Post #55590 by AquaZombie on Fri, Oct 17, 2003 12:39 PM

I thought "Kill Bill" was Tarantino's most unabashedly and unashamedly cinematic smorgasbord to date. I also missed the "royale with cheese" banter at first, but then I realized quickly he was making a full-on exploitation flick, with no room for "arty" pretentions or witty, laconic conversations. Critics expecting him to become the next Scorsese are putting him the wrong category. He is an incredibly talented film geek who has the power to assemble any kind of mega-movie hodgepodge his creatively passionate brain desires. Think if you local video clerk/film geek had this ability, and what they'd do with it: combine elements from all their favorite cult flicks into one slam-bang fantasia, chock full of obscure references and their favorite old actors of yore (Pam Grier, Sonny Chiba - God, I envy this guy's clout and I dig his sensibilities too, since they're so close to mine). The "ShawScope" and vintage "Feature Presentation" clips at the very beginning tipped off the audience right away that this was going to be an updated grindhouse gorefest - a slick, savvy tribute to 42nd Street circa 1974, and if you're expecting the nuances and complexities of say, "Taxi Driver," you're in the wrong theater. Tarantino makes movies for old school movie buffs, but he also ingeniously markets his stuff for a younger crowd who may not always get his dated riffs but certainly enjoy the shiny new package. The soundtrack is also a key element in his films (as it is in all films, or should be - great soundtracks have gone the way of great movie posters, sad to say) - and I think this is his best (most eclectic) yet. One of my favorite moments in the flick was the sequence with the "Green Hornet" theme, very exciting, also the theme from "Death Rides a Horse" right before the final epic confrontation (which is strangely absent from the CD comp, maybe it'll be on Volume 2). The violence is so over the top comic booky it's hard to believe anyone who digs drive-in action type flicks would be offended, but it's possible. It's not for everyone, but neither was "Reservoir Dogs" or "Pulp Fiction." In this one, Tarantino "samples" old school kung fu flicks, Spaghetti Westerns, blaxploitation, revenge flicks like "Death Wish" and even "Point Blank", comic books, anime, and other filmmakers as diverse as Sergio Leone, Sam Peckinpah, and Siejan Suzuki (one of my favorites - that sword fight in the snow was so "Tokyo Drifter"). And this is only "volume 1" - not originally conceived as a serial but for me, it works much better than the overblown "Matrix" flicks (which are just not my thing.)

So what's missing? NUDITY! For God's sake, Quentin, back in the day gratuitous shower scenes were industry standard! Drive-in movies promised violence AND sex (and most often, in combination!) I'd like to see him tackle the Women in Prison genre next, in which case there'd be no getting around this exploitation element. Though if you notice,his close-ups of women's feet (particularly in this one) reveal another kind of fetish, and I would notice that,since I share the same fetish.