# Kill Bill: help me spot the references (maybe spoilers) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 12, 2003, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kill-bill-help-me-spot-the-references-maybe-spoilers/206941 "2003-10-12T01:45:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2003, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kill-bill-help-me-spot-the-references-maybe-spoilers/206941/1 "2003-10-12T01:45:32Z")
I know **Kill Bill** is filled with nods to 70’s grindhouse movies and other pop culture references but i don’t know what all of them are. I get a few of them, The yellow jumpsuit worn by Uma Thurman in the film is identical to the one worn by Bruce Lee in **Game of Death**. The music from Ironsides is referenced as is the theme from Green Hornet. A couple of references are done through casting (David Carradine, Sonny Chiba) and of course there is the Shaw Brothers logo at the beginning of the film. What other stuff did I miss? I often got the distinct feeling that Tarantino was alluding to something with a shot or a musical cue but I didn’t know what. Are there any film geeks that spotted some of the more esoteric things? ---
**Author:** ![raizok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/4491bb/32.png) [@raizok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raizok)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2003, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kill-bill-help-me-spot-the-references-maybe-spoilers/206941/2 "2003-10-12T05:10:06Z")
Well I was reminded of Iron Monkey’s scene with the servant guy fanning himself after a loud outburst. Its somewhat mirrored in the scene with O-Ren Ishii. Someone else said the airplane ride with the map resembles Raiders of the Lost Ark. Hmm… what else… Star Trek with the Klingon proverb. Someone has to know what QT is referencing to whenever there’s a closeup of Uma’s face/eyes and “psycho” music plays. Its not something most people catch, but I noticed it twice and it seemed strangely familar. ---
**Author:** ![SolGrundy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbce88/32.png) [@SolGrundy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SolGrundy)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2003, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kill-bill-help-me-spot-the-references-maybe-spoilers/206941/3 "2003-10-12T06:17:43Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by raizok \* > \*\*Someone has to know what QT is referencing to whenever there’s a closeup of Uma’s face/eyes and “psycho” music plays. Its not something most people catch, but I noticed it twice and it seemed strangely familar. \*\* It’s one that **Diogenese** mentioned. It’s the beginning of the theme from the TV show “Ironside.” In the series, it plays during the opening credits when a sniper’s scope target is aiming at the title character, about to shoot the bullet the paralyzes him. (The series starred Raymond Burr in a wheelchair as a paralyzed… lawyer? detective? I can’t remember.) And it wasn’t just the Green Hornet theme that was playing; all of O-ren’s 88 fighters wore Kato masks from the show. I thought the shots of the Tokyo cityscape as she was flying in were a reference to the Toho monster movies that used obviously fake models to stand in for the city. And the band inside the restaurant seemed typical of the Japanese go-go bands they’d have playing in 60’s-era monster movies. The ridiculous firehose of blood spray that seems to come out of every wound during the sword battles, is a technique that Akira Kurosawa’s samurai movies use a lot. Especially the final battle of _Sanjuro_. (I’m not spoiling anything, really.) I thought it was pretty clever that only the sword battles used that technique, and IIRC it only starts once they go to Japan. I didn’t get all that many direct references, since I haven’t seen a lot of B-movies other than monster movies on MST3k. I’ve read that the theme that Daryl Hannah whistles while in the hospital is the theme from a horror movie called [Twisted Nerve](http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0063729/), but I’ve never seen the movie. There were dozens of references to spaghetti westerns, I’m sure, but I didn’t catch them since I’ve never been a fan. The only reference that bugged me was the one to Trix cereal commercials. In the trailer, O-ren asks The Bride if she thought it was going to be that easy, The Bride basically says “yes,” O-ren replies “Silly rabbit” and they cut it right there. I wish the movie had stopped there; dragging it out was kind of clumsy. That’s a nit-pick, I know, but it still bugged me. ---
**Author:** ![richardb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/96bed5/32.png) [@richardb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/richardb)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2003, 9:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kill-bill-help-me-spot-the-references-maybe-spoilers/206941/4 "2003-10-12T09:56:48Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by raizok \* > **Someone else said the airplane ride with the map resembles Raiders of the Lost Ark.** I think this has been used in film much earlier than _Raiders_… _Casablanca_, for example. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Death](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecccb3/32.png) [@Evil\_Death](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Death)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2003, 10:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kill-bill-help-me-spot-the-references-maybe-spoilers/206941/5 "2003-10-12T10:13:10Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by SolGrundy \* > \*\*The ridiculous firehose of blood spray that seems to come out of every wound during the sword battles, is a technique that Akira Kurosawa’s samurai movies use a lot. \*\* “A lot”? I’ve not seen Sanjuro, but I’ve seen most of the other classic Kurosawa samurai movies and it doesn’t happen in any of them that I recall. The blood fountains are paying more homage to the likes of Shogun Assassin and the original Lone Wolf and Cub movies from the 70s IMNSHO. On a related topic, did anyone else notice that the Battle in the House of Blue Leaves was deliberately shot to resemble a 1950’s Japanese samurai movie? Likewise, the other scenes set in Japan were shot to resemble 1970s martial arts movies and the flashbacks to the wedding to resemble spaghetti westerns. All those scenes were then retouched to match the originals visually as well as stylistically. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2003, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kill-bill-help-me-spot-the-references-maybe-spoilers/206941/6 "2003-10-12T12:52:44Z")
It doesn’t do me ANY credit to recognize this “homage,” but… Years back, probably when I was in high school, I saw an incredibly bad movie by Tobe Hooper, called “Eaten Alive” (it starred Neville Brand as a deranged hotel owner who fed people to a giant alligator he kept in his back yard). Quentin Tarantino must’ve seen that movie too, because one of the co-stars is a VERY young Robert Englund (pre Freddie Krueger, of course) as a horny cowboy, who proclaims (loud and often) “My name’s Buck, and I’m here to f\*\*\*!” ---
**Author:** ![DrMemory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/977dab/32.png) [@DrMemory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrMemory)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2003, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kill-bill-help-me-spot-the-references-maybe-spoilers/206941/7 "2003-10-12T13:21:06Z")
Can anyone tell me why the decided to split this film into two parts? I hear part two isn’t coming until Feb. Do they think the average movie goer isn’t able to sit through 3 hours? I’m gonna hate waiting… Good film, took away most of the bad taste left in my mouth after watching Jackie Brown… ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2003, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kill-bill-help-me-spot-the-references-maybe-spoilers/206941/8 "2003-10-12T14:44:07Z")
I think it would have come in close to four hours as one movie. Theater chains don’t much like long movies because it cuts down on the number of screenings they can do per day. I suppose Mirimax also sees this as a chance to double their money by getting audiences to pay two admission prices. I’m guessing that the DVD will probably roll them both into one movie. > [@](#): > > The only reference that bugged me was the one to Trix cereal commercials. In the trailer, O-ren asks The Bride if she thought it was going to be that easy, The Bride basically says “yes,” O-ren replies “Silly rabbit” and they cut it right there. I wish the movie had stopped there; dragging it out was kind of clumsy. That’s a nit-pick, I know, but it still bugged me. I know what you mean but I got the feeling they were alluding to something from their shared DiVAS past that will be explicated in volume 2. ---
**Author:** ![minlokwat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minlokwat/32/2844_2.png) [@minlokwat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minlokwat)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2003, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kill-bill-help-me-spot-the-references-maybe-spoilers/206941/9 "2003-10-12T16:11:06Z")
Well, this is on a related note, but a noticed a lot of references to previous Tarantino films. Off the top of my head: Lucy’s Liu’s gang walking through the restaurant reminded me of the similar scene in **Reservoir Dogs**. From **Pulp Fiction** , let’s see: -Identical font in opening credits. -You can hear an old-time radio dial being turned from one song to another. -Uma awakens out of coma in almost identical fashion. -Bizarro-rapists who get what’s coming to them. -Barefoot Uma stepping out of truck looks like she’s wearing the same type of capris pants she wears during the P.F. twist scene. -Japanese dancers all doing the twist on the dance floor. -“Flight of the Bumblebee” song sounded very similar to P.F.'s opening credit song. There are a few others but I can’t think of them right now. Also, the bullet doing the slow-motion extraction from the gun has been done in several movies. The bullet heading for the victim and the victim actually seeing and reacting to it reminded me of **Natural Born Killers**. ---
**Author:** ![Jello](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f05b48/32.png) [@Jello](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jello)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2003, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kill-bill-help-me-spot-the-references-maybe-spoilers/206941/10 "2003-10-12T16:35:02Z")
“Death List Five” reminded me of “Fox Force Five” from PF, but that could have just been me. I haven’t seen any samurai flicks or anything of that nature to get any references of that sort. ---
**Author:** ![Mercutio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/51bf81/32.png) [@Mercutio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mercutio)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2003, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kill-bill-help-me-spot-the-references-maybe-spoilers/206941/11 "2003-10-12T17:18:52Z")
When Uma is talking about being square, she does the shape of a square with her finger. She did this in Pulp Fiction when she was calling Vincent square, but she did it with both fingers and they added a dotted line effect that make it look clearly like a rectangle more than anything. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2003, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kill-bill-help-me-spot-the-references-maybe-spoilers/206941/12 "2003-10-12T19:19:38Z")
> [@](#): > > Bizarro-rapists who get what’s coming to them. See also: [_I Spit On Your Grave_](http://www.stomptokyo.com/movies/i/i-spit-on-your-grave.html). Also, the tune that Elle Driver starts whistling as she is walking through the hospital corridor is the theme from the horror movie [_Twisted Nerve_](http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0063729/). ---
**Author:** ![Fibber\_McGee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a6a055/32.png) [@Fibber\_McGee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fibber_McGee)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2003, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kill-bill-help-me-spot-the-references-maybe-spoilers/206941/13 "2003-10-12T20:29:22Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Diogenes the Cynic \* > \*\* > > I’m guessing that the DVD will probably roll them both into one movie. > > \*\* Hard to believe this was posted by someone who calls themselves a cynic. Around four months seems to be the time it now takes between a movie’s theatrical and video/dvd release, so I’m betting Vol. 1 comes out on DVD just as Vol. 2 hits theaters, with Vol. 2 to follow later with an SE combining the two probably coming out at the same time. ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2003, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kill-bill-help-me-spot-the-references-maybe-spoilers/206941/14 "2003-10-12T21:17:23Z")
This has pretty much been confirmed. In some interview, Tarantino, who described himself as a “collecting geek,” said that Volumes 1 and 2 will be released on DVD separately with plenty of extras, and then later on, Miramax would release a collected edition with the whole movie and NEW and DIFFERENT extras (including possibly a whole new Tarantino film!). So for true Tarantino fanboys like me, we’d have to buy them all to get all the bells and whistles. ---
**Author:** ![widdershins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f0a364/32.png) [@widdershins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/widdershins)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2003, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kill-bill-help-me-spot-the-references-maybe-spoilers/206941/15 "2003-10-12T23:29:28Z")
There _is_ an eruption of blood during the last swordfight, a duel, in _Sanjuro_, but the film is fairly tame until then, IIRC. There is a bloody beheading in _Ran_, the camera pans up to avoid showing the actual head chop, but the vivid “firehose of blood” splatters a wall panel quite memorably. Haven’t seen KB Vol. 1 yet (probably tomorrow though), but considering the “grindhouse” and genre movies QT is paying influence to - rather than Akira Kurosawa - the gushing blood and graphic violence is more likely a tribute to the Lone Wolf and Cub/Babycart of Death/_Shogun Assassin_ films as **Evil Death** posted as well as other ultraviolent samurai film series like The Razor films and the Sleepy Eyes Of Death films. ---
**Author:** ![SolGrundy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbce88/32.png) [@SolGrundy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SolGrundy)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2003, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kill-bill-help-me-spot-the-references-maybe-spoilers/206941/16 "2003-10-12T23:53:56Z")
Y’all are right; the blood effect is too over-the-top to be a direct reference to Kurosawa. I know it’s in _Sanjuro_, and _Ran_ although as **widdershins** said it’s a little bit more implied. It’s been so long since I’ve seen _Yojimbo_ I can’t remember if they do the same thing. At least I didn’t say it was a reference to Monty Python. ---
**Author:** ![Quack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e99b99/32.png) [@Quack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quack)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2003, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kill-bill-help-me-spot-the-references-maybe-spoilers/206941/17 "2003-10-13T00:47:35Z")
Am I the only one that noticed the huge billboard for Red Apple Cigarettes like Butch smokes in _Pulp_? ---
**Author:** ![look\_ninjas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b2d939/32.png) [@look\_ninjas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/look_ninjas)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2003, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kill-bill-help-me-spot-the-references-maybe-spoilers/206941/18 "2003-10-13T01:38:32Z")
Nope. Had to chuckle at that one. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2003, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kill-bill-help-me-spot-the-references-maybe-spoilers/206941/19 "2003-10-13T01:46:13Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Larry Mudd \* > \*\*the tune that Elle Driver starts whistling as she is walking through the hospital corridor is the theme from the horror movie [_Twisted Nerve_](http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0063729/). \*\* Thank you, Larry Mudd & SolGrundy. I though that sounded like Bernard Herrman, but I’ve never seen that or any other movie where he used that tune (Herrman recyceld a lot; eg. the theme for “On Dangerous Ground” is pretty much the same as “Garden of Evil”). ---
**Author:** ![Avumede](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/avumede/32/7235_2.png) [@Avumede](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Avumede)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2003, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kill-bill-help-me-spot-the-references-maybe-spoilers/206941/20 "2003-10-13T02:10:09Z")
Yojimbo - the part where the Bride kills all of the henchmen except one, then tells the last one, who’s looking mighty scared, to go home to his mommy and stop messing with Yakuza. It’s virtually identical to the end of Yojimbo. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kill-bill-help-me-spot-the-references-maybe-spoilers/206941.md?page=2)