Indeed Kill Bill Vol I is more an homage to Japanese samurai movies than the Chinese kung fu pictures which will be referenced more heavily in Vol II. The cinematic influences in Kill Bill aren't so much hinted at as signposted with cheesy abandon by the exuberant Tarantino from the "Shaw Scope" card which he borrows from the old Shaw Brothers films to open the film or the casting of Japanese stars like Sonny Chiba who actually plays the same character (Hattori Hanzo) he played for years in the Shadow Warriors TV series. Nevertheless teenage boys and Tarantino junkies are still the key target audience, and the payback on the DVD versions (however many there may be) will be gigantic. The film is relentlessly violent, but despite a couple of ugly moments which Tarantino can't resist, the violence here is cartoonish - a fact which could make it more palatable to female audiences who will also be turned on by the predominance of female characters. Miramax Films, which has already whipped up a storm of anticipation among Tarantino fans and beyond with its thrilling ad campaign for Kill Bill, can easily expect to surpass the $87m worldwide total of Jackie Brown in 1997/8 and might even come closer to the $220m taken by Pulp Fiction in 1994/5. Anchored by a bravura action performance by Uma Thurman, the first part of the two-parter Kill Bill is an exhilarating ride which leaves so much to resolve in Vol II that audiences satisfied with this taster will be unable to miss the denouement which arrives in US cinemas and most of the world on Feb 20, 2004. And like his three previous films, the result of his looting is a delirious cinematic confection which bears a signature all his own. Kill Bill, the fourth film by Quentin Tarantino (as it is announced in the opening credits), continues the director's tradition of raiding other films, film-makers' styles and his own soundtrack collection.
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