Pulp Fiction turning 30 last year really hit me. I got to see it at Quentin Tarantino’s Vista theater in 35mm and it took me back to opening night at the movie theater where I worked. Of course, this time I knew what to expect, but 30 year later it made me reflect on how that film influenced my appreciation of cinema for the rest of my life. I reviewed the movie on 4K and it looks incredible, with the detail of John Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson’s hair palpable. Now Tarantino’s subsequent films join Pulp, Reservoir Dogs, Inglourious Basterds and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood on 4K. Your move, Grindhouse.
Jackie Brown was probably the smartest kind of follow up Tarantino could have made. After revolutionizing the language of narrative with the out of sequence Pulp Fiction, he didn’t try to do that again. He adapted an Elmore Leonard book and while the heist is still told from multiple perspectives, it’s more straightforward. On Christmas Day, 1997, Jackie Brown proved Tarantino wasn’t a flash in the pan like many of his imitators proved to be.
As a less flashy film, the 4K UHD isn’t so showy. The white of Ordell (Jackson)’s beach house is blinding. The deep night of L.A. is palpable in high dynamic range from the Pulp Fiction trunk angle and night driving scenes.
When Ordell visits Jackie (Pam Grier) in her dark apartment, the shadow is terrifying. When she turns the lights out in Max Cherry (Robert Forster)’s apartment, the same darkness is empowering. The money exchange scene in the mall is vivid like all the real malls we’ve been to.
Kill Bill was the first Tarantino movie I got to cover as a professional journalist. I can’t believe that’s over 20 years old now too. At that time, Lord of the Rings was the only recent example of a movie being split into parts but that was still three separate books. Three Musketeers went back to back with Four Musketeers but those were still intended to be two movies.
We probably have Kill Bill to thank for the idea to split Harry Potter and Hunger Games movies into two parts, although some studio genius probably would have thought of that anyway.
These movies do see Tarantino pushing the boundaries of cinema again. With black and white, animation and split screens with thick black lines, both movies have a lot of variety to display in 4K.
The blood in the church flashback is pure deep black. The Bride (Uma Thurman) has a deep silhouette while lying in a coma, but also when the hospital room returns to color there is ominous shadow.
Vivid colors punch the yellow Pussy Wagon truck, Vernita Green (Vivica A. Fox)’s Pasadena home and its blue living room and yellow kitchen interiors. Bill (David Carradine) appears in his black suit, head out of frame, holding a black sword. The night sky of Tokyo exemplifies HDR too.
The black and white climax was a compromise for the MPA but 4K makes the most of the contrast. The silhouette of the Bride and Crazy 88 against blue is striking.
Kill Bill has more noticeable surround sound than Jackie Brown with glass breaking and blades swiping around the room. The sounds are especially prominent during the anime sequence. The Bride’s fight with Gogo Yubari (Chiaki Kuriyama) features a lot of whirring near misses.
Vol. 2. has even more black and white which holds up for longer dialogue sequences. The spaghetti western influence highlights desert vistas surrounding Budd (Michael Madsen)’s trailer, and most of those scenes take place in the deep, desert night.
More silhouettes stand out against a red background when Pei Mei (Gordon Liu) is training The Bride. There’s even noticeable shadow in the corner when they’re eating rice.
Vol. 2. features more fight sounds but also the rain outside Pei Mei’s house.
Both of these movies include the bonus features that were produced for their previous releases, many of which were already retrospectives in the DVD and Blu-ray era.