Other Titles • Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003) • Kill Bill Vol. 1 • Kill Bill: Volume 1 • Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill: Volume One
Trivia from Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)
1
Warren Beatty was originally offered the role of Bill. After turning it down, he suggested to Quentin Tarantino that he use David Carradine. Quentin has said that if he had taken it, Bill would have been a more suave, James Bond-type character.
Kevin Costner was also considered for the title role of "Bill", but he turned it down to do Open Range (2003) instead.
(75 votes)
2
When the Bride said the word "square" to Copperhead, she draws three sides of a square in the air with her finger. Uma Thurman's character in Pulp Fiction (1994) did just about the same thing (only, then she drew all 4 sides).
"That would be about square"
(78 votes)
3
Buck's line, "My name is Buck, and I'm here to fuck" was originally said by Robert Englund in Eaten Alive (1977)
(72 votes)
4
When the Bride arrives at the Tokyo Airport, you see her walk in front of a "Red Apple Cigarettes" advertisement. Red Apple is also a "Tarantino brand". Butch smoked them in Pulp Fiction (1994), for example.
(73 votes)
5
Christopher Allen Nelson, who worked on the special effects, revealed in interview that over 450 gallons of fake blood was used on the two Kill Bill movies.
(57 votes)
6
Uma Thurman was offered the script to Kill Bill, and her role as "The Bride", as a 30th Birthday present from Quentin Tarantino.
7
Uma Thurman's yellow track-suit is a direct homage to the one worn by Bruce Lee in Game of Death (1978).
8
Quentin Tarantino has confirmed in interviews that the "Deadly Viper Assassination Squad (DIVAS)" was inspired by "Fox Force Five", the fictional television show that Mia Wallace (Uma Thurman) filmed in Pulp Fiction (1994).
9
According to Quentin 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.
Sonny Chiba makes katanas in real life. In the movie, his character Hattori Hanzo is a renowned katana maker who has taken a blood vow to never create an instrument of death again.
10
The members of the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad are all named for snakes: Sidewinder, Black Mamba, Cottonmouth, Copperhead, and California Mountain (King) snake. They are also the names of enemies of Captain America.
11
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). During his 1996 film festival in Austin, Texas, Quentin Tarantino screened Twisted Nerve.
12
The masks worn by the Crazy 88 gang are homage to Kato's (Bruce Lee) mask in "The Green Hornet" (1966)
According to Shingon belief in Japan, the number 88 represents all the evil in the world. You can do a tour of 88 buddhist temples to free yourself from all these evils.
13
The black and white photography is, in the end, an homage to '70's and '80s US television airings of kung fu movies. Black and white, and also black and red, were used to "hide" the shedding of blood from television censors. It was, however, originally, to be shown in color (and is in the Japanese cut of the film) but the MPAA demanded measures be taken to tone the scene down. Tarantino merely used the old trick for its intended purpose, rather than merely as an homage.
In the restaurant, the Bride kills 57 people.
14
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).
15
The entrance to the traffic tunnel in Tokyo is in fact the entrance to the second street tunnel in Los Angeles (Blade Runner) with Japanese traffic signs added.
16
Buck (the nurse played by Michael Bowen) has the same "Elvis" sunglasses as Clarence Worley (Christian Slater) in True Romance (1993).
17
The "row of sunglasses on the Sheriff's dashboard" gag is a direct lift from the opening scene of the original Gone in 60 Seconds (1974)
18
When The Bride stands over the remains of the Crazy 88 Killers, Quentin Tarantino, in mask, is among them.
19
The church scene was shot in the Mojave Desert outside of Lancaster, CA. Keep an eye out during this scene for a cameo by Samuel L. Jackson as the dead organ player and Bo Svenson as the preacher.
20
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).
21
Okinawa is widely regarded as one of the worst possible places to get good sushi. In other words, a sushi joint in Okinawa would make a fine hiding place.
22
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.
23
The original trailer for this film, although featuring no actual blood-shed, raised the ire of the MPAA with the sight of The Bride's blood-stained clothes. As such it became the first to be subjected to the MPAA's new "no blood" policy for trailers, in which all sight of the bodily fluid must be alternately colored or removed entirely. This is why the trailers for this film (and similarly for every film released in the US thereafter) feature The Bride's clothes covered in blackish-brown stains were the blood would be.
24
When Chiaki Kuriyama (GoGo) was shooting the scene where she flings her ball and chain out, she accidentally hit Quentin Tarantino on the head while he stood by the camera.
25
Director Quentin Tarantino was a big fan or the Japanese movie Batoru rowaiaru (2000) so he cast Chiaki Kuriyama (who played Takako Chigusa in Batoru rowaiaru (2000)) as Gogo Yubari.
also Ju-On and Shikoku
26
Quentin Tarantino owns the "Pussy Wagon" and drove as his everyday vehicle to promote the release of Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004). He licensed use of it for the Missy 'Misdemeanor' Elliott music video, "I'm Really Hot".
Have you seen the Missy Elliot video that pays homage to Kill Bill?
QT: I'm dying to see it. I've left the television on BET on all day so that I can catch it. I know about it. I met her at the Grammys and we talked about it a little bit. The Pussy-wagon is my car, by the way. They had to rent it from me. I was very honored.
In the original script, Gogo Yubari had a sister named Yuki, who was meant to take her revenge on The Bride in Volume II. In the cut Yuki chapter, she blows up The Bride's Pussy Wagon. At least some of this is kept in the final movie, as at the end The Bride makes a reference to it meetings its end. In real life Quentin owns the car, and he even let it be used in a Missy Elliot music video.
27
The idea for Kill Bill was dreamt up by Uma and Quentin on the Pulp Fiction set many years ago. The role of The Bride was always intended for Uma, and production was even delayed when she became pregnant so she could still take the role.
It took six years to write the entire script before being split into two parts. The original draft was about 220 pages long.
28
Quentin has said he would like to do Kill Bill: Volume III, with Nikki (Vernita Green's daughter) taking her revenge on The Bride. He envisions her growing up under the care of Elle and Sofie Fatale.
Will there be a Volume 3 to Kill Bill?
There might very well be. I've thought about doing another volume to the movie, but not right now. I've thought about doing it fifteen years from now. The Bride would not be the star. It would be about her daughter. I've got the whole mythology figured out how she grows up and what would happen. It is quite complex. We'd go on her journey, and it would also be one of revenge.
Quentin Tarantino has hinted at two possible spin-offs, one being an all anime backstory of the DiVAS, the other being a spin-off in the future where Vernita Green's ('Vivaca A. Fox' ) daughter, Nikki (Ambrosia Kelley), goes on a quest for revenge against the Bride.
29
Julie Dreyfus (Sofie Fatale), who speaks fluent Japanese (and who had been living in Japan for the last 10 years) helped with casting in Japan, and was given a crew credit for doing so. She was also chosen for her role because Quentin had previously seen her worked and liked it.
Julie Dreyfus, speaks three different languages in the movie. She speaks fluent Japanese until the end where she speaks in her native French to insult the Bride (Uma Thurman) and then in clear English when she talks to Bill.
30
Originally The Bride was going to face down Bill on the beach in her wedding dress (as the Vol 2 posters hinted at), but as production went on for too long and it became too difficult to film, the idea was dropped.
31
The last scene Uma filmed, and perhaps not so coincidentally the one she looks most tired in, is the scene with Esteban.
32
Robert Rodriguez wanted to be part of the films so much he offered to score the second volume for free, and then let Quentin decide whether he wanted to use it or not. He did.
RZA is a member of WuTanClan
Robert Rodriguez scored this movie for $1. Quentin Tarantino said he would repay him by directing a segment of Rodriguez's project Sin City (2005) for $1.
33
Despite being bleeped out in the film, the name of The Bride is revealed on her plane tickets to Okinawa and Tokyo.
"Hi honey, I'm [bleep]"
"[bleep] asked you a question"
34
Quentin Tarantino originally intended to cast a Japanese actress to play O-Ren Ishii, but before casting began he saw Lucy Liu's work in Shanghai Noon (2000) and immediately changed O-Ren into a Chinese-Japanese American so that Liu could play the part.
35
The "Old Klingon Proverb": "Revenge is a dish best served cold" is from a joke in Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan (1982). (The quote is actually from the book "Les Liaisons Dangereuses" (1782) by Choderlos de Laclos).
36
The cartoon map graphics, showing the Bride's plane traveling across the world, are also used in Jackie Brown (1997).
37
Parts of the music in the anime sequence come from the Sweetwater theme in _C'era Una Volta il West (1968)_ .
38
The owner of The House of the Blue Leaves is called Charlie Brown (by O-Ren crew and in the closing credits). He is wearing a orange/yellow jacket with black stripe just like Charlie Brown from the Peanuts.
39
The sequence where the Bride fights behind the blue-screen and we can see her silhouette, is a reference to SF: Episode One (1998).
40
The shot where the Bride splits a baseball in two with a samurai sword was done for real on the set. It was done by Zoe Bell, Uma Thurman's stunt double.
41
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.
42
This became the first feature-length film directed by Quentin Tarantino to feature fewer than 100 uses of the word "fuck". It is used 17 times.
43
The music playing when O-Ren Ishii goes back into the room when the Bride is killing the crazy 88, is from the Japanese "Zatoichi" movies, featuring a blind swordsman.
44
Quentin Tarantino and producer Harvey Weinstein have been quoted as saying that Kill Bill was separated into two parts well into production. By splitting the movie into two parts, the film's advertising tagline, "In 2003, Uma Thurman Will Kill Bill!" was made false.
45
David Carradine confirmed that the killer of O-Ren's parents (during the animated sequence) is Bill.
46
The line that O-Ren and The Bride speak together in the House of Blue Leaves - "Silly rabbit / Trix are for kids" - refers to an advertising slogan for breakfast cereal. It is also a cryptic reference to The Bride's name.
47
Uma Thurman uses the same samurai sword Bruce Willis has in Pulp Fiction.
48
Theatrical Release: October 10, 2003
49
Michael Parks plays Sheriff Earl McGraw, the same character that the Gecko brothers killed at the beginning of the Quentin Tarantino-written From Dusk Till Dawn (1996). Also, Parks' real son, James Parks, reprises his own role of Deputy McGraw ("Son #1") from From Dusk Till Dawn 2: Texas Blood Money (1999) (V).
Mooviees.com is not the official site for this film.
All editorial views and opinions expressed here are for entertainment purposes only.
Movie Database
In Theaters
