Two Classic Quentin Tarantino Films Are Being Re-Released as One

Quentin Tarantino and Kevin Smith hit me at the same time. I was a freshman in high school, and had just discovered Clerks and Reservoir Dogs. In retrospect, I’m lucky that it didn’t have a negative effect on me. Those are wild movies to see as an impressionable teen. I remember posting Tarantino’s monologue from the former as my AIM away message, and my brother, rightfully, said, “Imagine if mom saw that!” I actually got my mom to watch the movie later that year, and she thought it was fine.

That was my life in 2003. I happened upon these kings of 90s cinema about a decade after they’d already made a name for themselves. They would influence my tastes for quite some time, and both of them were still putting out new movies when I discovered them. Dogma became one of my favorites, as I hated going to church, and it played heavily on Comedy Central (so did Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, but that wasn’t really a favorite). I had to seek out movies like Pulp Fiction and Jackie Brown. But, it was Kill Bill Vol. One that blew my 14-year-old mind.

There wasn’t a lot of cultural crossover in what I watched. Most of the things I viewed were American. I watched Pokémon, like every child my age at the time, but that was on the WB network and seemed pretty standard. My first look at anime, where I knew I was watching something new and exciting, was a short segment in Tarantino’s ultra-bloody film. Not only was that tantalizing, but switching to this style, in the middle of the film, felt like some magic trick.

While I couldn’t see the sequel in theaters, I waited anxiously for it to arrive on DVD. I convinced my Dad to go buy it for me at Best Buy, and to make sure to ask for the new box set cover, even though I didn’t need another copy of the first movie. He pulled it off, and I marveled at another chapter in the saga of The Bride that felt like a completely different experience from the first. At the time, I was aware that Tarantino had intended Kill Bill to be one movie, and now, I could watch it as such. I just… never did for some reason.

Even rewatching the film as an adult, with much more time on my hands, I never combined the movies. My wife watched them for the first time, with me, during lockdown, when we had loads of time to spare, and we still split them up over two nights. It’s a lot! And something about being in the comfort of my own home has made it harder. If only they would release them into a theater, where I feel obliged to remain seated, so I could experience them as they were intended (you know where this is going).

Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair is hitting theaters on December 5th. The event, over twenty years in the making, will allow folks to see Kill Bill as one giant, blood-soaked extravaganza. The epic film will be shown in 70mm and 35mm in select locations, and will also include a 7½-minute animated sequence that has never been shown before. “I wrote and directed it as one movie — and I’m so glad to give the fans the chance to see it as one movie, the director explained in announcing the endeavor. “The best way to see Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair is at a movie theater in Glorious 70mm or 35mm. Blood and guts on a big screen in all its glory!”

Coincidentally enough, I can’t think of a time in my life when I’ve been less able to go see a four-hour movie. I haven’t even seen One Battle After Another yet. While I’d love to experience Kill Bill as it was intended, this may not be in the cards for me when December rolls around. 14-year-old me may be disappointed, but he needs to understand that it’s worth it because he’s married now and has responsibilities and… I can already picture myself miming a jerk-off motion in response.