Quentin Tarantino’s acclaimed 2003 martial arts film Kill Bill is getting a 4K remaster for its 20th birthday.
Per Variety, Lionsgate has announced a new and remastered 4K edition of Kill Bill to coincide with the film’s 20th anniversary later this year. At this time, it is unknown what bonus features may be included with the re-release. In any case, this news comes as Lionsgate reveals that it has acquired the distribution rights to Kill Bill and fellow Tarantino film Jackie Brown, giving the company the largest portfolio of movies by the lauded director.
Lionsgate already has the distribution rights to Reservoir Dogs, Death Proof, Inglourious Basterds, Django Unchained and The Hateful Eight. With the addition of Jackie Brown and Kill Bill, the company now has control of seven of Tarantino’s nine films. Meanwhile, the home video distribution rights to Tarantino’s second film, Pulp Fiction, currently reside with Paramount, which gave the 1994 classic its own 4K Ultra HD release late last year. Tarantino’s ninth and most recent film, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, resides with original distributor Sony, though the rights are set to default to Tarantino himself after 30 years as part of a special arrangement.
Kill Bill Turns 20
Written and directed by Tarantino, Kill Bill: Volume 1 originally released in theaters on Oct. 10, 2003. The film centers on the Bride (Uma Thurman), a former assassin on a deadly quest for revenge against ex-lover Bill (David Carradine), who attempted to murder her during her wedding rehearsal and left her in a four-year coma. A follow-up, Kill Bill: Volume 2, subsequently hit theaters in April 2004 to wrap up the Bride’s story.
While Kill Bill is technically a duology, Tarantino has maintained that he considers Volume 1 and Volume 2 to be a single film, which would be his fourth overall. Notably, all of Kill Bill was shot at the same time, with Tarantino originally planning to release the whole thing as a single feature. However, he ultimately decided to split the film into two parts in order to avoid having to cut scenes.
Quentin Tarantino’s Final Film Is Coming
News of Kill Bill‘s 20th-anniversary 4K remaster also comes as Tarantino prepares to release one final film before riding off into the sunset, so to speak. Earlier this year, it was reported that Tarantino had finished writing his 10th and final film, titled The Movie Critic. It was speculated that the 1970s-set feature would be based on the life and career of the late Pauline Kael, though Tarantino later debunked this. At any rate, production on The Movie Critic is expected to kick off later this year.
Tarantino has long stated that his intention was to either make 10 movies or retire by age 60. “I want to stop at a certain point,” the director said in a 2012 interview with Playboy. “Directors don’t get better as they get older. Usually the worst films in their filmography are those last four at the end. I am all about my filmography, and one bad film fucks up three good ones. I don’t want that bad, out-of-touch comedy in my filmography, the movie that makes people think, ‘Oh man, he still thinks it’s 20 years ago.’ When directors get out-of-date, it’s not pretty.” Tarantino’s plan has truly come down to the wire, with the director celebrating his 60th birthday just weeks after it broke that The Movie Critic had been written.
Source: Variety
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