Kill Bill Scene Analysis Quentin Tarantino\'s Approach

Kill Bill Scene Analysis

Quentin Tarantino's approach to cinema is unique and refreshing. In Kill Bill, Vol. 1 (2003), Tarantino tells the story of a woman, The Bride, hell-bent on seeking revenge on the elite group of assassins, the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad, and their leader, Bill, after they attacked and killed her wedding party and left her for dead. Tarantino's use of mise-en-scene and scene composition helps to establish an atmosphere in which the Bride is able to carry out her vendetta successfully in an artistic manner that does not distract the audience from the narrative.

Kill Bill, Vol. 1 (2003) is the first film of two in the Kill Bill series to date. Tarantino wrote and directed the film and was the film's executive soundtrack producer as well. The director is "the driving artistic source behind the filming process, and communicates to actors the way that he/she would like a particular scene played. A director's duties might also include casting, script editing, shot selection, shot composition, and editing" (IMDB, 2012). Additionally, a director has complete artistic control over all aspects of the movie, but it is not uncommon for the director to be bound by agreements with either a producer or a studio" (Movie Terminology Glossary, 2012).

In addition to the director, the art director and production designer play an integral role in the production of a film. An art director is the "person who oversees the artists and craftspeople who build the sets" of a film (Movie Terminology Glossary, 2012). Kill Bill, Vol. 1 (2003) employed three art directors: Daniel Bradford, Hidefi Hanatani, and Minoru Nishida.

A production designer is "an artist responsible for designing the overall appearance of a movie" and works closely with the art director and the director (Movie Terminology Glossary, 2012). Kill Bill, Vol. 1's (2003) production designers were Dave Wasco and Yohei Taneda.

Tarantino is known for incorporating many unique trademarks into his films which include dividing the film into separate chapters that help the audience better understand the events that transpire in self-contained vignettes that often are shown in non-linear fashion. For instance, the film begins with the Bride's second revenge killing and ends with her first revenge killing.

Another trademark often incorporated into his films is the Mexican standoff. A Mexican standoff is a trope in which a situation is depicted where no clear winner will emerge. In Kill Bill, Vol. 1 (2003) a variation of the Mexican standoff emerges when the Bride confronts O-ren Ishii at a teahouse only to find herself surrounded by O-ren's thugs, the Crazy 88s. In the scene titled "The Crazy 88s," the Bride, armed with a samurai sword, finds herself surrounded by the Crazy 88s and must fight not only to escape them, but also to seek revenge on O-ren, which she ultimately does at the end of the film. This scene takes place in a Japanese teahouse in modern times. The initial mise-en-scene depicts the Bride encircled by the thugs. Because of the Bride's bright, yellow jumpsuit, as juxtaposed to the Crazy 88s's black-tie uniform, Tarantino is able to create an illusion of a target by introducing the scene from above before transitioning to a more level angle. Additionally, when the Crazy 88s react to the Bride raising her weapon it is clear to the audience that they know that the Bride is skilled with the sword and that she poses a threat to them and their well-being. Their synchronized reaction, which is wavelike, also helps to establish that the Bride's attack will not be singular, but will be a series of combative moves that will crash upon them like a furious wave.

This sequence is also significant because of the way in which it transitions from color to black and white (and back to color again although this last transition is not depicted in this particular film clip). Because of this, lighting is very important. During the color portion of the sequence, the Bride is illuminated from below by a square sandbox of sorts as well as from above by a central chandelier. Just like the circling formation of the Crazy 88s, this lighting brings the Bride to the center of attention. When the film transitions to black and white, the subtle lighting nuances are eliminated as there are stark contrasts created by the black and white of the Crazy 88s costume when juxtaposed against the Bride's costuming, which appears to be white during this transition.