KILL BILL

[GomiGirl]

What is the Brides real name? I saw an interview with Uma last night or the night before and she said that it is mentioned only once in the movie. All other times it is beeped out....

[Caustic Saint]

What is the Brides real name? I saw an interview with Uma last night or the night before and she said that it is mentioned only once in the movie. All other times it is beeped out....

I'd have to watch it again (or go Googling). I caught it bleeped twice, but didn't hear it any other time. If I didn't miss it, I'm guessing it'll only be said in Vol. II.

[GomiGirl]

[Taro Toporific]

I'd have to watch it again .

Tarantino a la japonaise: Raw and bloody. Daily Yomiuri / Oct 23
Privileged audiences in Japan, you're in for a treat..... he's come up with an exclusive version of Kill Bill that is more vibrant and visceral than what the rest of the world is seeing....

The Japan version, which will also be screened in other Asian countries, is only a minute or two longer than the American one, but according to producer Lawrence Bender, it packs a bigger punch. There are a few extra shots in different scenes, the anime sequence of O-Ren Ishii's (Lucy Liu) childhood is longer, and the entire House of Leaves scene, where the Bride (Uma Thurman) slices and dices the Crazy 88, remains in color throughout (as opposed to cutting to black and white and then back to color in the American version). In addition, the dedication in the opening credits to the late Kinji Fukasaku, the king of ultraviolence and one of Tarantino's great influences, is not included on the American version

[Caustic Saint]

I'll check it out when it comes to Korea (I believe we get it sometime next month). It'll be nice to see it on the big screen, without the "Property of Miramax" banners.

I wonder if we'll get the brutal cut. I hope so.

[Taro Toporific]

I'll check it out when it comes to Korea...

Check out these reviews

A cut above
Kill Bill Volume 1
The Japan Times, Oct 28
...deserves all the usual Tarantino adjectives -- cool, funny, smart, cinematically literate -- but it is also giddily surrealistic in a way new to the Tarantino oeuvre. This Japan exists only in his head -- but that head happens to be a dreamscape in which even bizarre cultural meldings have an imaginative consistency. It's Tarantino World, and despite all his imitators there's nowhere else on earth like it.

But can you get the joke if you've never seen one of Fukasaku's movies? .... It's "The Simpsons" approach to comedy: plenty of clever in-jokes for the pop culture cognoscenti, plenty of broad laughs for everyone else.

But a lot of people out there are not getting the joke, in- or otherwise. In his blog for New Republic magazine, editor Greg Easterbrook dismissed Taratino's films as "pure junk" and charged Michael Eisner at Disney and Harvey Weinstein at Miramax .... as "Jewish executives" who "worship money above all else" is the subject for another piece.a ...

DJ Quentin's recycled mix tape
International Herald Tribune, Oct 28
... with Ennio Morricone's "Death Rides a Horse," from the score for "The Good, the Bad ... thrash girl band in the movie that could be something he picked up at Japan ...

[BlazeAlpha]

"KILL BILL"
Surprised that I haven't seen a thread here on this, so I figured I'd whip one up. In my opinion, despite what the director Tarantino says, I think the film borrows way more from Hong Kong cinema than anything Japanese.

Did Tarantino say Vol.1 is borrowed more from Japanese cinema than Hong Kong cinema?

Yeah, he used some Japanese actors, but the overall style is completely Hong Kong.

The directing style is from Shaw Brothers/Chang Cheh and Serigo Leone. Those two directors are two of Quentin's biggest influences. That is what's reflected is the camera angles, flashbacks, zooms, etc. The Bride/O-Ren samurai battle in the snow was actually a Leone Spaghetti Western stylized showdown. Tarantino has stated this in a couple of interviews. The Bride/Crazy 88 battle was inspired by Baby Cart Samurai films and Shaw Brothers Kung Fu films.

I suspect he's referencing Japan for cool points rather than it being his real source influence.

Quentin is influenced by Japanese cinema. Kinji Fukasaku (director of Battle Royale) is actually one of Quentin's favorite directors. In fact, Kill Bill was dedicated to him. I doubt he's referencing Japan for cool points. The character O-Ren Ishii came from Japanese cinema. Sonny Chiba's Hattori Hanzo character comes from Japanese cinema. The character GoGo Yubari came from Japanese cinema. The Yakuza comes from Japanese cinema and culture.

Everytime he does an interview, it's clear that what he's really talking about (regarding his love for old asian flicks) are the films that came out of Hong Kong. Yes, I know that "now" he cites actual japanese films, but I've been following Tarantino from the beginning, and he always mentioned Chinese films before.

So just because he hasn't mentioned Japanese films in interviews before making Kill Bill, means he hasn't been influenced by them? Sure, he most likely loves Shaw Brothers films more than Japanese samurai films, but that doesn't mean he doesn't like Japanese films or been inspired by them. Didn't Butch use a Samurai sword in "Pulp Fiction". Wasn't there a whole segment on Sonny Chiba in "True Romance"?

I guess it became to trendy for American directors to reference Hong Kong directors, so in a bid to be different he switched to japan. Yes, I believe that Tarantino can be that contrived.

You're reaching.

Still love his work though (except for the dead n--ger storage bit).

I loved the dead n--ger storage dialogue and I'm African American. I find myself quoting that bit to myself every now and then at work.

Anyway, just curious to know what people think of the film.

1. The opening Shaw Brothers "Shaw Scope" tribute logo was excellent! I never thought I would see the day where I would see that at the beginning of a film in an American theater Nearly brought me to tears. A+

2. The old style "feature presentation" logo was a "whatever" with me. It seemed to provoke a lot of laughing from the audience though. I guess Tarantino was playing that up for comedic effect. C+

3. The "Revenge is a dish best served cold" - Old Klingon Proverb quote provoked a good amount of laughs from the audience. I chuckled myself. A+

4. The first scene in the film where Uma lays on the floor, a bloody mess after being beaten to a pulp by the "DIVAS" was very effective. Carradine's dialogue and Uma's acting come off well here. A+

5. The opening credits were bland to me. I was looking for something more stylized, but I'm being picky in this regard. Nancy Sinatra's "Bang Bang" over the credits more than made up for it. B-

6. Chapter 1: "2" was a great chapter. I love the "Ironside" theme music that blares when Vivica A. Fox opens the door and locks eyes on Uma. Great vengeance music! The vengeance music did provoke some laughs from the audience. After Uma locks eyes on Vivica we go to a quick spaghetti western flashback where Uma remembers Vivica beating the crap out of her, then BLAM, were into the fight between Uma and Vivica. This fight was well structured and executed to perfection. The speed, intensity, and brutality was top notch! The fight is shopped short as Vivica's young daughter comes home. Uma and Vivica talk in the kitchen over coffee. Uma and Vivica pull off their dialogue great here.

It seems Vivica's use of "bitch or "motherfuckin" provoked laughs from the audience. I don't know if that laughter was out of the fact that Tarantino likes to pack profanity in the dialogue of his characters and therefore let's laugh or if they were laughing because it sounded over the top. I don't know. Vivica pours cereal for her daughter and takes a shot at Uma with a gun in the cereal box named "Kaboom" (ha, ha), hitting the side of the wall. Uma then throws a knife and strikes Vivica in the chest. Vivica dies the most effectively in the film. Powerful. A+

7. Chapter 2: "The Comatose Bride" was a good comedy chapter. I won't go into much detail here. Daryl Hannah's acting was mostly solid throughout this chapter. The only laughable over acting part was when she got pissed off at Carradine after he told her to terminate the mission. Plenty of laughs throughout that but a guess it worked because the whole chapter was played to comedic effect anyway. Personally, I wish Tarantino would've casted Hudson Leick as Elle Driver instead of Daryl. I loved the use of split screen as Daryl changes into her nurse gear while Uma lays in bed in a coma. The music here is effective as Bernard Herrmann's "Twisted Nerve" blares when Daryl walks into the hospital and down the halls. On a side note, Uma has some fucked up feet. That whole wiggle your big toe bit had my eyes wide open in horror at how ugly Uma's feet were. The Pussy Wagon was great and brought plenty of laughs. B+

8. Chapter 3: "The Origin Of O-Ren Ishii" is a chapter I liked the least because I wasn't happy with the style of the anime they went with. I was looking for the anime to be stylized like "Ninja Scroll", or "Ghost In the Shell". The story was powerful though and that kept me interested. C+

9. Chapter 4: "The Man From Okinawa" was another great chapter. Sonny Chiba is the motherfuckin master. Just seeing him on the big screen was a blast in itself. Sonny has great screen presence. Despite his limited command of the English language, he was still able to pull off the Tarantino dialogue with power and conviction. This chapter also makes me want to get my hands on a Hanzo sword myself (ha, ha). I love the line from Sonny "I can tell you with no ego, this is my finest sword. if on your journey, you should encounter God, God will be cut." I also like when he says "Shut up, get your ass in here". Excellence stuff. A+

10. Chapter 5: "Showdown At House Of Blue Leaves" is the best chapter in the film without a doubt. Incredible shit! For the record I lOVE Lucy Liu so when she was cast in "Kill Bill" it was pretty much a no brainier that I would be seeing the film. This is the best work Lucy's done and man she's been in some bad films. I still loved her though because I knew what she was capable of. Tarantino must have saw it too and the best is what he brings out of her. She played O-Ren so effectively that I don't think I can look at Lucy in the same way again. I'll be seeing her as O-Ren for a while now. Also Chiaki Kuriyama, who plays GoGo Yubari did an amazing job. This blows away her performance in "Battle Royale" by a long shot. On a personal note, I'll bang the crap out Chiaki right in that schoolgirl uniform. (script note: I noticed Quentin took a scene out of the cut 1st draft "Yuki Revenge" chapter and used it for GoGo. The whole part where GoGo stabs the guy with her knife in the stomach and his insides fall out was first in Yuki's Revenge where it's Yuki doing that.)

Anyway, Julie Dreyfus (Sofie Fatale) getting her arm hacked off was disturbing. What was disturbing wasn't really the act of Uma hacking off Julie's arm, but rather Julie's reaction to her arm getting hacked off. To see her screaming, squirming, around on the floor with blood flowing everywhere was attention grabbing. Julie played it great. On a side note, I hope Julie pops up in more American films after "Kill Bill". She's pretty hot and could pass as Monica Bellucci's sister.

Uma VS Chiaki was a great fight, but I thought It was a tad short. I wanted Quentin to extend that fight a little more, but it was still great. That fight just made me more of a Chiaki Kuriyama fan. A-

Uma VS Gordon Liu and The Crazy 88 was some of the most incredible stuff I've seen in a while. The Burly Brawl (Neo VS 100 Agent Smith's) seems like bullshit compared to this. Thank God the MPAA understood where Quentin was going with this. The blood is so over the top, of course you can't take it too seriously and the MPAA got that. Only one slight part in the fight I didn't like was when Gordon Liu (Johnny Mo) wireworked his way up to the top floor chasing after Uma. That came off too fake to me. Other than that slight flaw this fight was great and to the critic who said this fight was too long, I strongly disagree. This fight would actually be standard fare in any Shaw Brothers film. I love long fights if done well and Quentin hit the nail on the head with this one. A+

Uma Vs Lucy was another great fight that I thought should've been longer. The execution of the fight was crisp and the speed was there, but extend it some. Maybe I'm spoiled from watching too many Shaw Brothers films. This is also the only place in the film where I thought there shouldn't been any music. I didn't think Santa Esmeralda's "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" should be blaring when Uma and Lucy are pacing in their climatic battle. That should've been completely quiet, but I'm not the director of this. Lucy being scalped is not something I ever want to see, but wow what a way to go. A-

The cliffhanger was a lot better than "Matrix Reloaded". Bring on Vol.2. A+

Final Thoughts
Excellent film! Uma was great throughout the whole film. Outstanding performance! Kudos to Tarantino for making this film. I will be seeing this film many times over before it's all set and done. Rating: 4 1/2 stars out of 5.

One very weird side note. I noticed that the japanese actress Chiaki Kuriyama (Battle Royale) is in the film. Interested in seeing finding out what other films she's been in I typed her name into Google and got back a link to a picture book from her early days. Uh, hello, it was basically child porn! Seriously, I know japanese women often look younger than their age, but this was clearly a girl 12 years old or younger in a commerical photo book in pics where she's topless and in seductive (?) poses. Uhm, can some japanese native explain to me how 1)child porn is seemingly okay in japan, and 2)how that same child porn model can then go on to become a major japanese film star and no make mention of this? Maybe I'm overreacting, but I was just really surprised and offended to see that she had been exploited like that at such a young age.

Why is this a shock to you? Japan is full of sick, twisted, perverted, people. The only thing about the child porn pictures I'm interested in knowing is what was Chiaki's motivation for doing them.

]Back on subject, I've seen extended clips of "Kill Bill" and it looks great, can't wait to see it.

One of the best films of 2003!

[Naniwan Kid]

Awsome post. I agree 99% with what you said. Kill Bill is easily the most fun I have had in a movie theater ina couple years. February is too far away.....

[groovewonder]

You've got entirely too much free time if you can write a post like that. What did you do? Take notes in the theater? Anyway, interesting post, nonetheless.

[BlazeAlpha]

You've got entirely too much free time if you can write a post like that. What did you do? Take notes in the theater? Anyway, interesting post, nonetheless.

Actually, I just love to write; whether it be working on my screenplay, film reviews, whatever. I watch a lot of films so after time I've developed a formula of how I go about reviewing films. I'm not a professional critic, I just like doing it for fun. Also i'm anti-social so I don't go out much if I can help it.

[BlazeAlpha]

Awsome post. I agree 99% with what you said. Kill Bill is easily the most fun I have had in a movie theater ina couple years. February is too far away.....

Well at least you have "Matrix Revolutions" and "Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King" to keep you busy until Vol.2 comes out.

[kamome]

I don't know, I think you guys come off way too complimentary on this film.

It's definitely not one of QT's best films. Doesn't have the cool dialogue, or great acting, of his other films.

The use of Japanese language was too gratuitous and disappointing. Sitting in a Tokyo movie theater surrounded by Japanese people listening to Uma Thurman and Lucy Liu struggling through their Japanese lines was an embarrassing moment for me. And why would two people from America be speaking Japanese to each other anyway?

The wire action was fake looking and overdone. We've already seen wire action in so many films (Matrix, Crouching Tiger, etc.), and the wire action in Kill Bill seemed gratuitous and over-the-top compared to the others. It just seemed too unlikely for Uma's character to be able to do such acrobatics.

I agree that Uma's feet are ugly. Too much film time spent on her gnarly big toe.

Great action, and I also liked the use of non-linear time progression. I guess I'll go see volume II, but only because I don't like the waiting after a cliffhanger.

[NeoNecroNomiCron]

I don't know, I think you guys come off way too complimentary on this film.

I went to see it this weekend, I must say a little to much hype. as for uma not half a sexy as she was in "The Avengers". Her face is so 'drawn' it looks like she has been sniffing glue for the last 4 years.

Quintin better get his head out of his arse with the second part.

I missed all the japanese dialogue as they didnt have captions for the japanese parts... I am forced to download an english version.

Mind it is funny I was in a cinema in shinjuku on the same street that uma rode her motorbike through.

Wow uma has the ugliest big toe I have seen in a long time. They should of got a foot double for her. Mind why to Japanese have really long second toes?

The matrix is out next week I am going to go broke here in Japan the cinema is taking all my money.

O-Ren looked far sexier in the anime parts especialy in the sailor suit. Go-Go was pretty cute aswell but she should of been wearing thoes black slipons rather than the white walls. Quintin would want to watch the continunity though.


A bit to much gushing of blood. Do people really spray that much when they have their heads cut off?

[Caustic Saint]

The matrix is out next week I am going to go broke here in Japan the cinema is taking all my money.

Next week? What a jip! Even Korea's getting in on the international release for this one. I've already got my ticket for tomorrow night's 11pm show. With the time difference it'll actually show here before almost every other place in the world! (Same thing happened with LOTR last year.)

A bit to much gushing of blood. Do people really spray that much when they have their heads cut off?

No. The blood was his (bad) idea of "anime in the real" or some such thing. Even if you did lop somebody's head/arm/leg off, the blood would pulse out - until their heart stopped beating. It wouldn't jet out like somebody was holding their thumb over the end of a garden hose.

[kamome]

Caustic: Actually, Japan will also be part of the world release at 11PM this Wednesday. It's already sold out. I reserved tickets for this Saturday's matinee showing. I suspect NeoNecro had the same difficulty getting tickets for the premiere.

[NeoNecroNomiCron]

Caustic: Actually, Japan will also be part of the world release at 11PM this Wednesday. It's already sold out. I reserved tickets for this Saturday's matinee showing. I suspect NeoNecro had the same difficulty getting tickets for the premiere.

I dont even know where to get them. I am a truly fucked gaijin i dont know any of the 'in the know' people. And I love premiere's esp. the matrixes since I look like a young keanu reeves.

[Caustic Saint]

Caustic: Actually, Japan will also be part of the world release at 11PM this Wednesday. It's already sold out. I reserved tickets for this Saturday's matinee showing. I suspect NeoNecro had the same difficulty getting tickets for the premiere.

Ah, cool deal. I'm sure there'll be a flurry of posts bursting forth from Asia about 1:30AM Thursday.

NNNC, try at your local cinema. Lots of theaters now sell tickets (especially for big releases) 3-7 days in advance. The problem I've found is that many people in Korea buy their tickets online, sometimes selling out a show without anybody even buying a ticket at the theater. Does Japan have this problem too?

[Ptyx]

A bit to much gushing of blood. Do people really spray that much when they have their heads cut off?

The blood geyser is one of the distinctive feature of the chanbara (very violent samurai eiga from the 60's, 70's) genre.
I haven't seen the tarantino flick yet but as it is supposed to be an homage to asian cinema it's probably a reference to chanbara.

[kamome]

Ah, cool deal. I'm sure there'll be a flurry of posts bursting forth from Asia about 1:30AM Thursday.

NNNC, try at your local cinema. Lots of theaters now sell tickets (especially for big releases) 3-7 days in advance. The problem I've found is that many people in Korea buy their tickets online, sometimes selling out a show without anybody even buying a ticket at the theater. Does Japan have this problem too?

Yeah, I just hope there are no spoilers in those posts. I haven't seen any trailers or interviews (unlike the 2nd movie, which was so hyped in magazines and stuff, we all knew what the cool scenes were going to be).

In Japan, you can buy tix online for Virgin Cinemas. Not sure about the other theaters. Some of the older theaters are probably box office only.

[Caustic Saint]

Ah, cool deal. I'm sure there'll be a flurry of posts bursting forth from Asia about 1:30AM Thursday.

Yeah, I just hope there are no spoilers in those posts. I haven't seen any trailers or interviews (unlike the 2nd movie, which was so hyped in magazines and stuff, we all knew what the cool scenes were going to be).

Any posts I make will be clearly marked if they contain spoilers. I've only seen the trailer that ran at the end of the Reloaded Credits and the one at the end of the Enter the Matrix game. That was was essentially the Reloaded one with a few more scenes. I downloaded the final theatrical trailer but stopped halfway through it. There was a scene I hadn't seen before and I felt they were starting to give away too much again.

I agree about the Reloaded hype. The "agent jump" during the freeway scene could've been (and should've been) an incredible surprise. It still looks good, but the impact isn't the same if you know it's coming.

Well, only 2 hours, 37 minutes 'til showtime.

[kamome]

Yeah, the agent jump was one of those "gee whiz" moments in the film that shouldn't have been given away. I have sealed myself off from any exposure to trailers, etc., for the third installment. I'm even pissed they put posters for the movie in the subway stations. One of the posters hints at something in the movie I didn't know would be there (a guy sitting in a big machine that looks like the freight loader from Aliens).

Anybody have any ideas about how I can "remove" a poster from a subway station for "personal use" without being caught?

[Caustic Saint]

The "loader" was in Reloaded in one scene, so if you caught it you already know it exists. Not that big of a spoiler.

The only trailers I saw for Rev were the one at the end of the Reloaded credits and the one at the end of the Enter the Matrix game - neither of which gave away anything key.

The third trailer, however, repeated the mistakes of the Reloaded trailers, giving away far too much. I'd downloaded that one and got about halfway through it before I stopped. I saw an effect they hadn't shown before and knew better than to keep going. I'm glad I didn't as it would've blown some good surprises.

[kamome]

The "loader" was in Reloaded in one scene, so if you caught it you already know it exists. Not that big of a spoiler.

Yes, I remember the freight loader was in Reloaded. But the fact that it was made into a poster (and the expression on the guy's face who is in the loader) hints that it will play a bigger part in the movie. That's enough of a spoiler right there.

[BlazeAlpha]

I don't know, I think you guys come off way too complimentary on this film.

It's definitely not one of QT's best films. Doesn't have the cool dialogue, or great acting, of his other films.

You must not been paying much attention]The use of Japanese language was too gratuitous and disappointing. Sitting in a Tokyo movie theater surrounded by Japanese people listening to Uma Thurman and Lucy Liu struggling through their Japanese lines was an embarrassing moment for me. [/quote]

I can understand Uma struggling through Japanese as her character is not suppose to be great in the language anyway, however I heard from various people that Lucy did a wonderful job speaking Japanese. I think I even read where Sonny Chiba said she did a fine job.

And why would two people from America be speaking Japanese to each other anyway?

The same reason to Japanese people from Japan would be speaking English? Where in Kill Bill did you forget that this is a film?

The wire action was fake looking and overdone. We've already seen wire action in so many films (Matrix, Crouching Tiger, etc.), and the wire action in Kill Bill seemed gratuitous and over-the-top compared to the others.

Ha Ha Ha, give me a break. Wire work doesn't get more over the top than CTHD and the Matrix. If you ask me Kill Bill's wire work is tame in comparison to those films. Kill Bill wire work is more along the lines of what Shaw Brothers did with their films.

It just seemed too unlikely for Uma's character to be able to do such acrobatics.

Obviously you're only getting one half of the story. I hate to put in a spoiler for Vol.2, but Uma's character is trained in Kung Fu by Priest Pak Mei. People won't know this until Vol.2 however those who have read the script have a working knowledge of this. This explains how Uma's character is able be acrobatic and such. This will be explained in Vol.2.

Great action, and I also liked the use of non-linear time progression. I guess I'll go see volume II, but only because I don't like the waiting after a cliffhanger.

Things will be cleared up for many in Vol.2

[BlazeAlpha]

A bit to much gushing of blood. Do people really spray that much when they have their heads cut off?

1. Kill Bill doesn't take place in the Real world. It takes place in a special world that Quentin has created.
2. The blood being over the top in cartoon fashion was done that way to get past the MPAA. As long as the MPAA couldn't take the blood seriously the film avoided the NC-17 rating.

[BlazeAlpha]

BTW Martix Revolutions was a disappointment.

[American Oyaji]

If yall will remember, way back when the first teasers for Kill Bill came out, there is a scene where Uma's character is fighting in a bamboo forest and her opponent, an old man, jumps and LANDS on her BLADE and just stands there.

That scene will be in Vol 2 no doubt.

[Caustic Saint]

If yall will remember, way back when the first teasers for Kill Bill came out, there is a scene where Uma's character is fighting in a bamboo forest and her opponent, an old man, jumps and LANDS on her BLADE and just stands there.

That scene will be in Vol 2 no doubt.

Yup. I kept waiting for that scene to pop up in Vol. 1.

[BlazeAlpha]

If yall will remember, way back when the first teasers for Kill Bill came out, there is a scene where Uma's character is fighting in a bamboo forest and her opponent, an old man, jumps and LANDS on her BLADE and just stands there.

That scene will be in Vol 2 no doubt.

Yes, that scene will be in Vol.2. The old man is Priest Pak Mei. He's the 150 year old Kung Fu master who trains Uma's character, Black Mamba in Pak Mei Kung Fu. Also that's not a bamboo forest, that's the temple grounds of the "White Lotus Temple" on E Mei mountain. I gather most people on this board have NEVER seen a Shaw Brothers film before which becomes obvious from the comments I've read. If any of you get the chance check out the Shaw Brothers film classic "Fists Of The White Lotus".

[Caustic Saint]

"The Origin Of O-Ren Ishii" is a chapter I liked the least because I wasn't happy with the style of the anime they went with. I was looking for the anime to be stylized like "Ninja Scroll", or "Ghost In the Shell".

An odd comment to makes, seeing how the animation was done by Production I.G., the same company that did Ghost in the Shell.

Ha Ha Ha, give me a break. Wire work doesn't get more over the top than CTHD and the Matrix. If you ask me Kill Bill's wire work is tame in comparison to those films. Kill Bill wire work is more along the lines of what Shaw Brothers did with their films.

There's a big difference between how it's used in CTHD, the Matrix films and Kill Bill. In CTHD is was used to depict the "magical" king-fu style, which is not based in reality at all. Similarly with the Matrix movies, the world of the Matrix is not real, and therefore not bound by the rules of our reality. Funny that you discount both of those yet defend Kill Bill as being set in its own little world that Quentin created, existing outside our own.

I gather most people on this board have NEVER seen a Shaw Brothers film before which becomes obvious from the comments I've read.

The thing that's become obvious to me is that you've got a serious woody for Shaw Brothers films, as evidenced by comments like "The opening Shaw Brothers "Shaw Scope" tribute logo was excellent! I never thought I would see the day where I would see that at the beginning of a film in an American theater Nearly brought me to tears. A+"

And there's nothing wrong with that. Nearly every fan comment I've read from people who loved Kill Bill talks about how it's an "homage/tribute/whathaveyou" to the Shaws and others. To those who aren't extensively familiar with their work, Kill Bill comes across as a ripoff, not a tribute. Where does the line get drawn? Also, so what if some people haven't seen their movies? Not everybody is into older kung-fu flims, and a current release shouldn't have a "required viewing" list to go through before seeing it. It's a movie, not a university course with prerequisites. If having seen another film can add a little to the viewer's enjoyment, that's all good and well. It seems that Quentin went a bit too far with this and is into full-on "fan service" mode with Kill Bill. His movie should be able to stand on its own. If it can't do that, he's just a hack.