Review by Leonard Norwitz
Studio:
Theatrical: Miramax Films
Blu-ray: Buena Vista Home Entertainment
Disc:
Region: A
Runtime: 111 min
Chapters: 19
Size: 50 GB
Case: Locking Amaray Blu-ray case with Slipcover
Release date: September 9th, 2008
Video:
Aspect ratio: 2.40:1
Resolution: 1080p
Video codec: AVC MPEG-4
Audio:
English 5.1 Uncompressed PCM (48 kHz/24-bit); English &
French 5.1 DD. Extras: English 2.0 DD
Subtitles:
Feature: English SDH, Spanish, Chinese, Japanese &
Korean.
Extras: English SDH
Extras:
• The Making of Kill Bill (22:05)
• The 5, 6, 7, 8's Bonus Musical Performances (5:51)
• Six Tarantino Trailers
The Film:
7.5
Much has already been written about Quentin Tarantino
and his extended essay in the ultra-violent: Kill Bill,
the two volumes conceived as a single film, but released
theatrically just six months apart. I imagine it's no
accident that the second part doesn't really have a
title card. The movie begins with a brief recap of the
opening of Volume 1 where Bill shoots The Bride, then a
quick cut to where that film leaves off: Ms Thurman
driving in her convertible declaring that she's killed a
lot of people to get to this point and she finds him,
she's gonna kill Bill. Then the title card: Vol. 2.
Cool, huh.
But I digress. Taken together, the two parts of Kill
Bill sets up the how and, later, the why, of The Bride's
revenge for Bill having let loose her former assassins
in arms (I like to think of them as Charlie's Devils) on
the day of her wedding, killing everyone in the church,
and leaving the place a lot more holey than they entered
it. The first volume is as bloody as a manga: lots of
killing – and for good reason. The second volume is a
philosophical essay by comparison.
I like it – both parts. If you haven't seen it, you
should. If you find something worthy in A Clockwork
Orange or amusing in Pulp Fiction, I think
you'll like it.
Image:
8.5/9.5
NOTE:
The below
Blu-ray
captures were taken directly from the
Blu-ray
disc.
The first number indicates a relative level of
excellence compared to other Blu-ray DVDs on a ten-point
scale. The second number places this image along the
full range of DVDs, including SD 480i.
Compared to the Region 1 SD, which was pretty good in
its day, the Blu-ray is just enough more filmlike to
make it worth the upgrade on its own. Shadows have more
detail, black & white footage is damn near palpable,
colors are more vibrant without oversaturation (In fact,
the color balance is much the same). It's the by now
familiar song of increased sharpness, resolution and
dimensionality, not entirely apparent in the comparative
screen captures. The picture needs to be in motion to
fully appreciate the difference. Somehow, the flat,
grainy picture that we once felt was quite satisfactory
just doesn't cut it anymore.
CLICK EACH
BLU-RAY
CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION
Audio & Music:
9/9
One of the virtues of an uncompressed audio track is how
clearly and believably we perceive textures: When we
hear Bill's boots walk across the floor in the opening
scene we can sense not only the wood floor but that it's
a suspended floor. Later when the Crazy 8's make their
grand entrance, every sliding of a door, scurry down a
stair, and stomping on the floor (not suspended) is
differentiated – one or two persons here, several there.
Operations:
8
BEHOLD: Even though this is a Buena Vista release, there
are NO promos or previews in advance of the menu, only a
lone Miramax Films logo. Missing however, is that
delicate lead in to the main menu background music. As
in many other recent Blu-ray DVDs, I found the menu
operations to be sensible, listing the length of the
various segments along with a brief description. And
it's easy to return to the menu from the bonus features.
Always a plus.
Extras:
6
As with Volume 2, all the extra features are ported over
and retained in 480i. The image quality varies
enormously here. The 22-minute Making-of featurette is
very much worth watching as we learn about what makes
Kill Bill and Tarantino tick. Director T and others
discuss the script, cast, music (RZA, Zamfir, and the 5,
6, 7, 8's), locations and themes – and how the
characters emerged. We get insights into how Tarantino
sees himself and Kill Bill as a test of his skills as an
action director. We also learn about the origins and
overt influences of the movie in Japanese manga and
samurai films – and, in particular the genre of female
revenge films - spaghetti westerns, and TV shows, HK
gangster films, and 70's grindhouse exploitation cinema.
The 5, 6, 7, 8's are a 3-piece R&R Japanese girl group so
serious about their work, they're camp.
Bottom line:
8
Knock yourself out. But beware of what you've been
eating and drinking first.
Leonard Norwitz
August 31st, 2008
January, 2010
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Kill Bill - Volumes 1 &
2 [Blu-ray]
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