No one carves up genre movies like Quentin Tarantino. From Pulp Fiction to Inglourious Basterds, this video store geek turned writer/director has been responsible for some of the most iconic and entertaining cinema of the last two decades. Perhaps the films most indicative of Tarantino’s oft-imitated style – the non-linear storylines, aestheticization of violence, long scenes of pop-culture laced dialogue and copious references to other movies new and old – are the Kill Bill films; two blood-soaked sagas of murder, vengeance and betrayal. Originally intended as a single film, a four-hour runtime forced Tarantino to slice his movie in two. The result were two films remarkably different in style and tone; the highly stylized and action focused Volume 1 plays as an homage to Japanese samurai films, while the dialogue heavy Volume 2 is clearly influenced by Spaghetti Westerns and Chinese martial arts films. Yet both films are undeniably the work of the one and only Quentin Tarantino.

Since their release, the movies’ dual status has often been discussed, fueled by Tarantino’s promise of an eventual re-edit and re-release that would combine the two halves into a whole. Is Kill Bill a single film? And if not, which volume is the superior one? In March of this year, the New Beverly Cinema in Los Angeles screened a 247 minute combined version of the film, entitled Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair. That got us here at Flickchart thinking; what better time for Reel Rumbles to host a bloody battle of our own? Presenting… Kill Bill Volume 1 vs. Kill Bill Volume 2: these two warriors have unfinished business.

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