Analysis of 'Kill Bill 2' and 'The Good The Bad and The Ugly'

How Tarantino Uses The Conventions of The Thriller Genre and Intertextual References

The location he uses is isolated and an unglamorous area, this immediately makes the audience realise they are watching a thriller. The first character you see also gives away the genre of the film because he’s a hillbilly or trailer trash. He lives in a caravan in the middle of no where. Set up of the lighting also indicates that the film is going to be of the thriller genre. Its non-ambient lighting and the director also makes full use of chiaroscuro lighting. The main character is in the light but the background is dark. Also, the use of noir lighting, which translates as black lighting, embeds the theme even further. In the dark you can’t see what is happening so the audience relies on other senses such as hearing. The sound within the frame is called diagetic and the sound added after the scene has been shot is called non-diagetic. There is no dialogue in the scene and this creates suspense for the audience. They are reliant on the soundtrack and any diagetic sound. There is very little dialogue and this puts more emphasis on the action and the music. In some ways this is similar to a silent film with no dialogue and just a piano playing over the scene.

Tarantino takes some of the generic conventions of a thriller film to the limits such as: claustrophobia - when the man buries Bride alive, abuse – when Bride is shot and beaten, lighting, image and sound. The director relies on diagetic sound. It creates more of an atmosphere, for example breathing, the soil thumping on top of the coffin when the screen is black, and the car driving off – heard from under the ground. He also relies on non-diagetic sound and therefore uses a strong, powerful soundtrack. Another aspect of the film he is dependant on is the action within the scene. There are lots of close up shots of faces, hands, feet, etc. Also, the close up of the torch shows emotion which engages the audience. Lighting is also important the chiaroscuro lighting dramatises the scene more because of the lack of light. As Bride’s spirit raises when she is in the coffin so does the amount of light in the shot, this creates a sense of hope for the character. Finally, the main thing he relies on is intertextual references. He has used parts from other films such as the soundtrack and included them in his own film. The intertextual reference in Kill Bill 2 is to Sergio Leoni’s ‘The Good, The Bad and The Ugly’. Tarantino uses the same soundtrack in order to create excitement and suspense and to award the bride the same mythical status as Blondie in the Leoni film. Other similarities in the scene also include that both scenes are shot in a graveyard. The only difference in the scenes is that in Kill Bill 2 a woman has the status thus reflecting the changes in society and the attitudes to women over the last 40 years. The Uma Therman character takes on the cloak of heroism and this awards her the same status as Blondie.

Here is the clip from ‘The Good, The Bad and The Ugly’ which contains the soundtrack also used in Kill Bill 2.