Big Picture Big Sound

The Film

Kill Bill was originally supposed to be one film, but the studio balked at a 4-hour long revenge film, so it was subsequently split into two parts, Volume 1 and Volume 2. Oddly enough, although Volumes 1 and 2 are two halves of the same coin and share many of the same nods to the genre films of Tarantino's youth and time as a video store clerk, the tonality of each film is completely different. The pacing of Volume 1 was relentless as The Bride rampaged through her enemies. To a certain extent the look of Volume 1 differs slightly as well, having a bit more of a sheen and graphic novel sensibility to its cinematography.

Picking up from where Volume 1 left off, Kill Bill Volume 2 follows The Bride after she has dispatched her enemies Vernita Green (Vivica A. Fox) and O-Ren Ishii (Lucy Liu) and is on her way to kill Bill (David Carradine). The task, as one might expect, won't be as easy as it sounds, however, for first she must get through Bill's brother Budd (Michael Madsen) and her rival Elle Driver (Daryl Hannah). Progressing in a much more methodical pace, the film unfolds through "chapters" just as Volume 1 did, but slows the pace and delves further into the character's back-stories. Through flashbacks we learn about the nature of The Bride and Bill's relationship and see the Massacre at Two Pines from a different perspective.

Mixing together far fewer genres this time, the influences rely heavily on Sergio Leone-style Spaghetti Western and the Kung Fu movies of the 70's, this time leaving out the animé and toning down the references to samurai films as well. The first half of Volume 2 is pure, slow-paced spaghetti western as The Bride goes after Budd and he even manages to bury her alive. Even the battle between The Bride and her on-eyed nemesis Elle Driver mixes subtle western styles with samurai movies and is more of a one-on-one, handson struggle than the bombast that was the battle between The Bride and O-Ren Ishii.

But, ultimately, Kill Bill Volume 2 is far less about Tarantino's mastery of technique and genre than its predecessor. Volume 2 is about the story behind the mythology, to paraphrase the director himself and to that end it patiently reveals the past of the characters. We learn the The Bride's true name is Beatrix Kiddo, and we learn her reasons for leaving Bill. In the chapter entitled "The Cruel Tutelage of Pai Mei" we are shown the grueling tests The Bride went through to garner her skills as a martial arts assassin, which would ultimately come into play when she needed to find a way out of the grave Budd buried her in. Volume 2 in its study of these character's pasts and psyches, in a way, almost exposes the more honorable and vulnerable side of these otherwise despicable characters, such as one scene where Budd, in reference to The Bride, actually states, "that woman deserves her revenge and we deserve to die", but then qualifies it with "then again, so does she."

Some might find the slower pace of Kill Bill Volume 2 at odds with the breakneck rapidity that was Volume 1, and it is at first unexpected, but maybe there was some benefit to splitting the films in two. Having them play continuously for 4-hours might have felt like two opposing films crammed together, but their separation only serves to amplify each half's respective strengths. Volume 2, therefore, is not so much a sequel, as it is a continuation and the settling down of the rage that was Volume 1. Even its penultimate battle, when The Bride finally confronts Bill becomes more a cerebral joust than an over-the-top brawl such as those seen in the first half.  Suffering from some moments of dullness where things slow to far too much of crawl is this film's only flaw, but it's dialogue is excellent, perhaps even more inspired than its first half, and it is an almost perfect ending to the Kill Bill story.

The Picture

Kill Bill Volume 2 represents another masterfully done transfer from Disney/Miramax. The ~30Mbps AVC/MPEG-4 encoding of Volume 2 in its original aspect ratio of 2.40:1 is another fine example of the superior capabilities of the Blu-ray format. Every detail is rendered flawlessly in close up and long shots. There is just enough fine and consistent grain to impart a perfect film-like quality and flesh tones, black levels, contrast and shadow detail are all excellent. The transfer displays no compression artifacts nor any other problems such as edge enhancement or motion jaggies. Once again, is a pristine source rendered faithfully by a carefully handled "Blu" treatment.

The Sound

Just like Volume 1, Volume 2 comes with the options of English uncompressed PCM 5.1 (48kHz/24-bit) and English and French Dolby Digital 5.1. Also like Volume 1, the PCM 5.1 option is of a high quality, though perhaps not as engaging due to the slower, less intense nature of Volume 2. Dialogue is crisp and clear in the center channel and the film's musical accompaniment is well balanced, rising to meet the action, but never drowning out the dialogue.  In the more action intensive scenes, the mix displays wonderful dynamics and powerful low frequencies while more sounds are mixed discretely into the surrounds. It's an overall, well-done, high quality mix that suits the material well.

The Extras

The extras on Kill Bill Volume 2, just like on Volume 1, are slim and just ported over from the DVD release, all in standard definition. The most substantial supplement is the approximately 20-minute long The Making of Kill Bill Volume 2 (4:3/standard definition) in which director Quentin Tarantino discusses some of the differences in the storytelling between Volume one and Volume 2, but mostly it rehashes much of the same information from the previous volume's "making-of" featurette. There is also one deleted scene, "Damoe" (2.40:1/standard definition) in which the character Bill takes on another samurai and his henchmen, and a musical performance of "Chingon" (4:3/windowboxed/standard definition) by director/musician Robert Rodriguez who scored the film's main theme.

Final Thoughts

Kill Bill Volume 2 is not as heavy on the action nor as gratuitous in its violence and it sometimes slows to a dull pace, but it is still an excellent film that explores the characters more thoroughly and wraps up the Kill Bill story in a satisfactory manner. This Blu-ray release comes with a video transfer every bit as good as Volume 1 and another excellent sound mix as well. I recommend this highly as a reference quality release of an exceptional film.

Where to Buy

• Kill Bill Volume 2 on Blu-ray Disc

Product Details

• Actors: Uma Thurman, David Carradine, Michael Madsen, Daryl Hannah
• Director: Quentin Tarantino
• Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
• Audio/Languages: English uncompressed PCM 5.1 (48kHz/24-bit), English & French Dolby Digital 5.1
• Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish
• Region: ABC (All Regions)
• Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: R
• Studio: Buena Vista Home Video
• Blu-ray Disc Release Date: September 9, 2008
• Run Time: 137 minutes
• List Price: $34.99
• Extras:
  • The Making of Kill Bill Volume 2
  • "Damoe" Deleted Scene
  • "Chingon" Musical Performance