Quentin Tarantino’s ‘Kill Bill’ And ‘Jackie Brown’ Making Their 4K Debuts, Joining ‘Reservoir Dogs’ Re-Release
by David Lewis
Alright movie watchers, let’s watch some movies!
Four films from writer-director-“actor” Quentin Tarantino are being released in limited edition 4K UHD collectible steel books, with three of the titles making their debut in the format.
In the style of QT, we’ll start with the most recent film and flash back to the beginning:
Finally making its 4K debut, the raucous Kill Bill Vol. 1 (2003) introduces audiences to Uma Thurman‘s blood-splattered Bride, who metaphorically rises from the grave at least twice in order to get revenge and kill a lot more people than just Bill (David Carradine). Also in her sights are Bill’s various minions played by Daryl Hannah, Lucy Liu, Vivica A. Fox, Gordon Liu, and Tarantino regular Michael Madsen. Japanese garage rock group the 5, 6, 7, 8’s are mercifully spared.
After the first entry ends on a classic soap operatic cliffhanger, the talky Kill Bill Vol. 2 (2004) ties up all the loose ends in the Bride’s life, flashing back to her gruesome B&W betrayal and her time training with Pai Mei (also played by the magnificent Gordon Liu). It adds Bo Svenson, Sid Haig, and Tarantino regular Samuel L. Jackson to the mix. Like its predecessor, Vol. 2 also making its belated 4K debut.
After the worldwide success of 1994’s Pulp Fiction, Tarantino slowed things down (relatively speaking) with 1997’s Jackie Brown, adapted from an Elmore Leonard novel. Also making its 4K premiere, the pulpy retro romance stars the electrifying Pam Grier, plus Robert Forster, Michael Keaton, Robert DeNiro, Bridget Fonda, Chris Tucker, and Jackson.
Reservoir Dogs, Tarantino’s 1992 debut, tells the straightforward story of a heist gone wrong and the ensuing aftermath in a very non-straightforward way, freely mixing time-shifting, sturdy character work, constant pop culture references, and buckets of blood. The cast set the standard for ’90s indie crime picture ensembles, including Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Chris Penn, Steve Buscemi, Lawrence Tierney, Tarantino himself, and Madsen.
All four releases are loaded with extras, including featurettes, interviews, music videos, trailers, and more, most of which seem to be carried over from the DVD days. They’ll arrive in stores on January 21st. More Tarantino in 4K will be released this month as well.
