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| Uma
Thurman, Lucy Liu, Daryl Hannah, David Carradine, Vivica
A. Fox, Chiyaki Kuriyama, Sonny Chiba |
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Anamorphic
widescreen |
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Dolby Digital
5.1 |
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DTS |
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Trailer(s) |
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Featurette(s) |
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Documentary |
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Audio commentary
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Deleted scenes
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Concept art
/ storyboards |
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Multi-angle
feature |
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The Bride (Uma Thurman):
Just because I have no wish to murder you before the eyes of your
daughter,
does
not
mean parading
her around in front of me is going to inspire sympathy. You and
I have unfinished business. And not a goddamn fuckin' thing you've
done in the subsequent four years, including getting knocked up,
is going to change that.
A female assassin attacked on her
wedding day by her group leader, Bill, wakes up from a coma and
seeks revenge.
 Having
followed up his phenomenal second feature Pulp Fiction with
the masterful but commercially underwhelming Jackie Brown,
Quentin Tarantino saw his once-supreme reputation falter as new
projects were delayed or cancelled. Increasingly identified as
a strictly 1990s phenomenon, even the director's greatest champions
began to refer to the auteur prodigy as a has-been who
had run dry after the tremendous burst of energy in his first three
pictures. Tarantino's struggling image wasn't helped by the many
rumors of writer's block, delayed productions, overrun budgets
and schedules,
and
finally, the news that Kill Bill would be released in
two separate parts.
It's with more than a little relief therefore that the first volume
of Kill Bill turned out to be such an unqualified triumph,
and final evidence of Tarantino's status as master filmmaker. There
may be nothing beneath the film's surface besides references to
1970s exploitation films savored by grindhouse and drive-in aficionados,
but with filmmaking as giddily, deliriously fun and self-assured
as this, only those with an aversion to violent movies will find
any reason to complain. And even those who would normally steer
clear of genres like martial arts, giallo or spaghetti
westerns might find a lot to enjoy here, as the surreal violence
is played almost strictly for laughs. Indeed, the final showdown,
in which The Bride takes on an entire army of sword-wielding henchmen
by herself, is such a masterpiece of choreography and stylisation,
it offers a climax similar to the final ballet of An American
in Paris. |
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Similar editions of Volume One
are available in most regions and territories, most of which
include the standard cut of the film with both Dolby Digital
and DTS audio, a promotional featurette, music videos and
some trailers. In some countries (including the Netherlands),
the extras are inexplicably presented on a second disc. The
only DVD version significantly different from the American
one is the Japanese release, which appears to have a few
extra shots included, and the final blood-soaked showdown
presented in color instead of black-and-white. The international
release served as the basis for this review.
The anamorphic widescreen
image is framed at an aspect ratio of approx. 2.35:1. The
transfer, drawn from an immaculate source print, offers
no reason for complaint, presenting bold, stunning colors
with excellent saturation. There's some very slight softness,
but much of this is the result of Robert Richardson's cinematography,
with its blown-out whites and high contrast.
The Dolby
Digital 5.1 sound mix is outstanding, its highly dynamic
presentation of the film's detailed soundtrack a key element
of the picture's success. The DTS version is even more powerful,
boasting a higher level of detail and more of a sense of
immersion.
With multiple-disc Special
Edition releases of both parts of the film already unofficially
announced beforehand, this first DVD release functions as
little more than a stopgap for those wishing to catch up
on the first volume before watching the second part in the
movie theater, with the film's many avid fans already impatiently
awaiting the inevitable re-releases yet to come. The only
extra of note here is a fifteen-minute featurette that's
enjoyable enough for its interview footage with QT, Uma Thurman
and a few other cast members. But otherwise, it's nothing
more than the usual slick assortment of movie clips and sound
bites. Two full tracks by the 5, 6, 7, 8s are also included,
as are trailers for Tarantino's other features,
and for Kill Bill Vol. 2. Stylishly
animated menu screens present
montages of various characters from the film in random
order.
Dan
Hassler-Forest
Reviewed:
May 3, 2004
Click
here for IMDB info on Kill
Bill: Vol. 1.
Click here
to return to the front page.
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