Case Study - Kill Bill: Vol.1 (Opening scene)

Case Study - Kill Bill: Vol.1 (Opening scene) 

Release Date: 2003

Director: Quentin Tarantino

Genre: Thriller, action, crime

Starring: Uma Thurman, David Carradine and Daryl Hannah

'The Bride wakens from a four-year coma. The child she carried in her womb is gone. Now she must wreak vengeance on the team of assassins who betrayed her - a team she was once part of.'

Kill Bill Vol.1 Shot analysis - Opening Scene

In the opening scene to Kill Bill vol.1 Tarantino doesn't hesitate in establishing the thriller genre within the film. Tarantino uses Chiaroscuro lighting to create a strongly contrasting shadow across The Brides face, this helps to connote mystery and engages the audience as they are yet to see the character fully. The use of the Chiaroscuro lighting in this particular shot of the opening scene, helps the audience to differentiate between the flash back scenes and the real life scenes. The use of high contrast black on white shown in this shot means that Uma Therman's face really stands out as the center point in which the audience are focusing on, but also still creates a sense of being shadowed and dark. Tarantino makes reference to the classic 1940's noir thriller by making this scene in black and white, pays tribute to early noir thrillers such as ‘The Third Man’.




The menacing, dark character of Bill is introduced to the audience in this opening scene by giving us a glimpse of his footwear, Tarantino does this to give the audience a little hint about the character of Bill. Bill is seen to be wearing Cowboy boots therefore this could connote that he comes from some kind of southern state or has some form of 'Redneck' heritage, by only reveling this aspect of Bill, Tarantino isn't giving too much away about what kind of character Bill may be and leaves the audience guessing. In this shot the enigma is the character of Bill as the audience are left to make the connection with the face of Bill. The fact that Bill is wearing cowboy boots in this tracking shot of his feet, suggests that Bill likes to be taller in order to show his authority and dominance. When viewing this particular shot in the opening scene the sound of Bill's footsteps are prominently heard, this helps to connote a sense of fear and menace which helps to create a suspense and tension with the audience, especially as only the heeled boots can be seen engaging the audience's attention specifically on them. The footsteps of Bill aren't the only sound to be heard in this particular scene, you can also hear the panicked, low pitched, deep breathing of the bride, this noise is heard throughout the opening titles and for a vast majority of the opening scene. As this noise is played for this long it suggests that the Brides fear doesn't go away and that there is no rest bite to the torment she is facing. This panicking sound helps to create tension as it shows the vulnerability of The Bride in comparison to Bill. The character of Bill could be seen as an inter-textual reference to Jason in 'Essex Boys', as he is set up as a very bold and extravagant character, also wearing very 'loud' clothing (such as his very bright shirt in the opening).





In this shot from the opening scene of Kill Bill vol.1 we see that Bill has a handkerchief, but not just a normal one, this particular one has embroidered into the center, Bill's name. This would suggest to the audience that Bill is most likely a very vain person who may have an obsession for himself, much like Jason from 'Essex Boys'. By doing this Tarantino is still dropping hints for the audience as to what kind of a character Bill is without telling them directly. Another key feature about this shot from the opening scene is the sound, there is no soundtrack which is key as this means only the voices and sounds from the characters can be heard. The bride is heard to be whimpering and in an unstable state whereas in contrast Bill is very calm and is speaking in monotone which suggests he is feeling no emotion at the time; which leads onto to establishing his character even further as it shows he wouldn't take a second thought into killing someone. This whole scene creates a sense of fear within the audience, which is often important in thrillers as many rely on the fear of things that could happen in real life. In this shot of the opening scene Tarantino uses close up shots throughout. This gives a fast pace to the scene and helps to engage the audience within the heart of the film. For example a close up in this shot shown helps to show the emotions of the bride in order to help us get a view into exactly how she feels.



This shot is the last shown in the opening scene (The Cliffhanger). This shot is very effective as it shows the Bride being shot in the head, this leaves the audience wanting to find out more about why she has been shot in the head and what prompted Bill to do so. Many would doubt that after being shot in the head from close range that you would survive, this is what later engrosses the film. The fact that in the next scene in the film the Bride is shown alive and well suggests to the audience that the Bride is different and will play a big role in the film. The blood in this shot creates a chiaroscuro effect as the non-ambient light easily reflects off of the liquid, creating the light on dark, or in other words noir lighting. When watching this scene of the film a gun is heard to be being loaded, this subtly prepares the audience for what is going to happen next and builds up tension leading to this point. One way in which Tarantino challenges generic conventions within Kill Bill is choosing a strong female character to play the lead role.