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The release date for the finale of Tarantino's sword saga Kill Bill is April 16- 3 days after Vol. 1 hits DVD shelves.
Universal Studios owns the Japanese rights to Kill Bill, and they have put together a box set that looks awesome. You get:
-the widescreen uncut Japanese version of the film
-a mini "Hattori Hanzo" sword
-an Okinawa t-shirt
-a 24 page booklet
-an action figure of "The Bride".
http://tarantino.webds.de/tarantino/...cjapr2pic1.jpg
Wow, that looks awesome!
So I take it this box set is going to be released in North America as well as Japan? Also, do you happen to know how the Japanese version of the film differs from the US version (other than the languages, of course)? I seem to recall reading somewhere that the Japanese version was edited a bit differently, which changed the story somewhat. But I could be mistaken...
No. The box set will NOT be available in North America.
You'll have to visit Tokyo or order it direct from a japanese distributer. Too bad, because it looks like Miramax is releasing Kill Bill vol. 1 without all the goodies I mentioned...
As for the uncut version, all I know is that scenes will have more violence and gore- no alternate scenes or dialog.
Too bad Vol. 2 got pushed back from February. It was the middle of the month and I suddenly realized "Hey! Wasn't Kill Bill supposed to come out this month?" Then I did some research and to my dismay, the release date was pushed back. Oh, woe is the casual film buff.
For those interested, in the April 10 online edition (and, I think, the April 11 printed edition), there's a superb compendium of the influences (East and West) found in both volumes of "Kill Bill" by the nation's best film critic, Dave Kehr. His identification of the voluminous references has escalated my admiration of Quentin Tarentino to an entirely new level.
About fucking time Vol. 2 is out. The new trailers are very cool.
Gonna be a sweet week next week: The Punisher, Kill Bill, I'm picking up Bergman's Autumn Sonata on Criterion, yep, life is good.
The best trailer?
http://www.apple.com/trailers/mirama.../qt_large.html
Well, Vol. 2 managed to live up to its predecessor, and even, in my opinion, surpassed it in greatness.
I'm really glad that David Carradine managed to do a great job acting. It's about time he got recognized some more. Quentin Tarantino has surpassed many, slowly riding towards the top of the list on my favorite directors.
These two films are masterpieces.
Oscar nominations are ripe for the director, writer, and cast. This is one of the highest rated films of the year - in the top 250 (#164) on IMDb.
Volume delves deep into character, cinematography, directing, genre exposure of martial arts, western soap opera music, twist and turns, vulnerability and human emotions, along with a fusion of humor and literal blackness.
This is a new, creative, bold leap into a contemporary, independent look at using the best of the past film techniques and making an innovative film without losing its soul that Volume One was close to doing.
The first time I've "jumped" in my theatre seat in a long time. Maybe the volume levels (no pun intended) were way too loud, but both scenes with shotgun blasts scared the shit out of me. (Everything is fairly quiet, and then BLAM!)
The film compliments Vol. 1 perfectly, but I actually prefer the first one.
Vol. 2 was a little too talky for me. That Hanzo sword didn't get as much use as it did in Vol. 1.
The soundtrack was kick-ass only IN PARTS. QT! There was no song in Vol. 2 (aside from the Johnny Cash lament) that matches "Please don't let me be misunderstood". Where's the rockin' tunes?
And I must say, as implausible as Vol. 1 was, Vol. 2 took the implausibility to new heights- especially with Uma at Budd's trailer in the desert. She gets blasted with a shotgun (she survives?!) and is buried alive with no chance of escape. Sorry, but her "escape" from that coffin was NOT believable. I don't care if she trained with Pei Mei for a thousand years, she would not have escaped that coffin. 1. The dirt would come caving in the coffin as soon as she's punching holes in it. 2. She's got approx 6 feet of dirt to climb through *vertically* 3. I find it hard to believe that Budd didn't mace her or check her for escape tools. (He already took a blade off her belt!)
Don't get me wrong: Vol. 2 kicked ass. I loved it but I'm a little critical this time around. And I loved Carradine's Superman speech! Any comic book fan would love that bit.
Saw it today. I think I like Vol 2 better than 1, but more than LOTR I think the parts ought to really be considered as one movie. With a long intermission, let's say. I. will put together detailed comments in the next few days. Thanks for the Dave Kehr reference, because I am not expert in the stuff Tarantino makes reference to. Definitely this establishes Tarantino as a huge cinematic artist. It's all so beautifully put together, so focused, so pretty visually, and so clear, in construction and logic as well as dialogue and image. But it also alienates people who don't get it and don't like QT even further -- so I'm thinking; or were they sufficiently alienated already? I wasn't aware he had so many enemies; but come to think of it, The New Yorker (whose reviews I often respect and always read) trashed Pulp Fiction when it came out, on the basis of the structure.
Johann--You are right that there is some implausibility in Vol.2 and the escape from the living grave is a good choice; but come on! It's all pure fun! You're not supposed to take it seriously. By the same token we are all more critical this time around because the themes and setup of Kill Bill are no longer a surprise any more, and we can look at the lengths of scenes and the casting and stuff like that more cooly. I'm not entirely overwhelmed with the use of Carradine or of Madsen. T has this tendency to use actors because they have a cult value for him regardless of their suitability otherwise, or their age, or anything else, and this emotional, cultish casting doesn't always work.
SPOILERS SPOILERS
The ammunition that Budd used was rock salt. It won't kill ya, but damn, it'll hurt.
It's interesting to hear Johann say that The Bride punching her way out of the coffin was absurd. After killing the entire Crazy 88 gang (as well as Oren-Shii) all by herself and getting shot in the head and surviving, you think that THIS is absurd? I'm pretty sure Pai-Mei coulda done it, so why can't she?
I agree with you. Think of Tarantino's plot in Kill Bill as a series of Ripley's Believe It or Not pieces. What about the recovery from the coma? The recovery of mobility in the Pussy Wagon? That sequence is quite similar to the escape from the grave. As for getting through the dirt, I'm not so sure that's physically impossible. Where there's a will there's a way, and this is no ordinary lady. But if you want plausibility you better go to another movie.
What do you know about shotgun blasts of rock salt, though? Is this a device actually used somewhere?
Is there a physician in the house?
Yeah, I have to relax about the Kill Bill films.
They're sensational fun. It's just on first viewing of movies I usually just stare and try to get a precise first impression. Repeat viewings allow me to see them for what they are. I've only seen Vol. 2 once.
The cinematography "Wurldly" was an appropriate award *we should pat ourselves on the back*. Bob Richardson is one of the premiere directors of photography in the business. His next film is
The Aviator with Scorsese.
I heard a rumour that Tarantino played the part of Pei Mei in the film. Can anyone confirm? I heard he was in a prosthetic mask/wig and worked under the pseudonym "Gordon Liu".
I think if you read that Dave Kehr article about the sources of Kill Bill you'll find that Pai Mei wasn't QT. There's a whole section on Gordon Liu so he must be real, and I don't exactly think QT's Chinese is so good, Mandarin or Cantonese. I looked it up yesterday and I hate to say such things but for us it's kind of a must-read:
New York Times original source: http://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/11/mo...rtner=USERLAND
also at The Age: http://www.theage.com.au/articles/20...?from=storyrhs
Now I've given away my secret because I intend to crib shamelessly from Kehr's piece to write my review of Kill Bill 2.
Definitely, Kill Bill 1 & 2 is wonderful looking visually. I wonder how he gets that bright, luscious look.
Um, Gordon Liu's an actual guy. He was a famous martial artist back in the seventies. My personal favorite film of his is Shaolin meets Wu Tang . Oh, the memories.
One thing that IS true is that Tarantino does Pai Mei's voice. That's his only role, performance-wise, in the film.