Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair (2004) 247m

Director Quentin Tarantino

Uma Thurman, David Carradine, Vivica A Fox, Daryl Hannah, Lucy Liu, Michael Madsen, Michael Bowen,  Sonny Chiba, Julie Dreyfus, Perla Haney-Jardine, Samuel L Jackson,  Chiaki Kuriyama, Gordon Liu,  James Parks, Michael Parks.

Revered filmmaker Quentin Tarantino’s 4^th movie sees the revenge story of “The Bride” (Thurman). Originally shown over two movies released over 6 months, they were titled Vol 1 and Vol 2 upon their release in late 2003 and early 2004. I am reviewing this film as it was intended by QT, and the two Volumes will be considered one film here.

In typical Tarantino style, the story is told in non linear fashion, where her past is given to us over the entire four hour runtime.  

Without giving too much away, she is left for dead on her wedding day, under the order of her former employer Bill (Carradine), and actioned by her former colleagues. Upon awakening four years later, now believing her child to be deceased, she goes on a rampage of revenge against those who wronged her.

This is still one of his most technically challenging films to date (an example there is an extended fight sequence in ‘Vol 1’ that took longer to film than of the entirety Reservoir Dogs did). QT mixes several genres of film in one giant movie such as Japanese Kung-Fu in the first half and American Spaghetti Western in the second. Tarantino’s methodical research into his craft is evident in almost every scene, from the score, to his usual modus operandi of long shots, every scene has been thought out and complemented with incredible music.

As per usual QT film, it is dialogue heavy, and this is one of the first of his films that has a strong focus on another culture, (I am a big fan of Japan, so I appreciated the beauty of what he was trying to do here). Due to the dialogue heavy moments, there are some pacing issues, especially in the later part or ‘Vol 2’ of the movie.

I thoroughly enjoyed this film, and it remains my third favourite QT movie.