• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

RTTP: Kill Bill (Tarantino's best film)

Its been years since I last watched Kill Bill, so I ended up watching it all last night. I always loved the movies, but after watching them both back to back, I think I had forgotten just how good they are.

I think before my rewatch, I would have been hard pushed to say whether I think Kill Bill, Django Unchained or Inglourious Basterds was Tarantino's best film (Pulp Fiction is also great, but somewhat unrefined compared to the 3 just mentioned). However, watching it again kinda confirms it as my favourite QT movie, and most likely one of my top 5 movies.

One of the biggest things I love about the movie, is how much of a love letter it is to cinema in general. It is a crazy mash up of different genres, styles, settings, and characters which are all brought together by a somewhat simplistic plot. I mean, QT gets a hell of a lot of millage out of what is essentially a revenge movie. Its kinda like he just went wild and decided to use every filmmakers tool and trick available. So if you have anything from a passing interest to an obsession with film, its an utter feast.

I mean look at all the different styles just going on in the first part:

maxresdefault.jpg






Then the second part introduces kung fu training montages, western style sections, and more:





Then there is the music which is godly. I could go into that as well, but there is too much lol.

The film nails the ending too. Bill's death is probably one of my all time favourite death scenes. The lead up to it with their conversation really provides context for his actions, and come the time his death, there is a big sense of sadness and regret, despite it being necessary and inevitable.

The dialog was great too:

"You're not a bad person. You're a terrific person. You're my favourite person. But every once in a while... you can be a real cunt"

I also always appreciated the way he died as well. It wasn't loud, gory and brash, it was quiet, somewhat peaceful and reminded me of this:


The music during the scene also helped make the scene feel that little bit more powerful, and watching it since David Carradine passed away in 2009, has made the scene feel a lot more emotional too.

Lastly, I think it is often criminally overlooked in how successful it is at delivering a fucking bad ass female protagonist. I mean Mad Max Fury Road rightly got a bunch of praise for championing strong female characters, but I feel people often forget about Kill Bill.

Anyway, everyone should go watch it, especially if you haven't already.
 
Can't say I can disagree with you. It's his best film and it was his first film that marked a massive departure from the style/ambitions of his earlier works.

Inglourious Basterds is a close 2nd though.
 
I only saw part 1

How long ago did you watch it, and how old were you? if you don't mind me asking. I have always really liked the films, but feel my appreciation and enjoyment of them changed a lot as I grew up and learnt more about films. I would have been 12 when I first watched them lol
 

PantherLotus

Professional Schmuck
I always thought Kill Bill was the film where QT became a touch too self-aware / self-referential. I loved it, but think this was him using every single one of his hallmarks all at once. I didn't believe or connect with any of the characters and felt like I was watching a B-movie in a B-movie world.*

1. Pulp Fiction
2. Inglorious Basterds
3. Resevoir Dogs
4. Kill Bill
5. Hateful Eight
6. Django Unchained
7. Jackie Brown

*Spoiler about QT's shared universe:
I think what I'm observing with KB is that it was so over the top precisely because it existed in the gorier version of reality that is Pulp Fiction's world.
 
That's not Jackie Brown. (Better female protagonist too)

Kill Bill is among my least favorite of Tarantino's movies.
 
Vol. 2 is my favorite Taraantino, in no small part because I think Carradine is a goddamn hoot.

"There weren't really 88 of them. They only called themselves The Crazy 88."
"How come?"
"I don't know. I guess they thought it sounded cool."
 
Just watched both parts recently. Though I consider myself more of an action fan, the second part works a lot more for me for some reason.

*Spoiler about QT's shared universe:
I think what I'm observing with KB is that it was so over the top precisely because it existed in the gorier version of reality that is Pulp Fiction's world.

I thought Kill Bill was a "movie-movie"? Meaning in the universe of his shared universe, it"s still only a movie.
 
I had almost the opposite reaction when I rewatched Kill Bill last year. I had loved the two films when I was a teenager but not so much anymore.

While watching it I could see why a younger version of myself would have loved these movies. They appeal to my inner man child, but I dunno man, they just seem so superficial and overly stylized to me now.

Still great movies, but I guess they aren’t exactly what I’m looking for these days. My tastes really have changed as I’ve gotten older
 

FiggyCal

Banned
Just watched both parts recently. Though I consider myself more of an action fan, the second part works a lot more for me for some reason.



I thought Kill Bill was a "movie-movie"? Meaning in the universe of his shared universe, it"s still only a movie.

Right. All of Tarantino's movies are pretty gory. So we would expect the movies within them to be even gorier.
 
I always thought Kill Bill was the film where QT became a touch too self-aware / self-referential. I loved it, but think this was him using every single one of his hallmarks all at once. I didn't believe or connect with any of the characters and felt like I was watching a B-movie in a B-movie world.*

1. Pulp Fiction
2. Inglorious Basterds
3. Resevoir Dogs
4. Kill Bill
5. Hateful Eight
6. Django Unchained
7. Jackie Brown

*Spoiler about QT's shared universe:
I think what I'm observing with KB is that it was so over the top precisely because it existed in the gorier version of reality that is Pulp Fiction's world.

Tbh I love how over the top it is sometimes.
 
Tbh it has a lot of stuff that became kinda iconic at this point: the soundtrack, the yellow suit and so on, but as a movie? Eh, I don't think it's really that exceptional. Then again I've never been big on Tarantino movies, so...
 

FiggyCal

Banned
Tbh it has a lot of stuff that became kinda iconic at this point: the soundtrack, the yellow suit and so on, but as a movie? Eh, I don't think it's really that exceptional. Then again I've never been big on Tarantino movies, so...

So much of it is just "borrowing" from other movies and calling it an homage.

As a Tarantino movie, it really is a better one though. The dialogue isn't as corny as some of his other movies and I especially love the visuals in the last act.
 

Monocle

Member
Great OP. Kill Bill is easily my favorite of Tarantino's films. The visuals, music, and dialogue are expertly combined. The music in particular is pretty much perfect for each scene. I was blown away the first time I saw Kill Bill. I absolutely adore the tone and style of the whole thing.

Vol. 1 had a major effect on my taste in movies.
 

EGM1966

Member
I can see it being a favourite but his best? As a film? Nah. Too messy, unfocused and with less depth and thematic content than his better works.

Style but no substance which comes below Style and Substance in the medium (and he’s delivered both elsewhere).

The style is awesome though.
 
So much of it is just "borrowing" from other movies and calling it a homage.

As a Tarantino movie, it really is a better one though. I especially love the visuals in the last act of the movie.

Thing is, I've always found Tarantino movies to be in an odd spot. They're not the "artsy" movies that have all kinds of artistic camer angles and colors but skip the storyline. They're not the insane splatter movies like the ones in Japan (Tokyo Gore Police, Meatball Machine, etc.). They're like a popcorn version of all that, without really reaching the excellence of the two genres imho. The movies are definitely more enjoyable for a casual watch, mind you, it's just that I keep hearing about Tarantino's excellence in details that... I've seen in other prior movies? Enjoyable movies but yeah, not my cup of tea and don't see that crazy excellence. Kill Bill is a good example of this: it has many styles, a lot of artistically interesting scenes, plenty of iconic moments, but at the end of the day it's a pretty standard revenge movie, except the protagonist wears a yellow suit and there's wacky music underneath. I know it simplifies the concept too much but yeah. All my family freaking adores the movie so I get to see it from time to time, but it never really excites me much.
 
So much of it is just "borrowing" from other movies and calling it an homage.

As a Tarantino movie, it really is a better one though. The dialogue isn't as corny as some of his other movies and I especially love the visuals in the last act.

I can see why some may be put off by the uneven nature of the film, as it kinda prohibits it from being as uniform or focused as other movies. The focus of the film isn't so much on delivering a particular story, style or theme, but more of a celebration of cinema. Which is partly why I think the simplistic story works well, as it is more of a vehicle to support a variety of different components.

Overall, I really like Tarantino's movies. But I think some of his earlier ones, have a tendency to over indulge on his writing, the worst case being Death Proof.
 

Baconmonk

Member
Not gonna lie - it's tougher to watch Weinstein produced movies now.
Sure Harvey is a piece of shit, but he wasn’t creatively involved in any part of the film. Im not sure how loving this movie or any other Tarantino joint has any effect on the terrible shit Weinstein did, or vice versa.


When KB was originally released it was my favorite Tarantino film, and I agree that it was his first movie where he really raised his own ceiling in relation to scope and ambition. I was raised on old school Kung fu movies, obvious how much passion was poured into every second here. I especially loved the score and unique sound effects (I believe they were done by fellow Shaw Bros affictionado RZA).

I still think I’d put Basterds a hair above in the rankings just due to polish and some really beautiful shots, but it has been awhile. I think I’m due for a rewatch.
 
I watched this and the sequel for the first time recently and hated them. I usually really enjoy Tarantino and recognise that he writes some awfully overwrought stuff but I get a lot of fun out of stuff like Basterds and even Jackie Brown. But some of the dialogue stuff in this felt like teenager stuff.
 

PantherLotus

Professional Schmuck
Just watched both parts recently. Though I consider myself more of an action fan, the second part works a lot more for me for some reason.



I thought Kill Bill was a "movie-movie"? Meaning in the universe of his shared universe, it"s still only a movie.

Yes that's what I meant and what I said holds true. It's a better film if you imagine it existing as a film in the much more violent (than reality) Pulp Fiction world.
 

jph139

Member
Kill Bill is weird for me. It has some scenes that stick with me and others that just... don't. Like, the whole showdown with Bill in Vol. 2 is awesome, but I literally can't remember what happens before that. Like... she fights the lady in a trailer? I think? I vaguely remember that.

It's too inconsistent for me to really love it, but I can understand why someone would.
 
Perhaps my favorite film. Easily in the Top 5.

I waited for The Whole Bloody Affair for many years before reading up on the changes recently. Well, apparently it removes Volume 1's cliffhanger, and Volume's 2 film noir opening. Those are two memorable moments that I don't know if I could do without, so perhaps the "compromised" split-in-two version is better after all. Still want to check out TWBA if I get a chance one day though.
 

Soapbox Killer

Grand Nagus
I have had a personal falling out with his movies since he always seems to use certain imagery and phrasing that I have grown to really not like however Kill Bill doesn't do that. I already thought it was his best film(s) but now its the only ones I will watch.... till Kill Bride.
 
I watched this and the sequel for the first time recently and hated them. I usually really enjoy Tarantino and recognise that he writes some awfully overwrought stuff but I get a lot of fun out of stuff like Basterds and even Jackie Brown. But some of the dialogue stuff in this felt like teenager stuff.

I think a lot of the dialog is intended to feel somewhat over dramatic and it kinda reminds me of Twin Peaks in a way. But personally I think it works incredibly well. That whole section with her fighting Ellie in the trailer and she is going on about how her sword is just amazing lol (the sword bit starts here)

Link

In fact, there is so much to like about this scene in general. One thing in particular, which I only noticed yesterday was the sound effect when she smashes the guitar. Here. I think he uses the guitar smashing noise as a diagetic way to provide the cartoonish spring noise from Ellie bouncing over Budds body.

I also love that the scene has a a couple of Hiyahs such as this one. I also love that she keeps trying to unsheathed the sword, only to not have enough room. Which I suspect might be due to her lack of depth perception.
 
Top Bottom