It is no secret that as Quentin Tarantino was growing up, he earned money to fund his writing by working in a video store. In doing this he was surrounded by movies all day every day collecting encyclopedic knowledge from a massive array of different genres. Tarantino often refers to this as his free education and makes reference to the number of different movies he watched growing up throughout all of his own films.
Asian Cinemas Influence on the West
Before discussing how Tarantino took influence from Asian cinema when he wrote Kill Bill, it is first worth discussing how Asian cinema influenced the west in general as these influences would trickle down onto Tarantino’s screen in the movies he would watch. A lot of western filmmakers were famous for reusing plots that were originally from Asian films. This article by BFI.org on Asian Cinema and its influences show just how much of a massive part of western cinema owes to its Asian counterpart.
The likes of George Lucas, Sergio Leone, and Martin Scorsese all owe some of the success of their classic movies to Asian cinema as plot points and characters were inspired by films such as Yojimbo, The Hidden Fortress, and Battle Royale. That being said, rather than merely repurposing plots from Japanese and Chinese movies and then relaying over a different template, with Kill Bill, Tarantino did something different.
Asian Cinemas Influence on Tarantino
As you can see by this post by Screenrant.com that talks about Kill Bill and why it is so good, there are a number of reasons to like the film. That being said, Tarantino’s originality in how he wears his inspirations on his sleeve is up there with one of the most prevalent reasons. He doesn’t imitate his influences, instead, he pinpoints them and continues storylines within his own film.
For instance, the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad that the Bride hunts down throughout the film is clearly taken from the Five Deadly Venoms, which is a kung-fu classic by the Shaw Brothers. Not to mention, Hattori Hanzo reprised a role that he originally played in an old Japanese TV series called the Shadow Warriors back in the 80s.
The Continued Influence of Kill Bill
It’s clear that Tarantino’s Kill Bill is a movie that continues to give and is respected by film buffs around the world thanks to the continued influence its plot and characters continue to have on popular culture. An example of this comes in the form of the slot game Crazy 88, which has a name and a theme taken from the famous gang portrayed in Kill Bill. The game even utilizes the music that is played during the outrageous fight scene within the movie, as well. This post by Bonus.ca on new casinos outlines some of the new online gambling sites that are available and a lot of these are likely going to continue to have games inspired by Tarantino’s films, given he is such a cultural icon. As such, it is well worth having a look at the likes of King Billy, Jackpot Paradise, and Hell Spin to see if you catch any movie references.
Tarantino and Asian Cinema
Thanks to his time working at a video store, Tarantino does not hide the fact that he lets influences creep into his movies. The influence of Asian cinema can clearly be seen throughout Kill Bill except Tarantino separates himself from other western directors as instead of simply reimagining classic characters, he reprised originals and continued storylines. The effectiveness of how well this resonates with audiences is clear on the continued influence that Tarantino films have in pop culture in the likes of online casinos.
