|
|
KILL BILL
A recently retired master assassin, The Bride is gunned down on her wedding day by Bill her onetime boss and lover. She wakes up from a coma four years later and resolves to wreak vengeance.
Review by David Bruce |
(2003) Film Review |
| This page was created on January 10, 2003
This page was last updated on
April 17, 2004
Dial up modems will take a few moments |
| CREDITS |
|  Directed by Quentin Tarantino
Written by Quentin Tarantino
Uma Thurman .... The Bride (a.k.a. Black Mamba)
David Carradine .... Bill
Daryl Hannah .... Elle Driver (a.k.a. California Mountain Snake)
Michael Madsen .... Budd (a.k.a. Sidewinder)
Vivica A. Fox .... Vernita Green (a.k.a. Cobra)
rest of cast listed alphabetically
Sonny Chiba .... Hattori Hanzo
Julie Dreyfus .... Sofie Fatale
Samuel L. Jackson .... The Organ Player
Caitlin Keats .... Janeen
Chiaki Kuriyama .... Go Go Yubari
Chia Hui Liu .... Pai Mei/Crazy 88 fighter (as Gordon Liu)
 Lucy Liu .... O-Ren Ishi (a.k.a. Cottonmouth)
Julie Manase .... Crazy 88 fighter
Chris Nelson .... The Groom
Kenji Ohba .... Sushi bar assistant
Shana Stein .... Erica
Bo Svenson .... The Preacher
Quentin Tarantino .... Pai Mei (voice)
Michael Jai White .... Alburt
Produced by
Lawrence Bender .... producer
Quentin Tarantino .... producer
E. Bennett Walsh .... executive producer
Original Music by RZA and Lars Ulrich
Cinematography by Robert Richardson
Film Editing by Sally Menke
Casting by Johanna Ray
Production Design by Yohei Taneda and David Wasco
Art Direction by Daniel Bradford
Set Decoration by Sandy Reynolds-Wasco
Costume Design by Catherine Marie Thomas
Not Rated as of January 10, 2003
For rating reasons, go to FILMRATINGS.COM, and MPAA.ORG.
Parents, please refer to PARENTALGUIDE.ORG |
|
| TRAILERS AND CLIPS |
|
| CD |
COMING
 |
| POSTER |
|
|
| AVAILABILITY ON VIDEO AND DVD |
CHECK AVAILABILITY AND PRICING OF THIS MOVIE ON VIDEO OR DVD.
Just type in movie title and click go.
Also, check out 100 Hot Videos
and the 100 Hot DVDs
|
|
| SYNOPSIS |
 A recently retired master assassin, The Bride (Thurman) is gunned down on her wedding day by Bill (Carradine), her onetime boss and lover. She wakes up from a coma four years later and resolves to wreak vengeance by hunting down the killers in Bill's posse—a multinational
Charlie's Angels-style trio called the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad, played by Daryl Hannah, Lucy Liu and Vivica A.Fox. |
REVIEW BY
DAVID BRUCE
Web Master, HollywoodJesus.com |
| The story centers on the Bride (Thurman), a member of the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad, who is betrayed, beaten and shot in the head up by her colleagues and left for dead. Now after awaking from a four-year coma, she's compiled a revenge list, leading up to the top Viper Bill (Carradine). It is a tale of revenge. At the beginning of Kill Bill there is a quote: "Revenge is a dish best
served cold" which comes from an old Klingon proverb in Star Trek 2: Wrath of Khan.
LIVING OUT CHILDHOOD AS AN ADULT
Quentin Tarantino loved Kung Fu and action films as a kid. In Kill Bill Tarantino makes many references to his favorites. For example, Bill tells The Bride that Pai Mei is "Nietzche's psalm personified - if he doesn't kill you, he will make you stronger". This is a quote from the beginning of Conan The Barbarian (1982).
 Another comes from a 1971 Exploitation film called Bury Me an Angel (a female revenge film) which has this tagline: "She's a Howling Hellcat Humping a Hot Steel Hog on a Roaring Rampage of Revenge!" In Kill Bill the Bride says, "She went on what the movie
advertisements refer to as a Roaring Rampage of Revenge".
Hattori Hanzo was an ancient Samurai warrior in Japan in the 15th century. Additionally he was on a 1980s TV show that QT and his childhood friends would watch.
Chapter 8 of Kill Bill is entitled: “The Lonely Grave of Paula Schultz.” This comes from 1968 romantic comedy movie entitled, The Wicked Dreams of Paula Schultz. Bob Crane stars as Bill.
 Chapter 10 is entitled "The Blood Splattered Bride". Which comes from a 1972 B horror film called The Blood Spattered Bride where a newly wedded couple that is haunted and tortured by the ghost of a dead woman.
The chapter title "Can She Bake a Cherry Pie?" seems to allude to the childhood song "Billy Boy" which goes something like: "Can she bake a cherry pie, Billy Boy, Billy Boy? / Can she bake a cherry pie, charming Billy? Further in the Gina Young version there is the added line "Here comes the bride, all dressed in white."
Speaking of songs, Nancy Sinatra sings Sony Bono's Bang Bang My Baby Shot Me Down over the title credits is a tip of the hat to his boyhood era.
|
|
 WOMEN AS THE MACHO HEROES
As Roger Ebert says, “All the major characters are women, the men having been emasculated right out of the picture.”
This trend of women as tough and capable super action karate heroes  may have had it’s beginning with Diana Rigg of the popular Avengers television series. She was the first
person ever to do Kung Fu on the small screen. Her name Emma Peel came from the British expression “M-appeal” meaning “man appeal.” Her fighting ability coupled with her leather pants placed her twenty years ahead of her time as the new and emerging image of woman. Charlie’s Angels built on this image as did Sigourney Weaver’s role in Aliens 2.
Uma Thurman played the Emma Peel role in the movie remake of The Avengers.
|
  REVERSING THE MALE AND FEMALE ROLES
Uma Thurman wears the same yellow suit as Bruce Lee did in his final film.
Bill's "Deadly Viper Assassination Squad" is comprised of women bearing snake related nicknames such as Black Mamba,  Copperhead, Cottonmouth, and Sidewinder. These same names are given to members of the bad-men group known as the Serpent
Society, appearing in Captain America comic books.
|
|
 REVERSED PORNOGRAPHY
In Kill Bill men are rendered powerless by having their arms and legs cut off. This represents a real reversal in our culture. Men have been the ones cutting the legs and arms off of women.
 The argument against pornography, in the 1980s, was that it dehumanized women. As proof, it was claimed that porno photos often cropped off the arms and legs of  women rendering them immobile and powerless. By cropping the face, identity was eliminated.
However, a google.com image search for “pinup” will demonstrate that such limb cropping in historical girlie pinups was rare. Be that as it may, the famous armless Venus sculpture was claimed by certain feminist to be high-class porn (but then, the highly valued ancient goddess images are armless and faceless). Nonetheless, pronography reduces women to their parts. In this film just the opposite is true, the limbs of men are cut
off, thus reducing men to their body parts. Additionally, Bill’s face is always cropped. Tarantino may be viewed as a feminist and an anti-feminist at the same time. Here is pornography in reverse.
DEATH AND RESURRECTION
 Not to put fine a point on this, but the Bride has a pseudo-death and resurrection scene. She is empowered to lay waste to her enemies, in a somewhat messianic style. In Matrix, Neo has a death and resurrection scene and then must battle dozens of Mr. Smiths. The Bride has a scene that is a near duplication
 of Matrix when she battle a room full of men in black suits and ties. One of these crazy 88 fighters is name Pai Mei who appeared in several Shaw Bros Kung Fu films (www.shawstudios.com) from the 1970s-80s. Pai Mei means "White Eyebrow" and Quentin Tarantino is his voice.
|
|
TURNING THE TABLES
This film really intrigued me in the many ways it turned the tables on dozens of cultural norms. I believe this film is reflects the profound cultural changes that have taken place. We are indeed living in a new era. Women can be equal, in fact, more so. Justice can be achieved. Bad guys can be overcome. All things are possible.
 VIOLENCE AT A NEW LEVEL
A strong word of warning regarding the violence in Kill Bill. Believe me when I say this film should have been rated NC-17. The R rating is very misleading. The sword fights are extremely bloody.
THE STORY IS ABOUT VENGENCE.
This is a tale of an eye for an eye. There is no let up in the ongoing slaughter that vengeance produces. Perhaps that’s the message of the film. On the other hand QT seems to have a love for blood.
For more on vengence -click here.
|
| |
|
| Continue: |
|
| COMMENT ON THIS FILM |
| BULLETIN BOARD (Rules)
Post your thoughts in the forum
View or post comments -click here.
Your Private Comments.
I will not post these comments. What are your personal thoughts? I also welcome your spiritual concerns and prayer needs. I will correspond with you, usually within two weeks. Click here |
OFFICIAL SITE
Kill Bill © 2002 Miramax. All Rights Reserved.
No other uses are permitted without the prior written consent of owner. Use of the material in violation of the foregoing may result in civil and/or criminal penalties. Credits and dates are subject to change. For more information, please visit their official site.
Hollywood Jesus News Letter
Receive the Hollywood Jesus Newsletter FREE.
Sign up here
|
| | |
|
|
