KILL BILL: The Whole Bloody Affair Review - As it was always meant to be
- Chase Gifford
- 23 hours ago
- 7 min read
“If on your journey you should encounter God, God will be cut.” - Hattori Hanzo
I talk about my relationship with Quentin Tarantino's filmography first before I get into The Whole Bloody Affair. Skip down if you only want to read about the film.
I was fourteen years old when vol.1 hit theaters. I don’t recall if I had seen Pulp Fiction yet. My parents were quite liberal with what they let me watch when I was young but drew the line at certain content. Violence was one thing. Extreme, graphic bodily mutilation is another thing entirely. Graphic sexual assault was also an automatic no. (Fun fact: End of Days is the only movie my parents ever made me leave early.) In my youth, Tarantino wasn’t a big presence in the way he is now in my life. It wasn’t until Kill Bill came along that I officially discovered the extraordinary mind of Quentin Tarantino.
The Whole Bloody Affair has been spoken of pretty much since the inception of vol.1. In 2006 at the Cannes Film Festival, it had its premiere. Aside from the occasional screening at his privately owned movie theaters, the original cut has long been held in a vault rarely seen by the public. The original story is that Miramax took issue with Tarantino’s original vision. They told him it was too long and the film needed to be edited not only for length but to obtain the R rating and avoid the impending NC-17 for extreme violence. He placated them by splitting the original cut into two films and turned the hyper-violent Crazy 88s fight into a black and white sequence. This worked and on October 10, 2003 Kill Bill debuted in theaters. Six months later we got the epic conclusion to his love letter to Kung Fu cinema.
There have been fan-made edits online for decades but it was never the official cut. Fans of The Bride have never given up hope that someday they just might release the ultimate cut in all its glory. In an age of genuine darkness in this world, fascism and white supremacy on the rise, we still manage to experience the rare bit of light that tells us not all is lost (yet). I’ve heard about The Whole Bloody Affair for most of my life always hoping but never fully believing that anything would come of it. Let me tell you something, I have seen it, finally.
I’ve been a fan of Tarantino since 2003 when I first saw vol. 1. After seeing it in theaters I eventually went backwards discovering Reservoir Dogs, Jackie Brown, and one of the most influential, original concepts ever crafted, his magnum opus, Pulp Fiction. After Kill Bill I was hooked, after Pulp Fiction I was obsessed. To think back on all of the history I have with his filmography, all the experiences I’ve had at the theaters, I can officially say I’ve seen his original vision for KILL BILL. I saw the re-releases of Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction. I saw Django Unchained Christmas afternoon, 2012, in a packed movie theater with my best friend. I saw The Hateful Eight Roadshow Version at a private screening on a Saturday morning, December 5th of 2015. Every time it’s an event that always gets me hyped. In an era of sequels and prequels and remakes, we are starving for originality. There are few things as fresh and dynamic as a Tarantino written and directed epic.
Now?
“Revenge is a dish best served cold.” – Old Klingon Proverb
At the start of vol.1 this is the quote to open the movie and set the tone of what’s to come. It ends with a massive reveal hinting at what’s in store for Beatrix when vol.2 begins.
"This film is dedicated to master filmmaker - Kinji Fukasaku 1930 - 2003"
The dedication replaces the original quote hinting at a changing of focus from revenge to honoring Tarantino’s influences in Asian cinema and exploitation film history. This immediately signifies that this ultimate version of Kill Bill is a deeper cinematic exploration rather than just a simple, singularly focused revenge thriller. And it absolutely is a more complete, fully realized epic that showcases more of a focused intention and cohesive vision. It is so similar in many ways to the split volumes but different enough that it needs to be seen by any fans of Tarantino or just the Kill Bill story itself.
So what’s different?
There are dialogue changes and additions. Certain characters, some previously without lines, are suddenly speaking, further fleshing out flashback sequences and alluding to connections to other Tarantino films like Pulp Fiction. Certain fight choreography is altered, expanded upon or reordered. Of course the title opening for vol.2 is removed entirely after what was the reveal that closes out vol.1.
This time, Bill talks to Sofie, learning of The Bride’s actions committed against O-Ren Ishii just like before but now the bomb he drops before credit-roll is omitted making the moment when she actually discovers his secret all the more impactful not just for her but for us as we discover it along with her. Before seeing the original version, vol.1 ending as it does felt appropriate. Knowing now that such a reveal could have been more powerful had it been concealed until the final confrontation between Beatrix and Bill makes the volumes version feel more obvious as an unfortunate result of having to split the story into two parts. Not damning exactly, just less significant now.
Jumping backwards like Tarantino would, when the film delves into O-Ren’s history, her origins as a child and victim of an abhorrent attack and murder of her parents all in glorious anime, stylized by Japanese animation studio Production I.G, with direction from Kazuto Nakazawa, under the guidance of animation producer Katsuji Morishita, the sequence is expanded to show O-Ren’s continued story of revenge against those who killed her parents, this time killing the man who stuck her father with a katana, Pretty Riki himself. It proves that O-Ren is more like Beatrix than either would ever admit. It brings to mind the quote in The Dark Knight by Gotham’s D.A. Harvey Dent who says, “You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain.” This is O-Ren’s story. Tarantino sought out Production I.G. due to their work on Ghost in the Shell and Blood: The Last Vampire.
If you think the level of blood and gore so prominent in Django Unchained and The Hateful Eight are newer style choices for Tarantino, think again. In this unrated, NC-17 equivalent, the gore and blood is ratcheted up exponentially. The Crazy 88s sequence is entirely in color and features extended choreography that elevates the gratuitous violence to extreme lengths. This is a damn violent film and is all the better for it. And then of course, where vol. 1 would normally end, an intermission title card emerges for fifteen minutes before the rest of the story continues on. (Go pee at this time. Trust me.)
“Sure, Kill Bill is a violent movie. But it's a Tarantino movie. You don't go to see Metallica and ask the fuckers to turn the music down.” – Tarantino
Amen.
After the lengthy end credits, which include cast and crew from both volumes combined into one large production, there is a new, never-before-seen animated part 2 of chapter 5 entitled, “The Lost Chapter: Yuki’s Revenge.” It’s stylized in the way of Fortnite which is odd considering the crossover between Fortnite fans and Kill Bill fans isn’t what I would imagine as large. Maybe it’s meant to invite new fans although again, the cartoon, much like the film itself, features foul language and excessive violence. Granted the gunshots are made to resemble Fortnite gunfire but the sentiment remains. Then again maybe the crossover is huge and I don’t have any idea what I’m talking about. Still, however odd it may be, it’s still quite entertaining especially since Uma Thurman returns to voice The Bride.
So much of this version includes everything that made these volumes so spectacular. It’s the small details, the newly added story and character elements, that take it from separate films, with what has always felt like two different storylines stylistically, are now melded into one sensational revenge epic that is somehow so much better as one streamlined story. As separate volumes, both are still classics and always will be. However, having now seen The Whole Bloody Affair, I can say that his original vision is superior. It’s what should have existed in the zeitgeist this entire time. The soundtrack is of course still a character all its own. It's fantastic. And if the runtime sounds daunting, it flies by effortlessly. I have sat through two hour films that felt longer than this. I fully understand Miramax not being able to market a nearly 5 hour film but I’m happy we finally, after more than twenty years of wondering and waiting, get to see Kill Bill as one sweeping epic; the way it was always intended. Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair is magnificent. (Can I put this in my top ten of the year?)
Unrated (NC-17 Equivalent) For: Extreme, graphic, bloody and gory violence, language throughout, sexual content and brief drug use
Runtime: 275 minutes
After Credits Scene: Yes. Stay put.
Genre: Kung Fu, Action, Thriller, Martial Arts
Starring: Uma Thurman, David Carradine, Lucy Liu, Daryl Hannah, Vivica A. Fox, Michael Madsen, Shin'ichi Chiba, Julie Dreyfus, Chiaki Kuriyama, Michael Parks, Samuel L. Jackson, Perla Haney-Jardine, Chia-Hui Liu
Directed By: Quentin Tarantino
Out of 10
Story: 10/ Acting: 10/ Directing: 10/ Visuals: 10
OVERALL: 10/10
Buy to Own: If they ever release this version on physical? Yes.
Check out the trailer below:
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