DVD Review HTF REVIEW: Kill Bill Vol. 1 (RECOMMENDED) (1 Viewer)

[Lou Sytsma]

Yep - I'll rent this and wait for the final SE of the 2 flicks. Only LOTR has gotten me to double dip...so far.

 

[James W. Johnson]

Im waiting for what I think will be a uncut complete vol1&2 3 or 4 Disc Edition.
>>>>>>>>>

I'd gladly double dip for this great movie but this release is good enough that the only way I'll be double dipping is if future releases have more movie footage added.


One thing you guys that are holding out for might want to consider ....Tarantino does not believe in adding anything after the movie is released hence why Pulp Fiction never got any such treatment. He says this on the Pulp Fiction SE DVD.

 

[Jerome Grate]

I am so there in picking this up TODAY.

 

[JonZ]

James,
QT has said hes holding the rigths for the Japanese version for a eventual arthouse and DVD release.

Also there was some info about a month back that when the films are combined, it will wont be a case of just editing Vol2 after 1,but the 2 will be combined in a alternate version.As none of this has been verified, well have to see.

 

[Nick T Robot]

Aside from the few minutes we got in Black and White, what else was cut from the R2 release? Any Plot or just a few shots of the fight with the Crazy 88's? How many minutes are we missing?


He does say this about Pulp Fiction. That is why the deleted scenes aren't cut back into the film, The theatrical release was also the "director's cut"

I haven't heard him say that about Kill Bill

 

[Jerry R Colvin]

I guess I'm living in a dream world, where Tarantino's next movie after Pulp Fiction was called Four Rooms, not Jackie Brown. Has that turkey been completely purged from his resume...?

 

[Marc Colella]

Not sure if that would count, since he only wrote/directed one story. Although I'm sure he would still like to forget that.

 

[Shane Martin]

I'm double dipping and whole heartedly agree with David's review. The harsh criticism here is rather unwarranted. If you wish to moan and groan about the color version/bw version crap and why you bought region 2,3 etc, go talk about it in the other region area. For me the B&W stuff was NOT a distraction and I enjoyed every minute of this film.

It's not the best movie of the year but it's pretty close.

 

[Doug Schiller]

The only thing you can be sure of, take whatever QT says with a grain of salt. We all remember his geek soaked rant on how cool the DVD releases would be and that every version would be unique.
What happens, Mirimax releases the bare bones movie (with a nice little EPK if you count that as an extra).
I'm not sure if QT is purposely pulling our legs or is sincere but just gets lazy when the time comes to actually produce the product.

I ended up Netflixing this to show my vote.

And, BTW, what a complete uninspired transfer. I felt like I was watching a movie on cable. Very little detail.
A movie like "Somethings Gotta Give" just jumps out of the screen with detail in an almost HD way but one of my favorites from last year looks yawn inducing.

The great Robert Richardson should sue the people that did the transfer. His beautiful work is lost on this DVD.

 

[Jefferson Morris]

Good review, David. I picked this one up last night and agree with your comments - great color, great sound, poor detail in some shots.

For non-Japanese speakers watching the R1 disc, don't be afraid to turn on Subtitle Track 1. This puts up subs for almost all of the Japanese dialogue, not just the stuff that's crucial to the plot that gets subbed automatically. Notable bits include the voice over after the Bride visits Vernita, and Go-go's taunting of the Bride as she walks down the stairs.

[EDIT: Actually I was mistaken on this one. Sub track 1, which is the default, subs all the same dialogue that was subbed in the theater. Track 2 subs everything for the hearing impaired.]

I can't recall whether all of this stuff was subtitled in the theater or not. Perhaps someone who saw it more times than I did theatrically can shed some light here.

--Jefferson Morris

 

[Jordan_E]

You know, I can't count how many times a director has said that the DVD release will be either (A) uncut, or (B) 'loaded' and then we get neither when it's released. But I thought Kill Bill was a fine looking disc. BTW, did I blink, or was the 'Presented in Shaw-o-Vision (or whatever it was) part missing from the beginning? I haven't looked through the rest of this tread, as I just got back from Vegas last night and my butt is DRAGGING!

 

[Michael Reuben]

Amen. Except in situations like LOTR, where there's an official announcement, all such promises should be taken with a large helping of salt. Who's still waiting for the special edition of the first Spy Kids film? What about the longer cut of the first X-Men?

M.

 

[Kevin Grey]

Quentin can have a long list of stuff that he would like to put on the DVD but its Miramax who says yay or nay. I mentioned this in another thread but I don't put a whole lot of stock in director's comments about upcoming DVDs. While the director will hopefully be very involved in the DVDs creation, its the studio who will determine if alternate cuts are featured, how many discs, etc. Until I see an announcement or a quote from a studio rep I take DVD supplement news with a large grain of salt.

As for the relative lack of supplements on Kill Bill- when has Tarantino had time to work on the DVD? They were editing Volume 1 right up to release and one of the rumored reasons for Volume 2's move from its initial February release date was that Tarantino was still working on it.

*EDIT* Looks like Michael chimed in with very similar thoughts.

 

[JonZ]

Right. Editing on vol2 took a long time and pushed back its release.

Now that both are done hopefully he can take the time to do what he said he would.

 

[MuneebM]

I'm just very thankful they included a DTS track on the disc! I'm not one who really cares for special features so I'll give this DVD and this review a thumbs up

 

[Jeff_HR]

I own & enjoyed Quentin Tarantino's "Reservior Dogs". But I don't like low-budget Hong-Kong grindhouse cinema / martial arts type films, so I'll pass on this. If I was buying, I'd wait for the "Ultimate Edition".

 

[Dave_P.]

I'm a 100% with you on this. The DTS track is reference quality in my book, from blood splashing to shell casings droppings to directional footsteps all brought together in glorious clarity. Kill Bill is my LOTR and I will buy as many versions as are put out.

 

[Vincent_P]

:: The great Robert Richardson should sue the people that did the transfer. His beautiful work is lost on this DVD.

KILL BILL had a digital intermediate, so wouldn't the "transfer" actually be a downconversion of the Robert Richardson-approved high-resolution digital source as opposed to a film-to-tape transfer of the film output?

Vincent

 

[MuneebM]

I have to commend the DTS track again! I watched some of the fight scenes over at higher volumes than what was allowable last night and the audio is really good. I especially love the detailed sound of the sword clashes, and the crisp sound of the glass breaking during the first fight scene between Uma and Vivica.

 

[Dave Scarpa]

Maybe Kill Bill's overfiltering or saturation in some scenes just kills the Detail. If you want to check out a Killer Transfer on a less than Killer movie check out Timeline yikes it looks almost 3D !