Beat to a bloody pulp and shot in the head and left for dead at her wedding day, The Bride (Uma Thurman, whose name is never revealed) is carted away in a four-year-long coma. She wakes up and vows revenge. And, oh, does Thurman play revenge well. It seems that the supporting cast (Lucy Lui, Vivica A. Fox, among others) truly beat Thurman to the edge of death. Her eyes convey her emotion--the limited and brief dialogue isn't even necessary. She is surpremely convincing in every aspect of her performance, even throughout the amazingly stylish fight sequences (which put "The Matrix" to shame). She fights like a pro with samurai swords, lethal daggers, butcher knives, and frying pans.

One of the main draws to this redefining adventure is the hilarious subject matter. Tarantino goes overboard. Blood flies about like fruit punch, gushing out of wounds like a torrential downpour (sometimes, in fact, you will even wonder if the human body has that much blood), and in any other movie, that gore would force you to leave--but here, it doesn't. Why? Because Tarantino never takes himself too seriously. Fight scenes are punctuated with effective and sometimes laughable dialogue. But beneath the hokey action scenes and the cute quips, there is a real movie at work here. Tarantino dances about the timeline, bouncing the story back and forth to a dizzying point, which forces your full attention on the gradually unfolding general story. The cliffhanger ending merely seals the deal.

"Kill Bill" deserves all of the accolades it gets. Although it may seem to be a hackfest on the surface, there is true talent at work here. Uma Thurman and Lucy Lui give inspiring performances; the story, however linear it may be, it instantly grabbing; and Tarantino's masterful direction is as inspiringly as it is slightly distubring. A true masterpiece. One of the films to beat for 2003.

80 of 91 found the following review helpful:

Not a Great Release, by Blu Standards  Nov 11, 2008
By A. Dent "Aragorn"
I want to make it VERY clear, the three stars are NOT for the movie. Kill Bill, in my view, is one of the best movies ever made but this evaluation is for THIS Kill Bill Blu-ray release.

I am totally sold on Blu and, when the Kill Bill bundle became available... well... I ordered it when Amazon offered it at a great discount. The bundle includes Kill Bill 1 and 2 and, IF you wish to upgrade your KBs I highly recommend the bundle because you could save a few dollars. There is no difference between the 2 KBs sold as individual titles and them sold together other than, possibly, the price.

I wish I had a lot to say about the Blu-ray version but I don't so, let me say what is worth saying:

- The contents of the Blu-ray version are EXACTLY those of the DVD edition, nothing more, nothing less.
- Even the artwork is borrowed from the original DVD edition.
- The 'extras' are shot in low resolution, in fact they are the exact extras you will find on the DVD.
- The resolution of the movie is, of course, higher than the DVD's and the audio is available as 'uncompressed' but nothing special was done for the Blu issue. I noticed quite a few artifacts and some graininess but, overall, the picture quality is good. It could have been a lot better. I expect a remastered edition in the near future.

Overall, I am not very happy with this edition which appears to have been put together on the cheap and in a hurry. I suspect that the digital master used to make the DVDs was quickly converted to Blu and thrown out on the market but I could be wrong.

I am looking forward to a complete and professionally done Tarantino filmography on Blu in the near future, meaning that I'd be buying the Kill Bills three times.

On deciding whether to buy this release or not it should be up to one's budget. Those who don't have the DVD edition but have a Blu player, definitely buy the Blu, preferably the bundle because one never knows when a superior version may be released. If you already have the DVD... like I said, I bought my KB 1&2 package when Amazon offered it at a very significant discount.

184 of 232 found the following review helpful:

Pure Tarantino  Feb 01, 2004
By D. Keusch "euchreman23"
Kill Bill vol. 1, the 4th feature from Quentin Tarantino, delivers in most every way that we would expect from Tarantino. It is sylish as hell; the cinematography especially struck me as being more impressive than in his previous films. The final scene particularly illustrates this, with the frenetic action being conveyed through silhoutte lighting, b&w vs. color and creative shifts between them, impressive camera shots such as the rising shot right before the battle royale, and the pure cinematic epicity of the setting of the final battle between Uma Thurman and Lucy Liu. Tarantino's brilliantly dark humor is littered throughout the film as well; Buck describing how to have sex with Uma Thurman's supposedly comatose form may be offensive and appaling to some, but as it is delivered (and to all Tarantino fans), it is utterly hilarious (little details such as bucks "P---- Wagon, the "Kaboom!" cereal box, and the water fountain that serves as the only noise through much of the climatic battle also stand out). I was also very impressed with(though initially apprehensive of) the anime segment that served as a segue into the Japanese setting, it added a surprising amount of emotion, and set the feel perfectly for the rest of the film. Nearly everything is done right, beyond right. The soundtrack is amazing, as is to be expected for a Tarantino film. He has impeccable taste in music, and seems to innately know what will enhance the film; in some places it is even cheesy (the 1,2,3,4s in the Japanese club) but we know that this is all intended, as is the "Feature Presentation" card at the beginning; Tarantino is someone who is obviosuly in love with film, and this film is almost an expression of love for all the "cool" films he watched growing up. I have heard Uma Thurman quoted as saying that this film is "pure, epic, Tarantino fantasy" and this is a perfect description of it. There is little to no depth, it is not a film that will stun you with its character development, or method acting, but it doesnt pretend to, or even want to. It simply revels in being the epitomy of "cool", it is an action film that is done in almost all ways, perfectly. Tarantino's gift is found in knowing what will look utterly amazing on film (again, I found myself stunned simply by the appearance of the final, snow-covered courtyard), in being able to write with a great amount of wit and intelligence, and being able to put the two together with a large amount of what must be called genius. Kill Bill isn't Tarantino's best film (an honor reserved for the utterly brilliant Pulp Fiction, [or is it Reservoir Dogs, it seems to depend on which film ive watched most recently] ), nor will it win the Best Picture Academy Award (which it doesnt deserve anyway), but it is a damn good time. Uma Thurman makes a triumphant return to film, and shocks most everyone in being able to pull off her role as the Bride perfectly; after seeing the film I cannot imagine anyone who could be more convincing. The question remains, can a film be given 5 stars based on style alone? The answer, surprisingly, is yes. I give out 5 stars very, very infequently, to only the very best of films, and while this is by no means the BEST action film ever made, it is certainly a damn good one. repeat viewing may lessen the spectale somewhat, but this reviewer was very impressed (and still is, after 3 viewings) with what he just saw. Very Highly Recommended.

27 of 32 found the following review helpful:

Save your money for the later editions!!!  Apr 09, 2004

Don't get me wrong: I liked the movie a lot. But this is a skimpy DVD and knowing how Miramax works, just the first of several editions. If you hold off buying this one and put the money aside, I'm sure you'll have opportunities to buy Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 together for a lower price - or the rumored Kill Bill: Director's Cut that will show it as one 3-hour movie. Those later editions will likely have all the extras - this one doesn't look like it has much. As someone who's been burned by Miramax's DVD practices before, I just want to offer you a warning. Be patient - and you'll be rewarded later.

10 of 10 found the following review helpful:

The 4th Film by Quentin Tarantino  Aug 02, 2004
By sloc234
Quentin Tarantino's films have always been propelled by great writing. The dialogue between characters is always unique and is impossible to beat. Few movies have come close to duplicating the likes of the writing in Pulp Fiction or Reservoir Dogs. In Kill Bill, Tarantino's genius definitely shows. It's the story of The Bride, whose wedding was massacred by her former business partners. Now, after waking up from a 4-year coma, she is out to get bloody revenge. Of the two volumes, Volume 1 is mostly dedicated to paying homage to older asian martial arts films and the like. It's filled with blood, gore, over-the-top violence, frequent dismemberment, and some decapitations. The film's violence turned away many people to watching it, as some of it is very disturbing. The character study and plot are less explored in volume, because Quentin has saved that for Volume 2. Having seen Volume 2, I can say that it is a better film than the first, but Volume 1 stil appeals to many people, and is still very entertaining to watch if one isn't bothered by excessive violence. 5 stars, Very entertaining.

Sidenote: Before making your judgement on Kill Bill as a whole, make sure that you watch both volumes. Volume 2 really focuses more on the story and less on the violence.

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