Summary
- Kill Bill's action sequences draw inspiration from classic kung fu movies by Shaw Brothers, with nods to their iconic styling techniques.
- The iconic yellow tracksuit worn by Uma Thurman pays homage to Bruce Lee's costume in Game of Death, with a strong revenge plot connection.
- Tarantino's Easter eggs in Kill Bill, such as the Deadly Viper assassins and Pai Mei character, reflect his deep appreciation for kung fu film history.
It's no secret that Quentin Tarantino is a huge fan of martial arts films, and references to famous movies abound in Tarantino's most famous trademarks. Kill Bill draws its references from a wide net, but most influential are the classic kung fu movies produced by studios like Shaw Brothers.
These kung fu homages are what make Kill Bill soundtrack. Some of Tarantino's Easter eggs are more subtle than others – there are a few that could easily go unnoticed.
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9 Kill Bill Plays Homage To Shaw Brothers Studio In Its Opening
The Title Card Shown In Vol.1 Comes From Shaw Brothers' Movies
Active in the late sixties and seventies, Shaw Brothers' martial arts movies had a huge influence on Kill Bill. Founded by brothers Runme, Runje, and Runde, Shaw Brothers Studio helped to popularize the kung fu genre with titles such as The One-Armed Swordsman, The 36th Chamber Of Shaolin, and Five Deadly Venoms. These movies had a huge stylistic influence on Kill Bill. The film’s camerawork borrows some techniques to achieve the distinctive Shaw Brothers style. Most noticeable is the now old-fashioned “crash zoom,” which filmmakers like Tarantino and Wes Anderson have attempted to make cool again.
Tarantino found a way to signal his debt to Shaw Brothers in the opening sequence of both Kill Bill volumes. Before the film begins, the logo that played at the start of Shaw Brothers productions flashes onscreen. It’s a nostalgic nod for audiences who, like Tarantino, grew up watching these films. It also signals that, while Kill Bill’s easter eggs are drawn from a wide range of genres, Tarantino properly intended the movie to belong to the kung fu lineage.
8 Uma Thurman's Iconic Yellow Tracksuit Was First Worn By Bruce Lee
The Kill Bill Suit Matches Bruce Lee's Costume in Game Of Death
The Bride’s famous look is the image that first jumps to mind when recalling Kill Bill – it is one of the most Bruce Lee's original plan.
Game of Death was never properly finished, as the star tragically died while the project was paused to allow him to film for Enter the Dragon. Game of Death was finished without Bruce Lee and released posthumously in 1978, with the storyline revised from Lee's original heist plot into a revenge story. Despite the rewrite, Game of Death nonetheless left its mark on pop culture, and made the costume instantly recognizable. Tarantino originally envisioned Thurman wearing a catsuit for the role. The yellow tracksuit was actually the genius suggestion of Kill Bill’s costume designer, Catherine Marie Thomas.
7 The Deadly Viper Assassination Squad Is A Nod To The Five Deadly Venoms
The Shaw Brothers Movie Has A Similar Storyline
A Shaw Brothers production, the 1978 martial arts mystery film Five Deadly Venoms sees a pupil fulfilling his master's dying wish: to locate his five previous pupils, who he suspects may have turned evil. The film became so popular in the kung fu genre that it turned its starring quintet into icons, who became henceforth known as the "Venom Mob." Kill Bill takes inspiration from this plotline as ex-Viper Beatrix tracks down each of the Deadly Vipers to enact her revenge.
The Five Venoms each practice a unique style based on one of the Five Poisonous Creatures in Chinese folklore. Kill Bill pays homage to this with a similar animal theme. The Vipers are codenamed after species of snakes: Sidewinder, Black Mamba, California Mountain Snake, Cottonmouth, and Copperhead. In a more subtle nod, Kill Bill also borrows the sound effects used in Five Deadly Venoms for sword swings and axe throws. With such minute attention to detail, Tarantino captures the feel of a Shaw Brothers movie on an almost subliminal level.
6 Kill Bill Casts Gordon Liu As Pai Mei
Pai Mei Is A Stock Character In Kung Fu Film
Pai Mei is a recurring figure in kung fu movies, based on the historical figure of the same name. In legend, Pai Mei was one of the Five Elders: survivors of the destruction of the Shaolin Monastery. His name literally translates to “White Eyebrow”, hence his recognizable look. Including this stock figure is a direct nod by Tarantino to the martial arts genre, as is his casting of Gordon Liu. The actor starred in the 1980 Shaw Brothers film, Clan of The White Lotus, where Pai Mei served as the main villain.
Gordon Liu does not play Pai Mei himself in Clan of The White Lotus. Rather, in an interesting reversal, he plays one of Pai Mei's assassins. Kill Bill 2 gave Liu the opportunity to play the villain he killed in Clan of The White Lotus 24 years earlier. The sentimentality of this role is enhanced because Tarantino's iteration of Pai Mei simultaneously honors Lo Lieh's rendition of the character in Clan of The White Lotus.
5 Kill Bill Inverts Gordon Liu’s Role In The 36th Chamber Of Shaolin
Rather Than Playing The Student, Gordon Liu Takes The Role Of Master
Also starring Gordon Liu, the Shaw Brothers’ 36th Chamber Of Shaolin follows student activist Liu Yude as he trains to seek vengeance on the Manchu government officials who murdered his friends and family. Yude, now known as San Te, must ascend through the 35 chambers of the Shaolin temple, each training him in a different aspect of kung fu.
In Kill Bill, Gordon Liu’s role is flipped. No longer the student, he now plays the master overseeing The Bride’s brutal training regimen. Interestingly, there is also a familial link between The 36th Chamber and Kill Bill. Yuen Siu-tien played the abbot in charge of the boxing chamber. His son, Yuen Woo-ping, became a successful martial arts choreographer and director who worked on Kill Bill.
4 Kill Bill’s Vengeance Theme Comes From Five Fingers Of Death
Both Films Use The Intro Music From Detective Drama Ironside
Kill Bill’s vengeance theme (the one with the siren sounds) had a pop culture history even before its afterlife as an internet meme. Tarantino lifted it from the 1967 detective drama Ironside, which drafted Quincy Jones to write the memorable tune.
Kill Bill wasn’t the first martial arts film to use the theme on its soundtrack. Tarantino makes a reference to another Shaw Brothers classic, Five Fingers Of Death, also known as King Boxer, released in 1973. The Ironside music plays when the main character, played by Lo Lieh, prepares to fight.
3 The Kill Bill Soundtrack Also Borrows From Master Of The Flying Guillotine
Tarantino Has Named The Film One Of His All Time Favorites
Directed by Jimmy Wang Wu in 1976, Master Of The Flying Guillotine is cited by Tarantino as one of his favorite films. The sequel to Wang’s earlier film The One Armed Boxer, Master Of The Flying Guillotine features an assassin who uses a bladed hat attached to a long chain to behead his victims. The titular weapon is reminiscent of the mace wielded by schoolgirl assassin Gogo Yubari, but Kill Bill’s most direct Flying Guillotine reference is made in the soundtrack.
Master Of The Flying Guillotine used the driving rhythm of Super 16 by Krautrock group NEU! to add a dark ambiance to its fight scenes. Tarantino was so eager to pay homage to his beloved film that he bought the rights to the song for the Kill Bill movies. It plays during the House of Blue Leaves fight sequence.
2 The House Of Blue Leaves Fight Matches Choreography in Fist Of Fury
Both Films Contain Memorable One-Versus-Many Fight Sequences
Another Bruce Lee classic, Fists Of Fury, inspires the fight scene choreography in Kill Bill’s House of Blue Leaves sequence. At one memorable moment in the film, Bruce Lee’s character takes on a room full of opponents at once and defeats them spectacularly. Kill Bill’s one-against-many fight sees The Bride battle through a crowd of O-Ren Ishii’s sword-wielding henchmen, the Crazy 88.
The fight sequences share visual similarities. Both show a solo-fighter trapped in the center of a ring of assailants; both depict the fear of the surrounding mob when the protagonist adopts their fighting stance; and both characters eventually prevail by diving to the floor to attack their opponents’ legs.
1 The Chinese Boxer Also Influenced Kill Bill's House Of Blue Leaves Sequence
The Jimmy Wang Yu Film Features Another Iconic Solo Battle
Another major influence on the House Of Blue Leaves sequence is the Hong Kong kung fu film, The Chinese Boxer. Widely credited as the first true kung fu movie, the film was directed by Jimmy Wang Yu, who starred as its title character, Lei Ming. His quest to defeat the gang of karate thugs who destroyed his martial arts school sees Lei Ming fight 100 enemies at once. The Chinese Boxer had a direct influence on Fists Of Fury, and Wang Yu’s international fame predated that of Bruce Lee.
Having one solo fighter prevail against such a hoard of enemies may be unrealistic. The point of the sequence, however, is to demonstrate the protagonists' sheer force of will. That's the effect it produces in Wang Yu's film: Lei Ming will stop at nothing to achieve his revenge, and his unwavering determination is symbolized by his superhuman stamina. The Bride's battle against the Crazy 88 similarly comes at a crucial mid-way point in her narrative. By the end of Kill Bill 1, Beatrix has ticked two names from her hit list and is prepared to see her task to fruition.
Kill Bill: Vol. 1
- Release Date
- October 10, 2003
- Runtime
- 111 minutes
- Director
- Quentin Tarantino
Cast
The Bride
Lucy LiuO-Ren Ishii
WHERE TO WATCH
Kill Bill: Vol. 1 follows an assassin as she seeks revenge after being betrayed by her former employer, Bill, and fellow assassins. Released in 2003, the film initiates a violent journey of vengeance directed by Quentin Tarantino and stars Uma Thurman as the central character known as The Bride.
- Writers
- Quentin Tarantino
- Franchise(s)
- Kill Bill
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