One thing you’ve got to say about the Japnese (and the Koreans, for that matter): They love their films and they’re not afraid to drop top dollar for ridiculously extravagent box sets loaded up with very, very cool extras. Enter Kill Bill. While the spring DVD release of Volume 1 here in North America is going to be a purely bare bones affair the Japanese have gone all out with their deluxe box set. Here’s the run down on the box according to YesAsia.com:
Revenge has never been sweeter!
And it certainly has never been portrayed bloodier than in the first episode of the 2003 silver screen blockbuster “Kill Bill”! Uma Thurman slips into the probably most violent role of her life to portray the protagonist of cult director Quentin Tarantino (” Pulp Fiction”). She plays ‘The Bride’ that is beaten and tortured beyond oblivion by the Deadly Viper Assasination Squad on the day of her marriage, while the unfeeling mastermind behind this bloody scheme called Bill (David Carradine) takes care of the final killing blow in person. But to the disbelief of all those involved in this despicable act of violence, the woman that was left as dead for good miraculously survives with a very clear memory about the visages of all her would-be killers and goes on a deadly an-eye-for-an-eye killing journey! Dazzling with bloody martial arts magic mixed with lots of black humor this hyper action movie promises to tie you to your seats from start to finish! Comes with making of featurettes, TV spots, movie trailers and more. In addition, this version also offers a special “Okinawa” T-shirt , an unique “Hattori Hanzo” sword 1/10 scaled figure , a luxurious 24-page all-color booklet plus more! As the supply of this item is very limited, shop it right away to avoid future regrets!
What they fail to mention is that in addition to the cool swag, you’re also getting the unaltered Japanese print. See, the MPAA in their wisdom have linked violence ratings directly to the amount of red blood in the film, and yes, they are quite specific that the blood must be red to count. This is why alien blood (and the blood in the Evil Dead films) is pretty well always black or green – it’s an attempt to do an end run around the censors. Kill Bill is such a bloody film that it wouldn’t have qualified for an R rating unless Tarantino did something about all that red, so rather than cut, he decolourized certain scenes. No such problem in Japan, so if you want to see it the way it was filmed, this is the way to go.
And yes, I’ve already ordered mine.
Sad news for those of you who were too slow … the spiffy limited edition set looks to be completely sold out of all outlets now … only took a couple days … gotta be quick to keep up with those crafty Japanese. They’re zippy.
Well, the originality is pretty debatable, but at least he’s stealing from some fun stuff …
I just loved the first one. Seeing something original these days is a rare treat.