- [Narrator] This is "Kill Bill: Vol. 1".
It's the first half of Tarantino's
two part exploitation epic.
We're going to walk you through
every movie, TV show, music and anime/comic reference
in "Kill Bill: Vol. 1".
Spoiler, there's a ton.
Before the movie even begins,
we open on Tarantino's now standard opening card
but the first direct reference
actually takes place before this.
This opening shot here pays homage to Samurai Cinema,
where movies like "Tokyo Drifter" and "Lady Snowblood"
have similar text treatments.
Rza from WuTang Clan, who produced the movie's soundtrack
said that these visual elevations act as a nod
to kung fu film buffs.
Okay, fast forward.
Freeze on this shot.
This quote was uttered by Khan
in "Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan."
- Do you know the Klingon proverb that tells us
"Revenge is a dish that is best served cold?".
- [Narrator] And even though the origin of the quote
could date back to the 1700s,
we'll chalk this one up as a "Star Trek" reference anyway.
Moving along, this powerful cold open where the Bride
is panting, it's inspired by this scene in
"The Good, The Bad and the Ugly", where Eli Wallach
points a gun at Clint Eastwood who's near death.
Let's keep going.
Okay here, the stylized shots of the Bride lying
in what looks like a coffin after Bill put a bullet
in her head, they were a reference to these silhouette
shots from "Citizen Kane".
["Bang Bang" by Nancy Sinatra]
Fast forwarding, okay see here how Tarantino
has divided the movie into chapters?
That's another reference to "Lady Snowblood",
which is also told in chapters, and trust us,
"Kill Bill" was heavily influenced by this Japanese classic,
so you're going to see it pop up a ton.
Up next we have this dramatic zoom into the Bride's eyes.
This is a reference to the movie
"Death Rides a Horse",
where the camera zooms into the lead character Bill's
eyes when he remembers a traumatic experience.
Also, you hear that noise?
That's actually a Quincy Jones song from
the 1967 TV show, "Ironside".
The track also appears in the martial arts
classic "Five Fingers of Death" before lead actor
Lieh Lo engages in battle.
Phew!
Okay, that's was three references in one.
Are you keeping up?
This fight scene between the Bride and Vernita Green,
AKA Copperhead, it's an homage to Blaxploitation movies
like 1973's "Coffy" where they don't shy away from showing
two powerful women engaging in a vicious battle.
Moving past the broken glass on the floor,
to this moment.
- I'm [beep]
- [Narrator] See how the Bride's name is censored?
This was inspired by movies like "Made in U.S.A."
by Jean-Luc Godard, where character name's
were drowned out by diegetic sound.
[woman speaking in foreign language]
[phone ringing]
Fast forward to here.
The Bride tells the viewer that Vernita has changed
her name to Jeanne Bell.
Like this Jeanne Bell, Blaxploitation Star
and Playboy Playmate.
- [The Bride] Her name was Vernita Green.
- [Narrator] Okay, fast forward.
The row of sunglasses on the dash, that's a direct lift
from the opening scene in "Gone in Sixty Seconds",
the original, not the one with Angelina Jolie.
This is Elle Driver, probably the best
whistler you've ever heard.
That songs she's whistling, it's called
"Twisted Nerve" which was also whistled
in the movie of the same name.
And Elle's look was inspired by Christina Lindberg's
character in "Thriller: A Cruel Picture"
and Patch from "Switchblade Sisters".
[gunshots]
And skip to here, this split screen Tarantino included
this as an ode to filmmaker
Brian de Palma.
The technique appears in a number of his films,
like "Carrie", "Sisters" and "Dressed to Kill".
- I wanna report an emergency, a murder.
- [Narrator] Moving along to here.
This scene where Elle plans on killing the Bride
in a nurses outfit, is a reference
to Marthe Keller's character in "Black Sunday",
where she does the exact same thing.
Moving on.
[man yelling]
This gloriously gruesome act of revenge
was a reference to the movie "Lone Wolf & Cub:
Baby Cart to Hades"
[grunting]
And right after that, the song that starts playing
is called "7 Note" by Bixio, Frizzi & Tempera.
It appeared in the movie "The Psychic" which is about
a woman who can see into the future and is horrified
by the circumstances surrounding her own death,
kind of like the Bride, right?
Ugh, okay, here we have Buck who says.
Which also appears at the start of "Eaten Alive".
Fast forward to here, Buck's truck, its name is inspired
by these lyrics from "Grease".
Fast forward, ah okay, we have another
"Lady Snowblood" reference here.
Fast forward.
See O-Ren's codename, that's actually a reference
to the Marvel Comics Universe.
In it there's a group called the Serpent Society,
and some of the members have names just like
the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad.
We have Cottonmouth, Copperhead, Sidewinder
and of course, Black Mamba.
Now let's get into a bit of anime.
This sequence that shows O-Ren's origin
matches up pretty perfectly with the opening scene
in "Death Rides a Horse".
- [The Bride] She swore revenge.
Luckily for her, boss Matsumoto was a pedophile.
- [Narrator] And a little further into it,
the scene where she shoots the bodyguards from under
boss Matsumoto's bed, it's an homage to this scene
in "Miller's Crossing".
[gunshots]
Moving along to here.
At the end of the anime sequence, the Bride says,
Which is pulled from the "Death Rides a Horse" trailer
where the voiceover says,
And then,
- Hattori Hanzo.
- [Narrator] We meet the infamous Hattori Hanzo.
Which is a reference to one of Tarantino's
favorite childhood TV shows, "Kage No Gundan",
or for American audiences, "Shadow Warriors".
Sonny Chiba who plays Hattori Hanzo in "Kill Bill",
also plays Hattori Hanzo in "Shadow Warriors".
[man speaking in foreign language]
And skipping to this scene where Hattori Hanzo
hands the Bride one of his eponymous swords,
it's a nod to this scene in
"Samurai Reincarnation".
Fast forward to Gogo, the most badass schoolgirl/head
of security detail you'll ever meet.
Gogo was actually inspired by Chiaki Kuriyama's
character in "Battle Royale".
Signed off with a cheeky homage to her penchant
for stabbing men in the crotch.
[woman yelling]
And then, we have this sickly orange sky,
which is a direct reference to the opening scene
in "Goke, Body Snatcher From Hell".
Oh, and you hear that song?
It's the theme song from "The Green Hornet" by Al Hirt.
The show starred Bruce Lee which will
be important a little later on, and for that
let's throw one on the board for music and TV.
Ah, our introduction to the Crazy 88.
This song here is called,
"Battle Without Honor or Humanity", by Tomoyasu Hotei.
The title of the song makes sense, right?
Moving along to here, when Crazy 88 members think
the House of Blue Leaves owner looks like
a well known "Peanuts" character.
[speaking in foreign language]
Fast forward to this tense standoff.
We have the theme song from "Death Rides a Horse"
which was composed by Ennio Morricone,
one of Tarantino's favorite composers.
And then this happens.
The super bloody special effects are lifted
from movies like "Lady Snowblood".
[woman screaming]
Fast forward to here.
This suffocating scene is a reference
to "Deep Red".
[woman grunting]
[screaming]
And when Gogo gets slain, that's a reference
to "City of the Living Dead".
Moving along to, okay here.
When the Bride is getting surrounded by an army
of warriors, it's actually referencing a few movies.
Like "Lone Wolf & Cub: Baby Cart to Hades",
where there's a gang of fighters versus one lone warrior.
And here where the Crazy 88 get spooked
when the Bride raises her sword,
that's from "Fist of Fury", starring Bruce Lee.
And her outfit?
That's from another Bruce Lee movie called "Game of Death".
Okay, get ready because the next few references
are going to come in fast here.
Plucking out this guys eye,
that's from "Five Fingers of Death".
[man screaming]
And this ax throw?
That's from "Navajo Joe".
[man screaming]
And this poor guy gets chopped completely in half,
which is a reference to this scene in "Ichi the Killer".
And this scream, it's the infamous
"Wilhelm Scream".
Phew, okay.
The way the Bride pushes the wounded Crazy 88 member
back to get some space with her sword,
is a reference to "Lady Snowblood" who does the exact
same thing with her sword.
Fast forward to this silhouette battle,
it mirrors the opening sequence
in "Samurai Fiction".
And then we move along to this epic fight scene
that takes place on the balustrade,
which is an homage to "Scaramouche".
[man yelling]
All right, let's keep going.
The snow covered garden, it's just like the one
in "Lady Snowblood".
Skip to the duel in the snow which resembles,
yep, you guessed it, "Lady Snowblood".
The last "Lady Snowblood" reference,
the song that's playing after O-Ren's defeated
is "Flower of Carnage" sung by "Lady Snowblood"
lead actress, Meiko Kaji.
And finally, we get a clear shot of the Bride's death list,
which resembles this list from "The Mercenary".
- How did you find me?
- [Narrator] And that's every reference in
"Kill Bill: Vol 1", we think.
Did we miss anything?
I'm sure you'll let us know in the comments below.
[screaming]