'Revenge is a dish best served cold' are the first words that appear on the black screen, in the background there is someone having trouble breathing. The opening shot is the face of The Bride (Thurman), even though it is in black-and-white, she is obviously bleeding profusely and in a lot of pain. A hand reaches out with a handkerchief and wipes at the blood while the voice talks to her and then shoots her in the head (thankfully the screen goes black and we just hear the shot)...did I mention this is a Tarantino film? Quentin Tarantino has a reputation for making bloody films, with intense language (almost every character will swear...significantly), a broken story (told out of order, many flashbacks and such), but still excellent...if you overlook the language and violence.
Anyway, the Bride (as she is called throughout the film...her real name is beeped out b/c it is not our time to know her true identity) was a member of The Deadly Viper Assassination Squad (the five assassins are identified by snake names...the Bride is the Black Momba), but leaves the group to get married. At the dress rehearsal for the wedding The DVAS including their boss Bill (Carradine) kill the wedding party and everyone else in the church and Bill puts a bullet in the Bride's head (she's pregnant with his child). She does not die, but lands in a coma for four years. Her first thoughts on waking up are about her child, and after finding herself to no longer be pregnant she cries and plans her revenge, after killing two men who impede her progress at the hospital. She makes a death list of the other four assassins: 1. Cottonmouth (Liu), 2. Copperhead (Fox), 3. Sidewinder (Madsen), 4. California Mountain Snake (Hannah), and 5. BILL.
She goes to Japan to obtain a samurai sword from the best, Hattori Hanzo (Chiba): he is a legend, but has retired. He agrees to make her a sword which he later deems the best sword he's ever made, and The Bride begins her killing rampage. First on the list is O-Ren Ishii, whose backstory is told through anime (otherwise it wouldn't be able to still be considered R...theres a pedophile and lots of gruesome killing). She is the head of the Chinese mob and likes to decapitate people who disagree with her. This is the longest and most complicated battle: O-Ren Ishii has several bodyguards along with her team 'The Crazy 88s', all of which fight. The only person she does not fight is Sofie (Dreyfus) a former student of Bill she is useful to get information and also to get closer to O-Ren Ishii. The second on the list is Vernita Green who has changed her lifestyle: given up being an assassin and now has a family and a normal life.
The plot is out of order, jumping from the wedding to a confrontation with Vernita to a million other things just to keep the plot from being predictable. At the end of the first film Sofie is the only survivor and tells Bill and the other assassins that The Bride is on her way to kill them and they had better be ready...but are you ready for a second film?
Although we knew WHO is playing Bill, we never see his face (only hand gestures and his voice) adding to his mystique, similar to never hearing the Bride's name...it leaves you wanting more, wanting the second volume to see what will happen next. Don't assume she lives, don't assume she doesn't live...don't assume anything. The two films are connected so don't assume the events of this film occur before the events of the second volume...
Rent it once: it is fast-paced, complicated, and bloody but there is an art form to it...some scenes are in black & white for artistic purposes and there are homages to other films/acts (The Brides yellow suit is similar to one Bruce Lee wore in a film)
--: IF you decide to watch this film then you need to give it your attention or you will be lost/confused, but don't let children (or anyone with a weak stomach) near the TV b/c sometimes the blood is overwhelming (and I'm not usually upset by blood in films)
Anyway, the Bride (as she is called throughout the film...her real name is beeped out b/c it is not our time to know her true identity) was a member of The Deadly Viper Assassination Squad (the five assassins are identified by snake names...the Bride is the Black Momba), but leaves the group to get married. At the dress rehearsal for the wedding The DVAS including their boss Bill (Carradine) kill the wedding party and everyone else in the church and Bill puts a bullet in the Bride's head (she's pregnant with his child). She does not die, but lands in a coma for four years. Her first thoughts on waking up are about her child, and after finding herself to no longer be pregnant she cries and plans her revenge, after killing two men who impede her progress at the hospital. She makes a death list of the other four assassins: 1. Cottonmouth (Liu), 2. Copperhead (Fox), 3. Sidewinder (Madsen), 4. California Mountain Snake (Hannah), and 5. BILL.
She goes to Japan to obtain a samurai sword from the best, Hattori Hanzo (Chiba): he is a legend, but has retired. He agrees to make her a sword which he later deems the best sword he's ever made, and The Bride begins her killing rampage. First on the list is O-Ren Ishii, whose backstory is told through anime (otherwise it wouldn't be able to still be considered R...theres a pedophile and lots of gruesome killing). She is the head of the Chinese mob and likes to decapitate people who disagree with her. This is the longest and most complicated battle: O-Ren Ishii has several bodyguards along with her team 'The Crazy 88s', all of which fight. The only person she does not fight is Sofie (Dreyfus) a former student of Bill she is useful to get information and also to get closer to O-Ren Ishii. The second on the list is Vernita Green who has changed her lifestyle: given up being an assassin and now has a family and a normal life.
The plot is out of order, jumping from the wedding to a confrontation with Vernita to a million other things just to keep the plot from being predictable. At the end of the first film Sofie is the only survivor and tells Bill and the other assassins that The Bride is on her way to kill them and they had better be ready...but are you ready for a second film?
Although we knew WHO is playing Bill, we never see his face (only hand gestures and his voice) adding to his mystique, similar to never hearing the Bride's name...it leaves you wanting more, wanting the second volume to see what will happen next. Don't assume she lives, don't assume she doesn't live...don't assume anything. The two films are connected so don't assume the events of this film occur before the events of the second volume...
Rent it once: it is fast-paced, complicated, and bloody but there is an art form to it...some scenes are in black & white for artistic purposes and there are homages to other films/acts (The Brides yellow suit is similar to one Bruce Lee wore in a film)
--: IF you decide to watch this film then you need to give it your attention or you will be lost/confused, but don't let children (or anyone with a weak stomach) near the TV b/c sometimes the blood is overwhelming (and I'm not usually upset by blood in films)
Rating: R for violence (lots of blood), language, and some sexual content
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Starring: Uma Thurman as The Bride (Black Momba)
Lucy Liu as O-Ren Ishii (Cottonmouth)
Vivica A. Fox as Vernita Green (Copperhead)
Julie Dreyfus as Sofie
David Carradine as Bill (The Snake-Charmer)
Chiaki Kuriyama as Gogo
Sonny Chiba as Hattori Hanzo
Daryl Hannah as Elle Driver (California Mountain Snake)
Michael Madsen as Budd (Sidewinder)
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