Why So Blu?

Kill Bill Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 (4K UHD Blu-ray Review)

Following Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction, a few more of the earlier Quentin Tarantino films have found their way to 4K UHD, and these releases have been served quite well. Here we have a look at Kill Bill: Volumes 1 and 2, which tell a rip-roaring rampage of revenge story too big for just one movie. Uma Thurman stars as the vengeful bride in what amounts to Tarantino’s version of a comic book movie – an epic mashup of inspirations drawn from 70s exploitation films, spaghetti westerns, and kung-fu flicks, among other sources. The results are two incredibly entertaining features, each with stylistic and character-related choices to establish them as singular entries while fitting together as a blood-soaked tale of a scorned woman who went after those responsible. These 4K releases offer nothing new in terms of special features, but the visual remastering, complete with HDR grading, is worth highlighting. Now it’s time to get into this A Band Apart production.

Kill Bill Volume 1

Film:

The Setup: “Four years after taking a bullet in the head at her own wedding, The Bride (Uma Thurman) emerges from a coma and decides it’s time for payback. Having been gunned down by her former boss (David Carradine) and his deadly squad of international assassins, it’s a kill-or-be-killed fight she did not start, but one she will finish.”

It’s funny – whenever Kill Bill Vol. 1 comes up, it always seems like I’m down on it. With Tarantino being one of my favorite modern directors, the fact that I place it in the lower tier of his films is less about me disliking the film (I don’t) and more about how much I love his overall filmography. That’s enough to say while I don’t hold Kill Bill Vol. 1 in the highest regard by comparison, it’s still one of the best action films of the 2000s, features several spectacular set pieces, and has an incredible performance by Thurman. I just happen to like Vol. 2 more. But that’s getting ahead of myself.

I love how this film is not only very in-your-face about its approach to the violence on display, but it starts off going as hard as possible. A brief black-and-white prologue where the lead character is shot in the head quickly establishes how dire the situation once was before switching up the mood by way of both Nancy Sinatra’s “Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)” playing over the opening credits, and the move ahead of time chronologically to give us Vivica A. Fox’s character’s (Vernita Green aka Copperhead) colorful suburban home, and the setting of the film’s first bloody battle.

A lot of what Volume 1 is doing amounts to table-setting. Yes, it’s incredibly exciting, and the attitude of a Tarantino film is very much in place. Still, it’s also the film focused solely on showing a drive with only so much context. The Bride awakens in a new world that’s taken her child and her attempt at a different life from her. She has to devise a plan of action, leading to obtaining a new samurai sword from the legendary Hattori Hanzo (played by the legendary Sonny Chiba). As a result, The Bride remains an ill-defined yet deadly threat who is surely delivering much-deserved retribution but could easily be seen as a slasher going after potential victims from another perspective.

Of course, we know what’s going on. Thurman’s great work here makes it clear she’s been wronged, and Tarantino doubles down on the suffering she’s gone through by way of some ugly details regarding her status while she was in a coma. Getting us on The Bride’s side doesn’t take a lot. Still, the film deserves plenty of credit for arranging the arc of the story to line up with what we learn about Lucy Lui’s O-Ren Ishii (aka Cottonmouth), who went from an assassin (who also wanted revenge once) to leader of the Japanese yakuza.

With all that said, this film is impeccable in terms of the theatricality and cinematic quality of everything on display. Shot by acclaimed cinematographer Robert Richardson in Super 35 and featuring a highly enjoyable soundtrack entirely fitting Tarantino, the film is gorgeously put together. Plus, the key to what the Oscar-winning filmmaker enjoys doing, Kill Bill Vol. 1 serves as a splendid mashup of so many film references, ranging from Lady Snowblood to Tokyo Drifter to Opera to Ichi the Killer, and many other features and TV shows. The vital part of this has always been Tarantino’s ability to reference films with clear admiration for his sources rather than simply steal with abandon and not have any care behind it. Given the style of Kill Bill Vol. 1, it makes it rather perfect for drawing together so many elements.

As the first half of an epic revenge story, there’s plenty to admire about Kill Bill Vol. 1, knowing a second half will conclude this saga effectively. Stripped to the bone in terms of story yet still building out a unique world with some fascinating tangents (such as a bloody anime interlude), it’s not surprising to have once again seen films attempting to recreate the magic that began here, even knowing that Tarantino is merely putting his own spin on the stuff he grew up admiring. Whatever the case, the results of this initial entry are bloody cinematic joy.

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Video:

Encoding: HEVC / H.265

Resolution: 4K (2160p)

Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1

Layers: BD-100

Clarity/Detail:  Lionsgate has noted that this brand-new transfer has remastered the film digitally by way of unsampling the 2K Digital Intermediate source it was originally finished as, which was Tarantino’s choice. It features Dolby Vision and HDR10, for good measure as well. The results are quite strong, even if Pulp Fiction and Jackie Brown feel better served. That’s only a matter of some who truly think they know exactly how everything should look. As it stands, the attention to detail is great. It particularly shines in the small black-and-white portions, the extended finale set in the elaborate two-story House of Blue Leaves club, and the snowy Japanese garden behind it. Seeing the production and costume design shine with clarity is a true joy, even if the deepest of looks can reveal a somewhat processed sheen compared to its original source.

Depth: Depth is terrific. The character spacing registers as well as it needs to, which is helpful for these various arenas featuring many combatants occupying so many spaces to reveal the dimensionality at play.

Black Levels: Black levels do enough to add to the atmosphere, with no sign of significant crushing. Very deep and bold.

Color Reproduction: This is a vibrant film where the colors really pop. The yellow motorcycle outfit/Game of Death reference sported by The Bride comes with great contrast to the amount of blood hitting throughout, along with the snowy final fight.

Flesh Tones: There’s a good level of facial detail to be found as the film has plenty of close-up moments to shine, refinancing filmmakers like Leone in the process (and more of that to be found in the next movie).

Noise/Artifacts: Clean.

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Audio:

Audio Format(s): English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, French 5.1 Dolby Audio

Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish

Dynamics: The opening scene, featuring black-and-white imagery, also has the characters firing guns at the camera, which sets the whole tone for the soundscape of this feature. It’s excellent, as is the rest of the film regarding immersion. Plenty has been done to ensure we can take in everything from gunfire, horses galloping, cowboys yelling at each other, and more.

Low-Frequency Extension: With all the bombast from the fight scenes, musical acts, soundtrack choices, and more, there’s plenty for the sub-woofer to work with.

Surround Sound Presentation: A lot is going on to help immerse the viewer into the film, including music and various sound effects. The rear channels come into play well enough to make the lossless track feel more worthwhile.

Dialogue Reproduction: Everyone registers as they should, as this is a Tarantino film filled with dialogue, after all.

 

Kill Bill Volume 2

Film:

The Setup: “Having already crossed two names from her Death List, The Bride is back with a vengeance and taking aim at Budd (Michael Madsen) and Elle Driver (Daryl Hannah), the only survivors from the squad of assassins who betrayed her four years earlier. It’s all leading up to the ultimate confrontation with Bill (David Carradine), The Bride’s former master and the man who ordered her execution!”

The second half of the Kill Bill saga is more my jam. Not that I don’t appreciate Volume 1 (as I just detailed up top), but while I was happy to see the first volume in theaters (on a giant IMAX screen, actually) when it came out, I went and saw Volume 2 a good 5 times (at least) before it left screens. Not that he was ever absent, but the Tarantino that gave me character-rooted surfer-noir and crime comedies was in full force here while still diving into his exploration of exploitation cinema (among other sources) at the same time. As a result, it’s a longer film, sure, but meatier in terms of what I am getting out of it. It also still features excellent action but with more emotional resonance to go along with it. Those elements all make it one of my favorites in Tarantino’s catalog.

I always wonder if it’s the way the style of spaghetti westerns becomes more clearly interwoven into the film. Volume 2 still functions as a samurai movie and a kung-fu flick, but maybe that extra angle adds to the tension and makes the pacing work as well as it does. Having the 36^th Chamber of Shaolin as such a key reference point for this movie (with star Gordon Lui onboard as Pai Mei, no less), for example, is a terrific way of getting across fun and backstory at the same time before settling the film back into Leone and Sergio Corbucci territory by way of setting, music, and overall dustiness.

One could argue that this film has even more of a blender quality due to its various inspirations and the variety of reference points that serve as one cohesive feature. That’s all amplified by the music. Wu-Tang Clan’s The RZA was on hand for the first film, and Tarantino brought in his friend and collaborator Robert Rodriguez for the second, who doesn’t remove any of what RZA was doing but only adds. This, along with Tarantino’s own personal selections, allows for a film that feels jam-packed with expressionistic ideas to convey the overall sensation of a revenge film that has more on its mind this time around.

Adding to that notion are these performances. Thurman is still in the zone, providing career-best work as The Bride who eventually earns the recognition of her true name. Daryl Hannah is not my favorite performer, but she’s never better than she is here as Elle Driver (aka California Mountain Snake), going fully and appropriately over-the-top as the one character jealous of The Bride’s ability and Bill’s affection for her. And completing the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad is a very sympathetic Michael Madsen as Budd (aka Sidewinder), who sits as a true snake in the grass as far as his ability but provides an introspective performance as one who saw the highs and is now living the lows.

Of course, none of this truly comes together without this out-of-nowhere fantastic performance from David Carradine’s Bill, the Snake Charmer himself. Subverting all expectations, we have an early unexpected arrival of Bill in the past, adding some context to what’s taken place, with hints at his sinister nature. By the time Bill and The Bride meet again, we are past his warnings and brief conversations with the others and in a whole new section focused on a character who really gets to dig into why he made his choices, what The Bride feels about all of this and another factor that serves as a fitting way to deliver on Volume 1’s final revelation.

The finale is a risk on Tarantino’s part, given how much action has flooded this epic, yet totally in line with what we should expect from the eccentric yet disciplined filmmaker. I’m aware some have not been as fond of the resulting battle between Bill and The Bride, yet I love the amount of respect that accompanies the shockingly brief yet wholly satisfying way in which a mission is finally accomplished. The emotions are entirely on display, true colors are revealed, and for a feature about revenge and the bloodshed it brings, Kill Bill Volume 2 is among the happiest of endings Tarantino has delivered (along with Django Unchained and Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood).

As noted by the sheer amount of times I saw this film in theaters alone, Kill Bill Volume 2 completely works for me, and it’s always a joy to watch. I should also note that I saw “The Whole Bloody Affair” during one of its screening runs at QT’s New Beverly Cinema (and wrote about it Here). There’s certainly something to be enjoyed about a possible true vision of Kill Bill as one large work (it certainly doesn’t get worse), but when looking at a director who made deliberate choices as far as how to make these films function on their own, Kill Bill Volume 2 strikes with all the right chords and swords.

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Video:

Encoding: HEVC / H.265

Resolution: 4K (2160p)

Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1

Layers: BD-100

Clarity/Detail:  The same overall thoughts on Volume 1 also apply here. What should be made clear is that this is the best either of these films has ever looked at home, and it’s nothing to scoff at. For all the perfections constantly being looked for, a fantastic job is still being done to best represent how the film initially appeared. Vol. 2 is a dustier film, given the desert settings that occupy a lot of it, though the desaturated look of the Japanese training section allows for a change-up in the visual presentation. Regardless, the detail is strong throughout, and the vibrancy of the production lands.

Depth: Depth is terrific. The character spacing registers as well as it needs to, which is helpful in spaces such as a showdown inside Budd’s trailer to show the dimensionality at play.

Black Levels: Black levels do enough to add to the atmosphere, with no sign of significant crushing. A sequence inside of a coffin emphasizes this well. Very deep and bold.

Color Reproduction: Once again, the colors really pop here. The different sections of the film allow for a nice variety of stuff to really stand out.

Flesh Tones: There’s a good level of facial detail to be found as the film has plenty of close-up moments to shine, refinancing filmmakers like Leone in the process (and more of that to be found in the next movie).

Noise/Artifacts: Clean.

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Audio:

Audio Format(s): English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, French 5.1 Dolby Audio

Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish

Dynamics: With no changes from the previous Blu-ray release, once again, there’s plenty to appreciate about the work already done to bring the audio of these films to life for home release.

Low-Frequency Extension: With all the bombast from the fight scenes, musical acts, soundtrack choices, and more, there’s plenty for the sub-woofer to work with.

Surround Sound Presentation: A lot is going on to help immerse the viewer into the film, including music and various sound effects. The rear channels come into play well enough to make the lossless track feel more worthwhile.

Dialogue Reproduction: Everyone registers as they should, as this is a Tarantino film filled with dialogue, after all.

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Extras:

Two decades in, and we still don’t have the elaborate special edition Tarantino once promised regarding his kung-fu revenge epic. It’s a shame, but the features are still decent enough, even if a bit lacking compared to his other releases. Nothing new is presented here, but the features can be found on the 4K and Blu-ray discs, and feature a decent enough EPK, a bunch of QT trailers, a deleted scene, and some more music-related content, including the 5,6,7,8’s and Robert Rodriguez’s band. All of that in mind, while the films arrive in a standard case with a slipcover, Lionsgate Limited is also offering steelbook versions with original art worth looking at.

Features Include:

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Kill Bill: Volume 1

• The Making of Kill Bill (SD, 22:06) – A standard but adequate enough EPK featuring interviews with the cast and crew.
• The 5.6.7.8’s Musical Performances (SD, 5:52) – A bit more of this band playing their fun songs is not a bad thing at all.
• Tarantino Trailers
  • Kill Bill: Volume 1 Teaser (SD, 1:50)
  • Reservoir Dogs (SD, 1:37)
  • Kill Bill: Volume 1 Bootleg Trailer (SD, 2:34)
  • Pulp Fiction (SD, 2:41)
  • Jackie Brown (SD, 2:19)
  • Kill Bill: Volume 2 Teaser (SD, 0:58)

Kill Bill: Volume 2

• The Making of Kill Bill: Volume 2 (SD, 26:04) – Another standard but entertaining EPK featuring interviews with the cast and crew.
• “Damoe” Deleted Scene (SD, 3:38) – The real joy of this scene is getting to see actor/martial artist Michael Jai White having fun in a Tarantino film.
• “Chingon” Musical Performance (SD, 11:34)

Blu-ray Copy of the Film

Digital Copy of the Film

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Summary:

Whether you are looking for a slick mashup of 70s genre references and more, combined with wit and thematic resonance when it comes to revenge plots, or a spectacular action epic that features a variety of creative set pieces skillfully shot and choreographed, you can’t go wrong with Tarantino’s efforts to do something uniquely his own and thrilling to behold. The 4K releases do well to serve up the best-looking and sounding home versions of these films available. While there are no new extras, the ones provided are still worth looking into. The Bride may have vermin to kill, but it’s not a tough sell to bring an audience on board with what the Kill Bill films have to offer.

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