"Kill Bill: Vol. 1"
DVD Review
by Kevin Carr
| **** (out of 5 stars) STARRING Uma Thurman as THE BRIDE Lucy Liu as O-REN ISHII Vivica A. Fox as VERNITA GREEN Darryl Hannah as ELLE DRIVER Michael Madsen as BUDD David Carradine as BILL Rated R Studio: Miramax Directed by: Quentin Tarantino Back to DVD Review Home |
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Very few films caused as much buzz last year as “Kill Bill.” Originally notable for being Quentin Tarantino’s long-awaited return to directing, it became quite a news story when Miramax decided to release the film in two parts. It turns out that this marketing gamble paid off, not just for the theatrical release of Vol. 1 (which made enough money to pretty much cover the cost of both volumes), but for the DVD release as well, which neatly coincides with the theatrical release of “Kill Bill Vol. 2.”
“Kill Bill” tells the story of the nameless Bride (Uma Thurman), whose wedding party was assassinated by the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad (Lucy Liu, Vivica A. Fox, Darryl Hannah and Michael Madsen), sent by her former boss and lover Bill (David Carradine).
The Bride, who was pregnant with a baby daughter at the time, survived the attack and spent the next four years in a coma. Upon waking, she swears revenge on those that did this to her. With her “Death List Five,” The Bride hunts down the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad, leaving Bill as the last one to go. Vol. 1 of this stylized revenge film follows The Bride as she wipes out the first two names on her list.
For me, the DVD of “Kill Bill Vol. 1” is actually more fun than the theatrical release. It’s removed from the whole “4th Film by Quentin Tarantino” hype, and I already knew the film was good. I could watch the DVD and just enjoy the movie for what it was - not for what it was hyped to be.
Like many of Tarantino’s films, “Kill Bill Vol. 1” gets better with multiple viewings. Upon a second, third or fourth time you see it, you can really appreciate Tarantino’s technique - especially his expert hand at merging cool music with excellent visuals. In particular, the Anime section of the film that tells the Origin of O-Ren Ishii (Lucy Liu), comes across as a stroke of genius.
“Kill Bill Vol. 1” was released on DVD only three days before Vol. 2 hit the theaters, giving a solid excuse for anyone seeing the new movie to refresh their memory about the characters. Of course, when you look at the contents of the DVD, it is very clear that Miramax will be releasing a double-disc Collector’s Edition or something similar in the fall when Vol. 2 is ready for home video.
There are very few extras on this disc, which hopefully be fixed with this inevitable release of the entire “Kill Bill” saga on DVD. So, in this respect, this first volume is not a great buy - but a very good bet for a rental, if for any other reason than to refresh your memory of the story and character background to balance out the second film.
Of these few extras, the best one is “The Making of Kill Bill” featurette. This is an excellent look at the entire “Kill Bill” saga, laying the groundwork of the film’s history. This dates all the way back to the “Pulp Fiction” days when Uma Thurman and Tarantino first came up with the character of The Bride. What’s nice about this retrospective is that it adds to the understanding of why Tarantino waited so long to make this movie - and the reason why Thurman is so ideal for the part.
Additionally, if you weren’t raised on Japanese Samurai movies and Hong Kong revenge cinema, “The Making of Kill Bill” will give you an appreciation for the genre. Even if you’ve never seen these films, it serves as a crash course in their styles. In any respect, it might inspire you to check out some of the genres Tarantino pays homage to in “Kill Bill” - including the aforementioned Japanese Samurai films, Hong Kong cinema as well as Anime and spaghetti westerns.
If you’ve got a fetish for barefoot 1950s-style Japanese singers with chubby ankles, you’ll really appreciate the extra video footage of the “5, 6, 7, 8s” performing their music from the movie. This is the band playing the surfer songs in the club where The Bride has her final confrontation with O-Ren Ishii and her Crazy 88s bodyguard army. The story behind how Tarantino found the band (from a CD playing in a Tokyo clothing store), explained in “The Making of Kill Bill,” is pretty cool as well.
Finally, the other special feature is an assortment of “Tarantino Trailers,” which assembles the previews of his complete works. For Tarantino fans, it’s a nice cinematic retrospective. However, it also serves as a reminder that the complete works of Quentin Tarantino is rather thin with only four films in more than ten years.
I’m looking forward to Tarantino’s next film after “Kill Bill Vol. 2.” I just hope this ADHD director will focus enough to achieve a better rate than once every five years.
Specifications: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound. DTS 5.1 Digital Surround Sound. Widescreen (2.35:1), enhance for 16x9 televisions. French language track; Spanish, Japanese, Korean and Traditional Chinese subtitles; English language subtitles for the hearing impaired.
