The Bride Wore Yellow (Kill Bill Vol. 1 (DVD))

Member Name: Hunting_Bears

Product:	Kill Bill Vol. 1 (DVD)
Date:	31/10/03 (214 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: superb film

Disadvantages: none

After a long break away from cinema, post-modern culture icon Quentin Tarantino emerges from the shadows to unleash onto the world his new magnum opus entitled 'Kill Bill'. Due to problems with the film's length it was subsequently cut into two movies, the second part is out next February.

The film tells the story in a fractured narrative, (which is de rigeur) in a Tarantino film of The Bride, who is gunned down on her wedding day in El Paso, Texas by the Deadly Viper Squad consisting of Bill, Budd, Elle Driver, Vernita Green and O-Ren Ishii. The pregnant bride is left for dead but does not die. Four years in a coma the Bride wakes up and revenge is on her mind. She makes a 'Death List Five' and she plans to kill the squad one by one. I will not spoil the plot any further but I will review the film in terms of its aesthetic qualities and how it fits in to Quentin Tarantino's scheme of things.

Firstly 'Kill Bill' is a multi-genre action spectacular mixing samurai, revenge, Hong Kong karate movies and the usual Tarantino staples such as hip dialogue, violence and superb music.

The opening track 'Bang, Bang' is strangely haunting and it sets the tone of the film. I found 'Kill Bill' to have a lot of emotion. Uma Thurman as the Bride is a tragic character and so is O-Ren Ishii, played by Lucy Lui. The film is a chick-flick but unlike any the world as ever seen. When Nancy Sinatra sings 'Bang, bang, he shot me down, bang, bang' Quentin Tarantino's film actually manages to be incredibly moving in an emotive way and this is something I never thought this auteur of violent cinema would ever be capable of. Tarantino's use of music always enhances the viewing experience because the lyrics or tone fit the image on the screen. Wu Tang Klan member The RZA creates some absolutely amazing music such as 'Ode to O-Ren Ishii', just watch the scene when the Yakuza ga
ng
are walking down a corridor of the restaurant 'The House of Blue Leaves' and not be buzzing with how cool the visuals and music play together.

The acting is top notch especially from Uma Thurman as the vengeful bride and Lucy Lui as O-Ren Ishii, the head of the Yakuza despite being half-Chinese, half-American. Watch what happens when disgruntled Yakuza boss Tanaka brings up O-Ren's heritage. Daryl Hannah also impressed me with her totally bitchy turn as Elle Driver. Quentin Tarantino always gets his actors to put in great turns but for me the Japanese schoolgirl Gogo, O-Ren's personal bodyguard is just sublime. A seventeen-year-old homicidal maniac with a penchant for spilling guts and swinging around a ball and chain with razorblades on it, one thing this film is not is tame.

Robert Richardson is a cinematographer is I have admired for a long time. His soft focus top light photography is beautiful and 'Kill Bill' is full of moments where the light creates halo's around the characters and gives the film a dream like atmosphere, as if to heighten the unreal nature of the film. Quentin Tarantino himself said that the film is set in the movie world and not the real world. The silhouette fight in the 'House of Blue Leaves' is gorgeous and the final showdown between O-Ren and The Bride in a Japanese garden filled with snow is unbelievably hypnotic and beautiful.

The film is littered with references to movies that some will get immediately and some will not. Although 'Kill Bill' could be seen as a fan boy geekfest, I think that the ordinary cinemagoer will love the film too. The film features Japanese actor Sonny Chiba as Hattori Hanzo who makes the best samurai swords in the world and who trained Bill. The jumpsuit worn by Uma Thurman is a direct reference to Bruce Lee's costume in 'Enter the Dragon'. But recently a few film cineastes have noticed how similar '
;Kill Bi
ll' is to a Francois Truffaut film entitled 'The Bride Wore Black', the main story line is almost identical and it stars Jeanne Moreau. One thing Quentin Tarantino is not and that's original but he spins genres, ideas and storyline's into such a way that he actually makes films that people find entertaining and fascinating. I can't wait for the conclusion of 'Kill Bill'. The final scene is a true cliffhanger and February suddenly seems a long way, way. Trust me people 'Kill Bill' is a great film, a destined cult classic.

Summary: