Kill Bill Vol. 2 - 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray

While Kill Bill Vol. 1 and I hit it off right from the start (it being the first Quentin Tarantino movie I had seen in the theater), Kill Bill Vol. 2 and I had a much rockier start. I anxiously awaited its releases in the upcoming months after its predecessor hit me in the face with a mélange of colorful, artfully choreographed deaths, the closing chapter to the two films took a quieter approach that seventeen-year-old me wasn’t ready for.

I don’t mean to sound like a philistine. I liked Kill Bill Vol. 2. I just didn’t love it the same way I loved the first film’s goofy playfulness, that wasn’t beholden to a story. It did whatever the hell it wanted, whenever the hell it wanted. If it wanted to become a rotoscoped anime-inspired chapter about one of our assassin character’s backstories, it just did it. No apologies. Vol. 2, on the other hand, was grounded. It analyzed the impact of the Bride’s violence. And as she makes her way closer to finally killing Bill, as the film’s title promises, the gravity of violence begins to weigh on her, both morally and metaphysically. What does that kind of vengeance do to a person’s soul?

Kill Bill Vol. 2 feels much different as a film, too. Though both parts were filmed altogether with the intent of releasing it as one singular movie, it works as a two-part film series because both halves are so distinctive. Vol. 1 is so wild in its ostentatiousness, so iconic in its color scheming—you can close your eyes and see those yellows and spurting reds. Vol. 2 is a spaghetti western, and like so many of the great spaghetti westerns, so much of its soundtrack is borrowed from compositions written by Ennio Morricone for other films.

Revenge is a hell of a thing. It’s a hell of a fantasy we all have at one time or another, to make those who have wronged us pay. Revenge films give us the opportunity to live out that fantasy vicariously through a character brave enough to undergo a brutal transformation, for which they know they’ll be irreparably changed and damaged. Revenge stories offer catharsis, but all the good ones also know that there’s a price to pay, and you pay it with a part of your soul. Your humanity.

So, while Kill Bill Vol. 2 and I didn’t hit it off right away, over the years I’ve grown to adore it, and these days I love it just as much as Vol. 1. I consider them to be two sides of the same coin, and when I do a Kill Bill rewatch, I watch both movies in the same day, and make an event of it, the way you might do if you were watching The Godfather I and II in one sitting. While Vol. 1 is a sugary snack that’s all empty (delicious) calories, Vol. 2 is the protein we need to sustain a healthy diet.

The first film introduced me to a world of films I never knew existed, and Vol. 2 did the same. Tarantino’s filmmaking career has always had a way of enriching my movie-watching experience and making me seek out and devour whole genres.

Vital Disc Stats: The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray
Kill Bill Vol. 2 arrives on 4K UHD Blu-ray in a standard case with a removable slipcover, both containing the same, newly-commissioned artwork specific for this release. Inside the case, the film is presented on two discs, both a 4K UHD Blu-ray and regular Blu-ray, with a slip containing a digital code included for digital redemption.

My “problem” with Kill Bill Vol. 1’s video presentation is that through much of it, there wasn’t a tremendous difference between its original 1080p Blu-ray release from ages ago and the upgraded 4K UHD Blu-ray. The image was clearly sharper and certain segments really highlighted its HDR grading, but when you get right down to it, they looked remarkably similar.

Not so with Kill Bill Vol. 2. I compared the previous Blu-ray release in my library to the new 4K release and the difference is immediate and clear. It boils down to filming techniques. I understand both halves were intended to be one singular film, but the more subtle cinematographic techniques utilized by Robert Richardson really take to the Dolby Vision HDR grading. Desert scenery is richer in color, with a wider spectrum able to display the browns and reds like never before. Film grain is more apparent, too. And nighttime sequences really soar, with deep, inky blacks—the sequence in the bar Bud works at, dimly lit and illuminated in neon, looks absolutely exquisite.

Just like Kill Bill Vol. 1, the overall mix here is the same as previous releases. The previous Blu-ray had both Dolby Digital 5.1 and lossless LPCM 5.1 tracks. The 4K UHD Blu-ray has the same 5.1 mix from previous releases, now encoded in DTS-HD MA. While not a wild, over-the-top sound experience like the first film, Kill Bill Vol. 2 gets a lot of carefully constructed surround activity. A lot of ambient effects, like a blowing wind, or the echo of a loud shotgun blast, will play to the rears. The Kill Bill movies are intentionally designed to be front-heavy on the soundstage, which is true to their retro inspirations. The overall mix is masterfully done, balancing music, grunts, kicks, punches, while never losing sight of the dialogue that drives the story.

Here's what I had to say regarding Vol. 1’s sad lack of special features: Kill Bill Vol. 1 on 4K UHD Blu-ray continues its trend of having lousy special features, beginning with its original DVD release. It’s a shame. Kill Bill is one of the defining films of its era and it’s a shame to see the same supplements follow it, release after release, without any retrospective interviews, documentaries or audio commentaries from film historians.

The same is true of Kill Bill Vol. 2.

• The Making of Kill Bill Vol. 2 (SD 26:03)
• “Damoe” Deleted Scene (SD 3:37)
• Chingon Musical Performance (SD 11:33)

Kill Bill Vol. 2 is the contemplative counterpart to Vol. 1’s explosive action. It takes its time, slows things down, and allows its characters to talk, open up, and reveal themselves. In doing so, Tarantino himself opens himself up a bit to the audience, too. It feels very personal, in a way that warms my heart and makes me grateful for the magic of filmmaking. While the supplemental features still stink, dating all the way back to its days on DVD, Kill Bill Vol. 2 looks fantastic in 4K/Dolby Vision, with a naturalistic color display and sharper images than ever before. Kill Bill Vol. 2 is Highly Recommended.
Click to order: