Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003) - Analysis

How does Tarantino use Thriller conventions?

    The first signifier we hear is a diegetic sound bridge of a woman breathing heavily followed by a black and white establishing shot of the woman. This is used so then the audience can associate with the character and also connect with this character as she is the first character we see. The black and white is used to tribute the 'Noir' Thriller's of the 1940's and also is used as a flashback as black and white isn't the normal use of colour in a film anymore and black and white, sepia or blurred film usually means that the scene is a flashback or thought not in a linear narrative. Also with the use of flashback we can see that it must have some sort of chaotic narrative. The use of black and white could also be used to add to the tension of the scene and also make the 'blood' on the woman's face look more realistic because sometimes blood can look fake as the colour isn't always realistic, but the use of black and white ensures that it is only shown as tonal; thus it cannot be seen to be fake.

    The woman is shown in a high angle shot, which is also a close up shot. There is an overlap of more diegetic sound, this time of footsteps, it then cuts to a man walking across wooden floorboards with a tracking shot, following him as he walks, only showing his feet. This is used to show the audience an enigma as we don't know who he is and are not shown his face. It is also used to be very threatening, as his footsteps are very harsh and large we associate it with pain from the hard sounds of his foot hitting the wooden floor. It is also threatening in the fact that Tarantino has chosen to show a direct contrast between the bride's face and the man's shoe which could be used to show a power difference in that the man is above the woman as we look down onto the woman from a high angle shot, but we can only see the man's feet - which is a very low shot. The lighting on the feet is very strong, causing harsh shadows, this is called noir lighting - showing a differentiation between light and dark and is used to show the man in a 'bad light' perhaps because the woman looks scared of him and he is lurking in the shadows.

    It then cuts to the woman again, this time she looks even more scared than before. This shows a connection and a relationship between the two characters. The high angle close up of the woman is still used to show a relationship and also male dominance. The fact that we are now seeing the woman from the man's perspective shows that the woman is under him and also it could be said that she is under him metaphorically as well as physically. The first dialogue in the opening scene is the man saying "Do you find me sadistic?" as the camera still stays on the woman so then the audience establishes a relationship with the bride first. He begins to talk to her as he wipes her face with a handkerchief with the name 'Bill' embroidered onto it, this shows that he is obviously a vain man because we can now establish that he is 'Bill' as it relates to the title, 'Kill Bill' - which shows he will die later in the film, perhaps. As he presses the handkerchief to the bride's face we can see her cringe in pain away from him - this shows that he is the cause of her injuries and that's why she would find him sadistic. Even as he is talking the camera never moves from the woman. This is used to have the audience still directly associating with the woman rather than showing the man - also it keeps the enigma as we don't know what he looks like or anything about him, but from this point we might have figured out that he is called 'Bill'. This high angle close up shot may be used to show the woman from the man's perspective, showing also male dominance and also perhaps a Femme Fatale in that the bride is covered in blood and is being domestically abused, although we don't know if she is deviant or just being abused by him. 

    He then continues to talk as he wipes the blood off her face. This is used to show that is definitely the cause of her injuries and to show a relationship between them as his speech is quite informal. The bride whimpers away from his hand and looks extremely uncomfortable as his is wiping her face and also very nervous. She starts crying more prominently as he talks more - used to show a negative relationship between these two characters. As he talks he calls her 'Kiddo', which is a derogatory term towards her as she is obviously not a child and it is used to show the male dominance in the scene and the fact that he is in control and can patronise her. The bride's expression suddenly changes from upset and miserable to shocked and extremely worried. This is used to keep the audience on the edge of their seat even at the start of the film and also could be used to slightly prepare the audience for a dramatic moment. Then the diegetic sound of a gun being loaded is heard and the woman's face changes to even more worried and she starts to shake profusely. This is used as very short foreshadowing as we can tell, as the audience, that something is going to happen very soon even though we cannot see the whole scene. The bride then says in anger "Bill, it's your bab-", but doesn't get to finish the sentence as he shoots her in the head with the loaded gun. The significance of the bride talking is that it is her first dialogue of the scene and she dies immediately after - meaning it keeps the audience questioning why she was killed and leaves them to watch the rest of the film before they can answer any questions they have about the first scene. Another significance of this is for the audience to wonder why Bill would want to kill the bride in the first place and leaves the audience to wait for answers and question the first scene in the meantime.