Kill Bill Vol. 1 (2003) and Kill Bill Vol. 2 (2004) have always been viewed as a single movie. Shot back-to-back as one long production, both volumes are counted in Quentin Tarantino‘s filmography as his “fourth feature film.” However, due to a bloated budget and pressure from disgraced producer Harvey Weinstein, the story of Uma Thurman‘s Beatrix Kiddo, otherwise known as The Bride or Black Mamba, was split into two and released one year apart. Today, 21 years after the release of Kill Bill Vol. 2, Tarantino’s masterful revenge tale has now returned to theaters, this time repurposed and edited under a singular billing: Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair.
Alongside some minor re-edits to make the viewing experience of the two parts more cohesive, The Whole Bloody Affair also adds a brand-new animated sequence to tie the entire 4-hour and 35-minute package together. There has not been much reporting on this specifically, which has led to misinformation. For clarification, Tarantino’s collaboration with Fortnite, The Lost Chapter: Yuki’s Revenge, is not featured within The Whole Bloody Affair‘s runtime. The animated short is an exclusive promotional tie-in that will be screened only in Fortnite and after the credits of The Whole Bloody Affair in certain territories. It’s a neat bit of fan service, but it’s not meant to be experienced in the final cut.
“The Origin of O-Ren” Chapter is Extended in the New Cut of Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair
The animated sequence that Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair has only mildly advertised is, ironically, the most significant addition to the new cut. Tarantino fans will recall the big switch to anime in the third chapter, “The Origin of O-Ren,” which delved into the tragic backstory of half-Japanese, half-Chinese American Yakuza boss O-Ren Ishii (formerly known as Cottonmouth), played by the great Lucy Liu. The anime segment was gorgeously rendered by the legendary anime studio Production I.G., known for Ghost in the Shell (1995) and The End of Evangelion (1997). The advertised “new animated sequence” is actually an extension of the original anime chapter, running almost twice as long.
In the 21 years since Kill Bill Vol. 2, Tarantino had been in constant communication with Production I.G. about animating the unproduced second part of “The Origin of O-Ren,” but Tarantino’s focus on newer projects and rights issues stood in the way of finishing it… until now. After the teenage O-Ren (voiced by Ai Maeda) successfully assassinates crime boss Matsumoto (Naomi Kusumi), audiences will now get to see O-Ren finally get revenge on the yakuza who murdered her parents, Pretty Riki (Hikaru Midorikawa). The result is an epic, action-packed scene of O-Ren and Riki dueling in an elevator, which takes an incredibly thrilling turn as the elevator explodes and the two fall down the shaft.
An Exciting Addition to the Tarantino Canon, 21 Years Later
Matsumoto and Riki’s assassinations, like the two halves of Kill Bill, are tonally distinct yet work together to form a cohesive whole. O-Ren’s killing on Matsumoto, while still hyperviolent, is extremely intimate and personal — closer in tone of Vol. 2. In contrast, the action spectacle in Riki’s half is flashy and highly choreographed, similar to the tone of Vol. 1. The transition between the original scene and the new material is seamless, successfully recapturing the iconic art style of “The Origin of O-Ren.” If Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair is your first time experiencing this story, it would be difficult to tell that the added scene was brand new material at all.
Although it is only eight minutes of new material, getting any additions to Quentin Tarantino’s canon is a treat in and of itself. What makes Kill Bill so special is its knack for worldbuilding — the film’s universe feels alive and expansive. Theoretically, there are so many stories that could continue to be told (Tarantino himself has expressed an idea about a prequel around Bill, the Bride’s former lover and leader of the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad).
However, there’s an elegance to this just being enough, and finally being made available to the masses. The Whole Bloody Affair premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 2006 and has since been shown in extremely limited runs in theaters, primarily at Tarantino’s own New Beverly Cinema and the Vista Theatre in Los Angeles. Now that it’s received a significant nationwide theatrical release thanks to Lionsgate, more moviegoers can appreciate Kill Bill as one complete work.
Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair is now playing in theaters!
Directed by Quentin Tarantino.
Written by Quentin Tarantino.
Based on The Bride created by Quentin Tarantino & Uma Thurman.
Produced by Lawrence Bender.
Main Cast: Uma Thurman, Lucy Liu, Vivica A. Fox, Daryl Hannah, Michael Madsen, David Carradine, Sonny Chiba, Chiaki Kuriyama, Julie Dreyfus, Gordon Liu, Michael Parks, Michael Bowen, Jun Kunimura, Kenji Ohba, Yuki Kazamatsuri, James Parks, Goro Daimon, Shun Sugata, Akaji Maro, Kazuki Kitamura, Jonathan Loughran, Sakichi Sato, Ambrosia Kelley, Yōji Tanaka, Issey Takahashi, Juri Manase, Ai Maeda, Naomi Kusumi, Hikaru Midorikawa, & The 5.6.7.8’s.
Cinematographer: Robert Richardson.
Music by RZA & Robert Rodriguez.
Editor: Sally Menke.
Production Company: A Band Apart.
Distributor: Lionsgate.
Runtime: 275 minutes.
Not Rated.
