Kill Bill: Volume 2

Kill Bill: Volume 2

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Quentin Tarantino
Produced by Lawrence Bender
Written by Quentin Tarantino
Based on The Bride 
by Q&U
Starring
Music by
Cinematography Robert Richardson
Edited by Sally Menke
Production
company
Distributed by Miramax Films
Release dates
  • April 16, 2004 (2004-04-16)
Running time
 136 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Budget $30 million
Box office $152.2 million

Kill Bill: Volume 2 is a 2004 American martial arts film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. It stars Uma Thurman as the Bride, who continues her campaign of revenge against the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad (Lucy Liu, Michael Madsen, Daryl Hannah and Vivica A. Fox) and their leader Bill (David Carradine), who tried to kill her and her unborn child.

Tarantino conceived Kill Bill as a homage to "grindhouse" cinema including martial arts films, samurai cinema, blaxploitation films, and spaghetti westerns. It is the second of two Kill Bill films produced simultaneously; the first, Kill Bill: Volume 1, was released in 2003. The films were originally set for a single release, but the film, with a runtime of over four hours, was divided in two. Like Volume 1, Volume 2 received positive reviews and was a commercial success.

Plot

Chapter 6: "Massacre at Two Pines"

The pregnant Bride and her groom rehearse their wedding. Bill, the Bride's former lover, father of her child, and leader of the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad, arrives unexpectedly and orders the Deadly Vipers to kill everyone at the wedding. The Bride survives and swears revenge.

Chapter 7: "The Lonely Grave of Paula Schultz"

Four years later, the Bride has already assassinated Deadly Vipers Vernita Green and O-Ren Ishii. She goes to the trailer of Bill's brother and Deadly Viper Budd, planning to ambush him. Budd has been warned by Bill of her approach; he shoots her in the chest with a shotgun blast of rock salt, then sedates her. He calls Elle Driver, another former Deadly Viper, and arranges to sell her the Bride's unique sword for a million dollars. He seals the Bride inside a coffin and buries her alive.

Chapter 8: "The Cruel Tutelage of Pai Mei"

Years earlier, Bill tells the young Bride of the legendary martial arts master Pai Mei and his Five Point Palm Exploding Heart Technique, a death blow that Mei refuses to teach his students; the technique will supposedly kill any opponent after he or she takes five steps. Bill takes the Bride to Mei's temple for training. Mei ridicules her and makes her training a torment, but she gains his respect.

In the present, the Bride uses Mei's martial arts techniques to break out of the coffin and claw her way to the surface.

Chapter 9: "Elle and I"

Elle arrives at Budd's trailer and kills him with a black mamba hidden with the money for the sword. She calls Bill and tells him that the Bride has killed Budd, and that Elle has killed the Bride. She uses the Bride's real name: Beatrix Kiddo. As Elle exits the trailer, Beatrix ambushes her and they fight. Elle, who was also taught by Mei, reveals that she poisoned him in retribution for plucking out her eye. Beatrix plucks out Elle's remaining eye and leaves her screaming in the trailer with the black mamba.

Chapter 10: "Face to Face"

Beatrix tracks Bill to the Mexican countryside and discovers that their daughter B.B. is still alive, now aged four. She finds her with Bill in a hotel and spends the evening with them both. After she puts B.B. to bed, Bill shoots the Bride with a dart containing truth serum and interrogates her.

Years earlier, Beatrix is on a mission when she discovers she is pregnant with Bill's child. She is attacked in her hotel room by an assassin; when she learns Beatrix is pregnant, both women agree to abort their missions and go home.

In the present, Beatrix tells Bill that she left the Deadly Vipers to give B.B. a better life. She disables Bill with the Five Point Palm Exploding Heart Technique, which Mei secretly taught her. Bill makes his peace with her, takes five steps and dies. Beatrix leaves with B.B. to start a new life.

Cast

Music

As with Tarantino's previous films, Kill Bill features an eclectic soundtrack comprising many musical genres. On the two soundtracks, music ranges from country music to selections from the Spaghetti Western film scores of Ennio Morricone. Bernard Herrmann's theme from the film Twisted Nerve is whistled by the menacing Elle Driver in the hospital scene. A brief, 15-second excerpt from the opening of the Ironside theme music by Quincy Jones is used as the Bride's revenge motif, which flares up with a red-tinged flashback whenever she's in the company of her next target.[1] Instrumental tracks from Japanese guitarist Tomoyasu Hotei figure prominently, and after the success of Kill Bill they were frequently used in American TV commercials and at sporting events. The end credits are driven by the rock and roll version of "Malagueña Salerosa", a traditional Mexican song, performed by "Chingon", Robert Rodriguez's band.

Release

Theatrical release

The State Theater Ann Arbor, MI shows a double feature of Kill Bill Vols. 1 & 2

Kill Bill: Volume 2 was released in theaters on April 16, 2004. It was originally scheduled to be released on February 20, 2004, but was rescheduled. Variety posited that the delay was to coincide its theatrical release with Volume 1's release on DVD.[2] In the United States and Canada, Volume 2 was released in 2,971 theaters and grossed $25.1 million on its opening weekend,[3] ranking first at the box office and beating fellow opener The Punisher. Volume 2's opening weekend gross was higher than Volume 1's, and the equivalent success confirmed the studio's financial decision to split the film into two theatrical releases.[4] Volume 2 attracted more female theatergoers than Volume 1, with 60% of the audience being male and 56% of the audience being men between the ages of 18 to 29 years old. Volume 2's opening weekend was the largest to date for Miramax Films aside from releases under its arm Dimension Films. The opening weekend was also the largest to date in the month of April for a film restricted in the United States to theatergoers 17 years old and up, besting Life's 1999 record. Volume 2's opening weekend was strengthened by the reception of Volume 1 in the previous year among audiences and critics, abundant publicity related to the splitting into two volumes, and the DVD release of Volume 1 in the week before Volume 2's theatrical release.[5]

Outside of the United States and Canada, Volume 2 was released in 20 territories over the weekend of April 23, 2004. It grossed an estimated $17.7 million and ranked first at the international box office, ending an eight-week streak held by The Passion of the Christ.[6] Volume 2 grossed a total of $66.2 million in the United States and Canada and $86 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $152.2 million.[3]

Home release

In the United States, Volume 2 was released on DVD and VHS on August 10, 2004.

In a December 2005 interview, Tarantino addressed the lack of a special edition DVD for Kill Bill by stating "I've been holding off because I've been working on it for so long that I just wanted a year off from Kill Bill and then I'll do the big supplementary DVD package."[7]

The United States does not have a DVD boxed set of Kill Bill, though box sets of the two separate volumes are available in other countries, such as France, Japan and the United Kingdom. Upon the DVD release of Volume 2 in the US, however, Best Buy did offer an exclusive box set slipcase to house the two individual releases together.[8]

Both Volume 1 and Volume 2, were released in High Definition on Blu-ray on September 9, 2008 in the United States.

The Whole Bloody Affair

Tarantino announced at the 2008 Provincetown International Film Festival that a single film version of part 1 and 2 called Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair with an extended animation sequence was to be released in May 2009.[9] Screenings of the complete film began on March 27, 2011 at the New Beverly Cinema.[10] This was verified to be the original print that premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 2003,[11] before the decision was made to split the film into two parts due to the roughly four-hour length.

Critical reception

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, Kill Bill: Volume 2 received a score of 84% based on reviews from 230 critics and reports a rating average of 7.7 out of 10. It reported the consensus, "Kill Bill: Volume 2 adds extra plot and dialogue to the action-heavy exploits of its predecessor, while still managing to deliver a suitably hard-hitting sequel."[12] At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the film received an average score of 83 based on 42 reviews.[13]

Roger Ebert celebrated the films, saying "Put the two parts together, and Tarantino has made a masterful saga that celebrates the martial arts genre while kidding it, loving it, and transcending it.... This is all one film, and now that we see it whole, it's greater than its two parts."[14] In 2009, he placed the film on his twenty best films of the decade list.[15]

Accolades

Uma Thurman received a Golden Globe Best Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama nomination in 2005 for her role. David Carradine also received a Best Supporting Actor nomination in the same year. Kill Bill: Volume 2 was placed in Empire Magazine's list of the "500 Greatest Films of All Time" at number 423 and the Bride was also ranked number 66 in Empire magazine's "100 Greatest Movie Characters".[16]

Awards
Award Category Recipient(s) Outcome
10th Empire Awards
Best Film Kill Bill: Volume 2 Nominated
Best Actress Uma Thurman Nominated
Best Director Quentin Tarantino Nominated
Sony Ericsson Scene of the Year "The Bride" versus "Elle" sequence Nominated
62nd Golden Globe Awards Best Actress – Drama Uma Thurman Nominated
Best Supporting Actor David Carradine Nominated
2005 MTV Movie Awards Best Movie Kill Bill: Volume 2 Nominated
Best Female Performance Uma Thurman Nominated
Best Fight Uma Thurman vs. Daryl Hannah Won
2004 Satellite Awards
Best Film-Drama Kill Bill: Volume 2 Nominated
Best Actress - Motion Picture Drama Uma Thurman Nominated
Best Supporting Actor – Drama David Carradine Nominated
Best Supporting Actress – Drama Daryl Hannah Nominated
31st Saturn Awards
Best Action/Adventure Film Kill Bill: Volume 2 Won
Best Actress Uma Thurman Nominated
Best Supporting Actor David Carradine Won
Best Supporting Actress Daryl Hannah Won
Best Younger Actor/Actress Perla Haney-Jardine Nominated
Best Director Quentin Tarantino Nominated
Best Screenplay Quentin Tarantino Nominated

Possible sequels

In April 2004, Tarantino told Entertainment Weekly in April 2004 that he was planning a sequel:[17]

Oh yeah, initially I was thinking this would be my "Dollars Trilogy". I was going to do a new one every ten years. But I need at least fifteen years before I do this again. I've already got the whole mythology: Sofie Fatale will get all of Bill's money. She'll raise Nikki, who'll take on The Bride. Nikki deserves her revenge every bit as much as The Bride deserved hers. I might even shoot a couple of scenes for it now so I can get the actresses while they're this age.

At the 2006 Comic Con, Tarantino stated that, after the completion of Grindhouse, he wanted to make two anime Kill Bill films: an origin story about Bill and his mentors, and another origin starring the Bride.[18][19]

Details emerged around 2007 about two possible sequels, Kill Bill: Volumes 3 and 4. According to the article, "the third film involves the revenge of two killers whose arms and eye were hacked by Uma Thurman in the first stories." The article adds that the "fourth installment of the popular kung fu action films concerns a cycle of reprisals and daughters who avenge their mother's deaths".[20]

At the 2009 Morelia International Film Festival, films, Tarantino stated that he intended to make a third Kill Bill film.[21] The same month, he stated that Kill Bill 3 would be his ninth film, and would be released in 2014.[22] He stated that he wanted ten years to pass after the Bride's last conflict, to give her and her daughter a period of peace.[23]

In December 2012, Tarantino stated: "I don't know if there's ever going to be a Kill Bill Vol. 3. We'll see, probably not though."[24]

See also

References

  1. ↑ http://www.soundtrack.net/albums/database/?id=3356
  2. ↑ Diorio, Carl; Hettrick, Scott (January 8, 2004). "Inside Move: 'Bill 2' delayed until April". Variety.
  3. 1 2 "Kill Bill Vol. 2 (2004)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved June 29, 2011.
  4. ↑ Staff (April 19, 2004). "Bill makes a killing at US box office". The Guardian. Kill Bill: Volume 2's total... confirmed the financial good sense of Miramax's decision to split the movie in two.
  5. ↑ McNary, Dave (April 18, 2004). "'Bill's' better half". Variety.
  6. ↑ Staff (April 29, 2004). "Kill Bill tops global box office". BBC News.
  7. ↑ "Tarantino Brings Kill Bills Together". ContactMusic.com. December 21, 2005. Retrieved 2007-06-11.
  8. ↑ "Best DVD Packaging of 2004". DVD Talk. Retrieved 2007-06-11.
  9. ↑ Archived September 4, 2009, at the Wayback Machine.
  10. ↑ "Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair Premieres March 27".
  11. ↑ Lussier, Germain (2011). "‘Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair’ Has Small Changes That Produce Big Results". Slashfilm.com. Retrieved May 15, 2011.
  12. ↑ "Kill Bill: Volume 2". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved June 29, 2011.
  13. ↑ "Kill Bill: Vol. 2". Metacritic. Retrieved June 29, 2011.
  14. ↑ Roger Ebert (2004-04-16). "Kill Bill, Volume 2". rogerebert.com. Retrieved 2010-10-10.
  15. ↑ Roger Ebert (2009-12-30). "The best films of the decade". Roger Ebert's Journal. Retrieved 2010-10-10.
  16. ↑ "The 100 Greatest Movie Characters| 66. The Bride | Empire". www.empireonline.com. 2006-12-05. Retrieved 2012-05-29.
  17. ↑ Schilling, Mary Kaye. "From Kill Bill to kids: A Q&A with Quentin". www.ew.com. Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 18 March 2015.
  18. ↑ Rodriguez and Tarantino Present Grindhouse!, Blake Wright on ComingSoon.net, July 22, 2006. Retrieved August 7, 2006.
  19. ↑ SDCC '06: Tarantino Confirms More Kill Bill!, Bloody-Disgusting.com, July 22, 2006. Retrieved October 5, 2007.
  20. ↑ "Kill Bill Volumes 3 and 4 Details Emerge!".
  21. ↑ Quentin Tarantino Talks Kill Bill 3: The Bride Will Fight Again!, BadTaste.it, October 1, 2009. Retrieved October 2, 2009.
  22. ↑ "Tarantino Teases 'Kill Bill Volume 3'".
  23. ↑ Young, James (October 3, 2009). "Tarantino wants to 'Kill Bill' again". Variety.
  24. ↑ http://ca.ign.com/articles/2012/12/12/no-kill-bill-3-for-tarantino

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