‘Kill Bill: Volume 1′ 4K SteelBook Review: Show Me the Frickin’ Features!
Kill Bill is one of my favorite films. The two-part picture is in my top ten of all time. Writer/director Quentin Tarantino and I share a similar appreciation for the exploitation output of the ‘70s. I vibe hard with the look and feel of that time period. So, it’s only natural that I am drawn to his work, which is heavily influenced by that bygone era.
With Kill Bill: Volume 1 and 2 bowing on 4K SteelBook this week, I have my work cut out for me diving into the respective releases. Keeping with the natural order of things, I’ll weigh in on Volume 1 first. Stay tuned for my critique of Volume 2 in the near future, dear reader.
The setup for Kill Bill goes like this:
Kill Bill follows a woman known only as The Bride (Uma Thurman) on a singular mission to accomplish the feat the title promises. Throughout this two-part feature, she slices and dices her way to the man who left her to die on her wedding day. When The Bride reaches Bill (David Carradine), there will be no mercy.
Like most of Tarantino’s movies, Kill Bill: Volume 1 is loaded with Easter eggs and references. Hell, he even nods to Pulp Fiction when Uma Thurman (as The Bride) makes a gesture in the shape of a square similar to the way she famously did in that Oscar-winning effort. As for references to other creators, there are many. The writer/director even opens the flick with The Shaw Brothers’ logo. He nods to De Palma with the use of split screen. And who could overlook The Bride’s jumpsuit, which is a deliberate reference to the Bruce Lee picture Game of Death? And that’s just scratching the surface.
The high points of the film for me are Uma Thurman’s nuanced performance as The Bride, the razor-sharp dialogue, the brilliant needle drops throughout, the gorgeous set design, the expertly choreographed fight sequences, and the occasional moments of pitch-black comedy.
I also love that Tarantino tells us what’s going to happen with the film’s title but then leaves us dangling in suspense as we await the final showdown for roughly four hours. He takes his time getting there. But each exchange between characters and every battle sequence serves an important purpose. The expository sequences and flashbacks justify The Bride’s nearly unquenchable thirst for revenge. The extensive buildup makes the titular event feel monumental. Even though we don’t really get to know The Bride until the second half of the collective whole, we understand her rage and have cause to empathize with her plight.
But what about those bonus features?
If you’re reading this critique, you likely know how you feel about Kill Bill: Volume 1. So, from here on out, I will focus more on providing a verdict on whether or not this 4K SteelBook release is worth the investment than rehashing the picture’s ample merits. The short answer to that question is: It depends on whether or not you own a copy of the film in high definition. I was still rolling with my DVD copies from college. So, the upgrade is a no-brainer in my case. The SteelBook release features a crisp 4K transfer of the flick, a Blu-ray copy, and a Digital version to boot.
With all that said, if you already own the film on Blu-ray, your mileage will vary. I can tell little difference between an up-converted Blu-ray disc and a 4K disc. Sure, there is some detectable nuance in a side-by-side comparison. But if you are any distance from your screen, it’s less noticeable. With that said, the film looks and sounds gorgeous. The picture is crisp and the colors are vivid. So, if you are a videophile, the format upgrade may be worth the investment. If you are not, you may be left wanting.
Lionsgate is behind this most recent release (after the collapse of The Weinstein Company) and I am surprised that the studio, known for its genre output, seems relatively clueless as to what fans want from their physical media releases.
The fancy SteelBook packaging and new cover art are great. However, offering nothing but a couple of legacy features ported over from previous releases and trailers for some of Tarantino’s other films (seriously, that does not count as bonus content) shows a fundamental misunderstanding of the market. Most collectors who already own the Blu-ray need a better reason than a higher resolution to drop $40 for a film they already own.
The final verdict on this Kill Bill 4K SteelBook release:
I am grateful to Lionsgate for the screener and I will treasure my copy. However, I hesitate to tell anyone who already owns an HD transfer of the flick to rush out and buy this SteelBook release. If you’re looking to upgrade your DVD copy like I was, go for it. You can scoop up your SteelBook right here. If you seek something more feature-rich, however, you may want to wait for a boutique distributor to secure the rights and release the flick with a complement of special features that can do justice to the epic nature of the film.
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‘Kill Bill: Volume 1
Summary
‘Kill Bill” Volume 1’ hits all the right notes.
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