20 years after Kill Bill‘s release, it is hard not to ignore some harsh realities about the movies following the Tarantino vs Thurman controversy. Inspired by Tarantino’s knack for classic action and revenge movies, both Kill Bill installments have cemented their names among some of the most memorable action movie series. However, despite being commercially and critically successful, the movie series has garnered a lot of negative attention because of its long list of behind-the-scenes controversies.
In recent years, Uma Thurman has opened up about the challenges she faced during the first Kill Bill‘s shooting, shedding light on the sometimes demanding, dangerous, and, arguably, borderline exploitative nature of movie productions. The actress’ account of the filming of one scene in particular is quite shocking, raising concerns about the working conditions and safety standards followed during movie shootings. With these harsh truths about the two Quentin Tarantino movies, one cannot help but perceive them differently.
Kill Bill’s Driving Scene Is So Much Harder To Watch After Tarantino & Thurman’s 2018 Controversy
In February 2018, Uma Thurman took to social media to reveal how a car accident during the filming of Kill Bill nearly killed her. Although she defended Quentin Tarantino by highlighting that the director “was deeply regretful and remains remorseful,” she explained that the negligence towards the accident was almost criminal. According to reports (via NYTimes), it all started when Uma Thurman was already apprehensive about filming a driving scene during Kill Bill‘s shooting. However, Tarantino convinced her to film the sequence and even asked her to drive at “40 miles per hour” to make her hair blow “the right away.“
Unfortunately, the scene almost proved fatal for Thurman and became “the biggest regret” of Tarantino’s life (via BBC) after the actress’ car lost control over an uneven patch on the road and hit a tree. While Tarantino was apologetic, Uma Thurman revealed that Harvey Weinstein prevented her from pressing charges against the production by not giving her and Tarantino the accident footage. However, as Thurman’s social media post confirmed, she was proud of Quentin Tarantino because he gave her the accident’s behind-the-scene video despite knowing it could harm his image. Although Uma Thurman eventually found a semblance of justice, the Kill Bill driving scene is much harder to watch after learning about the problematic reality of its filming.
Tarantino & Thurman Controversy Makes Kill Bill’s Choking Scene Even More Concerning
Kill Bill‘s production was marred with several other controversies, including the ones surrounding Quentin Tarantino spitting on and choking Uma Thurman during action scene takes. Without denying his behind-the-scene actions, Quentin Tarantino said that although Michael Madsen’s character spits on Thurman’s The Bride in the film, he decided to do it himself to avoid taking multiple retakes of the abusive shot. He feared that by letting someone else do it, he would risk messing up the scene, leading to multiple retakes, which would not be in Thurman’s best interest.
As for the choking, Tarantino said (via Deadline) that it was Uma Thurman’s idea to have a real chain wrapped around her neck in the Kill Bill scene where Chiaki Kuryama’s assassin Gogo attacks her character. However, given how Uma Thurman was actually choked for the scene to make her character’s strangulation seem realistic, it is hard not to feel concerned about the safety and ethical considerations on the sets of Kill Bill. The fact that Uma Thurman later had a brush with doom during the filming of Kill Bill‘s car scene adds even more heft to these concerns.
Sources: NYTimes, BBC, Deadline
