Kill Bill: Volume One

[Duck Sauce]

All of you know how I must feel when I say there is no way to even attempt to explain how awesome this is. I loved every second of it and just cant begin to talk about how brilliant Quentin is....

The anime part was unbelievable, it amazed me and i was literally sitting on the edge of my seat for the first time at a movie ever. Best action, best style, best everything. I cant wait for Vol. 2....

The seen that shook me the most was when Bill is about to shoot her and she says "its your baby" in this torn fragile voice and then BLAM.... just sad.

I saw QT on jimmy kimmel the other week and he was giving instructions on how, if you are 12 years old how to sneak into Kill Bill by buying a ticket to see Good Boy (explains how well it did). And I am honestly convinced that QT is going to save the children of the world.... at least from growing up on bad movies.....

Cant wait till his next movie, even if it takes 6 years to come out. i think it will be cool if he turns out to be kubrickian in the sense that he waits a while but when they do come out, everybody knows about it, everybody knows he made it and everybody is there to see it.

This is a great movie! Easily Quentin's best since Pulp Fiction.

why not just say better than Jackie Brown?/

[ono]

The thing I find weird about QT is he has this Kubrickian tendency where he takes FOREVER to get to his next movie, yet he's been quoted in an article somewhere where he has these aspirations to get to be as good as Sergio Leone is in his opinion, where he has a sequence as good as the end of The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.  But to do that, he's going to have to work at a much better pace than what he's been doing.  So I'm wondering, which is it?  Because he can't have it both ways.

[tpfkabi]

i agree about Fox's delivery......even Uma's in that scene is quite cheesy (yes i know it's supposed to be, but  a little over the top here)

the link i gave to the filmjerk.com article a few pages back asks Quentin about dialogue directly.......it also gives a little preview of things to come in Vol. 2, nothing major i don't think.......and he speaks about his upcoming project.

speaking of sound design, the thing that made me laugh each time was the high vibrations every time a sword was shown.

also, when Uma was checking out the swords on the wall, i thought it was really funny how he edited that.......overlapping frames, and really drawn out

[Gold Trumpet]

Finally saw it:

Kill Bill is both genius and dissapointing. For most of it, Tarantino is at his very best in pure filmmaking. For other moments, he is without point.

To just say it, from the moment Uma Thurman’s character goes to Japan, things really get good and then go into great and hit some unbelievable notes. Tarantino swirls in imaginative filmmaking like never before and like no other now. He sets an environment and a situation up. Lucy Lui’s character is given a breath of notoriety unlike any other I’ve seen in an action movie in a long time. The anime portion not only is stunning in just detailing and giving color to her now; it also paints the movie to what it is going to be, an all out explosion of Asian action film exploration. Then the essential build up: Uma detailing her past and purpose to the sword maker. Her reputation layed on the table; Lu’s already there. Then the color of Lu’s crime world detailed in unbelievable texture, wit, humor and most importantly, established notoriety. This is all sparks for a major explosian of fighting all leading to the one thing we want to see: Thurman finally fighting Lu. Even the world in the room of the major fight is ideas swirling to be explored: the odd 1960s pop scene intergrated with Asian culture all around it. The environment is perfect to just create anticipation to the fight. To say the least, Tarantino hides the limitations of the actors fighting by being at his imaganive best in filmmaking and playing all the chords right in what to show when. The black and white sequence is amazingly good at making the blood look like paint exploding from everyone. The variety of moves and ways to kill is ever expanding through out the film. Then the switch to a blue black drop and realization Tarantino is exploring almost an entire genre in just one sequence. The only dissapointment in the Japan portion of the picture is the Lucy Lui/Uma Thurman fight itself. Given it is just two people, it is expected to be simplistic. It not only is that, but also very quick in ending. It seems the swings of swords connecting could have been counted in a dozen or so. And given the actors aren’t really that good at sword play, the effect is dissapointing to such a wonderful build up.

Then, everything before this. On my nice side, most of it wasn’t needed. On my honest side, all of it could have been disposed. In the pure interest of comparing fight/death scenes between Uma killing who in her hit list, Vivica A. Fox’s fight scene is pathetic and dismal when compared to Lu’s. The only idea is that it is to just get things going. It seems there more for the purpose of oddness in a fight scene taking place in such a place and being able to benefit off the joke of the intruding kid from school. Then the hospital scene and introduction of Darryl Hannah’s character to kill Uma but then abort at the last second....Not needed. All that is gained is a Tarantino introduction and a cheap comedy finish in Darryl Hannah complaining to Bill. Then the attempted rape of Uma, again for its comedy and interest in oddness. This scene is the most amusing, effective and satisfying of all these early scenes. Its just that all these scenes together matched against the Japan stuff feels like two different movies and so easily weaker because Tarantino is less in thought in how to build up it and finish it. They are just amusing little vignettes to what will come later. Tarantino only gets on fire in Japan. My suggestion would have been to explore Japan further. It is worthy and fitting most of the genre at hand.

I also know this suggests change of premise and set up for it all, but hey, it doesn’t work for me. So much time and energy is paid upon one situation instead of the other that the balance is completely off and tonally not even really fitting. One suggestion would be just dump it and change the premise of who to kill and all. Or: just maybe explore the world of each one to kill in a separate movie. The Japan part is so thoroughly thought out for its limited time that it screams for more time and attention. The LA parts are screaming for any attention at all. Take one world, one type of story and just explore it to its brink. This movie is most comparable to Pulp Fiction in how it plays with a genre. Its just that Pulp Fiction kept it all under one umbrella.

~rougerum

[Teen Wolf]

In regard to QT putting out movies every five years or so...

In this month's Rolling Stone, he talks about how he could see himself becoming like Kubrick, i.e. only making a movie when he feels he has to. He talks about how some directors (he doesn't name names) crank out movies and after awhile they begin to lose their vitality. I can see that. Kill Bill to me felt like a movie made my a man who was aching to make a movie, if that makes any sense.

Oh, and in the same article he actually refers to M. Night as "Shamalongadingdong."

[Cecil]

oh... this movie was so fucking good... so fucking good... i almost cried

[md]

the one shot that i loved was the double dolly of the man who has the small axe hitting his head in the house of blue whatever sequence....that was pimp

[Jeremy Blackman]

oh... this movie was so fucking good... so fucking good... i almost cried

Me too.

I can forgive the dialogue. I really can. Better dialogue might have been distracting, really. If every other Tarantino movie has been dialogue-based, Kill Bill is all action and technique. I really couldn't have loved it more.

GT... were you disappointed about the beginning only after seeing the epic battle? I liked the awkwardness and disorientation... it makes sense, really. And maybe that lopsidedness will feel more natural after Volume 2.

I also have to say the fight scenes (especially the fight scene) had more impact for me than anything in Matrix 2.

[Gold Trumpet]

Well, I wasn't thrilled with the beginning while watching it. Some of it was fun to watch, but then some seemed as if made by a fan boy emulating Tarantino and the idea he would make this kinda movie: entire Vivica A. Fox scene seemed thrown in there and with only a little of the wit that Tarantino is capable of, as if a fan boy made it.  Yp continue the fan boy idea, it even had Uma Thurman doing the imaginary square, ala Pulp Fiction.

It's just that the beginning is suppose to represent a good chunk of what this entire movie is: the beginning, I think, like the entire Japan episode, takes up 2 chapters. But where is the greatest amount of thought and imagination obviously placed? Because the film is off balanced, I get the feeling that more could have been put into each part. Then again is the idea that with each member to be killed, its own movie is deserving.

But to answer the question, No, I wasn't dissapointed with the beginning when I saw it. The rest of the film achieved that. But, I wasn't impressed really with the beginning while watching it either.

~rougerum

[Ernie]

oh... this movie was so fucking good... so fucking good... i almost cried

Haha, me too...literally. I clapped like a fucking geek along with one other person in the theatre when the credits rolled, I feel like an idiot looking back at it now. Glad you liked it though Cecil. I don't know why, but I really am. Disagreements happen too much.

[Banky]

ebert gave it 4 stars

[Pozer]

Well, I wasn't thrilled with the beginning while watching it. Some of it was fun to watch, but then some seemed as if made by a fan boy emulating Tarantino and the idea he would make this kinda movie: entire Vivica A. Fox scene seemed thrown in there and with only a little of the wit that Tarantino is capable of, as if a fan boy made it.  Yp continue the fan boy idea, it even had Uma Thurman doing the imaginary square, ala Pulp Fiction.

It's just that the beginning is suppose to represent a good chunk of what this entire movie is: the beginning, I think, like the entire Japan episode, takes up 2 chapters. But where is the greatest amount of thought and imagination obviously placed? Because the film is off balanced, I get the feeling that more could have been put into each part. Then again is the idea that with each member to be killed, its own movie is deserving.

But to answer the question, No, I wasn't dissapointed with the beginning when I saw it. The rest of the film achieved that. But, I wasn't impressed really with the beginning while watching it either.

~rougerum

I WAS

It Did Not seem like some fan boy created it. It was a fun, crowd pleasing, Bang of an opening. It's as if to let you know right off the bat that this movie ain't gonna fuck around. Quentin's refrences were all over that scene, cheesy dialogue and all.

And Man Did You Miss The Point Of The Daryl Hannah Scene if you thought it was pointless. suuuucks.

This movie brought back memories of when I first saw Pulp Fiction. Can't wait to watch friend's reactions as I make my way to tie Pulp's 5 theatrical viewings.

[Gold Trumpet]

And Man Did You Miss The Point Of The Daryl Hannah Scene if you thought it was pointless. suuuucks.

What was the point?

~rougerum

[edison]

I also came close to crying at some points in the film, and as i look back it was always because of the music, that is the only thing that can get to me. MUSIC. If you add great music to a great scene I will get goosebumps and the tears will start to well up. Here are the scenes i can remember this happening during:

The slo-mo walk by O-Ren and crew into the House, track 9 on soundtrack

The closing credits song, track 14

The clap-clap-clap song at some point during the House, track 10

The limo driving scene, track 8

those gave me chills

and there were some scenes that gave me a little girl giddy feeling of just seeing a new QT film on screen, Im sure some of you felt the same way.

[cine]

And Man Did You Miss The Point Of The Daryl Hannah Scene if you thought it was pointless. suuuucks.

What was the point?

Can I jump in here? I was going to reply to what you said about it anyhow. I felt it established more of the Samurai traditions.. that it would just lower them to kill her so easily and so cheaply. That's what I got out of it.