Kill Bill: Volume 1 (Blu-ray)

QT has always talked about the movies that influenced him and this, coupled with Vol.2, are a wonderful love letter to those movies he loved growing up. My love of this film has started many a conversation with pure kung fu movie enthusiasts who have pointed me in the direction of classic and brilliant films from that era.

After being gunned down on her wedding day by her former colleagues, assassin Black Mamba (Uma Thurman) rouses from a four year coma with only one thing on her mind, revenge! Striking up a death list of five, she sets off for bloody retribution.Quentin Tarrantino writes and directs what is in all truth, a homage to all the cinema conventions close to his heart. Think an amalgamation of chop-socky, sexploitation, samurai, spaghetti Westerns, anime and cop shows of years past, and you get the heart of Kill Bill. A film that was so epic in scope it had to be cut into two film's. What it lacks in Tarrantino dialogue dynamite it more than makes up for with action and astute visual flair. And it's bloody, very bloody. Thurman is great as the avenging Mamba/The Bride, while the inclusion of Sonny Chiba & Lucy Liu adds a touch of class as QT revels in his east meets west berserker narrative. It could have been trimmed down, particularly in the middle section where Tarrantino deals in a calm before the storm ideal. But Volume 1 was one of the most exciting movies of 2003, and most notably it shows Tarrantino to be adept at action directing. Something that perhaps explains why the script doesn't crackle with the witt and panache of his previous offerings. You sense he wants more than the words "fine writer" engraved on his granite mined Curriculum Vitae.Hugely enjoyable with a neat end of film cliffhanger, roll on part 2...... 8/10

Kill Bill Vol1 (superior to Vol2) is just a blast. At one point it goes into anime mode and tells the backstory of Oren Ishii (Lucy Liu), and how she becomes the person she is today. However, it occurred to me while watching it that Kill Bill Vol1 itself IS an anime! It's so cartoony, so over-the-top, so absurd and surreal, while at the same time watchable and believable. And let's face it, Uma Thurman is watchable in anything.I didn't like Pulp Fiction or Reservoir Dogs, though I did like that trashy bloodfest From Dusk 'til Dawn (it's odd how QT won't claim this movie as one of his whenhe wrote the screenplay AND starred in it). However, I DID like both volumes of Kill Bill. No question. Vol1 is marginally my favourite of the two, though Vol2 is still a worthy conclusion to the story. (Why didn't QT just make a 4 hour movie, stitching them both together as one? It's been done before).Seriously, you'd have to be a dead to NOT enjoy this movie; just as long as you disengage your brain, and suspend your disbelief, which is often how a QT movie should be viewed.

Great film, but the japanese dialogue does not appear in the subtitles, which makes it a challenge to watch, unless you speak japanese...

I have given the movie 5 stars because it is absolutely brilliant. But what the hell amazon? it is supposed to have subtitles for the Japanese dialogue! I had to keep checking the script to remind myself of what they are saying.....It is kinda important to the whole plot! Sort it out eh?

Like all blu-rays when compared to watching the DVD version or an old video one watching this film is a clearer, more detailed experience and in many cases it's like looking at the film for the first time as the film stock used to transfer to Blu-Ray is usually "worked on" first to get as good a copy as possible. My taste in films may not be the same as yours so if you want to know about this film I suggest that you use the internet to find 2 or 3 reviews by experienced film reviewers and make your judgment whether or not to buy this film. I have watched over 640 films in my life and I rate this one 9/10.

Picture and sound quality are very good, but I feel that both films should really be packaged as one at this point. Awesome film though and highly recommended!

The film itself is excellent. A good story, which is probably better explained in Vol.2, but the action in Vol.1 is intense, pleasantly aggressive and somewhat funny. There is an interesting array of characters, with standouts being O-Ren Ishi (the Yakuza leader) and Gogo Yubari (the slightly insane teenage girl who acts as a bodyguard). Women pretty much dominate the film, with 99% of all men in the film having their head smashed in, head chopped off, eye pulled out or being disemboweled (Gogo's little stunt). Acting is great and each fight is unique with it's own pace. The last fight in particular took the tone down significantly but in a good way.Picture quality and extras are cool too. Unlike the Japanese version, it goes black and white to distract you from the gore, which is fair I suppose but somewhat disappointing. Nevertheless, recommended film.