Kill Bill is Quentin Tarantino’s contribution as a director to the genre of comic book adaptations. But only in style and visual aesthetics. Since we are talking about Tarantino, the film isn’t actually based on a comic book in any way, but is a story written by Tarantino himself. The biggest influences for Kill Bill come from the exploitation movies, which the director seemed to be so fond of and which he seems to have outgrown at least to some degree today. After Blaxpoitation in Jackie Brown, he now turns to Chinese martial arts films and adds some elements of spaghetti western, especially in the selection of music. For the bosses of Miramax the running time was too long and so the opportunity was taken to simply split the film, bring the parts into the cinemas separately and collect twice. Tarantino was happy with this, because he didn’t have to take out any scenes that way. In its essence, Kill Bill is a revenge campaign. In the first part we learn that the protagonists (Uma Thurman), only called “The Bride”, was brutally put into a coma by five people. The background remains unclear. Back on her feet, she takes on the first two responsible persons. The three others have to wait for part 2. Kill Bill: Volume 1 is quite lacking in content. Instead, it is a style exercise on a high level. The action scenes are outstanding, especially the final massacre in the House of Blue Leavers and an incorporated cartoon sequence remain in memory. From Uma Thurman in her yellow Bruce Lee uniform and the comically exaggerated gallons of blood to the gravity defying acrobatics of films like House of Flying Daggers, Kill Bill is a potpourri of visual, acoustic and content-related references. From Citizen Kane (1941) and The Searchers (1956) to Spaghetti Westerns, Bruce Lee and Lady Snowblood (1973) to Ichi the killer (2001) and Samurai Fiction (1998), everything is represented. In the end, Kill Bill: Volume 1 is a spectacular and mostly entertaining prelude to a film that should already be included.
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Cast: Uma Thurman, Lucy Liu, Vivica A. Fox, Michael Madsen, Daryl Hannah, David Carradine, Julie Dreyfus
Genre: Action
Rated: R
Runtime: 111 min.
Release Date: 2003/10/10
Screenplay: Quentin Tarantino
Editor: Sally Menke
Cinematography: Robert Richardson
Budget: $30 million