Kill Bill Vol.1

Released 17th October 2003, Kill Bill Vol.1 is part one of Quinten Tarintino’s two part revenge flick. The film is made in the style of samurai and grindhouse cinema with frequent bloody set pieces and unnamed goons swinging at the protagonist, the Bride. As put by Geoffrey O’Brian of the Film of Lincoln Centre: “The air of flagrant artifice must be sustained, in the first place, to prevent any apprehension that the violence is real.” Played by Uma Thurman, the Bride is motivated purely by revenge and yet she given great depth and vulnerability from Thurman’s performance. Lucy Liu & Vivica A Fox give great performances as O-Ren & Vernita respectively, although one particularly fascinating performance is David Carradine as the illusive Bill.

This character is a key example, and testament, of Tarintino’s directorial skill. Throughout the entire film we never see Bill’s face, and yet we often receive lengthy dialogue scenes with him where you feel his presence. Tarintino also pays further homage to Japanese visual media through an extended animated sequence crafted in the style of ‘Manga’. The application of the animation helps to establish the character the sequence focuses on whilst also broadening the film’s already diverse use of different visual technicality. There is frequent use of a noir palette to embody the Bride’s connection, physical and psychologically, to her past life.

Further paying homage to older action flicks, the film’s sound editing often uses hyperbolic motifs such as the ‘Ironhide Siren’ or even the ‘Wilhelm Scream’. This effect is further enhanced by licensed music to hype up the scenes, the most famous example being ‘Battle Without Honor Or Humanity’; a song that everyone has likely heard at some point in their life (most likely Shrek The Third or Team America). Despite the insurmountable tropes the film abides by, the film surprisingly displays much in regard to female empowerment. From O-Ren’s rise through the predominantly male Crazy 88 to the Bride’s frequent self-assertion over patronising men in her way. Overall, this film is more of a retrospective love letter to international cinema’s history, albeit with a Hollywood budget.