Compare Prices
Postage & Packaging: £1.​21
Postage & Packaging: Free!
Postage & Packaging: £0.​00
SHOPPING > DVDs > Action & Adventure > Kill Bill Vol.1 (DVD) > Reviews

Kill Bill Vol.1 (DVD)

from (5 offers) · Product Information

Kill Bill Vol.1 (DVD)

Quote-start

Here Comes The Bride

Quote-end

5 Sep 15th, 2004 

50 Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful

Advantages:
Superb martial arts action thriller

Disadvantages:
You need to like violent action films to enjoy this

Recommendable Yes:

Detailed rating:

Did you enjoy it?

Story

Characters / Performances

Special Effects

Soundtrack

Mauri

Mauri

About me:

I'm still here!

Member since:24.07.2000

Reviews:300

Members who trust:171

In recent years ‘fusion’ cuisine has become very trendy, this is when flavours, spices, ingredients and cooking methods from different countries and continents are blended together to produce new and hopefully tasty dishes. Kill Bill Vol. 1 is the first instalment of an attempt by king of cool director Quentin Tarantino to create ‘Fusion’ Cinema and he has been very liberal with his ingredients. So is this a recipe for disaster or a gourmand’s dream?

One major criticism of this film, which I have heard again and again, is that it is self indulgent and pretentious. I came to watching this as a huge Tarantino fan but with many reservations and yet I was pleasantly surprised. Yes, this certainly is a fusion of film styles, combining Honk Kong martial arts, Manga, Samurai films, Spaghetti Western, Japanese Gangster movies, and traditional big budget Hollywood action movie all wrapped up in Tarantino’s own distinctive style and it works!

THE STORY

The plot of this film is simple enough this is a revenge movie. The Bride (we don’t find out her name, it is beeped out every time any character mentions it!) is a member of a top-secret assassination squad ‘The Deadly Vipers’, but for reason as yet unexplained she decides to ‘retire’ and get married and settle down to a mundane life in a small town. This doesn’t please the squad chief Bill and on her wedding day rehearsal the by now heavily pregnant Bride and her entire wedding party is massacred by an assassination team of made up by her former colleagues. Everyone is murdered but by some miracle The Bride (even though shot in the head) survives and spends 5 year in a coma. On awakening she has only one thing on her mind Revenge-KILL BILL!

CAST, PERFORMANCES AND OPINION

Uma Thurman .... The Bride
Lucy Liu .... O-Ren Ishii
Vivica A. Fox .... Vernita Green
Daryl Hannah .... Elle Driver
David Carradine .... Bill
Michael Madsen .... Budd
Julie Dreyfus .... Sofie Fatale
Chiaki Kuriyama .... Gogo Yubari
Sonny Chiba .... Hattori Hanzo
Chia Hui Liu .... Johnny Mo (as Gordon Liu)
Michael Parks .... Earl McGraw
Michael Bowen .... Buck
Jun Kunimura .... Boss Tanaka

Written and directed by Quentin Tarantino.

Tarantino wanted to make a true action movie and he has certainly done that. From the very first opening sequence to the dramatic end of this instalment the action is non-stop. I loved it, as usual with Tarantino the film oozes style and visually it is superb, the use of the various settings, the vivid comic book type colours interspersed with atmospheric black and white and Manga sequences. Sure Tarantino is exposing us to his favourite film genres but this is not self indulgent but infact very accessible and any lover of action thrillers can’t avoid being impressed by Tarantino deft touch in the direction of the action sequences.

The choreography of the stunt work is superb, I couldn’t tell how much of it was CGI but I suspect little as Tarantino is a great fan of the martial arts wire work that is employed extensively in the Honk Kong School of martial arts cinema. The special effects are fantastic as we see close range bullets axes and knives flying through the air. Slow motion cuts are used to emphasise the action and there is plenty of blood and gore for the more ardent fans of action flicks. The violence portrayed in the film could be an issue to some but it is displayed in such a stylish almost cartoon strip way that it can’t be taken seriously although an 18 certificate is probably necessary.

Do you need to be a movie buff to enjoy the film?…yes and no the film certainly stand out on it’s own merits but if you do know your ‘Spaghetti’ from your ‘Manga’ you’re in for an even greater treat. Tarantino has been self indulgent to the extent that this movie is clearly a labour of love for him but I still think this is fair enough if by watching this the uninitiated viewer comes across some wonderful but lesser know movie genres that they can then go on to explore more fully.

The plot is simple enough but still intriguing partly because of the way that Tarantino yet again plays around with the chronology of the events so that you are piecing together the story gradually as you view the film and there is still room for a few unexpected twists along the way. The film is divided in to distinct chapters each one referring to particular episode in The Bride’s quest for revenge and each filmed in a slightly different cinematic style..all clever stuff.

The actors play their parts well and they certainly do their best to ham up the characters, Uma Thruman is excellent as the cool, slightly deranged but dangerously beautiful ‘heroine’. Michael Madsen (another Tarantino regular), David Carradine and Daryl Hannah don’t feature much in this film but your appetite is wetted just enough to look forward to their contribution in Kill Bill 2. Sonny Chiba one of the greats of martial arts movies is excellent as the specialist samurai sword maker while Vivica A. Fox and Lucy Liu provide Thurman with some stylish but deadly opposition.

One final aspect with is certainly worth mentioning is the music. This again was a wonderful fusion of different styles most of the background soundtrack is an oriental sounding Spaghetti western style mix that Ennio Morricone the king of Spaghetti western soundtracks (think of The ‘Dollar’ trilogy and Once Upon a Time in the West) would have come up with if he had spent his musical formative years in Beijing!

Other parts of the soundtrack are composed and performed by RZA a co-founder of the hip group the Wu Tang Clan who also share Tarantino’s love of martial arts cinema. The film also features the Japanese all female surf band 5,6,7,8’s in one of the scenes where they perform one of their best known songs, look great sound great and completely fit in with the look of the film. The non-original music is provided by a wide array of musical influences from the aforementioned Ennio Morricone, Isaac Hayes, Sonny Bono, Quincy Jones, Ike Turner and James Last. As usual Tarantino’s choice of music is at least as adventurous as his visuals and provides an intriguing audio backdrop for the stylish choreography of the action. The soundtrack would certainly be worth listening to on its own.


THE DVD

The transfer is great and the quality of the colours, the sharpness of the images and the crispness of the sound are excellent. There is the usual Dolby 5.1 sound track and a selection of languages and subtitle choices. The chapter selection is fine and generally the menu navigation is easy to use.

The DVD package is not packet with extra features but there is enough there to tempt a purchase.

The bonus features include

· 'Making Of' featurette
This a worthwhile short documentary featuring interviews with many of the star of the film and Tarantino. It is interesting to get some background on how and why the film was made apparently from a suggestion by Thurman on the set of Pulp Fiction. Tarantino talks about some of the influences from the different movie genres that he has used in the making of the film and points out a few of the veterans of the martial arts cinema that have been used as actor and behind the scenes special effects. There are some genuinely interesting insights here from Tarantino and it is essential viewing for those fans of the film that might not be acquainted with more obscure movie genres Tarantino draws influences from.

A little more is also made clear about the different main characters although for any in depth knowledge we have to wait for the second movie.

· The 5,6,7,8s perform 'Jayne Mansfield' and 'I'm Blue'

The group perform live on the set two songs and seem to be well appreciated. Since their appearance in this film the 5,6,7,8’s have become known to a wider public, it is amazing to think that if Tarantino had not been browsing for clothes in a airport boutique playing their album while waiting for his flight the group might never have come to the attention of so many people.

· Volume 1 trailer
· Volume 1 teaser trailer
· Volume 2 teaser
The obligatory trailers are included to pad out the DVD but are worth seeing especially the Vol. 2 teaser.

OVERALL

As Tarantino has stated this instalment of the story is pure action and poses more questions that it asks, the second film provides the answers. Don’t expect to figure out much just sit back and enjoy the spectacle presented to you with a style and Chic that Tarantino has made his trademark. Don’t worry too much about not being able to spot Tarantino’s influences you can enjoy the film without doing this. This is a pure action 'fest', the thinking comes later in Vol. 2 but as a spectacle of ture cinema chic this is up there with the best of Tarantino’s work.

Recommended for all Tarantino fans but be warned if your idea of a good film is more ‘The Piano’ than ‘El Mariachi’ then proceed with caution!

‘Kill Bill Volume 1’ is available from Play.com for £11.99 delivered and is well worth it!

Thanks for reading and rating this review.

© Mauri 2004

 

How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines

exceptional

very helpful

helpful

somewhat helpful

not helpful

off topic

Products you might be interested in »

The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy (Box Set) (DVD)

The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy (Box Set) (DVD)

(+) best dvd collection you can own,
(-) need plenty of time to see the film

User reviews (14)

Buy now for only £ 8.93

The A-Team - Series 4 (Box Set) (DVD)

The A-Team - Series 4 (Box Set) (DVD)

Action/Adventure - Original Language: English - Classification: 12 years and over - Starring:Mr T, Dirk Benedict, George Peppard, Dwight Schultz

Rate it now

Buy now for only £ 0.01

Cypher (DVD)

Cypher (DVD)

Production Year: 2002 - Action/Adventure - Director: Vincenzo Natali - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring:Lucy Liu, David Hewlett, Anne Marie Scheffler, Joseph Scoren, Matthew Sharp, Jeremy Northam

User reviews (2)

Buy now for only £ 1.98

Zulu (DVD)

Zulu (DVD)

Production Year: 1964 - Action/Adventure - Director: Cyril Endfield - Original Language: English - Classification: Parental Guidance - Starring:Stanley Baker, Jack Hawkins, Ulla Jacobsson, James Booth, Michael Caine, Nigel Green

User reviews (14)

Buy now for only £ 0.58

The Lord Of The Rings - The Two Towers (DVD)

The Lord Of The Rings - The Two Towers (DVD)

(+) Yet more great special effects
(-) far too long & dull

User reviews (202)

Buy now for only £ 4.35

The Gauntlet (DVD)

The Gauntlet (DVD)

Production Year: 1977 - Action/Adventure - Director: Clint Eastwood - Original Language: English - Classification: 18 years and over - Starring:Clint Eastwood, Sondra Locke, Pat Hingle, William Prince, Bill McKinney

User reviews (1)

Buy now for only £ 1.18

Comments about this review »

Expired-Account 02.12.2007 11:04

A brilliant film, well reviewed, very helpful

jamiemazza 17.05.2007 00:32

Wow good review and a great film

J-D-C 22.01.2007 21:08

Very detailed review. I think the violence is not a disadvantage as it is comical with so much blood spurting everywhere, but yes i can understand your point if people are not into that sort of thing.

Compare prices for Kill Bill Vol.1 (DVD) »

1 to 5 out of 5 offers for Kill Bill Vol.1 (DVD) Show all offers   sorted by: Price 
Kill Bill, Volume 1 [DVD] [2003]

Kill Bill, Volume 1 [DVD] [2003]

Proudly billed as "the fourth film by Quentin Tarantino",Kill Bill, Volume 1is actually ... more

half of it (if you include his chunk ofFour
Roomsit's really the fourth and a quarterth).
IfJackie Brownachieved a certain maturity beyond
callous cool, then this i...

amazon marketplace dvd

Postage & Packaging£1.21
AvailabilityUsually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
 Visit Shop  >
amazon marketplace d...
Kill Bill, Volume 1 [DVD] [2003]

Kill Bill, Volume 1 [DVD] [2003]

Proudly billed as "the fourth film by Quentin Tarantino",Kill Bill, Volume 1is actually ... more

half of it (if you include his chunk ofFour
Roomsit's really the fourth and a quarterth).
IfJackie Brownachieved a certain maturity beyond
callous cool, then this i...

amazon dvd

Postage & PackagingFree!
AvailabilityUsually dispatched within 24 hours...
 Visit Shop  >
amazon dvd
Kill Bill - Volume 1 (5.1/DTS) DVD

Kill Bill - Volume 1 (5.1/DTS) DVD

Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned! In part 1 of Quentin Tarantino's delirious ... more

revenge movie Uma Thurman plays 'The Bride'  a
woman seeking vengeance on those who massacred her
wedding party...  Inspired by countless Japanese
swordplay actionfests...

play.com (films)

Postage & Packaging£0.00
Availability3-5 working days
 Visit Shop  >
play.com (films)
Kill Bill Volume 1-DVD

Kill Bill Volume 1-DVD

thehut.com

Postage & Packaging£0.00
AvailabilityIn stock - Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
 Visit Shop  >
thehut.com


More reviews »

Kill Bill Vol.1 (DVD) - review by LostWitness

Advantages: Bloody, violent, action-fest
Disadvantages: Limited plot, part 1 of 2 films

Kill Bill Vol.1 (DVD) - review by LostWitness LostWitness 27.04.2004 (27.04.2004) · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Kill Bill Vol.1 (DVD)

Kill Bill Vol.1 (DVD) - review by moxon123

Advantages: Thurman is amazing, Tarantino's direction is flawless and the fight choreography is stunning.
Disadvantages: Err... well its only half a film.

Kill Bill Vol.1 (DVD) - review by moxon123 moxon123 14.03.2006 (14.03.2006) · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Kill Bill Vol.1 (DVD)

Kill Bill Vol.1 (DVD) - review by WormThatTurned

Advantages: Original, Ideas, Acting, Dialogue, Characters
Disadvantages: Slightly weak female lead

Kill Bill Vol.1 (DVD) - review by WormThatTurned WormThatTurned 05.11.2003 (06.11.2003) · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Kill Bill Vol.1 (DVD)

Kill Bill Vol.1 (DVD) - review by ShoppingGirl

Advantages: That yellow jumpsuit and a superb soundtrack
Disadvantages: Blood, death, mindless violence, spurting arteries and flying limbs.

Kill Bill Vol.1 (DVD) - review by ShoppingGirl ShoppingGirl 27.10.2003 (27.10.2003) · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Kill Bill Vol.1 (DVD)

Kill Bill Vol.1 (DVD) - review by Expired-Account

Advantages: The style, the music, the actors
Disadvantages: The story, some of the acting

Kill Bill Vol.1 (DVD) - review by Expired-Account Expired-Account 13.12.2007 (07.03.2008) · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Kill Bill Vol.1 (DVD)



Are you the manufacturer / provider of Kill Bill Vol.1 (DVD)? Click here