QUENTIN TARANTINO's fourth film, KILL BILL, opens nationwide October 10th, 2003. The film features Sonny Chiba and Gordon Liu, as well as a host of references to classic genre films, including some old school martial arts faves. Are you ready?
Just in case you want to go into the theater prepared--or in case you've just seen the film and can't wait to find out more--we've prepared a little study guide to help you out! Let's get to it!
#1: SHAW BROTHERS STUDIOS
The opening of KILL BILL features a little something that will warm the heart of any true martial arts movie fan: the Shaw Brothers fanfare and logo. SHAW BROTHERS STUDIOS was responsible for nearly all the most highly regarded "old school" martial arts films ever made. Well aware of this himself, QUENTIN TARANTINO even shot portions of KILL BILL at the legendary Shaw Bros. Studios in Hong Kong.
During the production of KILL BILL, QUENTIN TARANTINO insisted on portraying all the "gore" just as it was done in the classic Shaw Brothers martial arts films of the 70s and early 80s. This includes lots of arterial blood spray, as seen in the classic Shaw films by directors such as CHANG CHEH.
KILL BILL's "Deadly Viper Assassination Squad" is a nod to THE VENOMS, a group of martial arts actors working for Shaw Brothers Studios. An entire book could be written on the Venoms' body of work, but their most well-known films are probably THE FIVE DEADLY VENOMS and RETURN OF THE FIVE DEADLY VENOMS.
Many of the classic Shaw Brothers films are available on DVD in basically two flavors these days: 1) ENGLISH DUBBED VERSIONS (usually full screen); and 2) REMASTERED WIDESCREEN VERSIONS with subtitles and the original Chinese audio. Many of us from the U.S. and Europe have grown up watching these martial arts classics on TV (full screen), with the often laughable but always memorable English dubs. These versions are still available on DVD but are technically out of print and going fast. The newly remastered DVDs are just now being released for the first time on DVD by Celestial Pictures, and offer a very different but equally enjoyable viewing experience. Whatever your preference, we've got 'em all in stock!
#2: GORDON LIU
GORDON LIU stars in the film as Johnny Mo, the black mask-wearing bodyguard of O-Ren Ishii (Lucy Liu) Before he was crossing swords with Uma Thurman, Gordon Liu (AKA "The Master Killer") was busy shredding up Hong Kong movie screens and blazing a trail as one of the best on-screen martial artists of all time. Best known for his work at SHAW BROTHERS STUDIOS, Liu's most memorable role is arguably that of bald-headed Monk San Te in THE 36th CHAMBER OF SHAOLIN and its sequels.
Gordon appears in KILL BILL wearing a "Kato mask", similar to the one Bruce Lee wore in the classic TV series "The Green Hornet" (see #5 below).
If you've browsed through this site at all, you know that Gordon Liu is one of our all-time favorites. You pretty much can't go wrong with any martial arts film starring The Master Killer. We offer a huge variety of Gordon Liu DVDs, including many of his most well-loved, classic Shaw Brothers Studios performances. CLICK HERE to browse the titles!
#3: THE YELLOW TRACKSUIT
If you've seen the trailers yet, you've seen Uma Thurman kickin' some butt in a yellow tracksuit. No she's not a "special school" bus driver, this is an homage to the identical tracksuit Bruce Lee wore in the film GAME OF DEATH.
There are no fewer than 5 GAME OF DEATH DVDs currently available here at HKFlix.com, take your pick!
Bruce Lee 30th Anniversary Commemorative Box Set [6-Disc Set]
Game Of Death [HK Universe Version]
Game Of Death [Korean Version]
Game Of Death [UK 2-Disc Limited Platinum Edition]
Game Of Death [UK 2-Disc SE]
#4: SONNY CHIBA
SONNY CHIBA stars in the film as Hattori Hanzo, pissed-off sushi chef by day, retired bad-ass samurai swordsmith by night. Chiba is one of the most memorable icons to have emerged from the martial arts boom of the 1970s, having gone on to star in over 100 films to date in Japan, Hong Kong, and the U.S.--including the infamous STREET FIGHTER films!
We carry a wide array of Chiba films, including the highly recommended 10 FACES OF SONNY CHIBA 10-disc box set (a great way to get caught-up fast!). CLICK HERE to browse them all!
#5: THE MUSIC
Any QUENTIN TARANTINO fan can tell you, the man's movies have soundtracks that can't be beat. From funky-as-hell '70s tracks to obscure cult film and TV theme songs, every Tarantino film offers an unforgettable listening experience to go along with all his tasty visuals. KILL BILL is no exception to this rule, including several references to classic martial arts-related pieces of music. Aside from the Shaw Brothers fanfare (mentioned above), there are a couple other items of note...
Of particular note is the theme song to THE GREEN HORNET. THE GREEN HORNET, as you'll no doubt remember, was the 1966-67 TV series that co-starred the late, great Bruce Lee as Kato, the mask-adorned sidekick to The Green Hornet. This theme song is instantly recognizable by the quick succession of trumpeted staccato 16th notes that make up its melody.
Several GREEN HORNET TV episodes were compiled into two feature-length films between 1974 and 1976, clearly edited with Bruce Lee's star power in mind. Representing two of the last unreleased Bruce Lee feature films, both titles are now available on DVD at HKFlix.com
Another martial arts music reference to be found in KILL BILL is the infamous MASTER OF THE FLYING GUILLOTINE theme. Martial arts fans know all about the FLYING GUILLOTINE, a weapon very similar to the one Go Go Yubari (Chiaki Kuriyama, of BATTLE ROYALE fame) uses to fight The Bride (Uma Thurman) in the "House Of Blue Leaves" scene from KILL BILL.
Yet another prominent piece of music is the theme from Lucio Fuli's SETTE NOTE IN NERO (AKA "Murder To The Tune Of Seven Black Notes", AKA "Seven Notes in Black", AKA "The Psychic").
#6: TOKYO MINIATURES & MORE...
Next is a relatively obscure little bit of information about the Tokyo miniatures from KILL BILL. Apparently, these miniatures were left-over from the 2001 Japanese production of GODZILLA, MOTHRA, AND KING GHIDORAH: GIANT MONSTERS ALL-OUT ATTACK (AKA "GMK").
GODZILLA, MOTHRA, AND KING GHIDORAH: GIANT MONSTERS ALL-OUT ATTACK was a very well-received installment in the Godzilla series, and is available on DVD here at HKFlix.com. Check it out and see if you can spot some of the buildings and streets seen in KILL BILL! And, while we're on the subject of Godzilla, listen up for the giant lizard's trademark roar when Uma does a backflip in the "House Of Blue Leaves" scene! There are also some short Godzilla monster screams inserted just before this.
Also featured in the "House Of Blue Leaves" scene is a beautiful sequence where Uma takes on the Crazy 88 in silhouette against a blue background. Anyone who's seen SAMURAI FICTION will agree this scene looks strikingly familiar to the SAMURAI FICTION poster art and opening sequence, with a blue background instead of red. Just before this sequence in KILL BILL is a very quick bit where Uma slices a guy across the mouth...remind anyone else of Kakihara from ICHI THE KILLER?
#7: LADY SNOWBLOOD
Perhaps the most striking of all the references in KILL BILL are the liberal imitations of the 1973 Japanese film LADY SNOWBLOOD. The story centers around a female child whose mother dies in jail, who then goes on to receive martial arts training to avenge her mother's death. Replete with blood sprays a plenty, titled chapters, a wide variety of musical styles, and even some animated sequences, the similarities are far too many to go into. But suffice it to say that LADY SNOWBLOOD seems to have been Tarantino's primary influence for KILL BILL.
It's an excellent film, too, very highly recommended viewing for KILL BILL fans and anyone else who can dig a classic vicious revenge flick. It's no wonder QUENTIN TARANTINO took such an apparent liking to it--we have, too! (By the way, the UK DVD even features the same exact multi-colored subtitles (yellow and green) as KILL BILL!)
#8: THE VIEWERS SPEAK!
The verdict is in! You love KILL BILL! You saw it three times during the opening weekend, and you've noticed a hell of a lot of references that we didn't even mention! Here's your chance to share...
Another Bruce Lee reference: House Of Blue Leaves fight scene where the Bride is on the floor slicing off legs is dead on to nunchaku scene in FIST OF FURY right down to looking back and seeing groaning victims (even though the Bride has a fight with O-Ren Ishii before going back to look at her handiwork).
Perhaps a rather obscure reference to "Francis": Scene where Buck brings in a customer to rape the comatose Bride is real close to the rape scene in "Francis" were Farncis Farmer is in a mental institution and an orderly brings in men to gang bang her.
Submitted By: John A. (10/12/2003)
The movie THEY CALL HER ONE EYE (AKA: THRILLER) is a Swedish film about a girl whose life is ruined--her "pimp" even goes so far as to remove one of her eyes (a la Daryl Hannah) before she studies to seek revenge on them all. In the "Cinescape" with KILL BILL on the cover, Tarantino mentions this as one of his favorite films, and it shows in Kill Bill. Thought I would mention this, the movie is VERY hard to find, I know its not an HK film, but very influential nonetheless.
Submitted By: Nathan H. (10/13/2003)
It is said that Taratino gave Hannah a copy of THEY CALL HER ONE EYE (AKA: THRILLER) video to watch to prepare for her role. Hannah has been quoted to have said that Tarantino had her watch a porno movie for homework.
Submitted By: Philip M. (10/18/2003)
You forgot DUEL TO THE DEATH. Check out the last 10 minutes of that movie. QT basically took the main parts of "The Bride Wore Black" and THRILLER: A GRIM PICTURE (AKA THEY CALL HER ONE EYE).
"The Bride Wore Black" has the same concept:
A woman's life is shattered when her husband is murdered on their wedding day. She tracks down the five men responsible and she kills them in five different ways wearing five different outfits. She even writes their names in a notebook and crosses them off after she kills them. She's even called "The Bride" throughout the picture.
"Thriller: A Grim Picture" is about a woman who is brutally beaten and left for dead by her pimp/boyfriend and his cronies. She recooperates and learns how to kill people by using her bed money to track down and kill her ex-pimp.
Submitted By: Joseph U. (10/14/2003)
Not really a reference, more like a kudos if you will. The Anime sequence in "Kill Bill: Volume 1" was done by none other than Production-IG. To most, that name means nothing, but to the anime fan like me, it means a lot.
Production-IG is responsible for such huge hits as: BLOOD: THE LAST VAMPIRE, JIN-ROH, PATLABOR 1 + 2, FLCL, and Ghost in the Shell, to name just a few. Selecting this group is a major nod to one of the studios that helped make modern anime what it is today, and shows that QUENTIN TARANTINO is a true anime fan. :)
Submitted By: Marcel A. (10/13/2003)
While Uma is riding the motorcycle across the bridge in Japan, the night lights are green while the GREEN HORNET music is playing.
The music from FIVE FINGERS OF DEATH (AKA "King Boxer") plays all through this film.
Submitted By: June D. (10/14/2003)
Another TV theme that even I didn't catch (but a friend did) is the theme to "Ironside". The theme was by Quincy Jones and is most memorable for the rapid up-down, up-down slide at the beginning.
The theme is particularly interesting in that the series featured Raymond Burr ("Perry Mason") as a retired police commissioner who, as the victim of a snpier attack, was paralyzed from the waist down. There is definitely a connection, with "The Bride" initially being similarly affected.
Speaking of the "Ironside" theme, it is also interesting to note that BRUCE LEE was in the pilot episode of "Ironside" playing a martial arts instructor.
Submitted By: Terry O. (10/14/2003) & Greg M. (10/23/2003) & Alex A. (10/27/2003)
When the Bride sees a Viper for the first time since the wedding, the screen turns red, the camera zooms into her eyes, and a second soundtrack is added with the crazy music drowning out the primary soundtrack. This is exactly what happens in De Palma's "Scarface" whenever Tony Montana sees someone with his sister, Gina. In particular, there is a scene in the Babylon nightclub, where Gina is caught in the bathroom with Fernando. A few moments later, Tony is in a firefight with some gangsters, hiding behind an oversized corpse, blasting away at kneecaps; only veteran killer Tony's aim is nowhere near as good as young O-Ren Ishii's aim.
Submitted By: Dan M. (10/31/2003)
When Uma spanks the boy it reminded me of the scene in YOJIMBO when he sends the young boy back to his mother after nearly getting killed for working for gangsters (yakuza).
Submitted By: Kent L. (10/14/2003)
The shots of Daryl Hannah walking down the hospital corridor with a big purse are right out of the beginning of HITCHCOCK's "Marnie" with Tippi Hedren. (Also DePalma who was quoting Hitchcock.)
Inside the pickup truck, Uma concentrating and talking to her big toe reminds me of John Wayne as the real life character Frank "Spig" Weed in John Ford's "Wings Of Eagles."
Another reference: the overhead shots of Uma at Vernita Green's house are similar to the final shot of Claude Chabrol's "The Champagne Murders".
Submitted By: Elizabeth (10/14/2003)
The Sheriff (Michael Parks) drives up to the wedding massacre with a line of sunglasses on his dashboard--a definite homage to H. B. "Toby" Halicki and "Gone In 60 Seconds".
Submitted By: Brian T. (10/15/2003)
The sheriff is played by the same actor (Michael Parks)--and I think he basically plays the same character of the sheriff--who was in "From Dusk Till Dawn". Quentin you're a mad man :)
Submitted By: Ryan D. (10/17/2003)
Two scenes and shots are very similar to the classic American version of SHOGUN ASSASSIN:
1) During the fight in the House of Blue Leaves, The Bride slices one of the Crazy 88 in two with a sword strike to the top of thee head. Ogami Itto does the same to one of the Masters of Death in the final fight in the desert.
2) **SPOILER** When The Bride scalps O-Ren Ishii, she has a death speech that sounds just like the final Master of Death's lines after Ogami Itto nicks his jugular, seconds before full blood spewing.
Submitted By: Gaijin84 (10/15/2003)
Not sure if this was covered, but in GAME OF DEATH, BRUCE LEE has to acsend five floors and defeat five different enemies. I believe that The Bride having to kill five different, dangerous villans is an homage to GAME OF DEATH.
Submitted By: Daniel B. (10/15/2003)
Someone already mentioned the HITCHCOCK/"Marnie" reference with Daryl Hannah, but there's something else there, too.
Hannah, in the nurse's uniform, is whistling the score to Brian De Palma's "Dressed to Kill" [THIS REFERENCE IS MISTAKEN, PLEASE READ ON FOR CORRECTION], and the film's score eventually accompanies her, referencing the evil MICHAEL CAINE nurse at the end of De Palma's movie. In the same scene, there was a split screen, which De Palma frequently employed in his films, including, of course, "Dressed to Kill".
Submitted By: Kent A. (10/15/2003)
Roger Ebert has identified the theme Daryl Hannah whistles as Bernard Herrmann's score to the 1968 British horror film "Twisted Nerve" with Hayley Mills ("Parent Trap") and Hywel Bennett (whom some might remember from the situation comedy 'Shelley'), not DePalma's "Dressed To Kill," although the split-screen sequence itself is a blatant homage to DePalma and Hannah's change into a nurse's uniform is right out of "Dressed To Kill", as has already been pointed out. (The "Twisted Nerve" theme is also included on the KILL BILL soundtrack.) It's also easy to mistake this music for music from a DePalma film because DePalma did use Herrmann for "Sisters" and "Obsession", and the music of Pino Donaggio, who scored dePalma's "Carrie", "Blow Out", and "Dressed To Kill", has a Herrmann influence.
Also, I'm pretty sure the music playing when the Bride is delivering her convoluted ED WOOD-style dialogue to the woman in the trunk of the car is from YAGYU CONSPIRACY (AKA SHOGUN'S SAMURAI), which starred, as I hardly need to tell anyone, SONNY CHIBA.
Submitted By: Ian I. (10/18/2003) & Robert H. (10/22/2003)
Pardon me if anyone has already mentioned this, but in the film SONNY CHIBA plays Hanzo, which is a reference to Hattori Hanzo, the leading character he played on the Japanese 4-season ninja TV series "Kage No Gunden" ("Shadow Warriors").
"Hattori Hanzo" is also a character of a fightning video game in Japan named "Samurai Spirits". But the caracter in the video game is very diferent than the one in KILL BILL (he is a ninja with a short sword). The game is about samurai fights, and each character has a diferent fighting style and a diferent sword.
In Vol. 1, GORDON LIU plays Johnny Mo, which may be a play on the name of THE MISSION and PTU director JOHNNIE TO. Of course, in Vol. 2, Gordon plays Pai Mei, who is the Shaolin traitor in LIU CHIA LIANG's classic EXECUTIONERS FROM SHAOLIN, and essentially the character Gordon kills in the LO LIEH-directed sequel FIST OF THE WHITE LOTUS.
Submitted By: Ric Meyers (10/15/2003) & C. (11/30/2004)
MEIKO KAJI, who played the lead Yuki in LADY SNOWBLOOD sings "The Flower Of Carnage" used during the credits of "Kill Bill Volume 1" Also, Julie Manase, the first female Crazy 88 to be killed by The Bride, is SONNY CHIBA's daughter and trained all the female actresses in the film.
Submitted By: John P. (10/15/2003)
When then The Bride and Gogo are table-hopping during their fight, you can make out a sort of organ/synthesizer "wave" sound effect, which I remember hearing in a couple of English-dubbed SHAW BROS. movies. I remember it was in FIVE DEADLY VENOMS during some of the more crazy acrobatics, and in SHAOLIN CHALLENGES NINJA (AKA "Challenge Of The Ninja") when the ninja was onscreen.
Submitted By: Erick K. (10/16/2003)
Another name that crops up in the film is the name Vernita Green is using in her current life: Jeannie Bell. In real life, JEANNIE BELL was a former Playboy Playmate who appeared in several blaxploitation films in the 70s including "Black Gunn", "Three The Hard Way", and had the starring role as a kick-ass karate instructor looking for her brother's killer in TNT JACKSON.
Submitted By: Rick L. (10/17/2003)
Alert Reader MPM pointed out this INTERVIEW WITH QUENTIN TARANTINO, in which he goes into detail about many of the references (and mistaken references!) from KILL BILL. Movies and people discussed include:
MOVIES / TV SHOWS:
Battle Royale
Black Lizard
Black Sunday
The Bride Wore Black
Chinese Boxer
Dead And Buried
The Doll Squad
Fudoh
Goke, Body Snatcher From Hell (AKA "Kyuketsuki Gokemidoro")
Green Hornet
Hannie Caulder
Honey West
Ichi The Killer
Lady Snowblood
Master Of The Flying Guillotine
Modesty Blaise
Pulp Fiction
Reservoir Dogs
Shaolin Master Killer
Shogun Assassin
Silent Flute
They Call Her One Eye
War Of The Gargantuas
PEOPLE:
Lisa Blount
David Carradine
Sonny Chiba
Robert Culp
Alexander Fu Sheng
Kenta Fuaksaku
Kinji Fukasaku
Katsuhito Ishii
Sogo Ishii
Takashi Ishii
Teruo Ishii
Chiaki Kuriyama
Kiyoshi Kurosawa
Bruce Lee
Christina Lindberg
Gordon Liu
Takashi Miike
Uma Thurman
Francois Truffaut
Jimmy Wang Yu
Raquel Welch
Simon Yuen
Yuen Wo Ping
If you go to Kill-Bill.com (the official site) and click on PRESS NOTES you will be able to print out a 42 page document giving the complete history of the shoot, references to past films that influenced Tarantino and complete cast and crew biographies all in printable format.
Submitted By: John P. (10/17/2003)
Tarantino has stated his soundtrack came from raiding other soundtracks for his. The song during The Bride's look at the samurai swords comes from Shunji Iwai's ALL ABOUT LILY CHOU-CHOU (2001), sung by the fictitious character Lily Chou-Chou according to the credits. The film ALL ABOUT LILY CHOU-CHOU is an art-house film about harsh bullying and the idolization of a fictional pop star, Lily Chou-Chou, who was apparently inspired by FAYE WONG.
Submitted By: Bret D. (10/17/2003) & Greg H. (11/4/2004)
When the sherrif is talking to his son the deputy, he calls him "Son Number One". This could be a reference to the old Charlie Chan moves where the main characture would solve mysteries with his son and refered to him as "Number One Son."
Submitted By: Charles H. (10/17/2003) & Chris T. (10/27/2003)
A music cue heard in Bruce Li's EXIT THE DRAGON, ENTER THE TIGER is heard during the Anime sequence. The final "snow" sequence is reminiscent of both THE CHINESE BOXER and FIST OF FURY.
Submitted By: Carl J. (10/18/2003)
Everyone has neglected to mention the obvious nod to SERGIO LEONE in a good part of the film's music. It brought to mind probably his best known film, "The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly". If I remember correctly, it also has some nods to ONCE UPON A TIME IN AMERICA, but I could be wrong on that one. Either way, my hat goes off to Tarantino for incorporating elements into his film from these film masters of yesteryear!
Submitted By: Vesal S. (10/20/2003)
Did you know that in the end of the film, "The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly", starring Clint Eastwood, before The Ugly is hanged, he standing on a fence or something...and right behind him is a wooden grave that reads "Kill William". One of many spaghetti western references throughout KILL BILL... Coincidence? Perhaps not.
Submitted By: Mike (10/26/2003)
Quentin proffers his homage to anime in several ways throughout the film. The blood gushing out of bodies like a fountain--and sometimes with a delayed start--I feel, is a reference to anime movies. In particular, though, I believe NINJA SCROLL was a big influence, as seen from the effect of blood dropping like rain from the sky onto dead corpses and the ground.
Submitted By: Amit U. (10/20/2003)
A great study guide for KILL BILL, even for those of us that caught many references. But the one I don't see anyone mentioning which hit me the minute I heard the plot and Uma's character name (long before the film's release) was one of my fave HK classics, THE BRIDE WITH WHITE HAIR. A trained female assassin who apparently attempted to leave her former life and marry a man she loved, was then betrayed by her evil boss and clan and nearly destroyed, her pain setting into motion the story of revenge and bloodshed.
Submitted By: Andi A. (10/21/2003)
I notice KILL BILL made reference to BATTLE ROYALE with the actress CHIAKI KURIYAMA (AKA "Gogo Yubari"), who paticpates in both of these movies. In both movies, Chiaki kills a boy with a knife after the boy admits to wanting to have sex with her.
Submitted By: Al Y. (10/21/2003)
One thing I noticed is that when Uma gets off the plane in Tokyo, she walks by a large advertisement for "Red Apple Cigarettes" which happens to be the same brand that Bruce Willis asks for at the bar in Wallace's "Pulp Fiction" nightclub.
Submitted By: Doug F. (10/21/2003)
The very beginning of the movie, where Uma Thurman's breathing is all that can be heard, is a nod to the movie "Kiss Me Deadly". Tarantino has gone on in the past about how he loves this movie and even has a reference to it in "Pulp Fiction" when the characters look in the briefcase and it only glows.
Submitted By: Ryan H. (10/23/2003)
Right after The Bride kills Buck and gets the keys to the Pussy Wagon, the theme that plays is Issac Hayes's theme from "Truck Turner", a blaxploitation classic that features Nichelle Nichols, Yaphet Kotto, Alan Weeks (also from "Black Belt Jones"), and Issac Hayes as the title character.
Submitted By: Kirk L. (10/25/2003)
The line "My name is Buck, and I like to fuck" is a reference to ROBERT ENGLUND'S character Buck in TOBE HOOPER'S follow-up to THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE -- EATEN ALIVE (AKA "Death Trap"). Englund, in the opening scene says "My name is Buck, and I'm ready to fuck" (or "My name is Buck, and I'm here to fuck"), in much the same way as the Buck in the hospital in KILL BILL.
Submitted By: Donald M. (10/26/2003)
Tarantino references a couple of his own films in KILL BILL.
1. The Bride takes the keys the keys to Buck's truck in the same way Butch takes Zed's keys to his chopper in "Pulp Fiction".
2. After the battle in The House Of Blue Leaves, Sophie Fatale ends up taking a ride in the trunk of a car--like Officer Marvin Nash in "Reservoir Dogs", Marvin in "Pulp Fiction", and Beaumont in "Jackie Brown".
3. During the scene with Vernita Green, Uma Thruman makes a square motion with her finger, stating, "That makes us just about square." In Pulp Fiction, when Uma's character is trying to convince Travolta's character, she says, "C'mon, don't be a..." and then makes a square motion with her finger.
Submitted By: A. M. (10/29/2003) & Trey F. (4/13/2004)
Another reference I noticed, which doesn't seem to be in the list is a reference to RYUHEI KITAMURA'S VERSUS. In the House of the Blue Leaves scene there is a part where Uma Thurman kills a guy by pulling his eyeballs out. The exact same scene can be seen when the prisoner faces up to one of the Yakuza gang.
Submitted By: Andrew M. (10/25/2003)
I noticed nobody has mentioned that DAVID CARRADINE starred in "Kung Fu" the series; and also there was reference made to his character in "Pulp Fiction", when Samuel L. Jackson's character makes reference that he is "...gonna walk the Earth like Kane from Kung Fu."
Submitted By: Sean M. (10/25/2003)
In the fight involving CottonHead, check out the Bride's shoes. They are the same white, red, and blue Asics that Bruce loved so much. He was seen wearing these in many of his interviews and videos, even in GAME OF DEATH. Pretty sweet homage.
Submitted By: Jesse D. (10/28/2003)
In "The House Of Blue Leaves" O-Ren Ishii throws a dart with a red tassle. This is a reference to ENTER THE DRAGON, where a girl pierces an apple with a dart with a red tassle.
Submitted By: Sheikh R. (10/28/2003)
Near the beginning of the film, when The Bride is fighting Vernita Green, The Bride has her in a headlock and Vernita tries to hold to the side to help herself up. This looks like it is taken from GAME OF DEATH end fight scene when BRUCE LEE has KAREEM ABDUL-JABBAR in a headlock ("Sifu, what are you doing?"). Jabbar grabs the side to help himself up in exactly the same way Vernita does in KILL BILL.
Submitted By: Reza B. (10/19/2003) & Jorge Z. (11/1/2003)
There was a series on TV in Hungary in the '80s entitled "Linda" that featured a young policewoman who was very well versed in the art of kung fu. Every time she started to fight, and hand in a few beautiful kicks that reached up to the sky, she got off her slippers just like O-Ren Ishii did at the final scene of the movie. Gorgeous, ain't it?
Submitted By: Agnes F. (11/2/2003)
The breakfast cereal which was used in the first fight scene was "Kaboom!". This cereal was taken off the market a couple of decades ago because of a red-colored food dye which was either toxic, or did not digest. This was referenced by Steven King in a book called "Cujo", in which the people who ate the cereal would spray red from their orifices. The use of the cereal was a slick reference to the foreshadowing of blood to be spilled in the film, as well as a nice nod to Steven King's horror films.
UPDATE: Kaboom cereal is still on the market, I see it on my local shelves in South Carolina. I think it is also on the General Mills website.
Submitted By: Gaonee S. (11/4/2003) & Adam W. (4/15/2004)
The "Kill Bill Study Guide" is a great page. I wanted to mention two references I caught that I didn't see on the page, both references to Italian director DARIO ARGENTO. It's been a little while since I've seen KILL BILL and longer since I've seen the Argento films, so details will be vague but I hope these are useful:
1. The slo-mo close-ups of the bullet travelling out of the barrel of Bill's gun are extremely reminiscent of a shot in Argento's "Opera" where we see a bullet fly in slo-mo through a peephole.
2. The shot where The Bride stands up after killing Vernita Green and reveals Vernita's daughter standing behind her seems inspired by a shot in Argento's TENEBRAE (AKA "Unsane"), where a detective bends down and reveals Peter Neal standing behind him with an axe.
3. The arm amputation by Uma Thurman reminded me of DARIO ARGENTO'S film TENEBRAE (AKA "Unsane").
Submitted By: Anthony B. (1/2/2004) & Paul S. (2/21/2004)
Anyone who has seen "Goke, Body Snatcher From Hell" (AKA "Kyuketsuki Gokemidoro"), a Japanese horror film from the 60s, surely must've recognized the sinister orange sky, glooming through the window when Uma's plane enters Japanese airspace!
Submitted By: Dick M. (1/7/2004)
Here's my favorite reference. During the House Of Blue Leaves fight with the Crazy 88, they enter a blue silouetted room and you hear some electronic noises. Well, being an old school video gamer, there was a game for the Commodore 64 called Ninja (circa '86). In this game you're collecting idols stolen from your village as you fight your way through an evil ninja dojo. The final room is called "Akuma's Chamber", where you fight 5 ninjas in a row in a blue lit room exactly like the movie. I feel lucky to have caught the refrence. ;)
Submitted By: Logan (4/15/2004)
The scene of Sophie's car surrounded by motorcycles seemed to be a visual reference to John Woo's HARD BOILED. Even the way the motorcycles broke off from the convoy reminded me of the HARD BOILED garage raid.
Submitted By: Adam W. (4/15/2004)
Hang 'Em High should be also mentioned, as the story is almost the same. A band of vigilantes catch Jed Cooper and, incorrectly believing him guilty of cattle rustling and murder, hang him and leave him for dead. But he doesn't die. He returns to his former profession of lawman to hunt down his lynchers and bring them to justice.
Submitted By: Dion (8/28/2007)
Well, that just about wraps up our Kill Bill Study Guide for now! Hopefully you've found some of this information interesting! If you'd like to add any thoughts or additional references to the list, DROP US A LINE, we'd love to hear from you!
In the meantime, get that old yellow tracksuit out of the closet, grab your Hattori Hanzo katana, and head out to your local theater to see KILL BILL! And if you've already seen it, go see it again!
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