Kill Bill: A tribute to art form

Kill Bill, the fourth film by the omniscient film architect Quentin Tarantino, is a joyous celebration of cinema and a riotous tribute to the art form. Armed with a bold, uncompromising vision and a group of actors that exude coolness, Tarantino has created a masterpiece that will be forever remembered as a premier chapter in the history of cinema. The film draws its inspiration from classic Japanese samurai movies (swordplay and fighting styles), American spaghetti westerns (music and theme), and the anime tradition (cinematography and violence). It takes the best elements from each and melds them into what could be considered a new genre in filming, the Samurai/Revenge/Action/Comedy/Drama. Kill Bill follows The Bride (Uma Thurman) on her noble quest for revenge against the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad, who massacred her fiancˇ, along with her entire wedding party, and put a bullet through her own head, leaving her for dead at her wedding. The theme of the film is perfectly summarized by the ancient Klingon proverb, Revenge is a dish best served cold, which duly appears on screen at the very beginning. The film is divided into chapters which function to separate the Bride's endeavors and to orient the audience to shifting time periods and even shifting film styles. One of the most unexpected chapters is a Japanese anime sequence that is especially effective in setting up a particular character's background. All of the characters are perfectly envisioned and cast by Tarantino with special notice to Uma Thurman's The Bride, a fierce American who is particularly deadly with a samurai sword, and Chiaki Kuriyama's Go Go Yubari, a 17-year-old killing machine who is as callous to the world as anyone could be. The rest of the cast are perfectly suited for their roles, which includes, Lucy Liu (O-Ren Ishi), Daryl Hannah (Elle Driver), Michael Madsen (Budd), and Vivica A. Fox (Vernita Green). From the gripping black and white prologue of the film to the riveting twist ending, Kill Bill grabs the audience by the neck and pulls them into a world that has no rules or boundaries. It is a world in which everything is just a little skewed from reality, a world in which revenge is noble and justice is supreme. It is also a world in which the vision of Tarantino goes unchallenged and becomes integrated into every frame of the film. Because of the epic length of the film and Miramax's desire to rake in even larger amounts cash, Kill Bill has been cut into two installments, with the conclusion to be released in February 2004. Grade: A