Kill Bill: Volume 1

Kill Bill: Volume 1 is a 2003 American martial arts film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. It stars Uma Thurman as the Bride, a mercenary who swears revenge on a group of assassins (Lucy Liu, Daryl Hannah, Vivica A. Fox and Michael Madsen) and their leader, Bill (David Carradine), after they try to kill her and her unborn child. Her mission takes her to Tokyo, where she battles the yakuza. Kill Bill was inspired by 1970s exploitation films and martial arts films. It features an anime sequence by Production I.G and a black-and-white sequence. Volume 1 is the first of two Kill Bill films made in a single production; Volume 2 was released six months later. They were originally set for a single release, but the film, with a runtime of over four hours, was divided in two. This meant Tarantino did not have to cut scenes. Kill Bill was theatrically released by Miramax Films in the United States on October 10, 2003. It received positive reviews and grossed $180.9 million worldwide on a $30 million budget, achieving the highest-grossing opening weekend of a Tarantino film to that point. A single film combining both parts, Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair, was theatrically released on December 5, 2025.