# I'm afraid to watch "Kill Bill" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 18, 2004, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-afraid-to-watch-kill-bill/251117 "2004-06-18T21:33:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![FisherQueen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/58f4c7/32.png) [@FisherQueen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FisherQueen)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2004, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-afraid-to-watch-kill-bill/251117/1 "2004-06-18T21:33:05Z")
So my DVD of “Kill Bill, Part 1” arrived from Netflix today. But I’m scared to watch it. I loved “Pulp Fiction,” which is the only other Tarantino movie I’ve seen. But so many people have told me that “Kill Bill” is a terrible bloodbath, an insult to all that is good and decent in the world, that I’m afraid that I’ll be traumatized for life by it. I haven’t avoided a movie like this since “A Clockwork Orange,” whose reputation meant that it took me a month to summon the nerve to watch it (and which ended up being not that traumatizing, but not nearly as good as the book). I need someone to convince me to watch it- or convince me to send it back unwatched. I’m not sure which. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2004, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-afraid-to-watch-kill-bill/251117/2 "2004-06-18T21:40:12Z")
The opening scene is pretty brutal - because it’s realistic. Most of the remaining violence in the film is purposefully unrealistic (comedic to a point). A good portion of the movie(s) is to pay homage to really bad grindhouse kung-fu movies. The violence is nowhere near the level of that in Clockwork Orange. (I base that primarily on the difference in realism between the two: CO is much, MUCH more realistic.) ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2004, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-afraid-to-watch-kill-bill/251117/3 "2004-06-18T22:17:09Z")
It’s more graphic than Clockwork, but not as meanspirited; it’s basically a comedy. It’s true that about the most shocking bit is in the very beginning. So if you get through that, you’ll be find. It’s not the bloodiest scene, however. But the blood later on is operatic in it’s silliness, so you’re more likely to be laughing than horking. If you could find humor in The Bonnie Situation, you’ll be fine with KBI. ---
**Author:** ![Arch\_Trout](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9f8e36/32.png) [@Arch\_Trout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arch_Trout)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2004, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-afraid-to-watch-kill-bill/251117/4 "2004-06-18T22:18:56Z")
> [@FisherQueen](#): > > So my DVD of “Kill Bill, Part 1” arrived from Netflix today. > > But I’m scared to watch it. I loved “Pulp Fiction,” which is the only other Tarantino movie I’ve seen. But so many people have told me that “Kill Bill” is a terrible bloodbath, an insult to all that is good and decent in the world, that I’m afraid that I’ll be traumatized for life by it. What people? “An insult to all that is good and decent.” If anyone said that to me about a _movie_ ,and meant it, I don’t think I’d ever speak to them again. The Puritans never left America did they? Just watch the movie and stop being such a crybaby. **It’s NOT real** ---
**Author:** ![Silentgoldfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@Silentgoldfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silentgoldfish)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2004, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-afraid-to-watch-kill-bill/251117/5 "2004-06-18T22:19:11Z")
Even in the beginning though, it’s very obviously stage makeup and not real blood and bruises. I think the only really brutal part of the movie is The escape from the hospital. When she slammed that guy’s head in the door I just about winced my tongue off! ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2004, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-afraid-to-watch-kill-bill/251117/6 "2004-06-18T23:05:46Z")
Hey even my mom liked it and she would arbitrarily ban movies from being shown in our house. Stop being a puss’ and go see it. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2004, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-afraid-to-watch-kill-bill/251117/7 "2004-06-18T23:31:49Z")
> [@Silentgoldfish](#): > > Even in the beginning though, it’s very obviously stage makeup and not real blood and bruises. I think the only really brutal part of the movie is > > The escape from the hospital. When she slammed that guy’s head in the door I just about winced my tongue off! The one that had me wincing and grabbing body parts was just before this. When she slices his achille’s tendon. OUCH! ---
**Author:** ![SolGrundy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbce88/32.png) [@SolGrundy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SolGrundy)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2004, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-afraid-to-watch-kill-bill/251117/8 "2004-06-18T23:57:17Z")
Difficult scenes are like everyone have mentioned: the opening, and then the hospital. After that, it’s ultra-violent and bloody, but it’s all about style. I think anyone who loved _Pulp Fiction_ as you say you did, wouldn’t have much problem with _Kill Bill_. In fact, you’ve probably already imagined worse stuff than what goes in the movie, just getting nervous about it. (I remember the first time I saw _Alien_, which I’d been hearing about for years but had never seen for myself. I spent the whole movie just getting more and more nervous about the chest-burster scene. When it finally happened, my reaction was: “That was _it_?!?”) ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2004, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-afraid-to-watch-kill-bill/251117/9 "2004-06-19T00:54:19Z")
Have you ever seen Monty Python and the Holy Grail? Remember the Black Knight scene or the scene where Lancelot attacks the wedding? Think more along those lines but with smother action and some great camera work. For my money Saving Private Ryan is the most violent and horrible, Schindlers List is a close second. ---
**Author:** ![TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tellmei_mnotcrazy/32/3419_2.png) [@TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TellMeI_mNotCrazy)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2004, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-afraid-to-watch-kill-bill/251117/10 "2004-06-19T01:17:00Z")
I watched Kill Bill and it wasn’t nearly as bad as I was worried it would be. I watched Pulp Fiction, and most of the more graphically violent war movies - Saving Private Ryan, et al - and Kill Bill was really not any worse. The points where the true bloodbaths are, it’s so cartoonish that I found it hard to do be bothered by it. There were a few scenes where I looked away, more out of fear of what might be coming, but nothing too horrendous. And there is one scene that is black and white, and that really, really helped. Dunno why, but it did. For me anyway. Now Passion of the Christ, on the other hand, I could barely watch. Literally spent most of the movie looking at the lower left hand corner of the screen. IMHO, YMMV, etc[sup]2[/sup] ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2004, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-afraid-to-watch-kill-bill/251117/11 "2004-06-19T01:46:57Z")
My problem with the violence in _Kill Bill, Part I_ was not that it was so horrifiying, but that after a while it got really _boring_. Unfortunately, Quentin Tarantino seems to have started believing his own publicity. He thinks he’s Quentin Tarantino. ---
**Author:** ![emekthian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecae2f/32.png) [@emekthian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emekthian)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2004, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-afraid-to-watch-kill-bill/251117/12 "2004-06-19T04:10:00Z")
Speaking of Monty Python, isn’t most of the gore in the movie supposed to be along the lines of the severed limbs in the Black Night scene? ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2004, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-afraid-to-watch-kill-bill/251117/13 "2004-06-19T05:52:03Z")
> [@Zebra](#): > > Have you ever seen Monty Python and the Holy Grail? > . That was actually banned in my house. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2004, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-afraid-to-watch-kill-bill/251117/14 "2004-06-19T07:08:09Z")
The thing you have to understand about Kill Bill is that it’s a movie about other movies. To really appreciate it, you have to be an obsessed movie watcher like Quentin Tarantino. For example here’s a partial list (from IMDB) of some of the references viewers have spotted in Kill Bill (no spoilers): > [@](#): > > Uma Thurman’s yellow track-suit is a direct homage to the one worn by Bruce Lee in Game of Death (1978). > > As The Bride walks through the Japanese airport, she passes a billboard for the fictional brand of cigarettes featuring Sofie Fatale. > > According to Tarantino, Sonny Chiba’s character, Hattori Hanzo, is meant to be the most recent descendant of his character(s) from “Hattori Hanzô: Kage no Gundan” (1980). The series was done in multiple various installments, in which Chiba would play Hanzo a generation removed from the previous installment. > > The tune whistled by Daryl Hannah’s character in the hospital hallway is the same as that whistled by the strange young man in Twisted Nerve (1968). > > Buck, the male nurse who lets his friend in to have sex with The Bride says “Are we absolutely clear on Rule #1?” This same line was used by George Clooney in From Dusk Till Dawn (1996). > > The “Old Klingon Proverb”: “Revenge is a dish best served cold” is from a joke in Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan (1982). > > The music heard when The Bride gets ready to figure Copperhead and Cottonmouth is the theme from “Ironside” (1967). The first episode had the main character being shot and left for dead, coming to find that his legs didn’t work, and setting out to find the people who did this to him. This music was also used in a similar manner in the 1973 Kung Fu classic, Tian xia di yi quan (1973) (The Five Fingers of Death). > > The music heard when The Bride arrives in Tokyo is the theme from “Green Hornet, The” (1966), a TV series referenced earlier in the film. > > Buck’s line, “My name is Buck, and I came here to fuck” was originally said by Robert Englund in Eaten Alive (1977) > > The “row of sunglasses on the Sherrif’s dashboard” gag is a direct lift from the opening scene of the original Gone in 60 Seconds (1974) > > Chapter 2 is entitled “The Blood Splattered Bride”, a reference to the movie Novia ensangrentada, La (1972) (released in the US as The Blood Spattered Bride). > > During the sword ceremony scene when Sonny Chiba’s character Hattori Hanzo gives Uma Thurman his recently forged sword he tells her “If, on your journey, you should encounter god, god will be cut” which is a phrase taken from the Kinji Fukasaku film Makai tenshô (1981) (aka Samurai Reincarnation) when the sword maker gives Sonny Chiba’s character Jubei a sword that he has forged in order to destroy his undead enemies. > > Director Tarantino was a big fan or the Japanese movie Batoru rowaiaru (2000) so he cast Chiaki Kuriyama (who played Takako Chigusa in “Battel Royale”) as Go Go Yubari as an homage. > > The Japanese song that plays over the closing credits of both Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 is the theme song from the Joshuu Sasori (Female Convict Scorpion) series of films. The song is entitled “Urami Bushi” (“Grudge Song”), and it is performed by the star of the first four Scorpion films, Meiko Kaji. > > Daryl Hannah’s character is called “Elle Driver”. The production team for the documentary Full Tilt Boogie (1997), a documentary about the production of From Dusk Till Dawn (1996) (starring Quentin Tarantino) and the people who made it is also called " L. Driver Productions". > > On the “Making of Kill Bill”, Tarantino noted that the split screen scene where Elle is about to enter the bride’s room and kill her was an homage to Brian De Palma. > > The Lonely Grave of Paula Schultz is Chapter 7 of Kill Bill. There is a movie with the title Wicked Dreams of Paula Schultz, The (1968), a romantic comedy starring Elke Sommer as Paula and Bob Crane as Bill. > > The character Pai Mei appears in several Shaw Bros Kung Fu films from the 1970s-80s including Hung wen tin san po pai lien chiao (1980). Pai Mei means “White Eyebrow”. > > The large wooden flute played by Bill (David Carradine) resembles the same instrument David Carradine plays as Kwai Chang Caine in “Kung Fu” (1972) > > The license plate on Bill’s Jeep is THX1169, an apparent tongue-in-cheek homage to director George Lucas. > > Elle Driver wears the same outfit that Uma Thurman wears in Pulp Fiction (1994). It was also worn by Pam Grier in Jackie Brown (1997). > > Bill’s apartment in Mexico is number 101, the same as Neo’s in Matrix, The (1999). The fights in both films were choreographed by Woo-ping Yuen. In addition, room 101 is a reference to George Orwell’s “1984”, the room where the thing you fear most resides. > > Budd’s boss, Larry, mentions Budd being as useless as an “asshole right here”, referring to his elbow. In Rules of Attraction, The (2002), directed by Tarantino’s former creative partner Roger Avary, the character Rupert Guest says, “I need you like I need an asshole on my elbow.” > > The car seen behind David Carradine when he visits Michael Madsen at his trailer, is the same model that Carradine drives in Death Race 2000. > > Elle Driver’s eye-patch references/is influenced by the Patch in Jack Hill’s film Switchblade Sisters (1975). A frequent collaborator of Hill’s, Sid Haig, has a minor cameo as the bartender of the strip club where Budd works. > > The white Honda that Butch crashes in Pulp Fiction and that is driven in Jackie Brown is seen at the parking lot of the strip club Budd works at as the title of Chapter 7 appears. > > The dialogue from the movie Shogun Assassin (1980) which Beatrice and B.B. watch, is featured on the Wu-Tang Clan member GZA’s album “Liquid Swords”. “Liquid Swords” was produced by RZA, who did incidental music in both Vol 1 and Vol 2. > > Esteban tells the Bride that Bill’s villa is on “the road to Salina”. This a reference to the Rita Haywoth film Road to Salina (1971).) > > The brothers played by David Carradine and Michael Madsen are named Bill and Budd. Billy Budd was the title character of a novel written by Herman Melville. > > Elle says, “Now, you should listen to this, 'cause this concerns you.” Samuel L. Jackson says the same line in Jackie Brown (1997). > > At the wedding rehearsal, Bill says to the Bride, “I’m more or less particular who my gal marries.” This is a reference to His Girl Friday (1940), in which Cary Grant’s character by says the same thing. Howard Hawks, the director of His Girl Friday, is one of Quentin Tarantino’s favorite directors. > > Tarantino confirmed that the Hattori Hanzo sword that Budd had pawned in Kill Bill Vol. 2 is in fact the very sword in which Bruce Willis chose in the pawn shop scene in Pulp Fiction (1994). Now most likely Quentin Tarantino is the only person on Earth who actually had watched all of these movies before Kill Bill was made. Which means he’s the only person who got all the jokes. Part of how much you enjoy the movie will depend on how many of the references you get. ---
**Author:** ![burundi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3ec8ea/32.png) [@burundi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burundi)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2004, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-afraid-to-watch-kill-bill/251117/15 "2004-06-19T12:48:37Z")
I didn’t care for the movie, **FisherQueen**. I ordinarily don’t mind violence in movies, but it reached the upper limits of my tolerance. Also, my favorite thing about Tarantino films is the dialogue, and there was relatively little dialogue in _Kill Bill_. A very skewed ratio of spurting blood to snappy comments. ---
**Author:** ![Legolamb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4491bb/32.png) [@Legolamb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Legolamb)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2004, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-afraid-to-watch-kill-bill/251117/16 "2004-06-19T13:16:00Z")
To be honest **FisherQueen** , if you’re that worried about the violence, I think you should wait until they release Vol.2 and watch both one after the other, as was originally intended. It makes for a much more complete film, the mostly cartoonish violence of Vol.1 is quickly forgotten as you enter the dialogue, storyline and character driven Vol.2, and, of course, you don’t have to wait the several months the rest of us did to find out what happened in the past and what will happen next. ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2004, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-afraid-to-watch-kill-bill/251117/17 "2004-06-19T16:21:21Z")
If you could handle Zed & Maynard in the basement with Marcellus :eek: , you can handle Kill Bill Vol I 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Teelo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8491ac/32.png) [@Teelo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Teelo)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2004, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-afraid-to-watch-kill-bill/251117/18 "2004-06-19T16:26:39Z")
What were the violent parts in a Clockwork Orange? I have seen the movie twice and I can’t think off the top of my head what was sooo bad. ---
**Author:** ![Ross](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e274bd/32.png) [@Ross](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ross)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2004, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-afraid-to-watch-kill-bill/251117/19 "2004-06-19T21:34:25Z")
heh, me too. I first saw it on dvd with the subtitles up, and have never stopped just being in love with the language and Big Malc’s delivery. The violence never touched me. I don’t think I could even direct you to the worst scene. ---
**Author:** ![Alan\_Smithee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/2acd7d/32.png) [@Alan\_Smithee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alan_Smithee)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2004, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-afraid-to-watch-kill-bill/251117/20 "2004-06-20T04:01:01Z")
I have to respectfully disagree with the other posters. _Pulp Fiction_ and _Reservoir Dogs_ are two of my favorite movies. (I laugh whenever I think of the “Stuck in the Middle with You” scene.) _The Passion of the Christ_ barely fazed me, though I hated the movie for other reasons. _Clockwork Orange_ bothered me mostly because I happened to be visiting my parents when I saw it, and kept waiting for my mother to walk in during the rape scene. Nevertheless, I winced at the opening scene. I felt oogy when the little girl saw her mother killed. When the hospital scene ended, I left the theater and barely looked back. I found what I saw of this movie to be disgusting and offensive. I’m no Puritan by any stretch of the imagination (the falsity of such stereotypes not withstanding). I do, however, take art seriously. I believe anyone who has lost the ability to be offended by movies to have lost the ability truely to be moved by them. Ordinarily, I don’t mind being offended, but what I saw of this movie was both offensive and disturbing, and lacked redeeming qualities. I honestly wish I had not seen what I saw of it. I don’t think I could say that about any other movie (other than for reasons of boredom/inanity), with the exception of a couple of hard-core pornos. I find the comparison most informative. Having apparently sat through the worst of it, I may yet force myself to watch the whole thing for the sake of artistic integrity, out of respect for Tarentino and some of those who hail this as a great movie, but I don’t expect to change my mind, and I would never recommend this movie to anyone else. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-afraid-to-watch-kill-bill/251117.md?page=2)