Synopsis for
Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)

Before the main credits we learn that the film is about the Deadly Vipers Assassination Squad which has 5 members. A quotation gives the flavour "Revenge is a dish best served cold". In monochrome a gasping, blood-covered bride looks up from a church floor , a hand, holding a handkerchief with the name Bill in the corner is seen wiping her face and a male voice explains that this is not a sadistic act. Just before he shoots, The Bride tells Bill that the baby she carries is his. Then a shot and the main credits come up backed by the song "Bang Bang".

Chapter 1. Pasadena. A blonde woman, The Bride (Uma Thurman) draws up in a red pickup outside a suburban home and strolls to the front door. As she rings, a flashback shows The Bride crashing to the floor and looking up to see the face of one of her attackers, Vernita Green (Vivica A Fox). As soon as the door is open, The Bride's fist crashes into Vernita's face. A savage fight follows, first with fists then with knives. This pauses when a school bus draws up outside and a young girl walks through the door. The protagonists hide their knives and pretend nothing is amiss despite the wreckage around them. They both reassure the child. The Bride mentions that she used to have a child who would be the same age and they persuade her to go to her room. At this point Vernita is introduced as a member of the Deadly Vipers, codename Copperhead. The Bride is also a member, codename Black Mamba. The Bride makes clear that she is here for revenge but promises not to kill Vernita in front of her child. They plan a fight later but while Vernita is preparing cereals for her child she fires a concealed gun, missing The Bride, who responds with a thrown knife which kills Vernita. The child walks back in to see all this and The Bride apologises but explains that her mother had it coming to her. She then departs in the red pickup, emblazoned with the words Pussy Wagon after taking out a list headed "Death List of 5" and deleting Vernita's name.

Chapter 2. Four years earlier in El Paso. A church floor with bodies scattered around and police investigating. The sheriff drives up and is told that there has been an execution-style massacre with 9 bodies including bride, groom, preacher and his wife. The sheriff strolls round commenting on the massacre and stops near the bride and comments how good-looking she was. He immediately recognises the name she was using, Arlene Machiavelli, as an alias. As he kneels to look more closely at her, she suddenly spits in his face. We see her rushed to hospital where she lies in a deep coma. A smartly dressed blond woman walks through the hospital, whistling a tune. She finds a changing room and emerges dressed as a nurse with a red-cross patch over one eye and carrying a tray with syringe on. A title comes up saying that this is Elle Driver (Daryl Hannah) from the Deadly Vipers, codename California Mountain Snake. She stands over the comatose Bride and says that her gift is to allow her to die in her sleep. As she prepares to inject the contents of the syringe into the feeding tube, her mobile rings. It is Bill who orders her to abort the mission in view of The Bride's survival of their previous efforts to assassinate her. Elle does as ordered and leaves.

On four years again and The Bride is still lying in a coma. A mosquito bites her and she suddenly sits up with a shriek. In a flashback she sees a gun pointing at her and a bullet approaching in slow motion. She begins to feel her body, first noticing the metallic sound of her skull and then feeling the absence of the baby in her womb. She lets out a shriek and sobs pitifully. When she hears approaching footsteps she lies back and pretends to be still in a coma. An orderly enters accompanied by a large man. The orderly explains that, for a price, this attractive woman is available for whatever he wants. The man pays up and is told that he can do anything he wants as long as he doesn't leave any marks. The orderly leaves and the man climbs on top of The Bride. As he starts to kiss her she bites down on his tongue and severs it in a profusion of blood.

The Bride tries to get out of bed but collapses as her legs will not support her. When she hears the orderly returning she picks up a knife and crawls behind the door. He enters and stands aghast at the carnage and the empty bed. She slashes his heel and he falls to the floor. Then, crashing the door into his head she demands to know where Bill is. Realising who he is and remembering his earlier assaults on her she gives him a couple more violent blows with the door then searches him for his car keys. Propelling herself to the basement car park in a wheelchair The Bride uses the remote to find his car - the red pickup with "Pussy Wagon" on the back. She hauls herself in and starts the long process of getting her legs moving again.

Cuts to a shot of the rest of the Deadly Vipers gang and introduces O-Ren Ishii (Lucy Liu), codename Cottonmouth now head of the Tokyo mafia.

Chapter 3. The film follows, in anime format, O-Ren's development from witnessing the murder of her parents aged 9, which she avenged several years later in blood-spouting style. She then developed into a world-class assassin. At 25 she was involved in the massacre of 9 innocent people in Pasadena, Her big mistake - she should have killed 10.

Meanwhile 13 hours have passed and The Bride has regained use of her legs so she sets out on her revenge trail. We see her flying to Okinawa.

Chapter 4. The Bride enters a Japanese sushi bar and there is a longish scene with the jovial bar-keeper and some slapstick action with his assistant. Things get serious when she tells the bar-keeper that she is looking for him, Hattori Hanzo (Sonny Chiba). She explains that she needs some "Japanese steel" to kill vermin. He shows her to his attic where he keeps an array of the swords he has made. When she tries one out he says that they are not for sale and he has sworn not to make any more "instruments of death". She explains that the "vermin" is a pupil of his and he correctly guesses that this is Bill. He agrees to make her a sword which will take a month.

A month later we see Hattori examining the new sword, which he believes is his finest work. He hands it to her.

Chapter 5. The film returns to O-Ren and shows her as newly elected Head of the Council of all the bosses. When one objects on the grounds of her mixed-race origin she immediately beheads him. We are then introduced to O-Ren's lieutenants. Her French-Japanese lawyer Sofie Fatale (Julie Dreyfus), another of Bill's proteges, her young personal bodyguard Gogo Yubari (Chiaki Kuriyama) and Johnny Mo (Chia Hui Liu) the head of her strongarm men, the Crazy 88.

The Bride flies into Tokyo and appears in yellow leathers and helmet riding a yellow motorbike while O-Ren and her motorcade are heading for a restaurant. The Bride spots Sofie in her car and there is a flashback to her calmly taking a call on her mobile while The Bride and her party were being slaughtered. O-Ren and her immediate subordinates arrive at the restaurant and are ushered upstairs by the obsequious owner. At the bar The Bride sits quietly and watches

While O-Ren and her party are enjoying themselves The Bride sends a calling card in the shape of a knife with red tassel which thuds into the upstairs wall but the party ignores it. She then enters the toilet and strips off her leathers, while doing so she hears the distinctive ring-tones of Sofie's mobile. With Sofie in tow, The Bride loudly announces her presence from the restaurant floor which brings O-Ren and her party rushing out onto the balcony. While they watch she slashes off one of Sofie's arms and pandemonium ensues as the diners and staff flee. O-Ren sends her lieutenants down singly or in groups to kill The Bride but all end up dead. The final one is Gogo and a long fights ensues with sword againts ball and chain until Gogo's eyes are gouged out. Only O-Ren remains but before the two can finally fight it out, the roar of motorbikes is heard and the Crazy 88 pour in. The ensuing battle of one against many is long, balletic and bloody but finally only one of the 88 remains - the youngest - and the Bride sends him off with no more than a chastisement.

Now The Bride and O-Ren can fight it out, a long and evenly-matched sword-fight outside in the snow with The Bride the victor. Later we see The Bride deleting O-Ren's name from her list.

The Bride loads Sofie's body into a car and drives to a point where she can roll it down a snowy slope to a hospital. In monochrome we see Sofie talking to someone whose face is not seen but who is clearly Bill. She tells Bill that under threat of having more limbs cut off if she didn't answer The Bride's questions she has told everything she knows. She explains that The Bride kept her alive just so she could tell Bill in person all that had happened and warn that soon all of them would be dead. Bill's final words are "Is she aware that her daughter is still alive?"