Kill Bill Vol. 1 Original Soundtrack (PA Version)

You know the idiotic kind of people who wish Mr Tarantino would have made a sequel (or two) to Pulp Fiction instead of Jackie Brown?

Well they apparently never saw this film. Because it kind of was. And even though an idiot would never dig deep enough to see that... even most frat boy idiots would have to admit that this film literally buries every other Tarantino movie made before it. Alive And to that kind of work you need a killer soundtrack. And it has one.

If you think about it, part of what makes great movies great is the soundtrack. Some songs are even permanently defined forever after by what movies they were featured in (the track "Stuck in the Middle With You" comes immediately to mind). It's not really a "good thing" or a "bad thing". It's just a "movie soundtrack thing". It lies somewhere in the ephemeral realm beyond good and evil.

When the film first came out, I distinctly remember hearing half the under-30 population of London had the haunting "whistling" Twisted Nerve track as their mobile phone ringtone.

Of course nowadays in 2020 nobody has cool ringtones anymore. Because nobody answers their phones anymore. So you might think that the soundtrack itself might sound as dated as the mobile phones from 2003 look today. Not the case at all. Unlike Reservoir Dogs or Pulp Fiction this movie is more timeless and universal.

It could easily release today and no one would bat an eye. So you must realize at the time it was mind-boggling. It was yellow jumpsuit impossible. Years later the story of "The Bride" still haunts me. I still love watching this movie and listening to the soundtrack as much as I did the day they came out. And as good as Volume 1 was, Volume 2 was even better.

Released: September 23, 2003

Review written September 3rd, 2020

Track listing

1. "Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)" by Nancy Sinatra – 2:40
2. "That Certain Female" by Charlie Feathers – 3:02
3. "The Grand Duel (Parte Prima)" by Luis Bacalov – 3:24
4. "Twisted Nerve" by Bernard Herrmann – 1:27
5. "Queen of the Crime Council" dialogue by Lucy Liu and Julie Dreyfus – 0:56
6. "Ode To Oren Ishii" by RZA – 2:05
7. "Run Fay Run" (from "Three Tough Guys") by Isaac Hayes – 2:46
8. "Green Hornet" by Al Hirt – 2:18
9. "Battle Without Honor or Humanity" (from "Another Battle") by Tomoyasu Hotei – 2:28
10. "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood / Esmeralda Suite" by Santa Esmeralda featuring Leroy Gómez – 10:29
11. "Woo Hoo" by The 5.6.7.8's – 1:59
12. "Crane / White Lightning" by The RZA / Charles Bernstein – 1:37
13. "The Flower of Carnage" 修羅の花　(from "Lady Snowblood") by Meiko Kaji – 3:52
14. "The Lonely Shepherd" by James Last & Gheorghe Zamfir – 4:20
15. "You're My Wicked Life" dialogue by David Carradine, Julie Dreyfus and Uma Thurman – 1:14
16. "Ironside" (excerpt) by Quincy Jones – 0:16
17. "Super 16" (excerpt) by Neu! – 1:06
18. "Yakuza Oren 1" by The RZA – 0:22
19. "Banister Fight" by The RZA – 0:21
20. "Flip Sting" (SFX) – 0:04
21. "Sword Swings" (SFX) – 0:05
22. "Axe Throws" (SFX) – 0:11