Kill Bill Returns to Theaters in a Fresh Version. The Experience Will Be Completely Different.

This week, I experienced Quentin Tarantinos Kill Bill once morethis time in an even longer iteration of The Whole Bloody Affair. Previously, I had seen it as the original two-part release and a decade later as the four-hour combined version. From the very first frame, the impact was striking: the camera lingers on Uma Thurmans bloodied, battered face as an offscreen voice asks, Do you find me sadistic? The line resonates differently today in light of Thurmans 2018 revelations about being seriously injured on set during a stunt she initially refused, when a modified car she drove crashed into a tree. Following the incident, Tarantino sided with producer Harvey Weinstein in withholding footage of the accident from Thurman.

The New York Times article detailing her ordeal focused first on her experiences with Weinstein, but the latter portion about Tarantino drew the strongest reactions. Thurman disclosed that some of the brutal treatment her character endures was enacted by Tarantino himself: he spat tobacco in her face, and when her character Beatrix was restrained by the assassin Gogo Yubari, it was Tarantino tightening the chains. While he later claimed one shot was Thurmans idea, she acknowledged receiving the crash footage but described the circumstances as negligent to the point of criminality.

Despite the controversy, Tarantinos career remained unaffected, with his next film, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, winning two Oscars and earning nearly $400 million globally. Yet these revelations add a troubling lens through which to view Kill Bill, making the opening shots difficult to watch without thinking of the real-life dangers Thurman faced.

Thurmans character, Beatrix Kiddo, was conceived in tandem with Tarantino as a top-tier assassin seeking vengeance for the murder of her infant daughter. Production delays accommodated Thurmans pregnancy, and the films were built to showcase her skills, from action sequences to nuanced dialogue. The Whole Bloody Affair restores previously cut gore and extends an animated segment exploring Lucy Lius character O-Ren Ishii, delivering a unified, continuous arc of Thurmans performance.

The original division into two films, influenced by Weinstein, diluted the impact of Thurmans work. The single-sitting experience of The Whole Bloody Affair allows audiences to follow her journey uninterrupted, deepening the emotional and narrative payoff. Scenes like the shocking revelation that her child survived are more powerful when experienced simultaneously with Beatrix, rather than as a cliffhanger.

Watching the expanded version also highlights the repeated degradation faced by Beatrix, from sexual assault to humiliating martial arts training. Thurman described her collaboration with Tarantino as a horrible mud wrestle with a very angry brother, reflecting the intense, sometimes perilous process of creating the film.

This edition situates Kill Bill within a lineage of films where actresses endured extreme on-set conditions, from Bjrk in Dancer in the Dark to Maria Schneider in Last Tango in Paris and Jennifer Lawrence in Mother. The film captures not just Beatrixs story but the real-life risks taken by Thurman, making the work inseparable from the context of its creation.

Ultimately, honoring Thurmans contribution means recognizing the artistry she brought to Beatrix Kiddo. The expanded version ensures that her career-defining performance is appreciated in full, allowing audiences to focus on the enduring power of her work, rather than the controversies surrounding its production.

Author: Connor Blake