10th April 2004, 8:39 AM
You know lazy, I really hope that what you're saying is wrong. If the general public really thought that the fight was great because it was in black and white then well... the general public is stupid. The fight wasn't black and white for any artistic reason, it was black and white to get an R rating. Like I said, the fight is in color in Japan and most countries outside the U.S. and it looks much better that way. You'll see that if you ever get to see the Japanese DVD (or whenever they release the uncut versions of both movies in the U.S.).
And again, I must reiterate that the intention of Kill Bill was never to make a live-action anime. Chambara and martial arts flicks came long before anime, and that is what Tarantino was going for. If you know your Asian movies you'll spot dozens upon dozens of references to classic HK and Japanese movies. I'll list just a few of them to give you an idea. The Japanese school girl who fights the Bride is from Battle Royale, a recent violent (though with an actual message) movie from Japan (she even wears similar clothes to the ones she wore in BR), her ball and chain weapon is an homage to the "Flying Guillotine" HK movie series, and they even use music from one of the Guillotine movies during the fight scene. The House of Blue Leaves scene (at the end of the movie with O-Ren Ishiii) is straight out of a Japanese chambara film "Lady Snowblood". The guy who made the sword for The Bride is Sonny Chiba, a Japanese actor who's done countless Samurai and various other action movies/dramas and who's a personal favorite of Tarantino. The main Crazy 88 guy (the the Kung Fu master in Vol. 2) is Gordon Liu, a major martial arts star in Hong Kong from the 70's and 80's during the Shaw Brothers era. Oh and you see the Shaw Bros. logo at the beginning of the movie before the credits. So anyhow, my point is that Kill Bill is not intended as a live-action anime but rather a mix of martial arts/Samurai/Western/exploitation genres. It may seem like that if your main exposure to Asian cinema is anime, but that's not the case.
And you should expect much more story in Vol. 2. Originally KB was going to be one big movie with non-stop action in the first act and the heart of the story in the second half, and everyone seems to like the second act a lot more. I can't wait until it comes out next week. :)
And again, I must reiterate that the intention of Kill Bill was never to make a live-action anime. Chambara and martial arts flicks came long before anime, and that is what Tarantino was going for. If you know your Asian movies you'll spot dozens upon dozens of references to classic HK and Japanese movies. I'll list just a few of them to give you an idea. The Japanese school girl who fights the Bride is from Battle Royale, a recent violent (though with an actual message) movie from Japan (she even wears similar clothes to the ones she wore in BR), her ball and chain weapon is an homage to the "Flying Guillotine" HK movie series, and they even use music from one of the Guillotine movies during the fight scene. The House of Blue Leaves scene (at the end of the movie with O-Ren Ishiii) is straight out of a Japanese chambara film "Lady Snowblood". The guy who made the sword for The Bride is Sonny Chiba, a Japanese actor who's done countless Samurai and various other action movies/dramas and who's a personal favorite of Tarantino. The main Crazy 88 guy (the the Kung Fu master in Vol. 2) is Gordon Liu, a major martial arts star in Hong Kong from the 70's and 80's during the Shaw Brothers era. Oh and you see the Shaw Bros. logo at the beginning of the movie before the credits. So anyhow, my point is that Kill Bill is not intended as a live-action anime but rather a mix of martial arts/Samurai/Western/exploitation genres. It may seem like that if your main exposure to Asian cinema is anime, but that's not the case.
And you should expect much more story in Vol. 2. Originally KB was going to be one big movie with non-stop action in the first act and the heart of the story in the second half, and everyone seems to like the second act a lot more. I can't wait until it comes out next week. :)