Like many millennial cinephiles, the shorthand for “cool cinema” in my youth were the films of Quentin Tarantino. They were brash, they were violent, and they looked and moved like nothing else; years of cheap imitations proved it. They were above all “cool”; films about hitmen and jewelry thieves and slaves-turned-cowboys and Nazi hunters, each of them cool under pressure, saying some of the most unique dialogue you’d ever heard, that was somehow both hokey and cheesy, but would still sound rad as hell coming from these characters. His films were filled with visual references and insane music choices, and were always mean as hell. They were, and are, cool.
And now, one of his coolest has finally hit 4k; Kill Bill Vol. 1 and Vol. 2!
Released in 2003 and 2004 respectively, Kill Bill was a distinct change for Tarantino. Up to this point, QT had been known for his very specific brand of L.A. Crime stories; Reservoir Dogs was about a Jewelry heist gone wrong, Pulp Fiction about the lives that interweave within a crime syndicate, and Jackie Brown was about a woman tricking and scheming her way into a million dollars when pushed to the edge. These were all films that existed in some version of the real world, featured characters who, at the most, were only a degree or two outside of a normal person, and generally followed plots that existed within an established, grounded reality.
All of that was out the window with Kill Bill Vol. 1; now we have a comatose bride, set on a course of revenge with her trusty Katana! We have a kill squad all named after snakes! We have animation interludes showing the rise of the world’s most elite female assassin! We have a crazed, schoolgirl bodyguard that carries a swinging mace! We have 88 assassins, all attacking our revenge seeking bride at once! QT had taken his grounded framework and turned it into something more like a fairytale, where larger than life personalities existed in both the heights of criminal organizations, but also running local sushi counters and being stay at home moms.
While the world expands with Kill Bill Vol. 2, it also becomes more personal, as The Bride continues her hunt for Bill. While the truly insane stunt work of the Crazy 88 fight is the zenith of the film’s action set pieces, Kill Bill Vol. 2 gives us a more grounded, yet still equally robust in style, story of the Bride finishing off the last of the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad. Instead of a grand battle against an army, The Bride finds herself buried 6 feet deep, only able to use her own concentration and will to live to escape; and instead of a sword fight in the snow, a quick thinking and brutal injury is used to take out the last of the kill squad. QT allows the story to become smaller, more personal, as the film goes on.
By the final reel, the swords are completely put away, as The Bride has to come to terms with her trail of vengeance, her shocking new reality of motherhood, and her own painful feelings towards Bill. QT perfectly takes a story that has set pieces just as high and explosive as the biggest Hong Kong kung-fu film, and allows it to become something so personal and painful in its final moments, as The Bride (now finally known by her true name, Beatrix Kiddo) finally faces her own interior pain.
A kinetic, violent and beautiful story about vengeance and rediscovering your own soul through the fire, told in two parts.
The Discs
And you can experience all of this, the high flying action, the bombastic violence, the razor sharp repartee, and the crushing heartbreak, all on 4k! The discs look immaculate; in an era where 4k discs can look cheap and rushed (and, sadly, do a lot of AI upgrades), these films look just as beautiful as they should. The color pops throughout, which is essential in a QT film, while also not looking like all the grain has been scrubbed off. After years of only having a double feature blu ray of these, I am beyond excited to finally have them in 4k.
As for special features, each feature is listed below by disc:
Kill Bill Vol. 1 Special Features:
- The Making of Kill Bill Volume 1
- The “5, 6, 7, 8’s” Bonus Musical Performance
- Tarantino Trailers; Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, Jackie Brown, Kill Bill Vol. 1 Teaser, Kill Bill Vol. 1 Bootleg Trailer, Kill Bill Vol. 2 Teaser
Kill Bill Vol. 2 Special Features:
- The Making of Kill Bill Volume 2
- “Damoe” Deleted Scene
- “Chingon” Musical Performance
For anyone who can distinctly remember the genuine awe they felt when these came out, struck by the seemingly new cinematic genre Tarantino created (“Nu Exploitation”, as I’ve always been fond of calling it), then you owe it to yourselves to add these to your collection.
