Also, the music at times if very much like Ennio Morricone’s westerns. I believe Zamphyr, master of the Pan Flute performed some of the music. He also performed at least one of Morricone’s scores (the great Once Upon a Time in America).
Ren-Iishi’s revenge scene also seemed like a homage to Once Upon a Time in the West (which itself was a homage to tons of other westerns) - in particular the scene where the motive of the revenge is revealed only when the villain draws their last breath.
The bit with Vernita and the Bride switching from combat-mode to their bosom-pals routine to shield the little girl from unpleasantness is straight out of John Woo’sThe Killer, which is also referenced in Jackie Brown.
(In The Killer, the protected innocent is the protaganist’s blind wife.)
The martial arts battle in silhouette scene occurs in several moves, though at the moment the only one I can think of is Forced Vengeance. Chuck Norris plays an American betrayed by his boss, and spends the movie tracking down the Japanese crime lord responsible, killing his minions along the way, which is the plot, such as it is, of the last hour of Kill Bill.
Martial artists battling while jumping around on tables also happens in several movies, the most prominent I can think of being Tai Chi Master, with Michelle Yeoh battling Fennie Yuen.
The switching from combat to cooperation scene is also in Hard Boiled in which the two combatants stop to save a ward full of babies.
Also, two very prominent actors from 70’s martial arts movies make cameos: Sonny Chiba (the Street Fighter movies) plays the master sword maker, and Gordon Lui (Shaolin Master Killer) plays Johnny Mo.
The miniature that the plane flys over when arriving in Tokyo is from a recent Godzilla movie.
Not just “very much like,” but at least one actual Morricone composition. Read the credits: The songs list a number of spaghetti-western cuts, including the minor pulp classic Death Rides a Horse starring Lee Van Cleef.
The swordfight in the snow at the end occasionally reminded me of a similar scene in the kung fu classic One Armed Swordsman.
The bit where the Bride looks back over the room full of dead bodies is reminiscent of a moment in another kung fu classic, Vengeance (directed by Chang Cheh, who gets a shoutout at the end of the closing credits).
There’s a high probability of the character of Elle Driver being based on the protagonist of the notorious Swedish revenge movie Thriller.
(Haven’t seen it – can’t wait.)
Is it just me, or did the blood spurting remind you of that one Monty Python Flying Circus skit?
Also, Uma did the square thing in Pulp Fiction
Side note, didn’t Uma’s character in Pulp talk about her being in a pilot about female assasins?!?
Another side note - Coolest moment in the film - when she blinks and it goes from black and white to color. LOVED IT!
D.
Ah, Sam Peckinpah’s Salad Days.
One of the funniest skits ever!
I believe there is one night scene in Yojimbo where a few guys are cut, stand still for a moment, issue forth a spray of blood, and then keel over.
I felt really stupid after the show, because it took me about fifteen minutes eating ice cream before I made the connection to Bill’s pack and another old kung-fu film. They all have names of snakes, and although I forget the name used in the movie, their name is essentially “The Five Deadly Venoms” (who, admitadely weren’t all snakes, but still…the homage is there).
Also, I thought the use of black and white during the big fight scene was an homage to Kurosawa, but apparently, it was just to avoid getting an NC-17 rating due to all the blood and gore. Still, I think it worked.
I don’t know if it was a reference to anything, but I remember while watching the Bride on the plane thinking “How the hell did she get that sword past customs?” Then I noticed EVERYONE ON THE PLANE had a sword. Is this a reference to anything, or just a fun little thing thrown in?
The actress who plays Go-Go, the crazy Japanese schoolgirl, is another reference via casting. She has prieviously appeared in the movie “Battle Royale” as Chigusa. In BR, she is a schoolgirl (hence the uniform) who stabs a fellow classmate in the crotch after he propses that they do the nasty. Which is exactly the same thing she does in Kill Bill, albeit in somewhat different circumstances.
The secret-society-named-after-snakes thing has been done so much that it’s become a cliche, which fits in perfectly with the theme of this movie. It’s been used in a series of video games (Metal Gear), Captain America comics, and at least two different kung fu movies.
I thought of a new reference last night. The scene in which The Bride fights the 88’s by spinning around on the floor and slicing at their feet, ankles and knees could be a reference to Fist of Fury, in which Bruce Lee fights a Japanese martial arts school by spinning around on the floor attacking his opponents’ feet and ankles.
Don’t forget COBRA, the snake-themed “ruthless terrorist organization” from G.I. Joe (where there actually was a character named Copperhead and a whole army of different Vipers). However, COBRA never seemed to kill anyone like real terrorists–they were too concerned with stealing machines that controlled the weather, or turning avocados into platinum, and other such schemes.
The closeup to the eyes shot is often used in in old school HK Kung Fu movies during the entrance of multiple surrounding attackers. The eyes typically move back and forth and is intended to suggest the nearly superhuman situational awareness that allows, for instance, a single hero to dismember half the limbs of 88 black-masked, katana-wielding chinamen.
Did anyone see the “DM” logo on the breast of the Game of Death style suit that Uma wore? It was clearly a “DM,” not a “BM” that might be the initials for “Black Mamba.” I’m thinking this might be reference to Drunken Master which was directed by the same guy that choreographed the fight scenes in Kill Bill (Yuen Woo-Ping).
The movie also has a cameo by Gordon Liu (the partner/employee of Hattori Hanza who bitched about serving tea) who played the lead in “The 36 Chambers of Shaolin” (aka “Master Killer”) which is the only Kung Fu movie I own on tape/dvd. Probably my favorite KF flick of all time.
This thread needs this link: QT lists the movies that influenced him , originally in the LA times (reprinted here in the San Jose Mercury).
Haven’t seen any of these movies, myself.
Not everyone – just the one person who’s sitting across the aisle from her. Personally, I think the implication is they decided to have Hanzo return to L.A. with her.
Really trivial spoiler for Vol. 2:Hattori Hanzo only appears once more in the rough script, offering support and advice via long-distance telephone from Okinawa after the Bride finds out that her daughter is still alive.
The extra sword made me think they decided that worked better with Hattori Hanzo there in the flesh, but Sonny Chiba isn’t even listed in the IMdB credits for Vol. 2, so you might be right and folks in Tarantino’s universe are just very relaxed about big-assed swords in your carry-on luggage.
You can be sure that they still have to take off their shoes (and socks) at security, though. In close-up. 
Michael Bowen plays “Buck” in Kill Bill, he was also in Jackie Brown, but more significantly, he is the half-brother of Keith and Robert Carradine, and I’m assuming the son of David Carradine, who plays “Bill”.
I was really hoping for a “Valley Girl” reference from him.
It has been a long long time since I saw Pulp Fiction, so my memory might be way off.
But, the house that is across the street from Vernita Green’s place. Was that the same house that they took Marvin to when they shot him in the back of the car?
I thought it was odd that they started the scene looking at that house, and then it turned out the house to look for was across the street.
But, like I said, it’s been a long time since I have seen Pulp Fiction, and that house might have nothing to do with anything.
Does anyone know for sure?
pat
That could be. It’s the kind of thing QT would do. He likes to integrate minor aspects of his movies together. For instance, Vincent Vega, the Travolta character in Pulp Fiction is said by QT to be the brother of the Michael Madsen character in Reservoir Dogs. Another rather tongue in cheek detail is the “Buddy Holly” waiter played by Steve Buscemi in the Jackrabbit Slim sequence from Pulp. Buscemi also played Mr. Pink in Resevoir Dogs and was the only character in the film who might have survived (the film ends with Mr. Pink running outside where police sirens and gunshots are heard off screen. It’s not clear whether Pink is killed or not). Buscemi has said that QT told him to play the waiter as “Mr. Pink,” having survived somehow and now being on the lam from the cops.
I would have to look at the DVD of the Mr. Wolf scene from Pulp and compare to the house in KB. It could very well be an intentional reference…and a very perceptive spot on your part if correct.
The Ennio Morricone score from Death Rides a Horse turns up during the anime segment, which is a reference to the plot of that movie, where John Philip Law plays a man who takes revenge on the people who he watched murder his parents and sister when he was a child. Pretty good movie, BTW.
The airplane/map graphic has been used since waaay back in movies, and also appears in Jackie Brown.
The fight in the snowy garden recalls about 3 zillion samurai and kung fu flicks that have their climax take place in just such a location.
And the setting of the brawl before that, in a two-level teahouse/restaurant with a balcony running around a central open area, recalls every single kung fu movie ever.