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Article by Nathan Hurlbut
Film director Quentin Tarantino has become nothing less than a pop-culture icon these days. Having now released his ninth film with Once Upon a Time in… Hollywood, he has stuffed that epic tale full of obscure movie and music references that bring the movie’s late 1960’s time period vividly to life. It’s just another example of his innate ability to drawing upon all facets of America pop culture to deliver a cinematic vision uniquely his own.
While Once Upon a Time in… Hollywood resides in a distinctly late 1960’s Southern California setting, his earlier Kill Bill (2003 & 2004) films may be the most divorced from a particular time and place. They exist in the kind of ultra-stylized universe that resides entirely inside Tarantino’s own head, unhindered by any baggage of the consequences of reality. As long as you are willing accept this fact, then you are in for one hell of a ride.
The story itself is an almost simplistically straightforward revenge plot. It can be easily summarized as the list of targets “The Bride” (a magnificent Uma Thurman) has methodically marked for death following a near fatal assassination attempt on her wedding day orchestrated by her former lover Bill (David Carradine).
However, this slender narrative skeleton allows Tarantino to graft on some major digressions, and results in some of the film’s most entertaining writing. One example involves fellow assassin Budd’s (Michael Madsen) realizing he’s being fired from the ‘My Oh My’ strip club in a wonderfully unnecessary scene. Another more relevant aside has The Bride discovering she is pregnant; a scene that recalls Pulp Fiction‘s climactic standoff and wryly giving new meaning to the term sisterhood.
Meanwhile an extended sequence depicting The Bride’s training with Master Pai Mei (Gordon Liu) allows Tarantino to indulge in a clever parody of vintage 1970’s kung fu movies, complete with grainy film stock and ridiculous camera pans and zooms. Like Volume Two’s stark, black and white John Ford-style opening, this entire sequence is a reminder of Tarantino’s mastery of directing techniques, as well as his encyclopedic knowledge of movie genres and history.
The two parts even have their own specific atmosphere. Volume One has more of a Japanese samurai film feel with plenty of stylized action sequences and much less of the trademark Tarantino dialogue than you would expect. The second part more than makes up for this, featuring plenty of extended monologues as well as an intoxicating mix of Sergio Leone’s spaghetti westerns and 1970’s style kung fu movies.
Both parts perfectly compliment each other as well. Volume One features one of the most exhilarating hand-to-hand combat sequences you’ll ever see when Uma Thurman and Vivica A. Fox flail around in a domestic environment that features carnage and breakfast cereal flying around in equal measure. It’s biggest competition for best one-on-one action sequence in recent memory is immediately provided in Volume Two when the wonderfully sinister Elle Driver (Darryl Hannah) has an equally intense desert trailer showdown with The Bride. Plus, this particular sequence has a hilarious conclusion that is also one of the most outrageously funny cinematic moments in recent memory.
While Volume One does feature more action and less dialogue, Volume Two manages to reverse that balance. Uma Thurman’s low-key delivery of, “May I have a glass of water please?” after resurrecting herself from being buried alive is a hilariously understated conclusion to a particularly spectacular sequence. Meanwhile Elle Driver’s savoring of the word ‘gargantuan’ as she watches her victim slowly die from a Black Mamba snakebite is another choice moment in a pair of movies filled with them.
In fact, many of the scenes in Volume Two provide one of the film’s characters with the opportunity to deliver an extended monologue as they exploit an upper hand to twist the knife even further. The best of these concerns one of Tarantino’s favorite subjects – comic books, and what distinguishes Superman from the other superheroes. It’s an inspired scene that immediately recalls his deft touch with dialogue, taking what would otherwise appear routine and breathing fresh dramatic life into it.
Volume One also sets up the dramatic payoff in Volume Two, and allows the second installment to contribute more character depth and emotional weight to the story. This is never more apparent than in the film’s ending that preserves the level of humanity at the heart of Tarantino’s movies, a quality that is often overlooked amid objections about all the violence and profanity.
It must be said that watching only one of the Kill Bill films by itself does lend a certain feeling of incompleteness to the whole experience. For that reason, any opportunity to see both films together is surely an event worth savoring. It quickly silences any complaints directed at one single installment, and helps piece together the complete epic vision Tarantino had originally intended. In fact, seeing the complete, unedited director’s version in all its uncorrupted glory makes for an almost overwhelming cinematic experience.
Kill Bill: Volume One and Kill Bill: Volume Two are playing at the Regal San Bernardino & RPX Movie Theater in San Bernardino starting Friday, August 30th for one week only. Both movies are rated R.