Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4919 in DVD
• Released on: 2004-04-19
• Rating: Suitable for 18 years and over
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English, French, Japanese
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 111 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Proudly billed as "the fourth film by Quentin Tarantino", Kill Bill, Volume 1 is actually half of it (if you include his chunk of Four Rooms it's really the fourth and a quarterth). If Jackie Brown achieved a certain maturity beyond callous cool, then this is his Mr Hyde's trash picture, which relishes all the things in cinema that are supposed to be bad for you. The opening Shaw Brothers logo and cheesy "our feature presentation" card, redolent of rancid Kia-Ora and stale Wrestlers, sets this up as defiantly a movie-geek's movie, whose touchstones are spaghetti Westerns, comic books, kung fu/samurai quickies and second-hand vinyl albums. If Kill Bill was a dog-eared paperback, it'd be confiscated by a teacher.

Tarantino's favoured flashback-and-forth structure means we begin with a shuffle between past and present as the Bride with No Name (Uma Thurman) is shown being apparently murdered at the climax of a Texas wedding chapel massacre and alive again tracking down the second person on her to-kill list. The bulk of the film takes place between these plot points as the Bride carries a vengeance feud to the first of her enemies, yakuza queenpin O-Ren Ishii (Lucy Liu). Like its soundtrack--everything from Nancy Sinatra to the RZA, with the Green Hornet theme along the way--it's an eclectic picture, with sequences done as a gruesome anime, particularly genocidal stretches in black and white, and segues from cheerful kung fu massacre to Kurosawa-look poised duelling. Tarantino holds back on his trademark motormouth pop culture references; in fact, much of the film is in sub-titled Japanese.

You have to lock your brain into trash-film mode to get the most out of it, but its cliffhanger fade-out--unlike the dispiriting "to be continued" at the end of Matrix Reloaded--makes you want to come back. It's not a spoiler to reveal that Bill (a barely glimpsed David Carradine) hasn't been killed yet, and Thurman needs to take out Daryl Hannah and Michael Madsen before she gets to him. --Kim Newman

Special Features

• Making Of … featurette
  
• The 5,6,7,8s perform Jayne Mansfield and I'm Blue
  
• Volume 1 trailer
  
• Volume 1 teaser trailer
  
• Volume 2 teaser
  
• Interactive menu
  
• Scene access

DVD Technical Information:

• Aspect Ratio: Widescreen 2.35:1 Anamorphic
  
• Language: English
  
• Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1/DTS
  
• Running Time: 1 hour and 47 minutes approx.
  
• Region Code: 2

Synopsis
Quentin Tarantino returns to the director's chair with KILL BILL after a six-year hiatus. The movie proves once again that he is a hyperactive visionary and the master of cinematic coolness. Split into two volumes by Miramax in order to ensure that Tarantino's vision would not be compromised (and presumably to sell more tickets), KILL BILL: VOLUME 1 tells the first half of the sprawling story, which is quite simple at first glance. A female assassin, referred to as "The Bride" (Uma Thurman), is attacked on her wedding day. Dead are her soon-to-be husband and unborn child. However, she doesn't die. Four years later, she wakes up from a coma looking for revenge. Although her ultimate target is her former boss, Bill (David Carradine), it's quite clear that The Bride is saving the best for last. And before she can track him down, she must methodically take out the minions who ruined her life. VOLUME 1's targets include Vernita Green/Copperhead (Vivica A. Fox), Sofie Fatale (Julie Dreyfus), and the heartless O-Ren Ishii/Cottonmouth (Lucy Liu). Using a blessed sword handmade by Hattori Hanzo (Sonny Chiba), The Bride begins her relentless assault.
Turning up the style and energy levels that he kept under a threshold with 1997's JACKIE BROWN, Tarantino's obvious glee and reverence for the underground kung fu action pictures of the '70s, and Sergio Leone spaghetti westerns, makes for a stunning visual spectacle. Employing split screens, slow-motion, an anime sequence, and his trademark ultra-hip musical selections, Tarantino's film dares viewers to be unimpressed.

Customer Reviews

Oh great, another bloomin review
Yup - I just felt I had to do it - as if there aren't enough reviews already right? I remember now how I felt a couple of months back when, with very little money in my account, I stumbled upon Kill Bill, and saw all the reviews back then. The thought "Hey, I STILL haven't seen this?" crossed my mind and I spent the remainder of my balance on my now most prized possession, not including my stuffed piggie - the latest QT film to be released on DVD.

Make no mistake - this film is not for those who are even the slightest bit squeamish. The blood and gore are, as expected from Tarantino, all there, no barriers between you and the reality of a samurai sword.

I'm not going to go into details about the plot as most people have already, but what I will say is that QT was looking for a challenge in this movie - he wanted to stretch himself. Now by looking at the action scenes (which Q has kept rather limited in his previous films, but now they contain, at most, over fifty people!) and the anime scene, which is my favourite of the whole film, you can see the big differences in this film and his previous works.

If you're looking for a film rich in history, not bound by the blockbuster rule of "to Hell with it, let's shove any old characters in a room and let em battle it out with not thought as to why", then this film is for you.

If you're a fan of Samurai/Spaghetti Western/Revenge films, then this film is for you.

If you're a fan of Uma Thurman/Lucy Liu/Daryl Hannah/Vivicia A. Fox (practically unseen since "Independence Day")/Sonny Chiba, then this film is for you.

And lastly, if you see yourself as a movie buff who just HAS to know what's new, fresh and exciting in the world of filmmaking, you could do much worse than Tarantino - he is, after all, a movie buff himself!

Kill or be killed...
So by now everyone knows the plot and storyline to Kill Bill. The Bride (a very sexy but deadly Uma Thurman) is beaten and shot beyond belief on her wedding day when she tries to leave a squad of assassins known as the Deadly Viper Assassin Squad. She survives but is comatose for 4 years. Then she wakes up...

From thereon, it's blood and limbs all the way. To those of you who don't like too much violence, I am sorry to say that Kill Bill is not the film for you. A shame as I would like to recommend this film to everyone. Tarantino has delivered another trump card in film making here and it would be a travesty to miss out on it.

You may have gathered that the film is good, but why? Well there is a whole list of plus points ranging from the well orchestrated bloody fight scenes to the equally bloody but informative Anime sequence half way through the film. The dialogue is as clever as it is witty and blunt. A high percentage of the films dialogue is spoken in Japanese with subtitles which doesn't distract you from the film as much as some people think it does. As always I find the Tarantino soundtracks to be a tad quirky but they do always work. The soundtrack here is no exception. Included are songs from Nancy Sinatra, the theme from the Green Hornet and the RZA tune from the trailer. You know the one. Knowing nods and winks to past samurai films, costumes and fight scenes make this an entertaining film all round.

There will be some of you who just don't get the whole idea of the film. From the cheesy opening feature presentation, through the Anime and the spouting bloody limbs everywhere. It's homage to films gone by, mainly Japanese and it's brilliant.

Overall, yes it is bloody and yes there is foul language and yes there are disturbing scenes. But yes it is one of Tarantino's best films and brings something a little different to the screen. Buy it, rent it, whatever...just watch it.

Uma dazzles
First, if you’ve watched previous Tarantino films and disliked them, skip Kill Bill - both volumes. It is pure QT from start to finish. Same, if you don’t like Uma Thurman (I am shocked there are some who do not!), you might want to skip as well. However, if you like QT’s quirky humour and oddball films, then you will love Kill Bill – Part 1 mind you! This is truly the first half of the Kill Bill set. So, expect the blunt ending that leaves you hanging. It starts with the old Drive-in lead clip giving you a hint this movie is gash for the B-film addict’s soul. With soundtracks from everywhere and bits and pieces stolen – homage? – to other films, then remade in QT magic, it’s a film buff’s trivia delight.

In TQ style, you are given puzzle pieces that eventually fit together to present the whole story. Thurman – rather preggers and on her wedding day – is attacked by the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad. The whole wedding party is taken out in a
bloodbath, with the unseen Bill putting a bullet to Thurman’s head at the end of it. When the police arrive, they find Thurman not dead and rush her to hospital, where she stays in coma for over four years. Once she awakens, she finds it kill or be killed. So, she set out on her adventure to kill the five people on her list – Bill being the last.

Everyone was Kung-Fu dancing, with tongue-through-cheek, in some of the wildest ninja fight scenes. QT’s brilliant, quirky wit shines in that totally indefinable way of his. But it’s Thurman who is the WOW of this show. She alternates between her homely – breathtaking beauty, as the scene calls for it, and makes the total absurdity believable.

If you like QT, you will love Kill Bill Vol 1. If you have not liked him, then forgetaboutit…you will hate it.