It’s hard to believe it’s been 20 years since Uma Thurman donned that yellow suit, swung a Hattori Hanzō sword, and rode into our lives as The Bride for Kill Bill: Vol. 1. The film debuted on October 10, 2003, and to this day it stands out alongside Pulp Fiction as one of director Quentin Tarantino’s best.
With buckets of blood, this love letter to the kung fu movies of old also goes down as one of Tarantino’s most violent. So if you’re ready to wiggle your big toe and celebrate the film’s 20th anniversary, here are 10 things you might not know about Kill Bill: Vol. 1.
An Inglourious Basterds Connection
While both Kill Bill and Inglourious Basterds are twisted tales of revenge, the latter nearly came first. Tarantino reportedly couldn’t nail the narrative on that World War II tale, meaning Kill Bill: Vol. 1 leapfrogged it by six years. The original draft of Basterds had Mélanie Laurent’s Shosanna Dreyfus working much closer with Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt) and the others.
In a 2009 interview with Charlie Rose, Tarantino explained how The Bride was born from his first iteration of Shosanna. Describing her as a World War II Joan of Arc, Tarantino said: “She was killing Nazis and she had a list of officers... she’s sniping Nazis from the rooftops of Paris.” Admitting that “almost everything” he liked about Shosanna was given to The Bride, he rewrote the character and says that she became closer to one of his other female powerhouses, Jackie Brown.
Gogo’s Twin
Aside from Lucy Liu’s O-Ren Ishii, the only other person who comes close to besting The Bride in Kill Bill: Vol. 1 is Gogo Yubari (Chiaki Kuriyama). Despite her limited screen time, O-Ren’s unhinged bodyguard is still memorable thanks her signature meteor hammer and brutal demise. But Gogo’s backstory was nearly much bigger, as Tarantino planned for her to have a twin sister.
Tarantino wanted to cast Japanese actress/singer Ko Shibasaki as Yuki Yabari, with Kuriyama’s Battle Royale co-star taking on her own arc of vengeance against The Bride. Back when Kill Bill was one long movie, a whole section titled "Yuki’s Revenge" was eventually cut from the script. In it, Yuki caught up with The Bride in the USA, and during a bullet-riddled fight, the infamous P*ssy Wagon was going to be destroyed.
The Real Reason for the Black and White Fight
The majority of Kill Bill: Vol. 1 is splashed with color, but that all changes during The Bride’s climactic fight with the Crazy 88. After slicing her way through Gogo, the rest of O-Ren’s forces turn up to put Beatrix through her paces. Over $60,000 was spent on swords and knives, with much of that put to use during this scene.
The New York Times reported that, like any Tarantino movie, Kill Bill: Vol. 1 was on the MPAA's radar and skirting an NC-17 rating. To keep it rated R, Tarantino had to dial back some of the bloodshed. This led to the iconic Crazy 88 scene switching to black and white when The Bride plucks out one of her foe’s eyes.
Most assumed this was a stylistic choice, homaging the martial arts movies of the ’70s and ’80s that were shown on American television in black and white to tone down the violence. Still, the full-color Crazy 88 scene can be found in Vol. 1’s Japanese release.
Where The 5.6.7.8's Came From
The Kill Bill: Vol. 1 soundtrack is an eclectic mix that features everything from Spaghetti Western tracks to the Twisted Nerve theme, but one of its standouts is The 5.6.7.8's performing "Woo-Hoo." The band recorded several songs on the soundtrack, with some of their live performances available on the DVD’s special features.
On the special features, Tarantino says he came across The 5.6.7.8's in a Tokyo urban clothing store. Tarantino was on the way to the airport and offered to buy the CD from the clerk, but when they refused, he had to pay double the retail price. "Woo-Hoo" went on to appear in Carling advertisements and was a rare Japanese entry to the UK Singles Chart.
The Car Accident
Although Thurman and Tarantino have a working relationship stretching back to Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill brought them closer than ever while also nearly pulling them apart. Thurman has spoken candidly about being injured in a car crash during the shoot, even accusing Tarantino of inadvertently trying to kill her in a tell-all interview with The New York Times in 2018.
Thurman says she felt unsafe and asked the stunt driver to do the scene, although Tarantino reassured his lead the vehicle was safe. Distributor Miramax refused to release footage of the crash unless Thurman waived her rights, but eventually did so in 2018 when she went to the police following allegations against Miramax boss Harvey Weinstein.
The Kill Bill crash created a rift between the actor and director for years, and in a 2018 interview with Deadline, Tarantino said, “It’s the biggest regret of my life, getting her to do that stunt.” Thankfully, the pair seem on better ground these days.
450 Gallons of Fake Blood
Tarantino wanted Kill Bill: Vol. 1 to live up to his legacy of gory stories, meaning there was no shortage of practical effects on the film. Speaking to Time on the set of Kill Bill, Tarantino vowed to film it “the Chinese Way” without digital effects, saying, “That sh*t looks good, but it looks like a computer did it. I'd rather have it look good and look like a cool ’70s thing.”
These practical effects included filling condoms with fake blood – makeup effects artist Christopher Allen Nelson has said 450 gallons of the red stuff was used. Tarantino marked 100 gallons for the House of Blue Leaves scene, saying, “I’m really particular about the blood, so we’re using a mixture depending on the scenes. I say, ‘I don’t want horror movie blood, all right? I want Samurai blood.’”
The ever-particular director reiterated, “You can’t pour this raspberry pancake syrup on a sword and have it look good. You have to have this special kind of blood that you only see in Samurai movies.” It all paid off, with Kill Bill: Vol. 1 being nominated for Best Special Visual Effects at the 57th British Academy Film Awards.
Casting Bill
Seeing what Tarantino’s movies have done to reinvent the careers of stars, including John Travolta and Pam Grier, you’d think former A-listers would have been clamouring to join the ensemble. Casting the titular Bill was a tough one though, with Jack Nicholson, Kurt Russell, and Burt Reynolds all passing on playing him.
Tarantino specifically wrote Bill as Warren Beatty, but according to Michael Madsen, the Bonnie and Clyde actor wasn’t willing to do any martial arts. A 2002 piece from Variety skirts around those details but confirms Beatty suggested David Carradine as his replacement.
Looking back at the role (via IndieWire), Tarantino explained, “He’s much more of a James Bond type of character. Like James Bond as Blofeld.” He’s since said he was worried that Beatty would’ve looked “ridiculous” and that there were plenty of rewrites to bring Bill into “David’s sphere.”
Thurman and Tarantino Dreamed Up Kill Bill During Pulp Fiction
Kill Bill was a labor of love that had been in the works for nearly a decade before it hit screens. In a 2004 interview with IGN, Tarantino said he and Thurman first cooked up the idea for The Bride on the set of Pulp Fiction, hence why the character is credited as being created by “Q & U.” Tarantino worked on the script from around 2000 to 2001 while spending time with Thurman and her daughter, Maya.
Just before filming was scheduled to start, Thurman announced she was pregnant again. Speaking to the BBC, Tarantino quipped, “It's also my Josef von Sternberg movie, and if Josef von Sternberg is getting ready to make Morroco and Marlene Dietrich gets pregnant, he waits for Dietrich!”
Hindi Influences
While it’s easy to see Kill Bill’s kung fu influences, like The Bride’s biker outfit honouring Bruce Lee in Game of Death, one of its most iconic scenes was inspired by a Hindi-Tamil movie. Although you might think O-Ren’s anime introduction was Japanese in origin, it was actually a nod to Kamal Haasan’s Aalavandhan.
The 2001 thriller used animation to depict some scenes of violence, and according to ETimes, this inspired O-Ren’s bloody backstory. Speaking to director Anurag Kashyap in Venice, Tarantino said, “Yes, I saw this Indian serial-killer film which showed violence as animated.” Haasan said it was an honour to have caught the attention of someone with the legacy of Tarantino.
The Kill Bill: Vol. 3 That Never Happened
Despite Kill Bill: Vol. 2 ending with The Bride getting to kill Bill, many weren't satisfied with her just driving off into the sunset with her daughter. Tarantino had originally described the saga as his own Dollars Trilogy, suggesting that Vol. 3 would happen one day.
Vol. 1 neatly sets up the idea that the daughter of Vivica A. Fox’s Vernita Green could seek her own revenge on The Bride. There are also questions over what happened to Daryl Hannah’s Elle Driver. It’s been discussed a lot over the years, with Tarantino telling The Joe Rogan Experience podcast how it would be “f*cking exciting” to revisit these characters 20 years later.
Tarantino even had an idea for an inspired piece of casting, suggesting that Thurman’s real-life daughter, Maya Hawke, could take over as an adult version of The Bride’s daughter. “Just imagining The Bride and her daughter B.B. having 20 years of peace, and then that peace is shattered and then The Bride and B.B. are on the run,” said Tarantino. He also name-dropped Driver, Julie Dreyfus’ Sofie Fatale, and Gogo’s twin. Sadly, Kill Bill: Vol. 3 has never come together.
The final nail in the coffin came during a 2023 interview with De Morgen. Tarantino said, “I don't see that happening. My last film is about a film critic, a male critic and it’s set in the ’70s.” Although Tarantino has said that he could be tempted out of retirement for the right project, it doesn’t sound like Kill Bill: Vol. 3 will be the one.
What are your favorite things about Kill Bill? Let’s discuss in the comments!
