Kill Bill

Kill Bill is the fourth feature film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino, and stars Uma Thurman. Though technically one film, it was released in two parts due to its long (3 hour, 47 minute) running time. Volume 1 was released on October 10, 2003 and Volume 2 was released on April 16, 2004. Volume 1 grossed $70 million in its American release while Volume 2 grossed $66 million.

Influences

General

Kill Bill relies heavily on film influences that Tarantino wished to pay tribute to. These include the spaghetti western, Kung Fu movies of the 1960s and 1970s, Chinese "Wuxia" and Japanese martial arts films, revenge-themed movies such as Lady Snowblood, and films like The Seven Samurai. There are also several references to other films either written and/or directed by Tarantino. Some elements of the story and the character Elle Driver in particular are inspired by the Swedish movie Thriller - en grym film.

Related Topics:
Spaghetti western - Kung Fu movies - 1960s - 1970s - Chinese - Wuxia - Japan - Martial art - Revenge - Lady Snowblood - The Seven Samurai - Swedish - Thriller - en grym film

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Specific allusions to other works

Tarantino also features direct nods to many of his influences in his movies. Here are some examples of this in Kill Bill:

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• The quote "Revenge is a dish best served cold." appears on the screen at the film's beginning, and is cited as "A Klingon Proverb". It is specifically from ', though originally from the French author Pierre Choderlos de Laclos in his 1782 novel Dangerous Liaisons: "La vengeance est un plat qui se mange froid."
• Near the end of the opening credits, a silhouette evokes Citizen Kane.
• The siren-like musical sequence denoting The Bride's encounters with her nemeses is from the theme of police drama Ironside (TV series), starring Raymond Burr as a detective who is confined to a wheelchair after a sniper attack. The "Ironside" theme music was written by Quincy Jones.
• The Bride's yellow tracksuit is from Bruce Lee's Game of Death.
• The scene of The Bride standing in the middle of fifty-plus people and still winning the fight is similar to the chambara scenes of countless old Japanese samurai movies.
• The masks worn by the members of the Crazy 88 are the same style that Bruce Lee's character Kato wore in the TV series The Green Hornet. The accompanying music during the en-masse swordfight is also a nod to the series, which used Al Hirt's jazzy trumpet rendition of Rimsky-Korsakov's "Flight of the Bumblebee" as its theme.