Kill Bill, Volume 1

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Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill, Vol. 1 is trash for connoisseurs. From his opening gambit (including a "Shaw-Scope" logo and gaudy '70s-vintage "Our Feature Presentation" title card) to his cliffhanger finale (a teasing lead-in to 2004's Vol. 2), Tarantino pays loving tribute to grindhouse cinema, specifically the Hong Kong action flicks and spaghetti Westerns that fill his fervent brain--and this frequently breathtaking movie--with enough cinematic references and cleverly pilfered soundtrack cues to send cinephiles running for their reference books. Everything old is new again in Tarantino's humor-laced vision: he steals from the best while injecting his own oft-copied, never-duplicated style into what is, quite simply, a revenge flick, beginning with the near-murder of the Bride (Uma Thurman), pregnant on her wedding day and left for dead by the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad (or DiVAS)--including Lucy Liu and the unseen David Carradine (as Bill)--who become targets for the Bride's lethal vengeance. Culminating in an ultraviolent, ultra-stylized tour-de-force showdown, Tarantino's fourth film is either brilliantly (and brutally) innovative or one of the most blatant acts of plagiarism ever conceived. Either way, it's hyperkinetic eye-candy from a passionate film-lover who clearly knows what he's doing. --Jeff Shannon

Description

The acclaimed fourth film from groundbreaking writer and director Quentin Tarantino (PULP FICTION, JACKIE BROWN), KILL BILL VOLUME 1 stars Uma Thurman (PULP FICTION), Lucy Liu (CHARLIE'S ANGELS, CHICAGO), and Vivica A. Fox (TWO CAN PLAY THAT GAME) in an astonishing, action-packed thriller about brutal betrayal and an epic vendetta! Four years after taking a bullet in the head at her own wedding, The Bride (Thurman) emerges from a coma and decides it's time for payback ... with a vengeance! Having been gunned down by her former boss (David Carradine) and his deadly squad of international assassins, it's a kill-or-be-killed fight she didn't start but is determined to finish! Loaded with explosive action and outrageous humor, it's a must-see motion picture event that has critics everywhere raving!

Customer Reviews:

Quentin Tarantino...Uma Thurman...Masterpiece?.......2007-09-07

This is a great movie. Uma Thurman as the Bride is one of my favorite characters.

Revenge at its best.......2007-09-04

Quentin Tarantino has made a career of writing and directing fantastic films, and with the first volume of the Kill Bill duet the tradition continues. On the surface, Kill Bill: Volume 1 spins like an above average revenge flick - an ex-assassin known only as "The Bride" is brutally tortured on her wedding day by her former employer's lethal band of contract killers: the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad. The `blood-splattered bride' is left for dead on the church floor, but her wounds eventually heal and four years later she begins her personal quest for revenge. Plot points such as these, however, are not what make Kill Bill (or any Tarantino film for that matter) special.

From the first grizzly minute all the way to the credits, every shot, every character, every line of dialogue, and every aspect of the story is driven by Tarantino's love for Hong Kong martial arts films, samurai movies, spaghetti westerns, and revenge flicks. These influences can be seen everywhere - from the camera framing copied from The Good, The Bad and the Ugly, to the final battle at the House of Blue Leaves where The Bride wears a yellow catsuit very much like the one worn by Bruce Lee in Game of Death. Tarantino uses references such as these to give Kill Bill: Volume 1 a cinematic depth that most revenge films can't match.

Quentin Tarantino dropped out of school at the tender age of 16 to pursue acting. However, he developed his love of film while working at a video rental shop in California. Since then, Tarantino has directed a total of five films, written eight, and won an Oscar (for Pulp Fiction). His love of film bleeds through every frame of every movie he is directly linked to - as evident by his use of homage as a film style. Pulp Fiction paid tribute to (among other things) gangster movies. In Reservoir Dogs, it was heist films and undercover cop stories. And in Kill Bill it was revenge, samurai showdowns, and old Westerns.

One of the strongest aspects of Kill Bill is that Tarantino embraced the simple mentality of typical revenge flicks while, at the same time, generously applying his own spirit. By default, movies that deal with reprisals tend to be a little bit shallow and predictable - someone has to kill or harm someone else for some wrongdoing.

What sets Kill Bill apart is the dialogue. For the film's entire 111 minute running time, the story is unfurled using dialogue that is packed with black comedy, old Asian legends, pop culture references, and extraordinary bravado. For example, when The Bride awakens in a hospital bed four years after the massacre, she learns that when she was comatose the head hospital attendant was acting as her pimp - selling her for $50 a "session." While this might have otherwise come across as a totally revolting and extremely dire situation, the dialogue and characters involved turn the scene into black comedy gold by playing off of the hick stereotype associated with many small Texas towns.

Another example of where the dialogue shines is when The Bride travels to the tiny island of Okinawa, Japan to meet with the legendary sword smith Hattori Hanzo. The nature of the film changes dramatically (for the better) as Hanzo passes on ancient Samurai proverbs to aid The Bride in her fight. This scene sets up a more purposeful tone for the remainder of the film and might contain the most powerful lines in the entire movie. Before giving the `yellow-haired warrior' (The Bride) his powerful `Hanzo Steel' samurai blade, Hattori effectively sums up the entire idea of vengeance by saying that revenge is "never a straight line. It's a forest, and like a forest it's easy to lose your way." This is the type of dialogue that sets Kill Bill apart. The ideas behind it are not new, but they are executed in such a way that they come off as fresh, funky, and unique.

The only downfall of Kill Bill: Volume 1 is the way it was released. Originally, Tarantino wrote and directed the project as one film. However, due to its four-hour plus running time, the Miramax production company decided to split it into two `volumes.' Due to this separation, the first volume comes across as light on story and heavy on violence while the second part seems light on action and heavy on plot exploration. The difference is especially noticeable in Kill Bill: Volume 2, which contains only two major fight sequences. The lack of closure at the end of Volume 1, due to Miramax's attempt to sell multiple tickets to the same movie, must be listed as a flaw of Tarantino's (otherwise) brilliant project.

Kill Bill is an experience. It pulls ideas from many different cultures, movies, genres, legends, and old television shows, and packages them together in one super-fine blood-soaked escapade. The only problem is that it's not one escapade (as it was originally meant to be) - it's two. Splitting the film causes a jarring shift in tone that's difficult to ignore. The best solution is to watch both DVDs back-to-back, thus eliminating what might be the only problem with one of the best films of the past decade.

Truly AMAZING!.......2007-08-16

Kill Bill is utterly enjoyable in all ways. It has the most clever dialouge, has the best directer in existence, and is quite humorous yet sophisticated. This movie is pure LOVE!

Hugely Disappointing.......2007-07-31

Mr Tarantino should have used lightsabers - it would have made the movie far more believable. Also, Uma Thurman's character should have been played by Nicholas Cage.

Verdict:

Avoid

A modern day classic........2007-07-19

Powerful films are hard to come by these days. But when Quentin Tarantino is directing something, you know it's special. Kill Bill is a revenge movie, done in a grindhouse kind of style. It's Tarantino's first action film, but don't worry, his dialogue is as cool as ever. Featuring neat music, humorous scenes, and silly unrealistic violence, Kill Bill is a fun experience. I hope you enjoy it!

Average customer rating:

She is gonna kill Bill
Great movie for the PSP
HORRIBLE - DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY
Amazing!
Kill Bill on PSP es great

Kill Bill - Volume 1 (UMD Mini For PSP)
Starring: Michael Bowen , Sonny Chiba , Samuel L. Jackson , Gordon Liu , and Michael Madsen
Manufacturer: Miramax
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: UMD for PSP

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ASIN: B0008JFMEC
Release Date: 2005-04-19

Product Description

Kill Bill Vol 1 UMD Movie From Buena Vista MODEL- 29470 VENDOR- UMD MOVIES FEATURES- "Kill Bill Volume 1" PSP UMD Movie Watch movies on your PSP handheld with DVD picture quality in widescreen. This full length movie fits on a single UMD disc. Perhaps the most highly anticipated film of 2003, Kill Bill Vol. 1 marked the return of renowned filmmaker Quentin Tarantino after a six-year hiatus. Re-teaming the director with Uma Thurman for the first time since 1994s Pulp Fiction, the film was originally the first half of what was to be a three-hour-plus movie before being split into two films. Thurman stars as The Bride, one-fifth of a team of assassins called DiVAS. When The Bride opts to leave the outfit for a life of marital bliss, it doesnt sit well with her boss, Bill (David Carradine), so he has her former cohorts, played by Lucy Liu, Vivica A. Fox, Daryl Hannah, and Michael Madsen, show up at the nuptials, leaving behind a blood bath. Miraculously, The Bride survives a bullet to the head and, four years later, she sets out for revenge against her four assassins and their employer. The story is concluded in Kill Bill Vol. 2, released six months later. * Starring: Uma Thurman, Lucy Liu, Vivica A. Fox, Daryl Hannah, Julie Dreyfus, David Carradine. -- SPECIFICATIONs ----------------------------------- MPAA Rating : R Genre : Action Thriller, Martial Arts Theatrical Date : 2003 Run Time : 111 Minutes Distributor/Studio: Miramax

Customer Reviews:

She is gonna kill Bill.......2007-07-02

"Kill Bill" was either a disaster-in-the-making or a one of a kind hit -- a sprawling revenge flick that had to be cut in two and released separately. But director Quentin Tarantino serves up entertainingly mindless gore and twisted thrills in "Kill Bill Volume 1," a salute to homages.

Tragedy strikes the Bride (Uma Thurman) on her wedding day: The Deadly Viper Assassination Squad (DiVAS) attacks and slaughters the guests, the groom, and wounds the very pregnant Bride herself. Her former boss/lover Bill (David Carradine) finishes the bloodbath by shooting the Bride in the head. But despite his efforts, she isn't dead.

A few years later, the Bride wakes to find that she has been in a coma for a few years, and has been being used as a sex toy for rent. After recovering enough to move, the Bride gets a sword sharp enough to "cut God," and goes on a revenge spree against the people who wrecked her life and killed her baby, including Cottonmouth (Vivica A. Fox) and the deadly O-Ren Ishii (Lucy Liu).

Don't expect cinematic art in "Kill Bill Volume 1." If anything, this is cinematic pop art, a loving tribute to cheesy martial-arts flicks and westerns. Tarantino even inserts a stretch of anime detailing O-Ren's background. It's pure Tarantino, untainted by typical directing methods and immensely entertaining if you switch off your critical faculties, refrain from asking "How the heck could that happen?"

"Kill Bill" isn't for the weak of stomach; over 450 gallons of fake blood are used in both movies. But the blood usage is more "Monty Python" than "Braveheart"; it's so over-the-top that it's silly and sick rather than disturbing. So is the violence -- hacking dozens of people down without getting so much as a scrape is impossible, but it's sure fun to watch.

Tarantino throws out more one-liners than just about any other filmmaker around. The absurd "Trix is for kids" line aside, there are a number of great lines like "Those of you lucky enough to have your lives take them with you. However, leave the limbs you've lost. They belong to me now." The script teems with impossibilities, but they seem plausible enough in this alternate reality that Tarantino has cooked up. Call it Tarantinoland.

Uma Thurman, with her yellow tracksuit and katana, rules the screen as the Bride. Despite the Bride cutting down people by the dozen, it's impossible not to appreciate her. And the best supporting performances come from Liu as the ruthless O-Ren, Carradine in a brief but intense appearance, and the wonderful, underrated Chiaki Kuriyama as evil schoolgirl Go-Go Yubari.

It's silly, it's creepy, it's gaudy, and somehow it's vastly entertaining. Tarantino's special triumph in "Kill Bill Volume 1" is to somehow rope his vast store of movie homages into a gory, action-packed storyline, and one that is, at the very least, hard to forget.

Great movie for the PSP.......2007-03-12

Kill Bill - Volume 1 (UMD Mini For PSP) was a great movie for the PSP.

HORRIBLE - DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY.......2006-02-05

This film was so bad that after 5 minutes, even the guys in our group were groaning. We all voted to immediately turn it off and watch something else.

A violent version of "Dumb and Dumber and Dumbest (the director)".

Amazing!.......2005-09-15

Director Quentin Tarantino really blows up minds with this movie. One of the best films made in this time. Tarantino takes us back in time to an almost samurai movie, mixed with today's reality and problems. Uma Thurman's caracter the bride is a "super hero" for women of nowadays. Really great movie, original plot and lot's and lot's of blood and overall ACTION....

Kill Bill on PSP es great.......2005-07-20

This is one of my favorites movies of Tarantino, and see it in the PSP is great

HOOKED ON COMIX - Volume 1 - Life On The Cutting Edge Of An All-American Artform

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HOOKED ON COMIX - Volume 1 - Life On The Cutting Edge Of An All-American Artform

Manufacturer: CustomFlix
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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HOOKED ON COMIX - Volume 2

ASIN: B000FJRWF2
Release Date: 2006-06-20

Product Description

HOOKED ON COMIX - Life on the Cutting Edge of an All-American Art Form showcases some of the greatest second-generation-underground or alternative/contemporary cartoonists working today. HOOKED ON COMIX is a lively and entertaining documentary that delves into the dedicated and creative minds behind some of the most brilliant work in contemporary comics. Featured Cartoonists: Peter Bagge (Hate), Donna Barr, Daniel Clowes (Eightball), R.L. Crabb, Chester Brown (Yummy Fur), Julie Doucet (Dirty Plotte), Dennis Eichhorn (Real Stuff), Mary Fleener, Roberta Gregory (Bitchy Bitch), Gilbert Hernandez, Jaime Hernandez (Love & Rockets), Carel Moiseiwitsch, Pat Moriarity (Big Mouth), Joe Sacco (Yahoo, Palestine), Stan Shaw, Triangle Slash, James Sturm, J.R. Williams, Jim Woodring (Jim) Music by: Beat Happening, Bikini Kill, Sick & Wrong, Sin Alley Kats, and Laughin' Spittin' Man

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Kill Bill - Vol. 1 & 2 (2 Pack)

ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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She's gonna kill Bill

Kill Bill, Volume 1 [Blu-ray]

Manufacturer: Buena Vista
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: Blu-ray

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ASIN: B000ETDVZI

Customer Reviews:

She's gonna kill Bill.......2007-07-16

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