Filming
Filming

When Thurman became pregnant as shooting was ready to begin, Tarantino delayed the production, saying: "If Josef Von Sternberg is getting ready to make Morocco and Marlene Dietrich gets pregnant, he waits for Dietrich!" Principal photography began in 2002. Although the scenes are presented out of chronological order, the film was shot in sequence. The choreographer Yuen Woo-Ping, whose credits included The Matrix, was the martial arts advisor. The anime sequence, covering O-Ren Ishii's backstory, was directed by Kazuto Nakazawa and produced by Production I.G, which had produced films including Ghost in the Shell and Blood: The Last Vampire. The combined production lasted 155 days and had a budget of $55 million.
According to Tarantino, the most difficult part of making the film was "trying to take myself to a different place as a filmmaker and throw my hat in the ring with other great action directors", as opposed to the dialogue scenes he was known for. The House of Blue Leaves sequence, in which the Bride battles dozens of yakuza soldiers, took eight weeks to film, six weeks over schedule. Tarantino wanted to create "one of the greatest, most exciting sequences in the history of cinema". The crew eschewed computer-generated imagery in favor of practical effects used in 1970s Chinese cinema, particularly by the director Chang Cheh, including the use of fire extinguishers and condoms to create spurts and explosions of blood. Tarantino told his crew: "Let's pretend we're little kids and we're making a Super 8 movie in our back yard, and you don't have all this shit. How would you achieve this effect? Ingenuity is important here!"
Near the end of filming, Thurman was injured in a car crash while filming the scene in which she drives to Bill. According to Thurman, she was uncomfortable driving the car and asked that a stunt driver do it. Tarantino assured her that the car and road were safe. She lost control of the car and hit a tree, suffering a concussion and knee injuries. According to Thurman, Miramax would only give her the crash footage if she signed a document "releasing them of any consequences of [Thurman's] future pain and suffering". Tarantino was apologetic, but their relationship became bitter for years afterwards. Thurman said that after the car crash she "went from being a creative contributor and performer to being like a broken tool". Miramax released the footage in 2018 after Thurman went to police following the accusations of sexual abuse against the producer, Harvey Weinstein.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
bbc.co.ukwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "A behind-the-scenes look at Kill Bill". Entertainment Weekly.
- ^ a b Cite error: The named reference
Otto-2004was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ a b c "Quentin Tarantino on Kill Bill Vol. 1 – Film4". www.film4.com. Archived from the original on April 23, 2016. Retrieved March 12, 2016.
- ^ "Production I.G : WORK LIST : 'Kill Bill: Vol. 1' (Animation Sequence)". Production I.G. 2003. Archived from the original on June 4, 2016. Retrieved March 12, 2016.
- ^ Snyder, Gabriel (July 15, 2003). "Double 'Kill' bill". Variety. Archived from the original on November 8, 2012. Retrieved February 19, 2020.
- ^ Jakes, Susan (September 30, 2002). "Blood Sport". Time. Archived from the original on October 10, 2023. Retrieved November 9, 2023.
- ^ a b Dowd, Maureen (February 3, 2018). "This Is Why Uma Thurman Is Angry". The New York Times. Archived from the original on May 24, 2019. Retrieved February 3, 2018.
- ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (February 5, 2018). "Quentin Tarantino Explains Everything: Uma Thurman, The 'Kill Bill' Crash & Harvey Weinstein". Deadline. Archived from the original on January 28, 2020. Retrieved August 17, 2021.