I think the point of the thread was, are we becoming a culture where we find people being cut to death a form of comedy? If so - I have to think so. Everyone was laughing durin' the 'House of Blue Leaves' scene , but there's a reason. It was not realisitic violence. It was over-the-top, blood gushing, people rolling around on the floor picking their limbs back up.

At the same time, you do come off as "one of those guys", like the previous poster mentioned and if that is the case - I can't say I see the point of the thread. Not everyone is going to enjoy the movie and it may not be your style. At the same time, with the trailers and hype, there was plenty of forewarning on what the movie was about and the style of the movie. You can't say you didn't know what kind of film it was before you went to see it. Therefor, if it wasn't your style of movie - why bother go see it?

QT wants her identity to be a mystery...so that in threads like this, we'll just refer to her as "The Bride" which is supercool... instead of like "Sally Jones" which isn't... The Bride kicks ass

MATT

or the equally cool, Black Mamba

That's "Dont let me be misunderstood" by Santa Esmerelda. It's on the soundtrack.

In the script, it's intentional.
You'll have to wait til Volume II to hear her name.

Another thing I want to point out about Vivica Fox...
I've read a bit of these comments and it looks like no one is pleased with what she brought to the table, but I thought she did a fine job especially

Plus

this sort of Gushing blood violence is common practice in anime. I believe it was suppose to be over the top and a big homage to that scene and that is why that part of the film had the gushing of blood. Notice how when Vivica fox died there wasn't a gushing of blood? notice when uma killed the hospital working there wasn't a gushing of blood? I think QT made this segment of the film that way on purpose because it is the sterotypical method of violence in other Asian films and series. Look at ninja scroll. that's what happens when you cut off a limb. Blood gushes out like a river. QT was using style in a way.

Though her name has been released during interviews with other actresses. Anyone care to post it in a spoiler tag for safety reason?

I agree to an extent. The gushing blood is definitely done purely for style reasons & for homage to movies of the past. But I don't think it is done so b/c it's done in Anime. The gushing of blood in anime, movies like Ninja Scroll again I think go back to The Lone Wolf & Cub movies. They pre-date Anime & Quentin himself said that is the type of violence Kill Bill is going for. The only anime reference/homage in the movie itself was the obvoius 10 minute clip, that aside I dont' think the genre of Anime has any impact/influence on the rest of the movie. Everything else was pure old fashioned Grindhouse martial arts movie making.

And as for the question of are we a society that laughs at limbs being chopped off. Absolutely NOT. We are a society where the average movie goer, as this thread starter proves, does not understand foreign cinema & laughs at it rather than understand it within the context of the movie. When characters lose there limbs in Saving Private Ryan, or any movie where it is portrayed in a realistic manner, 9/10 people don't laugh. But in a movie like Kill Bill, where it is done so b/c it is EXACTLY how this genre of Asian cinema has portrayed in for decades, the American audience misses the point & finds it silly & laughs. I equate the blood/violence in Kill Bill to the flying in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Both of which have been done in Asian cinema for decades & decades, but the average American movie goer doesn't know this nor do they understand why such a thing is taking place. They don't know the metaphor behind the flying in CT, HD, they just look at it as a stupid special effect. Thus, you get the reaction like many people here have posted, "uhhhh why are they flying around to much flying around", "too much blood, it just looked silly & funny". It's not that American audiences are laughing at absurd violence as 1984 suggests, it's that they are laughing at over the top voilence that is portrayed in a manner they have never seen before, so they don't understand it, so in the negative way our society reacts to most things they don't understand, they laugh at it or make fun of it.

I would say that the gushing blood was influenced by asian entertainment. Like you said, Lone Wolf & Clud, which I'm sure inspired ninja scroll and so forth. but the whole segment in Japan was all done in a different aspect then say the scene with Vivica vs Uma. I'm just saying that the whole segment of the film was done in the style because of it's setting. And yes, the rest of that was done in the good ol fashion martial arts film style. from music to look.

As for societies enjoyment of pain. it's been around for a while. Anyone recall watching MEET JOE BLACK and laughing your ass off when the good ol' car scene came on? It was unexpected and surprised folks. How could you not laugh since it was so out there. Does this mean society is going down the shitter? nope. it just means that people are willing to laugh at other people's pain. Ever watch America's funniest home video? You must have laughed the first time you've seen the generic guy get one in the package. Now then this is different of course to when you see someone lose an arm or leg in SPR simply because of the mood, the setting.

Actually, I could tell what the name was from watching the film. I don't understand why it was bleeped, and I can't imagine why it will be considered a revelation when it's revealed, but I guess I'll have to wait and see.

Apparently Vivica Fox doesn't understand it either, because she's been revealing the name in interviews.

I gotta agree with this comment. I don't feel like I'm a DVDTalk naysayer, I just felt underwhelmed by Kill Bill.

Robert Richardson's cinematagraphy was exquisite, Uma was great, fight choreography awesome, refererential filmmaking, I'm okay with. But this did not seem to me to fulfill my $8.00 at a movie theter hunger. It was like watching 30 really cool music videos back to back.

And I thought there was a lot of sloppiness going on with music placement, editing, and structure. I wasn't angry, I had some fun, just felt a little cheated. And I would have had no problem with a 3+ hour film, chcock full of action and blood. I feel they really only did this to eke more screenings a day out, and generate more cash for volume two.

overall I would say I really enjoyed it, I hardly think it was the best movie of the year though, I was really surprised at how stylized the movie is, everything about the way the movie looks oozes hip cool, with that said I have two problems with the movie the first of which I hope is resolved via DVD or volume 2

1. Vernita Green's character seemed totally under developed compared to O-ren Ishii, her scene in the movie could have been totally removed, and it wouldn't really affect the plot as is

2. In the middle of the black and white fight the song "Nobody but me plays", I understand its purpose, and it seems kind of appropriate for a Tarantino movie, but it didn't really work for me, you know kind of like playing hokey circus music during a touching death scene or something

Other than that awesome, can't wait for the DVD’s to come out

** / ****

Meh. That's about all I can muster. The first few seconds hooked me, but after Nancy Sinatra finished singing it was all down hill. I gotta give QT credit, though ... the man sure knows how to pick a soundtrack.

Wow ... kinda brilliant.

I can't put my finger on why, but I've never really liked Uma Thurman that much. I could never build any case for that feeling; she's just always rubbed me the wrong way for some reason. I love many of her films ... and even her performances ... but it's just the way it is. That said, she's absolutely perfect in this. Watching some of the scenes, I found myself wondering if anyone else could even come close to pulling it off.

Kill Bill Vol 1 was pretty much exactly what I expected with a little more thrown in for good measure. I'll have to see it, and its second half, a few more times to decide where it ranks among QT's work, but at this point I can say that it was well worth the wait, and QT has delivered a piece of cinematic elegance that fits wonderfully in the legacy he's building with his films.

das

Ok first of all the dude had one of those little sumo underwear things on during the anime part. Also

From reading the script and this interview , there will be more of the vintage QT in the second half.

http://www.joblo.com/index.php?id=2631

Did cutting the film in half alter the dramatic structure?

Yeah, I guess that it did. Actually, as opposed to a movie where the whole first half is just complete viscera and eye-popping action and just meant to blow you away, and then, the resonance comes in the second half, with more of the depth and resonance coming in, I guess that it did because this is just about the good time, fun movie aspect of the movie and the second one will be the deeper exploration of it. So, I guess that it did, yeah.

You talk about it being quieter (vol2). Is that in terms of the violence?

Well, I mean, it's still pretty ****ing violent, but there's not a fourteen minute sequence there. One of the big differences between Volume I and Volume II is that if you remember Sonny Chiba's little speech that he gives at the very, very end where he goes, "Revenge is never a straight line, it's a forest. It's easy to get lost and forget where you came in." Well, Volume I is the straight line. Volume I, it was hard for her to do what she had to do, but it's like, "Kill old man, take on the army, burn Tokyo to the ground, did that, done that. Kill Vernita, did that, done that." Now is the forest. Now, human stuff starts getting into it. Now, it's not just killing them all the way down the list. It gets more complicated, it gets complex now. It's not quite as easy.

I know one must critique a film, even one that is split up like Kill Bill, but I think vol. 2 will some up some of the so-called negatives that some people have.

But me, I loved it, grade : A-

I'm a casual QT fan, but it is truely a sweet ride. Everyone has said everything I could've said but a few things I noticed:

1-Does QT have a foot fetish? Uma's toes, Lui's feet across the table before she kill's that naysayer, the Japanese band, ect. Did anyone notice this? Or I'm crazy?
2-Anime, again I'm a mild fan (Animatrix and Vampire Hunter D), but I thought it was sweet, even my uncle and sis liked it and that was their 1st anime 'feature'.
3-GoGo was hot.
4-Think more people will use 'creative' methods to show more carnage (B/W scene, lights out)?
5-I laughed hard.
6-Dialogue seemed wierd at times, but could this be a homage to the films he liked?
7-Wish GoGo didn't (SPOILER) die.

Not THEE best film of the year, but certainly ONE of thee best, so far...

Grade: A -

1. Don't forget the red-polished toes of the lawyer as she slams down the accelerator.

And Uma has some Uuuuugly feet.

Walk outs are something I'm not used to, so it was very distracting for me when GROUPS of people would leave the theater at the same time, some making as much noise as possible on the way out. I doubt somebody asked a group of friends to shake him dry after he was finished using the toilet.

I can understand that (although I've seen thousands of movies in the theater I don't think once I've seen GROUPS of people leaving like you have). I was referring to the people in this thead & others were they are stating the EXACT numbers of people leaving a theater. There are several in this thread that did that & I cannot for the life of me understant that. Why do people pay so much attention to things other than the movie in which they paid to see. I literally never even notice someone leaving unless they need me to move to do so.

Yeah we noticed that too.

So overall? Eh, it was good....too much hype though. People here claiming those were the "BEST FIGHTS EVER" are a little off It was good, cinematically entertaining, with some good performances and cool dialogue. But as the movie went along, I got more and more bored. Even during the ending fights, it was only alright.

The amount of blood became funny towards the end. I also think calling this the "bloodiest movie ever" was a valid statement, but it wasn't unwatchable at all.

I'll check it out on DVD, but I have no desire to rush back and see it. I enjoyed Reservoir Dogs and LOVED Pulp Fiction, but this one just seemed to be made on crack or something

In Pulp Fiction there was a whole conversation about foot massages and a shot of Uma's feet when she met up with Vincent. And in Jackie Brown there were quite a few close ups of Bridget Fonda's feet. I'm sure there's more but that's all I can think of.

Oh man, this movie rules!

"Those of you lucky enough to still have your lives... however... leave the limbs you've lost. They belong to me now"

This line had me laughing. You have to see the scene to understand it.

Did a search and didn't see this mentioned.

I noticed in the credits that Julie Dreyfus was also listed under Japanese Location Casting (or something to that effect). I thought that was pretty cool, and with some searching ran across this interview with her that briefly mentions her involvement in that process.
For anyone interested: Full Interview

das

I've read that article about an hour ago from a search. Pretty good read. And I think she's HOT.

I loved this movie! I even liked the anime sequence and I hate anime.

Uma is awesome in this flick. I cant wait for part 2...and I was surpirsed my wife said the same thing (she's not a big fan of violence but she said that it was so "fantastical" that it didnt bother her at all).

So what exactly did Uma do to her hospital "visitor"? Chew the rest of his face off?

After a summer of majorly hyped movies that failed to deliver for me, I'm glad to see Kill Bill has bucked the trend and held its own. My fave movie of the year so far, edging out Pirates.