Chapter LXXII: Foot the Bill

Ever since Kill Bill Vol. I first flickered before my eyes three years ago, something about the movie has niggled me, like an unscratchable itch. Actually, it wasn't so much the thing itself, which, though inexplicable, is not directly annoying. What bothers me is that whenever I bring up this particular aspect of the film, no one knows what the fuck I'm talking about.

I am referring, of course, to the unaccountably large role that feet play in the cinematography of Kill Bill Volume I. One can almost call it a foot fetish. It's completely obvious to me, and I don't know why I'm the only person who seems to notice it. To make my case once and for all, I have taken the relevant screen captures from the DVD rip. For your consideration:


Besides Uma Thurman's labored breathing, the first sounds in the movie are Bill's footsteps, and the first visual (after Uma Thurman's bloody face) is a close-up of his shoes. All told, the footsteps and the shoes last 38 seconds.

Minutes later (14.3 to be precise), we have a similar segment, but this time of the sherriff's shoes as he ambulates the bloody chapel. It is clearly meant recall the earlier scene, and also features the distinctive footstep sound.


Here, Elle Driver strolls through the hospital whistling that now infamous tune. This segment lasts for 11 seconds.




"Wiggle your big toe." In this scene, not only are feet important visually, but also central to the plot. As you know, it is some time before Uma succeeds in her endeavor.




Another shot from the same scene.








The seventeen year old O-ren Ishii. The scene begins with this shot of her boots and slowly moves up her body.






Here, we have a few seconds of Oren's bare feet quickly traversing the top of the Council table before she decapitates Boss Tanaka. The segment actually shows her feet from a number of angles, of which this represents but one.

An interesting view of Uma as she walks across the...I forget the name of the place. House of Blue Something-or-Other. For some reason 'Pancakes' come to mind. But blue pancakes would be gross.


Oren takes 19 seconds to remove her shoes.






Obviously, there are countless more shots in the movie where feet are visible, what with all the kicking and running about. The point though, is that in Kill Bill Volume I, images of feet are used for cinematographic effect more often than in most movies. That is to say, they are notable in themselves and not just byproducts of the action.

Before you accuse me of combing the movie looking for feet, I only included here segments that immediately leapt out the first time I saw it. In all of them, feet are the dominant visual element for a significant amount of time, and depicted in an artistic manner. As I expressed earlier, I have no idea why Mr. Tarantino chose to feature feet so prominently, but it seems clear to me that he did. OR, I'm psychotic.

I apologize for the stupid title.

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