Tricks are for kids (Kill Bill Vol. 1 (DVD))

Member Name: chooflafla

Product:	Kill Bill Vol. 1 (DVD)
Date:	05/05/04 (399 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great musical score, Great plot, Great acting

Disadvantages: May be too violent for some, Not for the faint hearted, Storyline drags in some places

INTRODUCTI ON

I first saw this movie a few weeks before it was released in the cinema in October last year. I managed to acquire a DVD from Hong Kong and have never regretted my decision to get a hold of a not-so-dodgy version, the only drawback being that there were no special features. On the positive side, it contains Chinese subtitles, which was perfect for my non-English speaking parents. Believe it or not, they really enjoyed it too!

Now that I?ve seen it umpteen times and Dooyoo has finally added a category for it one here, I want to share my experience of the film with fellow Dooyooers, that and the fact that I seem to only churn out on average one review a month since I joined.

A LITTLE BACKGROUND HISTORY

This is Quentin Tarantino?s fourth film and he has actually been planning it since 1994 whilst discussing the idea with Uma Thurman on the set of ?Pulp Fiction? (hence the credits in the film ?Based on Characters created by Q & U?). There is a small reference in ?Pulp Fiction? about Kill Bill as Thurman?s character is regaling a story to John Travolta about a TV show that she starred in called ?Fox Club 5? (or something to that effect). She describes all of the characters that will later be known as the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad, who?s nicknames are based on villains from the Captain America comic books (they may be based on Captain Fantastic. Sorry, I can?t actually remember as comics are hard to come by in Wales).

A reverse reference to many Tarantino fans is present in ?Kill Bill? and refers back to ?Pulp Fiction? shortly
before the aforementioned scene where Thurman talks about ?Fox Club 5? as she makes a pattern of a square with her fingers.

As well as these references to the film, there are apparently over 60 in the first film alone, including not only a reference, but more or less a whole scene taken from ?Battle Royale?. This was an ingenious idea as Tarantino not only borrowed the scene, but he cast the same actress, Chiaki Kuriyama, to pull it off.

OVERVIEW

Without giving too much away (if you don?t already know what this is about, then where have you been for the last 6 months?!), ?Kill Bill? is a revenge flick that empowers women to the max. Thurman?s character, The Bride/Black Mamba, is excellently portrayed and we can also feel the pain that is emoted by her. Although her previous profession was morally wrong, we cannot help but love and root for her all the way until the bitter end.

Fair enough, the film contains a LOT of gratuitous violence, but at the end of the day, that?s Tarantino?s style. Like it or lump it, ?Kill Bill? was extremely successful during its opening weekend and grossed about US$21.8million. This film comes highly recommended whether you?re a fan of Tarantino or not, as I have a few friends of mine who stick to chick flicks, musicals and the like, only to sit them down, make them watch this film, and have them drooling for more!

The film itself is shot in Japan as well as Texas and California. With the half Japanese (subtitled) and half English dialogue, seeing this film will make one feel cultured. The second film is mainly in English with a scene in a combination of Cantonese and Mandarin (with some inaccurate translations in the subtitles, but the general gist is conveyed).

Tarantino ma
de the right choice in splitting the film into two volumes as the second film contains a completely different style and concentrates more on dialogue than fight scenes. Volume 2 wraps the story up nicely, drawing conclusions and revelations along the way.

Admittedly, Volume 1 contains a lot of wanton violence, but it is shot in an artistic manner.

In true Tarantino style, the film is split into chapters and in a wishy washy manner. That is to say that before we even meet one of the characters, she has already apparently been dealt with and is dead. One of the chapters is done completely in animé (and for those of you who have read my ?Two Sides To Every Coin? op, you?ll know how much of a fan I am of this style of filming) and you get submerged into the cartoon, even though you know that it?s not real. Well, the entire film is a masterpiece of fiction, but the animé sequence is highly emotive and also explains how Ishii became the person she became.

VIOLENCE AS AN ART FORM

As previously mentioned, a few of the scenes in the film are incredibly violent, but shot in a very arty way.

These scenes include the opening shot as The Bride lies in a pool of blood and panting, yet it is shot in black and white to emphasise the brutal beating she has just received. Another use of black and white is shown during the twenty-minute fight sequence involving The Bride and Oren?s personal army. This was probably done to enhance the effect of blood and may have been inspired by Alfred Hitchcock?s ?Psycho? as this film was also shot in black and white and the ?blood? in it was actually chocolate sauce.

A silhouetted fight sequence rounds this battle nicely and is shot against a darkened blue room. *Drool*

MUSI&#
67;

The music used within the film is an odd choice, but a good one. An oxymoron in itself, the music and the action on screen completely defy one another, yet at the end of the day, seem to slot in very well with each other. There is a jaunty, jovial piece of music during a fight scene on the banister and use of Spanish like music (?Don?t Let Me Be Misunderstood?) during a samurai fight seems a bit out of place, but you can?t help but get carried away with the rhythm.

Sound effects accent what is happening, but may be a bit over the top when it comes to stabbing and squelching.

CASTING OF THE DIVAS (DEADLY VIPER ASSASSINAT ION SQUAD)

The cast was chosen exquisitely with the enigmatic David Carradine playing the eponymous faceless Bill in the first film. More is revealed about him in the second volume?

Lucy Lui (Oren Ishii AKA Cottonmouth) makes the awesome transition from playing her typecast role as the saccharine heroine, into an evil, heartless killer with a penchant for decapitation.

Michael Madsen (Budd AKA Sidewinder) was cast very well, and seeing as he was in ?Reservoir Dogs? as the psychotic Mr. Blonde, he seemed like the perfect actor to take the role.

Daryl Hannah (Elle Driver AKA California Mountain Snake) seemed like an odd choice to cast, however, she also breaks away from her typical romcom roles such as the mermaid in ?Splash? and a 50ft woman to bring her character to life in ?Kill Bill?. Comedy is present in Volume 2 as Elle and The Bride fight to the death as Tarantino revealed in an interv
iew that he had watched the ?Jackass Movie? and it inspired him. You?ll see what I mean!

Vivica A. Fox (Vernita Green AKA Copperhead AKA Jeanie Bell) only had a small role in the film, yet it was a role that will probably be her most memorable. An adrenaline fuelled sequence with her and The Bride had most viewers hooked and although violent, has a comedic feel to it halfway through.

CONCLUSIO& #78;

Personally, I loved this film. In fact, I loved it enough to see it at the cinema twice, even though I already had it on DVD, to get the atmosphere of being surrounded by like minded people and to experience the film in its cinematic glory.

I have yet to meet someone who has seen the film and not enjoyed it, but admittedly, it?s not suited to everyone?s taste in film.

The style of filming and the plot were done tremendously well (in my opinion) and the actors and actresses did an amazing job of breathing life into their on-screen counterparts.

Maybe, Thurman in her yellow jump suit is a tribute to the yellow-suited Bruce Lee in his final film, ?The Game of Death?. Or is The Bride a ?silly Caucasian girl? who ?likes to play with samurai swords?? Either way, older viewers may appreciate this, whereas younger ones may make the allusion to Forrest Law in the ?Tekken? computer game series, who knows? Being a fan of both, I am able to appreciate either reference and think that also garish, her suit has a sort of cool aura about it.

Overall, I highly recommend this film and dare you not to like it!

CAST

Uma Thurman .... The Bride (Black Mamba)
Lucy Liu .... O-Ren Ishii (Cottonmouth)

6;ivica A. Fox .... Vernita Green (Copperhead)
Daryl Hannah .... Elle Driver (California Mountain Snake)
David Carradine .... Bill
Michael Madsen .... Budd (Sidewinder)
Julie Dreyfus .... Sofie Fatale
Chiaki Kuriyama .... Gogo Yubari
Sonny Chiba .... Hattori Hanzo
Gordon Liu .... Johnny Mo/Pei Mei (Gordon Liu)
Michael Parks .... Earl McGraw
Michael Bowen .... Buck
Jun Kunimura .... Boss Tanaka
Kenji Oba .... Bald Guy (Sushi Shop)
Yuki Kazamatsuri .... Proprietor
James Parks .... Edgar McGraw
Sakichi Satô .... Charlie Brown
Jonathan Loughran .... Trucker
Yoshiyuki Morishita .... Tokyo Business Man
Tetsuro Shimaguchi .... Crazy 88 #1
Kazuki Kitamura .... Crazy 88 #2
Yoji Tanaka .... Crazy 88 #3
Issei Takahashi .... Crazy 88 #4
Satoshi Yamanaka .... Crazy 88 #5
Julie Manase .... Crazy 88 #6
Akaji Maro .... Boss Ozawah
Goro Daimon .... Boss Honda
Shun Sugata .... Boss Benta
Zhang Jin Zhan .... Boss Orgami
Xiaohui Hu .... Young 88
Ambrosia Kelley .... Nikki Bell
Sachiko Fujii .... The 5.6.7.8's
Yoshiko Yamaguchi .... The 5.6.7.8's
Ronnie Yoshiko Fujiyama .... The 5.6.7.8's
Ai Maeda .... O-Ren (anime sequence) (voice)
Shu Lan Tuan .... Okinawa Airline Ticket Agent
Naoki Kusumi .... Boss Matsumoto (anime sequence) (voice)
&#
72;ikaru Midorikawa .... Pretty Riki (anime sequence) (voice)

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