For the very first time, Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill will be shown in cinemas the way the director initially envisioned it.
Originally, the film was intended as one long movie, but its distributor, Miramax (and producer Harvey Weinstein), requested that Quentin Tarantino divide it into two sections. They wanted to avoid cutting down the movie from its planned four-hour length. Tarantino agreed, resulting in the release of Kill Bill: Vol. 1 and Kill Bill: Vol. 2 in theaters in the fall of 2003 and spring of 2004, respectively.
Quentin Tarantino hasn’t often shown the full four-hour cut of the movie-known as Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair. It was screened at the Cannes Film Festival and at his theater, The Vista, in Los Angeles. Now, though, Tarantino is bringing The Whole Bloody Affair to many more theaters, showing it in both 35mm and 70mm formats.
Tarantino’s statement on the news…
As a fan, I’m really excited I got to write and direct this as one complete film – and I’m so happy to finally be able to share it with everyone that way! Honestly, the *best* way to experience Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair is in a movie theater, ideally in gorgeous 70mm or 35mm. Seeing all the blood and guts on the big screen is just incredible!
Both movies feature Uma Thurman as The Bride, a highly skilled killer betrayed by her boss, Bill (played by David Carradine), who tries to eliminate her. After surviving the attack and healing, she vows to get revenge on Bill and each member of her old team of assassins, systematically hunting them down one at a time.
Splitting the film was a financially savvy move for Miramax. They effectively doubled their revenue – both from theater tickets and later DVD sales – with a single Tarantino project. Vol. 1 brought in over $180 million, and Vol. 2 added another $153 million. Tarantino’s combined cut removes the cliffhanger ending from the original Vol. 1, as well as some of the beginning of Vol. 2. However, it also includes an animated segment that was originally filmed but cut from either version when the film was released as two separate parts.
Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair will premiere in theaters on December 5.
2005 Movies That Could Never Be Made Today
The Dukes of Hazzard
Back in 2013, Warner Bros. started taking the Confederate flag off of toys and removing images of the General Lee car – famous from The Dukes of Hazzard – from their products. However, eight years prior, they enthusiastically promoted a $50-million movie adaptation of The Dukes of Hazzard, prominently featuring the General Lee. The car wasn’t minimized at all; you can still find pictures of it from the movie’s promotional events and premieres, where Johnny Knoxville and Seann William Scott played Luke and Bo Duke. Another major part of the film’s marketing was co-star Jessica Simpson, often seen in her signature Daisy Dukes, which might be considered problematic by today’s standards.
Elektra
Looking back at 2005 feels like ancient history, especially considering the
Marvel Cinematic Universe hadn’t even *started* yet. And while the MCU has definitely had its peaks and valleys, I don’t think they’ve ever mishandled a character quite as badly as
many studios did with Marvel properties *before*
Iron Man came out in 2008. Take, for example, the 2005 film
Elektra, starring Jennifer Garner. It portrays her as both the world’s deadliest assassin *and* someone incredibly meticulous – constantly scrubbing her floors to eliminate any trace of DNA – yet also astonishingly careless, casually socializing with nosy neighbors *while on a mission*. And, bafflingly, she doesn’t even realize these neighbors
are her targets!
Adding to the confusion, her death in Daredevil and subsequent resurrection gifted Elektra with the power to foresee the future and even manipulate time, essentially turning her into an immortal being. Naturally, she uses these godlike abilities to repeatedly stab ninjas with a pair of sai. Marvel *might* eventually make their own Elektra movie, and it could be flawed. But I’m hopeful it will at least *respect* the character’s established history and understand her appeal. It certainly won’t portray her as a time-bending mess.
Fever Pitch
The movie Fever Pitch – a romantic comedy set against the backdrop of the historically struggling Boston Red Sox and a love story between a hahhdcaw Sawx fan (Jimmy Fallon) and a businesswoman (Drew Barrymore) – couldn’t have happened in 2025, because the Red Sox have won four championships this century. Actually, it wouldn’t have worked even in 2006. The film was originally planned to take place during another disappointing Red Sox season, but it was filmed in 2004, just as the Red Sox were ending the Curse of the Bambino and winning the World Series. That was a close call!
As the Red Sox kept winning in the fall of 2004, the Fever Pitch team quickly got back together and filmed a new ending showing Fallon and Barrymore celebrating the Red Sox’s victory. Basically, Fever Pitch was made at the absolute last possible moment when the story still made sense.
The Honeymooners
I remember when The Honeymooners movie came out – it was part of a trend of turning old TV shows into films, like they did with The Addams Family, The Brady Bunch Movie, and Charlie’s Angels. But by then, the original Honeymooners series was already 50 years old, so it didn’t really resonate with anyone younger than my grandparents. It’s not a shock, then, that the movie didn’t do well in theaters. Now, about 20 years later, it’s pretty much forgotten except for those of us who remember it from way back – and honestly, most movies based on old TV shows still don’t succeed. Just look at Dark Shadows or Baywatch. It feels like no studio would even try something like that today.
Just Friends
That’s definitely Ryan Reynolds! Before becoming a major Hollywood star with films like The Proposal and Deadpool, he starred in Just Friends back in 2005. The movie centers around his character, an initially overweight teen who gets turned down by his high school crush (Amy Smart) and moves to Los Angeles. Fast forward a few years, and Reynolds’ character has lost weight and become a very successful music producer. However, circumstances force him to return to his hometown and reconnect with his former love interest. Considering the story, and seeing that picture of Reynolds with his awful wig and the Nutty Professor-style makeup, you can guess how many jokes they make about his weight and appearance. That pretty much sums it up.
Memoirs of a Geisha
Memoirs of a Geisha tells the story of a young Japanese woman who is sold to a geisha house. She learns the art of being a geisha and then faces challenges during World War II and its aftermath. However, director Rob Marshall chose non-Japanese actors to play all three of the main female characters. (It’s worth noting that Rob Marshall himself is not Japanese.) This decision sparked some controversy in 2005, and Marshall responded by saying “When you watched Zorba the Greek, and Anthony Quinn played Zorba, did that seem strange to you because he was Irish and Mexican?” Honestly, that explanation probably wouldn’t be accepted today, Mr. Marshall.
The Ringer
You could argue that The Ringer had good intentions. However, the film’s basic idea – a man (Johnny Knoxville) faking a developmental disability to compete in the Special Olympics – feels completely unacceptable now, regardless of its intentions or who the jokes are aimed at. It’s easy to picture the backlash if a trailer for this film were released online today; the internet would likely be overwhelmed with negative reactions.
The Ring Two
The Ring is a fantastic horror movie. However, it’s very much a product of its time. In fact, the story about a cursed VHS tape was already becoming outdated when the film was made in 2002. The novel it’s based on was first published in 1991, when VHS tapes were at their most popular. The original Japanese film adaptation came out in 1998. By 2002, VHS was already being replaced by DVDs. When The Ring Two was released a few years later, analog tapes seemed like a completely outdated technology-and not in a scary way. I guess you could, in theory, remake The Ring using a modern device as the source of the curse. (“Don’t stream that movie on Paramount+ – that streaming service is haunted!”) But the failure of recent attempts to revive the franchise pretty much speaks for itself. (Actually, there is a way you could make The Ring today: as a comedic sketch where a teenager finds a cursed videotape but can’t even watch it, so they just throw it away and move on.)
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2025-10-02 02:27