Kill Bill - Volume One (2003)

UPC:786936715545
DESCRIPTION: Kill Bill: Volume 1, the critically acclaimed film from groundbreaking writer and director Quentin Tarantino (Pulp Fiction, Jackie Brown), now packs even more of a punch in high definition on Blu-ray disc! Uma Thurman (Pulp Fiction), Lucy Liu (Charlie s Angels, Chicago) and Vivica A. Fox (Two Can Play That Game) star in this astonishing, action-packed motion picture about brutal betrayal and an epic vendetta. Four years after taking a bullet in the head at her own wedding, The Bride (Thurman) emerges from a coma and decides it s time for payback...with a vengeance! Determined to finish the kill-or-be-killed fight she didn t start, she hunts down her former boss, Bill (David Carradine), and the deadly squad of international assassins who perpetrated the bloody attack. END Product Description

Finally KILL BILL in Blu-ray w/HDMI & 5.1 for the HD Home Theater does this movie justice !! (explained)

Welcome to the incredible world of Blu-ray movies. Only to be completely appreciated with the sum of all necessary components to carry this technology off!!

My Qualifying Statement: I have a HD Home Theater weighing in at about $2000 plus movies. A break down is; a Mitsubishi HD Projector (HC-1500) $800 (orig $1495), a Sony 5.1 Sound System (HT-SS2300) $399 (orig $499) and a Sony PLAYSTATION 3 with Blu-ray player $399 (orig $499). Sony High Speed HDMI Cables $150 (orig $180) and a HD Screen Paint and kit $180 for my 108" viewing wall screen. With this True HD 1080p system I've assembled a HD Home Theater presentation sight and sound equal to an IMAX (on a smaller scale) presentation.

With this consideration and background information provided I can now comment on the Blu-ray version of KILL BILL Volume 1. Presented in the FULL HD 1080p (1920x1080 lines) 5.1 Dolby Cinema Sound format (5 speaker plus Subwoofer) we can now completely enjoy Quentin Tarantino genius in this complex action packed well executed, perfectly cast, Directed, and written critically acclaimed film.

Uma Thurman is "The Bride", the Ultimate Revenging Samurai Warrior. She is perfectly cast, period.

This Blu-ray presentation is total eye candy and the musical Sound Track is the perfect accompaniment to the action. A must see!!!!

I've had this Blu-ray movie for 1 week and I have watched it 3 times. The replay value is endless. Tarantino has created the perfect masterpiece. (and this is only Volume 1)

Bonus Material: Only 480p (w/HDMI) but the 22 min Making of KILL BILL doc is worth the viewing and the 6 min music video of the Singing Group 5,6,7, 8's is cute. Finally Tarantino film trailers.

Bottomline: Remember the Blu-ray experience is HDMI (1080p) 5.1 Sound in a HD Home Theater (the bigger the screen the better). Enjoy. This is a keeper with many encore performances to be had.

P.S. - Volume 1 ends setting us up perfectly for Volume 2 (I can't wait!!!) October 3, 2008

"Silly rabbit...Trix are for kids..."

The Good Things
*The Blu-Ray has quite good video quality. Maybe a little grainy in some parts, but other parts are phenomenally clear and crisp.
*Great sound quality. Sounds clearer and more balanced than previous DVD release.
*Includes a 22-minute making-of featurette, a live performance by the 5, 6, 7, 8s, and a bunch of trailers. It's not a whole lot of features (in fact, the same as from the DVD), but at least it has something.
*Excellent action and fighting. Lots and lots of blood.
*Good story laid out in a very interesting way (although it may be too erratic for some).
*Excellent group of characters. Great acting.
*Great writing; even though it's limited, it's fun and there are lots of memorable lines.
*Visuals and filming style is smooth, clear, and vivid.
*Impressive use of different medias to achieve unique effects (color film, black and white film, and animation).
*Interesting music.
*Lots of homage to westerns, kung fu, and anime. These elements are blended together to make a very unique picture.

The Bad Things
*It's not the "Wholy Bloody Affair" edition.
*The extreme violence scared me away at first; definately not for the squeamish.
*Some disturbing parts (but this can be a good thing, because it makes the film edgy).
*Some absurd, unrealistic parts (but this can be a good thing too, because it makes the film stylish and fun).

Despite being one of the bloodiest movies I know, it has become one of my all-time favorites. The style of it is smashing; even when there is no action, the movie is very immersive. I've come to appreciate the characters and the story, in addition to the vivid style. Highly reccomended to anybody who likes martial arts or action in general, and doesn't mind some blood.

Whether or not it is worthy of replacing the DVD is entirely up to you. I liked the movie enough to go for it, and at the very least, I am pleased with the picture/sound quality. I'll still want to grab the "Whole Bloody Affair" edition (you know, unrated director's cut with shedloads of special features, a color fight scene, and other crud) whenever it comes out, but considering that it never existed in the first place, I am not one to complain. Heck, I might even keep this copy, so I have the theatrical cut. Altogether, I don't agree with the others who complain. It's still a good movie, and it's of good quality. September 12, 2008

Movie: 4.25/5 Picture Quality: 4.25~5/5 Sound Quality: 4.5/5 Extras: 1.75/5

Version: U.S.A / Miramax / Region A, B, C
MPEG-4 AVC BD-50 / High Profile 4.1
Running time: 1:50:43 (U.S Cut)
Movie size: 31,48 GB
Disc size: 36,01 GB
Average video bit rate: 30.06 Mbps

LPCM Audio English 4608 kbps 5.1 / 48kHz / 16-bit / 4608kbps
Dolby Digital Audio English 640 kbps 5.1 / 48kHz / 640kbps
Dolby Digital Audio French 640 kbps 5.1 / 48kHz / 640kbps

Subtitles: English SDH / Chinese / Japanese / French / Korean / Spanish
Number of chapters: 20

* The Making of KILL BILL Volume 1
* THE "5, 6, 7, 8'S" Musical Performances
* Tarantino Trailers: "Reservoir Dogs," "Pulp Fiction," "Jackie Brown," "Kill Bill: Volume 1" bootleg trailer, Kill Bill" Volume 2 teaser. September 7, 2008

STOP REVIEWING ITEMS THAT AIN'T OUT YET!!!

If you want to write a review about the movie only, please do it on the "Theatrical release" product page.

Leave this page to talk about the Blu Ray when it actually comes out, and then review the product as an overall package, aspect ratio, extras, transfer quality, audio, packaging, languages & subtitles, etc.

Most people already know the movie, but even the people who don't know it, don't want to read an essay about its alleged meaning --there are other places for that - IMDB, for example.

So until the BD arrives, please refrain to post any more "reviews" of a product you don't own yet. Hopefully this comment will get pushed down with REAL product reviews when the day comes.

Have a question about this release? Scroll down, you'll find forums to ask and people glad to help you. Want to review the movie and its cultural context and whatnot? Go to IMDB or the Theatrical release here on Amazon. Thanks. July 3, 2008

To kill Bill

"Kill Bill" was either a disaster-in-the-making or a one of a kind hit -- a sprawling revenge flick that had to be cut in two and released separately.

Surprisingly, "Kill Bill Part 1" works. Director Quentin Tarantino spins a simply-plotted web of gore-splattered revenge and twisted thrills, and then douses it with plenty of cult homages. It's anything but high art, but it's intended to be a sort of action-movie popcorn -- fun to watch, incredibly improbable, and brilliantly bloody.

Tragedy strikes the Bride (Uma Thurman) on her wedding day: The Deadly Viper Assassination Squad (DiVAS) attacks and slaughters the guests, the groom, and wounds the very pregnant Bride herself. Her former boss/lover Bill (David Carradine) finishes the bloodbath by shooting the Bride in the head. But despite his efforts, she isn't dead.

A few years later, the Bride wakes to find that she has been in a coma for a few years, and has been being used as a sex toy for rent. After recovering enough to move, the Bride gets a sword sharp enough to "cut God," and goes on a revenge spree against the people who wrecked her life and killed her baby, including Cottonmouth (Vivica A. Fox) and the deadly O-Ren Ishii (Lucy Liu).

"Kill Bill Part 1" is not cinematic art. If anything, this is cinematic pop art of the most affectionately cultish kind -- Tarantino fills it with nods to cheesy martial-arts flicks and westerns, and even pastes in a stretch of anime to show us O-Ren's background. And his work here is untainted by typical directing methods... and immensely entertaining if you switch off your critical faculties, and refrain from asking "How the heck could that happen?"

Aside from being cultish and filmgeeky, "Kill Bill" is also extremely gory and violent -- over 450 gallons of fake blood were used in the two parts. But the blood usage is more "Monty Python" than "Braveheart" -- so over-the-top that it's silly and gloriously sick, not disturbing. So is the violence -- the Bride hacking dozens of people down without getting so much as a scrape is impossible, but it's sure fun to watch.

And Tarantino throws out more one-liners than just about any other filmmaker around. The absurd "Trix is for kids" line aside, there are a number of great lines like "Those of you lucky enough to have your lives take them with you. However, leave the limbs you've lost. They belong to me now." The script teems with impossibilities, but they seem plausible enough in this alternate reality that Tarantino has cooked up. Call it Tarantinoland.

Uma Thurman, with her yellow tracksuit and katana, rules the screen as the Bride, a woman of steely resolve, steelier stomach, and a will for revenge no matter how long it takes. And the best supporting performances come from Liu as the ruthless O-Ren, Carradine in a brief but intense appearance, and the wonderful, underrated Chiaki Kuriyama as evil schoolgirl Go-Go Yubari.

Sadly this is just the movie itself on blu-ray, rather than the long-awaited uncut edition that is inexplicably being held back from US audiences (though not other countries). So no color fight scene, and no extra minutes, alas and alack.

It's silly, it's creepy, it's gaudy, and somehow it's vastly entertaining. Tarantino loops together all his movie homages into "Kill Bill 1," a gory, action-packed storyline that is, at the very least, hard to forget. July 2, 2008

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