Vanessa's Favorite Films of All-Time Part One: Kill Bill: Volume 1

I originally started this blog post with a compilation of ALL of my all-time favorite films, however with the gifs and the amount of text I was prepared to write, it felt smarter to break each movie out into their own posts. This forces me to A) post at least weekly or more than once every three months and B) really break down why I love each of these movies I watch and rewatch and obsess over. The movies that have shaped who I am and continue to do so to this day.

We kick off with the first movie (and this is no particular order because I cannot fathom ranking my favorites):

Kill Bill: Volume 1 (2003) aka What Defines Vanessa

Kill Bill: Volume 1 (2003), directed by Quentin Tarantino.

This movie is a summary of all the shit I love: women with weapons, anime, Japanese culture, iconic fashion, women beating men up, excessively beautiful panoramic shots of landscapes, excellent music, etc. I could go on, truly. It’s a live-action, highly violent, overly saturated manga basically. I grew up reading all the manga I could get my hands on and watching all the anime I was able to watch with the limited cable options I had when I was in grades 4-6, so this movie aligns with my tastes nicely.

I connected with this movie on the simple basis of a women getting her revenge after being so deeply wronged by her former colleagues. The Bride (aka Beatrix Kiddo, named in the second film) represented every angry, wronged, violated woman that I really wanted to see cut up a motherfucker. I’ve never had the opportunity nor the want to go on a revenge-filled murder spree, however, The Bride makes a strong case for why that can be a great way to solve a motherfucking problem.

Another thing I love about this movie is the use of line-ups amongst its villains from the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad to the Crazy 88. There’s something so uniquely intoxicating about a mcfuckin’ ensemble, wearing all black coordinating outfits and toting unreasonable weapons. The movie plays on my favorite kind of visuals and aesthetics and, to this day, hasn’t been topped for me in that regard.