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Kill Bill - Vol. 1

Kill Bill - Vol. 1

List Price: $29.99
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Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Unique,and Artistic style of movie
Review: I confess that I had no expectation before I'd seen the volume1.I thought it would be like other Action movies.Unfortunately,I was so impressed with the whole movie.It has a unique style with many artistic scenes.I love the japanese cartoon scene<introducing the character of O-Ren.>,it's rare to see in other movies.
Another thing I've admired is the acting of Uma Thurman.She done a great job in this.I don't know why she's missed the Oscar Nomination for the Best Actress in 2003 ceremony.She deserves it!
In Thailand,there were many negative reviews about this movie because of its violence.Do you believe there were just 10 people in the cinema when I saw the volume2?Some might think it would be the same violent as the first part.For me,the blood-spattered scenes didn't annoy me at all.It's not because I'm a sadist,but if it was not violent,it would not have been the Quentin Tarantino's style.If you know this and cannot accept it,you can ignore it.
To conclude,Kill Bill Vol.1 is my most favourite Action movie.But it's not a movie for everyone.
P.S.I'm disappointed with the volume 2.It's not the same:'(

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: My New Favorite Movie
Review: Tarantino's films are always in a genre all on their own, and Kill Bill is no different. If you haven't enjoyed his previous films, then you probably won't like this one either. If you are one of those people, I pity you. Kill Bill runs circles around most of today's action-flicks. If you think that some parts of the movie are over-the-top, you are missing the point....they are SUPPOSED to be that way!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Extremely fun and sexy movie!
Review: Crazy, hilarious, sexy, action-packed, and even artistic!! This describes Kill Bill vol.1 . Pretty much devoid of gentler emotions (save that for volume 2, which is also excellent, but for different reasons), this movie is just a feast for the eyes! Two hours of non-stop action and fun, what more do theater-goers or Hd-Tv owners need? A thrilling soundtrack plays wonderfully against the blood, taunts, sweat, death, and...cheers? From the audience, of course, who are sitting on the edge of their seats, staring with awe at the massacre going on in front of them, and finding it grossly amusing. Indeed, the gory parts are so over-accentuated (that was Tarantino's intent), that they (partly) cease to be disgusting. Instead, Tarantino focuses on making the movie as cool as it can be, directing a great cast who really knows what they're doing - entertaining!

I REALLY enjoyed the dialogue. Some of it was ridiculous, but fun nonetheless. Verbal sparring (go Hattori Hanzo and his bald friend!!) and character interactions not in the form of violence were very appropriate in context, and shed light on the actual character of the characters, which was definitely useful. Favorite character is The Bride of course, but I really found GoGo amusing. Too bad they cut out the part with her sister trying to avenge her death ("Yuki's Revenge"), that would've been crazy fun.

So, as you can see, I enjoyed this movie very much. I can say the same for the excellent soundtrack (in the movie itself, because some great songs were left out on the CD). If you're not grossed out easily, watch this incredible movie! And the second one too, because it reveals the depth of all the characters...those remaining alive, that is.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: I've never been sure that I liked the title . . .
Review: When I had first heard in the spring of 2003 that Quentin Tarantino was going to do a martial arts movie called "Kill Bill" -- a title that didn't quite have the same hip resonance as "Pulp Fiction" or "Reservoir Dogs" -- I was excited, but at the same time I developed the expectation that Tarantino's love of 70's B movies may have finally had it's effect; that his long interlude meant that he had run his course and had crossed over into the area of creating violent and redundant trash (the type of stuff many people have accused him of all along). But still, he would have given us some great work. I have loved every movie that Tarantino has directed -- "Reservoir Dogs", "Pulp Fiction" and "Jackie Brown" -- considering each a diamond honed from pretty negligible raw materials. He has created wonderful work, so much better than it's obvious influences. But I'll also concede that he had created a genre that has had many bad imitations, the bad imitations including films he had a hand in: "From Dusk Till Dawn", which he wrote the screenplay, and "Natural Born Killers", which he wrote "a" screenplay ("True Romance" is the exception, though I don't think it is a particularly great film). So I had the feeling that "Kill Bill" might just be the failure to end a great career.

As most of us know it was not.

Considered one of, if not the most, violent movies of all time -- soon beaten out by Mel Gibson's "The Passion" which represented a genuine and sustained violence, instead of "campy" martial arts violence that moves on after the kill -- "Kill Bill, Volume One" is beautiful to behold. Despite all the violence and chaos, the film is full of clean clear uncomplicated shots of the characters. The film itself is a succession of mostly colorful and pleasing images. Consider the Brides battle with O-Ren Ishii, the Tungsten film blue of the moonlit garden complimenting the Bride's orangish yellow outfit. And the light just swimmers in the Okinawa section.

Tarantino also likes to juxtapose the natural and artificial (my favorite example the "Gold Watch" section of "Pulp Fiction", where Butch rides in a taxicab through a black and white movie cityscape; then later Butch walks through a back path towards his old apartment in one of the most naturalistic scenes in a movie I've seen, rendering a genuine lower middle class urban neighborhood in the southwestern U. S.). In "Kill Bill, Volume One" there are some pretty unbecoming close ups of the Bride's (Uma Thurman's) toes, a more unsightly close up of a mosquito on the Bride's epidermis and a puddle of liquid under a truck that we can guess the significance of. Yet when the plane flies into Tokyo it's the fake, though well-made fake, Tokyo of Godzilla; and when a samurai sword cuts into flesh bright red blood sprays in a way both aesthetically pleasing within the environment of the film and genuinely hokey in a way that works in the movies.

And in that way Tarantino is the true postmodern filmmaker, not making movies about important subjects or movies with a social conscience, but making movies that are about the forms that a movie can take in telling a story. And not just samurai, kung-fu, Sergio Leone westerns, and black-ploitation films. In the "Kill Bill" movies there some pretty obvious homages to some good and great filmmakers: John Ford and Brian DePalma I've heared mentioned, but also Jonathan Demme (the scene where Buck enters the room and sees the truck driver dead and bloody on the floor echoes "Silence of the Lambs") and David Lynch (the row of sunglasses lined up on Sheriff's dashboard is nothing but pure Lynch -- the whole Michael Parks sheriff character is pure Lynch).

I'll agree that a whole genre of inhumane movies has been created by Tarantino imitators, though I don't see Tarantino as an inhumane film maker. Outside of a couple of homosexual rapists in "Pulp Fiction", and Buck and the truck driver in "Kill Bill, Volume One", there are no straw men in a Tarantino movie. There's very few people we're happy to see killed (though there are many we know have it coming). Almost everyone has some sympathetic qualities or we are allowed to see events in their lives that allows us see why they are who they are: like O-Ren Ishii watching her parents killed and Vernita Green attempting to walk away from her past by becoming a doctor's wife and a mother (The same can be said for "Volume Two" where we find out more about Elle, Bud and Bill). I also think Tarantino is more sensitive to audience sensibilities than he is given credit for. Alfred Hitchcock said he filmed "Psycho" in black and white because he thought it would be too gory in color. In the same way, Tarantino switches to black and white during the bloodiest part of the battle in the House of Blue Leaves . When Black Mamba has to fight a group of young teenage Crazy 88's, the battle is done in silhouette. O-Ren Ishii sees her parent's killed in Anime. Particularly the last two examples would all have been much more disturbing if they were done directly, head on.

What now? I am interested in seeing what Tarantino can do with a movie that's not about criminals, like the war movie that he says he has been working on. But if that never comes to fruition, or he makes never makes another movie or another movie worth writing about, what he has given us is four (or five, separating the "Kill Bills") great and unique movies.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Here Comes The Bride!
Review: One of the greatest films of the past year has to be Quentin Tarantino's epic "Kill Bill - Volume 1." Proudly dubbed as 'The 4th Film By Quentin Tarantino,' the film is both a masterpiece is modern day action cinema and also in popular culture associations. By blending many themes and genres, Tarantino creates one of the most exciting and enjoyable films of the past decade. A film that breaks new ground and raises the bar for future action films whilst simultaneously giving birth to an icon in the form of The Bride.

In the early 1990's Tarantino reigned supreme as the ultimate director of pop culture smashes. "Reservoir Dogs," "Pulp Fiction" and "Jackie Brown" made him the hottest man to work with, and even though he only made three films in the space of this decade, he certainly changed the 90's. I was too young to witness any of these movies being only a youngster at the time, but as 2003 rolled on, I knew I had to see his fourth film. Just something about the trailer made it a must-see. Maybe it was the settings? The dialogue? The costumes? The overpour of blood, contrasted with the yellow of The Bride's jumpsuit? Whatever the reason, I knew this would be a good film...

In "Kill Bill - Volume 1," Uma Thurman stars as The Bride (real name 'unknown') who is on a non-stop, blood-thirsty killing spree of revenge to claim justice on the people who left her for dead four and a half years previously. The Bride was once a loyal member of the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad (DIVAS) of which Bill (David Carradine) was the boss. She was previously known as Black Mamba and decided she wanted to leave to start a family and get married. Bill didn't take too kindly to this, and on the day of her wedding, Bill sent four of his top murderers to dispatch of her. They nearly succeeded in their quest, slaughtering all the guests. However, The Bride survived and lay in a coma for four and a half years, until she woke up, and - realising she had lost her child - sets out to exact her revenge on all those who tried to kill her off.

This is where the film truly begins, but one must take into account that the film is sliced up into five different sections, all muddled up, which makes it a difficult film to follow in terms of sequencing. After your first viewing though, you'll get a grip of it. Uma Thurman pulls off her role as The Bride exceptionally well and you get a real sense of authenticity portrayed through her character. Helping her on her quest around the world for revenge is the Samurai sword expert Hattori Hanzo (Sonny Chiba). This character brings about the oriental feel to the film, and also humor through his bickering with his annoying assistant. The first scene we witness is the killing of Vernita Green aka Copperhead (Vivica Fox) in her home, kitchen utensils and all. It's a fantastic scene and the gruesome display of blood is shockingly realistic, preparing the viewer for the real action that is to happen. There's also the fantastic scene between The Bride in her comatose state of mind when the evil nurse, Elle Driver, aka California Mountain Snake (Daryl Hannah) proceeds to inject her in one of the most brilliant scenes of the film. Then there's the gruesome scenes between Buck (Michael Bowen) and a welcome return from Michael Madsen as Budd, aka Sidewinder.

Under Bill are killers like O-Ren Ishii, aka Cottonmouth (Lucy Liu), whose introduction, via the Japanese Animation, was great. After this we see one of the greatest scenes of the entire film after about an hour when Cottonmouth dispatches of Boss Tanaka (Jun Kunimura) who works on her team. He questions her Chinese/American heritage and is unhappy about a female boss leader, and the speech she delivers after his beheading is truly a classic! Under Cottonmouth is her personal assistant, lawyer and translator, Sofie Fatale (Julie Dreyfus), who was present at the slaughtering of The Bride. When The Bride sees Sofie once again, she is pretty bitter about what Sofie let have happen to her. What we hear has happened to Sofie at the hands of The Bride is truly unbelievable.

Another of Cottonmouth's women is a little girl, Go Go Yubari (Chiaki Kuriyama), who is more deadly than she looks. Her school girl sound and look is very interesting, while her confrontation with The Bride highly entertaining and definitely one of the highlights of the entire film! The violence is at a real high here and the ball-and-chain moments are truly tense. The final demise of Cottonmouth is truly spectacular in the Japanese garden, decorated with snow and feeling very authentic and representative of the popular culture of Western martial arts flicks. The fight scenes just before this with Cottonmouth's company of masked men is truly amazing too, but the scenes of black and white are a big disappointment. I know they had to be censored because of violence, but it still takes away from the overall brilliance of the film.

OVERALL GRADE: 10/10

Overall Kill Bill - Volume 1 is one of the best films I think that I have ever seen. It was definitely the best film of 2003, only overshadowed by The Return Of The King! People are moaning about this film containing too much violence. These are obviously the conservative losers of Middle America who think that violence doesn't exist! We live in a world filled with it! God knows everyone knows it in the current world we live in...

People need to stop thinking of this film as trashy, because it is anything but! The film itself is based on old martial arts film and obviously incorporates that cheesy factor, but this only adds to its brilliance. Quentin certainly knows how to make his money as this film was originally going to be a 3 hour long epic, but he decided to split it in two! Therefore, he makes twice as much money at the box office and on DVD sales. He's not stupid! Look out for a Box Set of Volume 1 and Volume 2 some time this year with tons of special features. There isn't many on this release for a reason! The Soundtrack is also excellent, but that's another review for another time...

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Awesome movie
Review: Fast-paced story of revenge! Highly entertaining; audiences should really end up cheering on The Bride as she battles each enemy--the assassins who betrayed her and attempted to murder her--in samurai style with her Hatori Hanzo sword straight from Japan. This high-energy thriller is an epic masterpiece! It's essentially lots of fun to watch. Some of the head-slicing turns out to be humorous, as everyone lightens up to watch red fountains shoot forth in the midst of a serious story. Danger lurks around every plot twist, such as the formidable Go Go and her crazy ball-and-chain. Each part of the movie is an exciting adventure, including the anime segment. It grabs you right at the beginning and holds you in suspence until the end--which is, incidentally, a cliffhanger! "Kill Bill" leaves you wanting the next volume.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The best film director of all time
Review: Kill Bill is one of the best motion pictures I've ever seen and it's still not better than Pulp Fiction.

I've never seen a director who captures the pulse of a culture quite like Quentin Tarantino. He is the best film director ever. In my lifetime there will probably be no equal to his enormous talents. Tarantino's body of work is more diverse, more daring, more provocative, and more original than that of any other filmmaker to have lived. From Eisenstien to Kurosawa to Hitchcock to Coppola, Tarantino's films are far much better than that of the masters. He is a genious, the best of all time.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The greatest movie ever?
Review: If you read these reviews, you'll discover that there are two different reactions one may have to this movie. If one is open-minded, intelligent, and doesn't take oneself too seriously, one will realize that Kill Bill (parts 1 and 2 together) ranks as one of the greatest and most entertaining movies ever made. Every sequence impresses the viewer with its high level of craftsmanship, proving once again that Quentin Tarantino is
easily one of our greatest and most original living directors. There is nothing cheap about this movie, as Tarantino has constructed a rich world where his characters' actions may resonate like those of the characters of Greek Tragedy. It must be said, Kill Bill is a masterpiece, and I wish I had time to ramble on about it all day. Nonetheless, I will say that (with the possible exception of the occasionally over-indulgent dialogue in Part II) the film is absolutely flawless, and I would recommend it strongly to any person who can handle it. Of course, maybe, if you are overly sensitive, greatly disturbed by cinematic violence, or simply afraid to immerse yourself in an exemplary modern fulfillment of Wagner's ideal of gesamtkunstwerk (total artwork), I suppose that possibly, perhaps, this movie is not for you, although to tell you the truth its probably worth seeing anyway just on the rare chance you'll enjoy it, because if you do, you will GREATLY enjoy it. SEE KILL BILL!

(PS - don't listen to those one star people, they're stupid and annoying. who the hell lives in "Powderly" Kentuckey anyway?)

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: One More Thing
Review: I just wrote a review but after reading some more of everyone else's comments I feel I need to tack on a footnote. Quentin Tarantino is not trying to teach everyone a moral lesson. All these people giving Kill Bill one star are just missing the point. So many other movies conform to these ridiculous moral standards that are ultimately meaningless anyway. Would I be a better person if at the end of Kill Bill Uma Thurman's character realizes that violence is wrong? Of course not! For Tarantino, cinema provides the opportunity for us to live out these outlandish fantasies that we could never confront in real life. Everything about this movie is hard-core, because Tarantino refuses to compromise anything, and that's why it is so good. For proof of how ignorant people are who don't like this movie, just read some of their reviews carefully. One is signed by a husband and wife, but it is clearly only the husband speaking, as he speaks in the singular. Another rambles incoherently using as many obscure words as possible, while another desperately tries to sound like an intellectual, using pretentious words like "whilst". Come on, watch this movie with an open mind, violence is a part of our culture already, so just accept it and enjoy.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Sheer Brilliance!!!
Review: Greetings,
This movie had my attention and kept it the entire time, which is rare for a movie to do with me. Highly recommended!


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