Posted on 10/15/2003 11:54:28 AM PDT by weegee
Edited on 04/13/2004 2:44:25 AM PDT by Jim Robinson. [history]
Quentin Tarantino said something at the London premiere of his new film, something extraordinary. He encouraged kids to see "Kill Bill -- Volume 1," a film that, depending on your opinion, is either a sickening bloodbath, a delightful bloodbath, a boring bloodbath or a comic bloodbath, but definitely, indisputably, a bloodbath.
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
Kill Bill is not a movie for kids. It surprise me and even Harry Knowles that this got an R rating (I'm of the mind that Disney "needed" an R so Disney "got" an R). Even this critic thinks that Tarantino may just be playing the bad boy when he says that kids should go see it. Takashi Miike said the same thing in Japan about his recent film Ichi The Killer (even though it was rated so as to prohibit kids).
That said, many critics (some of whom praised the film and some of whom didn't like the film) did not understand this film.
The critic could have just given the drive in totals: 50(?) dead bodies, 0 breast, no beasts (except for the child molesting yakuza boss). Arms roll, heads roll, kung fu, door fu, hatchet fu, mace fu,...
The "girl power" is that rape and revenge films are "empowering". A horrible assault is committed but rather than remain a victim, the girl/woman gets revenge on her attackers. This is true for both rape victims in the film (even the "animated" one).
Odd to see a liberal (all of the staff writings I've encountered at the SF Gate have been libs, I see know reason to suspect otherwise) attacking a film that contains almost no gun violence. Tarantino has no time for the critics who like violence dumbed down and muted down. Action films "promise" action but it too many films, the "hero" is not permitted to kill the villian (the villian nowdays has to die by an accident or his own hand). Even John Woo was castrated to respect Hollywood's moral code (see the end of Face Off where the villain falls on a speargun; the hero can't deliver the death blow).
Is the violence in Kill Bill "wrong" because we don't get enough shots of the criminals selling dope to school children and victimizing poor families to "deserve" their bloody ends? Think I'm making that up? Notice how the cop who gets his brains eaten in Hannibal is portrayed as a horrible racist/sexist (and probably homophobe); he "deserves" being eaten alive.
The use of the word misogynistic is one thing that leads me to believe that this critic is a lib. I have news for him. This is only a movie, only a movie, only a movie. The bride's rapes are not shown on screen and the animated statutory rape of the other girl ends with the death of her attacker. Is it prurient to have rape in this film at all? Nothing graphic is shown. Is the the rape in Thelma and Louise prurient? Is that film "misogynistic" or is it "empowering"?
I would not advise anyone to see Kill Bill if they think that it is not the kind of film that they would like to see. It is being given a wide release even though it is really a film for a niche audience. Too many critics (and even audience members) are responding to just the visceral elements of this film. That is their loss/mistake, not mine.
But with a hearty thank you!
Life of Christ as a movie is hateful.
Kill Bill is great family entertainment.
Take your kids to see both! Then ask them who they would rather believe in. I think Uma wins hands down.
I have not been following the discussions of The Passion heavily (many are by people who have not seen the film or that cite that the film will stir up antisemitism). I know that the studios have been reluctant to distribute this film.
I know the backlash that Mel Gibson has gotten over his film (and the personal attacks). I think that some of the controversy (albeit not the overwhelming circumstance) is that he is screening the movie now with subtitles but will release it without subtitles (the cast speaks Aramaic) to the public.
It will be an interesting way to see the film (and I already watch some foreign language films without subtitles and only a basic understanding of the plot) but the full understanding may only come through after several viewings.
There is an asian director who make action films and he tries to develop his characters through scenes without any dialogue. He knows that his films are seen in a number of countries and believes that the viewer can miss significant details by looking primarly at the bottom of the screen to see the next line of dialogue. Sometimes reading the dialogue can also give a line "reading" before something has happened onscreen killing the timing.
I think that there are a number of film afficiandos who like (and understand) Kill Bill who are also looking forward to The Passion (even Harry Knowles has stated that he wants to see this film).
That was Sam Peckinpah's version of Salad Days.
http://www.geocities.com/pythoninsanity/Season3Episode7.html
Julian: I say, Lionel, catch. (He throws the tennis ball to Lionel. It hits Lionel on the head. Lionel claps one hand to his forehead. He roars in pain as blood seeps through his fingers.)
Lionel: Oh gosh. (He tosses his racket out of frame and we hear a hideous scream. The camera pans to pick up a pretty girl in summer frock with the handle of the racket embedded in her stomach. Blood is pouring out down her dress.) (He tosses his racket out of frame and we hear a hideous scream. The camera pans to pick up a pretty girl in summer frock with the handle of the racket embedded in her stomach. Blood is pouring out down her dress.)
...
And from there it gets really bloody. If they did the sketch today, they would have used Tarantino instead of Peckinpah.
My top top favourite is their rendition of what a Sam Peckinpah production of Salad Days might look like. After suggesting a tennis match ("I say, care for a spot of tennis anyone?"), a party guest gets a tennis ball smacked in his eye, which of course means oodles of blood pouring out in slow motion against the idyllic backdrop of a clear summer's day. Soon a piano cover falls on someone's hands and the poor chap is reduced to having two stumps spurting blood like a fountain of punch. You get the picture. Peckinpah must have loved this!
I won't try to win you (or others) over to like this film. I plainly state that it's not for everyone. I don't even qualify that as "you'll either love it or you'll hate it".
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