# Mistake in Kill Bill (Small spoiler) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 17, 2003, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mistake-in-kill-bill-small-spoiler/207903 "2003-10-17T01:04:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Deadmime](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90ced4/32.png) [@Deadmime](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deadmime)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2003, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mistake-in-kill-bill-small-spoiler/207903/1 "2003-10-17T01:04:27Z")
First I want to say this was a great movie, and this only a small mistake and might not even be if its corrected in the next volume. Black Mamba flys to japan from Texas (or maybe its arizona, i’m not sure.) and when she is suppose to return from there she goes and kills Vivica A Fox’s character. Well when she pulls up in Pasadena shes still driving the Pussy Wagon. Why would she drive all the way from Texas (or arizona) to Pasadena in the Pussy Wagon? Why wouldn’t she just fly there? Well like i said its minor and maybe we’ll see if she actually does drive there in the next one. ---
**Author:** ![Tars\_Tarkas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Tars\_Tarkas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tars_Tarkas)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2003, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mistake-in-kill-bill-small-spoiler/207903/2 "2003-10-17T01:07:17Z")
after the long flight back from Japan i doubt she’d be wanting to hop into a plane again. Plus she probably had to track her down, instead of looking up her address inthe phonebook. A better Question is why did she keep such a easily recongizable vehicle belonging to a murdered man? ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2003, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mistake-in-kill-bill-small-spoiler/207903/3 "2003-10-17T01:13:34Z")
Wanna know the best ever excuse for apparent plot holes in a movie? Head on over to [IMDB’s page of goofs for Kill Bill](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0266697/goofs), where you’ll find this gem: > [@](#): > > **Incorrectly regarded as goofs:** The many continuity lapses and other apparent technical errors are a matter of deliberate stylistic choice in this pastiche of 1970s “B” action movies. Bulletproof! Daniel ---
**Author:** ![Deadmime](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90ced4/32.png) [@Deadmime](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deadmime)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2003, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mistake-in-kill-bill-small-spoiler/207903/4 "2003-10-17T01:18:53Z")
I guess i could see that as a style, and i only thought about it the other day. Just like when she crosses Oren Ishi (sp?) name off the list before she wrote the list on the plane later. It was a great movie, and captured the spirit of the genre great (Just like Jackie Brown.) And like I said, it was minor anyways. Just wonder how the next volume will start off ---
**Author:** ![AndrewL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@AndrewL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AndrewL)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2003, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mistake-in-kill-bill-small-spoiler/207903/5 "2003-10-17T01:28:38Z")
How do you get a katana on an airplane, anyway? I don’t think the plot or continuity were supposed to make any sense. That’s part of what was so good about the movie. ---
**Author:** ![Deadmime](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90ced4/32.png) [@Deadmime](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deadmime)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2003, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mistake-in-kill-bill-small-spoiler/207903/6 "2003-10-17T01:41:35Z")
heh, i just thought of that as just a fun detail…Like you’re leaving America to Japan…Where everything is now over the top (the blood squirting etc) and who would stop a bad ass chick at the gate and say you have to check that? Besides everyone in Japan carries a Katana around i bet 🙂 its natural… ---
**Author:** ![Wumpus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8c91f0/32.png) [@Wumpus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wumpus)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2003, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mistake-in-kill-bill-small-spoiler/207903/7 "2003-10-17T01:58:58Z")
Heh, that’s actually one of my problems with Kill Bill – no matter what criticisms you have of the continuity or of more important things like characters or plot, the response is “Oh, it’s a pastiche of exploitation movies. It’s _supposed_ to be that way.” It’s using the general crappiness of exploitation movies as a crutch, really. One intentional gaffe that I found quite amusing, though, is when the Bride struggles to get into the Pussy Wagon–the music on the soundtrack cuts out “early” during a cut, just as it would on the badly damaged prints of many an old 70s B movie. ---
**Author:** ![Deadmime](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90ced4/32.png) [@Deadmime](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deadmime)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2003, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mistake-in-kill-bill-small-spoiler/207903/8 "2003-10-17T02:07:51Z")
I dont see a problem with the “B Movie” type atmosphere because thats what he’s going for. I knew that before i was going in there. and i thought the opening scene in the movie was brilliant. I do see a lot of the comical things in the movie as well, but I believe he caught the era exactly as 70 and 80’s japanese samurai movies were. They were all B movies really. I loved the cut to the anime and the backstory on Oren Ishi, It made you actually feel for her character…And you really didn’t want to see her die. I honestly liked the movie alot, i’ve already saw it twice and plan to see it at least one more time in the move theatre. I think it was a nice splice of Tarantino style and B-movie Japanese influence. ---
**Author:** ![Freiheit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e8c25b/32.png) [@Freiheit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freiheit)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2003, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mistake-in-kill-bill-small-spoiler/207903/9 "2003-10-17T03:30:40Z")
O-ren was already crossed off right after the death of whoever it was, but I figured this was just one of the conventional Tarantino time-jumps. One argument going against this is that it went “Chapter one, two, three…” ---
**Author:** ![Achernar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e274bd/32.png) [@Achernar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achernar)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2003, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mistake-in-kill-bill-small-spoiler/207903/10 "2003-10-17T04:01:46Z")
During the O-Ren/Bride fight scene, one of the translation captions incorrectly uses “whom”. It was something like “Whom in Okinawa made you that sword?” Also, eariler, when introducing O-Ren’s entourage, The Bride refers to one of the party as “the woman to O-Ren Ishii’s right”, when she’s actually to her left, the camera’s right. It’s extremely minor, I know, but it could have been intentional. I mean, I don’t know. Probably not. But whatever. ---
**Author:** ![Tanaqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3bc359/32.png) [@Tanaqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tanaqui)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2003, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mistake-in-kill-bill-small-spoiler/207903/11 "2003-10-17T04:07:09Z")
Um, I thought she just went to kill O-Ren first. Though it could just be purposeful messing with the timeline. Quentin Tarantino is an experienced director–do you honestly think this hugely anticipated movie could come through production with a continuity error that gigantic unless it was purposeful? Also, I thought the Bride retained the “Pussy Wagon” because it was symbolic of the independence and dignity she regained by killing the rapist/rapist assistant. It seems appropriate she’d take it to get revenge on the agent of the man who fucked her over. It’s the same principal that has minority groups attempting to retake words like “queer” or “bitch.” I don’t think the whole movie was on feminist themes, but that was still one of the undertones. ---
**Author:** ![scablet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@scablet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scablet)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2003, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mistake-in-kill-bill-small-spoiler/207903/12 "2003-10-17T04:07:43Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by AndrewL \* > \*\*How do you get a katana on an airplane, anyway? > \*\* From [this (highly informative and entertaining, btw) interview](http://www.japattack.com/japattack/film/tarantino.html) : > [@](#): > > **TM** : How about the samurai swords on the airplane?\_ > > **QT** : Well, this whole movie takes place in this special universe. This isn’t the real world. It’s funny that you bring it up because in the original script, Bill was going to have a different introduction. This is back when I was writing the part for Warren Beatty. The idea was that Bill would show up at this casino carrying a samurai sword, and the bodyguards, who also have samurai swords, ask him to leave it at the front desk. Warren goes, “wait a minute, hold it Quentin Everybody has a samurai sword?” I go “yeah.” He says, “how does that happen?” I say, “that’s the world that this movie takes place in. Everybody has a samurai sword.” And he goes, “oh! So this isn’t real life?” I go, "no! this is a movie movie universe and in this universe, people carry samurai swords. Not only do they carry samurai swords, not only can you bring a samurai sword on an airplane, there’s a place on the airplane seat to put your samurai sword! Now, I’m not saying you can do this on every flight, but on Japanese airlines you better believe there’s a place for you to put your samurai sword!\_ ---
**Author:** ![BraheSilver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecccb3/32.png) [@BraheSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BraheSilver)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2003, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mistake-in-kill-bill-small-spoiler/207903/13 "2003-10-17T04:17:03Z")
I thought the story was being told in a kind of flashback. Here’s my take: The fight with Copperhead(Fox) takes place in the “present.” As BM crosses her off the list and drives away in the PW, she goes into flashback mode for the wedding (4 years three months before) and her recovery(13 hours later), from which she goes directly to Okinawa. She spends one month there, then goes directly to Tokyo. Assuming she spends only a few days in Tokyo, she has a good two months to get the PW (assuming she didn’t drive to LA in it before she left[and why would she?]) to Pasadena and track down Copperhead. One question: What’s dripping off the back of the Pussy Wagon as the Bride finishes her recovery? There’s a puddle, and tire tracks when she pulls out, but it’s been in that space for at least 13 hours. ---
**Author:** ![BraheSilver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecccb3/32.png) [@BraheSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BraheSilver)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2003, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mistake-in-kill-bill-small-spoiler/207903/14 "2003-10-17T04:23:23Z")
D’oh. I meant her recovery **four years** later. That makes her a regular killing machine when she wakes up, slaughters Buck, then heads right to the sword man for revenge. ---
**Author:** ![Achernar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e274bd/32.png) [@Achernar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achernar)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2003, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mistake-in-kill-bill-small-spoiler/207903/15 "2003-10-17T04:46:21Z")
I agree that the story starts _in medias res_. I remembered something else, though. When she wakes up from her coma, and is sitting in the parking garage trying to wiggle her toe, she tells the history of O-Ren Ishii, including stuff that happened while she was in her coma, stuff she would have no way of knowing. ---
**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 17, 2003, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mistake-in-kill-bill-small-spoiler/207903/16 "2003-10-17T05:06:32Z")
> [@](#): > > **Achernar** : Also, eariler, when introducing O-Ren’s entourage, The Bride refers to one of the party as “the woman to O-Ren Ishii’s right”, when she’s actually to her left, the camera’s right. That really is built into her character, too-- she makes a whole lotta malapropisms & whatnot, like “trying to will my limbs out of _entropy_,” etc. ---
**Author:** ![BraheSilver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecccb3/32.png) [@BraheSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BraheSilver)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2003, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mistake-in-kill-bill-small-spoiler/207903/17 "2003-10-17T05:07:28Z")
As long as The Bride found out about O-Ren’s activities before the fight with Fox, she could have inserted that anywhere in her story. I don’t think it’s meant to be shown that the story is a linear display of her concious thoughts. I think it was a little better to have “here’s how tough O-Ren is, and I’m working on moving my toe” for laughs than to go from the hospital to the recovery in its entirety and perhaps move the animated section to during the airplane ride. ---
**Author:** ![scablet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@scablet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scablet)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2003, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mistake-in-kill-bill-small-spoiler/207903/18 "2003-10-17T05:17:05Z")
BraheSilver pegged it; rather than being a continuous inner monologue sort of deal, The Bride’s narration is all happening from the “present.” ---
**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 17, 2003, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mistake-in-kill-bill-small-spoiler/207903/19 "2003-10-17T05:37:36Z")
I’ll just take this opportunity to say Quentin Tarantino makes frequent use of homodiagetic anachrony. (Because I like to say ‘homodiagetic anachrony,’ and it rarely comes up in conversation.) ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2003, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mistake-in-kill-bill-small-spoiler/207903/20 "2003-10-17T05:59:16Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by BraheSilver \* > \*\*I thought the story was being told in a kind of flashback. Here’s my take: > > The fight with Copperhead(Fox) takes place in the “present.” As BM crosses her off the list and drives away in the PW, she goes into flashback mode for the wedding (4 years three months before) and her recovery(13 hours later), from which she goes directly to Okinawa. She spends one month there, then goes directly to Tokyo. Assuming she spends only a few days in Tokyo, she has a good two months to get the PW (assuming she didn’t drive to LA in it before she left[and why would she?]) to Pasadena and track down Copperhead.\*\* Okaaaay… then why doesn’t she have her God-cutting katana when she goes after Fox, relying instead on a simple knife? For that matter, why would Fox (an uber-trained assassin) miss her pistol shot, blasting a hole in the kitchen wall rather than Bride? Despite the nitpicking, though, I enjoyed this movie way more than _Matrix Reloaded_. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mistake-in-kill-bill-small-spoiler/207903.md?page=2)