re in for an even greater treat. Tarantino has been self indulgent to the extent that this movie is clearly a labour of love for him but I still think this is fair enough if by watching this the uninitiated viewer comes across some wonderful but lesser know movie genres that they can then go on to explore more fully.

The plot is simple enough but still intriguing partly because of the way that Tarantino yet again plays around with the chronology of the events so that you are piecing together the story gradually as you view the film and there is still room for a few unexpected twists along the way. The film is divided in to distinct chapters each one referring to particular episode in The Bride’s quest for revenge and each filmed in a slightly different cinematic style..all clever stuff.

The actors play their parts well and they certainly do their best to ham up the characters, Uma Thruman is excellent as the cool, slightly deranged but dangerously beautiful ‘heroine’. Michael Madsen (another Tarantino regular), David Carradine and Daryl Hannah don’t feature much in this film but your appetite is wetted just enough to look forward to their contribution in Kill Bill 2. Sonny Chiba one of the greats of martial arts movies is excellent as the specialist samurai sword maker while Vivica A. Fox and Lucy Liu provide Thurman with some stylish but deadly opposition.

One final aspect with is certainly worth mentioning is the music. This again was a wonderful fusion of different styles most of the background soundtrack is an oriental sounding Spaghetti western style mix that Ennio Morricone the king of Spaghetti western soundtracks (think of The ‘Dollar’ trilogy and Once Upon a Time in the West) would have come up with if he had spent his musical formative years in Beijing!

Other parts of the soundtrack are composed and performed by RZA a co-founder of the hip group the Wu Tang Clan who also share Tarantino’s love of martial arts cinema. The film also features the Japanese all female surf band 5,6,7,8’s in one of the scenes where they perform one of their best known songs, look great sound great and completely fit in with the look of the film. The non-original music is provided by a wide array of musical influences from the aforementioned Ennio Morricone, Isaac Hayes, Sonny Bono, Quincy Jones, Ike Turner and James Last. As usual Tarantino’s choice of music is at least as adventurous as his visuals and provides an intriguing audio backdrop for the stylish choreography of the action. The soundtrack would certainly be worth listening to on its own.


THE DVD

The transfer is great and the quality of the colours, the sharpness of the images and the crispness of the sound are excellent. There is the usual Dolby 5.1 sound track and a selection of languages and subtitle choices. The chapter selection is fine and generally the menu navigation is easy to use.

The DVD package is not packet with extra features but there is enough there to tempt a purchase.

The bonus features include

· 'Making Of' featurette
This a worthwhile short documentary featuring interviews with many of the star of the film and Tarantino. It is interesting to get some background on how and why the film was made apparently from a suggestion by Thurman on the set of Pulp Fiction. Tarantino talks about some of the influences from the different movie genres that he has used in the making of the film and points out a few of the veterans of the martial arts cinema that have been used as actor and behind the scenes special effects. There are some genuinely interesting insights here from Tarantino and it is essential viewing for those fans of the film that might not be acquainted with more obscure movie genres Tarantino draws influences from.

A little more is also made clear about the different main characters although for any in depth knowledge we have to wait for the second movie.

· The 5,6,7,8s perform 'Jayne Mansfield' and 'I'm Blue'

The group perform live on the set tow songs and seem to be well appreciated. Since their appearance in this film the 5,6,7,8’s have become known to a wider public, it is amazing to think that if Tarantino had not been browsing for clothes in a airport boutique playing their album while waiting for his flight the group might never have come to the attention of so many people.

· Volume 1 trailer
· Volume 1 teaser trailer
· Volume 2 teaser
The obligatory trailers are included to pad out the DVD but are worth seeing especially the Vol 2.

OVERALL

As Tarantino has stated this instalment of the story is pure action and poses more questions that it asks, the second film provides the answers. Don’t expect to figure out much just sit back and enjoy the spectacle presented to you with a style and Chic that Tarantino has made his trademark. Don’t worry too much about not being able to spot Tarantino’s influences you can enjoy the film without doing this. This is a Action fest the thinking comes later in Vol. 2 but as a spectacle of pure cinema chic this is up there with the best of Tarantino’s work.

Recommended for all Tarantino fans but be warned if your idea of a good film is more ‘The Piano’ than ‘El Mariachi’ then proceed with caution!

‘Kill Bill Volume 1’ is available from Play.com for £11.99 delivered and is well worth it!

Thanks for reading and rating this review.

© Mauri 2004

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