Film Leauge screens Kill Bill Vols. 1 & 2

Matt Razak Staff Writer

When Kill Bill comes up in discussion, there are usually two sides to the conversation. The first side says that Kill Bill Vol. 1was the superior film, with its mindless violence, awesome fight scenes, incredible soundtrack, and homage to Japanese samurai movies and anime. The other side argues that Kill Bill Vol. 2 was the far greater film, with its slower pacing, smarter dialogue, and tribute to Hong Kong action flicks and classic westerns. Of course, there is a third side to the debate that says both films were disappointing as neither one lived up to its full potential because it was lacking what the other had.

On this point there can be no contention; each film needed what the other had. Looking at the films from this point of view, they are both incredible disappointments.

However, if we look at the films as Tarantino originally intended for an audience to see them, as one movie, uncut, un-separated, then each film’s short-comings make up for the other’s. If you remove the recap section from the beginning of Kill Bill Vol. 2, you have a film picking up in the middle of itself (well not quite, since Tarantino loves to rearrange the order of his scenes).

These films are meant to function as a whole, not as two separate movies. Thus, the dramatic change in tones and styles that occur should be thought of as more of a balance than conflicting ideals. Where the first film ends is a classic apex that leads into the second film’s beginning, a more subdued conversation. The overly bloody samurai sword fight sharply contrasts with the black and white tones of the wedding massacre, which in the second film is not even a massacre, but simply a conversation that cuts away once the violence starts.

Vol. 1 is more influenced by Japanese cinema and American action cinema of the ’70s, whereas Vol. 2’s influences are Hong Kong kung-fu flicks and westerns. Depending on preference, one film may stand out over the other. The contrasting styles seem to create two very different films, but when the films are watched together the styles start to mesh. The over-the-top blood from the samurai films contrast, in a good way, the over-the-top bloodless fights from kung-fu films. The short, crisp ’70s action lines and style create an even greater reception to the heavy handed, but wonderful, speech from some classic westerns (see Shane or The Shootist).

The opening scene’s hokey dialogue in Vol. 1 works even better when contrasted with Bill’s speech at the end of Vol. 2. Instead of the dialogue in the first seeming poorly written, it becomes clear that because of the second half’s word play, the dialogue is just as intentional, another reference to the brisk dialogue of ’70s action cinema and poor translations of Japanese jidai-geki (historical) samurai films.

The emphasis on speech in the second film is not as glaring after watching The Bride hack her way through the Crazy 88 and all those that came before them. The increase in dialogue is in fact welcome after watching a woman’s arm sawed off of her body. While the final “battle” may seem disappointing in the context of just the second film, it is the only way to end when watched as a whole. No battle would ever stand up to the Crazy 88’s slaughter and, more importantly, another fight would simply make Bill another body, which he is clearly not. Instead of a prolonged battle, a prolonged conversation occurs; instead of swords, the words are weapons.

That is what makes these films work together far better then they could ever work separately: the realization that a battle is just as satisfying when it occurs through speech as it is when it occurs through swords, guns, fists, or any type of blunt object. When viewed as two distinct entities, they fall short, but they were never meant to be viewed apart. There is no Volume 1 and 2, there should just be Kill Bill: The 248 minute-long Epic.

Rated: Vol. 1 - R, Vol. 2 - R
Runtime: 111 min, 137 min
Show Times: Film League will screen Kill Bill Vol. 1 on Friday Oct. 8th at 7 p.m. and Kill Bill Vol. 2 on Saturday Oct. 9th at 7 p.m. Both screenings will be held in Blodgett Auditorium.