Kill Bill Volume 1: DVD Review

Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. Boy oh boy has that never been truer. Uma Thurman kicks ass and takes names. If she says it’s Christmas you better start singing carols!

Quentin Tarantintos’ fourth film. I would also say it’s his most reserved and ostentatious work in equal measure. That snappy dialogue for which he has become renowned remains, but severely diluted. It is replaced be stunning visuals, action scenes not seen from a mainstream movie, and more blood than Dracula’s’ bank!

Uma Thurman plays ‘The Bride’. Bang bang and she was shot down (if you’ve heard the Nancy Sinatra theme tune you’ll get that). Badly beaten, shot and left for dead on her wedding day; all this from her best friends. With friends like that you sure don’t need enemies.

The Bride used to be a hired assassin for ‘Bill’ and his deadly viper squad. She wanted to leave, he didn’t. I’m sure most people would settle for no redundancy payment if her fate were the alternative! The rest of her viper buddies are the ones she is now sworn to track down and mutilate.

This movie (and presumably the forthcoming volume 2) revolves around her sheer thirst for revenge. I obviously don’t want to give too much away but lets just say you wouldn’t bet on her getting the scalps (literally) of her prey.

Lucy Liu and Vivacia A. Fox (how cool a name is that) are the two henchpersons (got to be politically correct) in this volume. Both are really cool and obviously hot! Though Uma doesn’t really give a damn about that and neither should you young man!

Tarantinos’ influences are obvious in this movie. All things Oriental, from manga to Hong Kong Kung Foo movies of the seventies, are obviously close too his heart. I think from the way he doesn’t have anywhere near as much dialogue in this film as usual shows he wants to be true to these genres. Respect to the man for even trying it. Even more respect for actually pulling it off.

The DVD is a little disappointing with regards to extra features. I think that is probably because a special edition has already been lined up featuring Volume 2. The quality of the sound,
Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS, is stunning. As you may expect from ‘himself’ the music is loud, proud and a major part of the movie. I don’t think any Taranrino film would be allowed a poor sound package. The picture quality was excellent too, showing all the amazing colour this film has to its finest. Widescreen format 2.35:1 was used.

Making of Featurette. A 22-minute piece which featured all the stars of this volume, QT and the films producer. I think this was a really informative and enjoyable look at how this film was brought together. There is something really magical about watching Tarantino talk up his love of all things cinema. He highlights how this film was conceived and gives specific examples of which films and actors influenced this project.

Three Trailers. Usual Fayre here really. A volume one teaser trailer, and a ‘bootleg’ trailer. The ‘bootleg’ trailer actually gives a little insight into the film which actually wasn’t touched upon in this volume, so was worth a watch. The third trailer is a teaser for volume 2. This is really cool and well worth a watch. Uma in a convertible looking like something out of a Hitchcock classic.

5,6,7,8′s Perform. The band featured in the film perform two of their no doubt biggest hits live on set. I defy anyone to buy their album on the back of this performance. If they lived next to me I would surely call the noise pollution agency.

To sum this film up is difficult. To some it will be their
Godfather, to others it will be
The Island Of Dr Moreu. It is possibly Tarantinos’ least openly commercial work, but because of his hiatus will probably end up being his most watched movie to date. I personally loved it. To see an established director put all his cards on the table and say ” double or bust” is rare. He deserves to succeed where others have failed to tread, if for no other reason than it may just free other like-minded souls from their shackles.

Film:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Overall: