Unleashing Martial Mayhem: Expert Swordsman Rates Kill Bill's Epic Crazy 88 Fight

Summary

Kill Bill sacrifices realism for stylized action, capturing the over-the-top homage to Tarantino’s favorite childhood movies.

Despite the lack of believability and realistic technique, the sword fight in the Crazy 88 scene remains captivating and exhilarating. Tarantino intentionally crafted an elevated experience, paying homage to unrealistic revenge films and embracing the visually striking style that captivated him in his youth.

A weapons expert analyzes Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill, focusing on the intense Crazy 88 sword fight. Tarantino’s film draws inspiration from classic martial arts and revenge movies, delivering an abundance of action as a skilled assassin seeks revenge on her former colleagues. While the film features many memorable and expertly choreographed scenes, none compare to the extended sword battle between The Bride and the formidable Crazy 88.

Despite the impressive action choreography and stunning visuals showcased in the Crazy 88 scene, one expert does not approve of the sword fighting technique. In a video segment for Insider, sword master David Rawlings provides a critical assessment of Tarantino’s film, expressing his disappointment in The Bride’s unrealistic blade work. Rawlings rates the believability of the sequence at a mere 2-out-of-10. See his full comments at approximately 34:08 of the clip.

The person is now deceased. What we are witnessing is pure theater, but the sword fighting itself is subpar. The concept of driving people apart to engage in combat is flawed. It is important to keep moving and not let larger opponents control the space, which only becomes more confined.

There are interesting tactical decisions being made here. When someone has control of the blade, they can utilize a parrying dagger to either redirect the opponent's blade onto their own dagger or their sword. They can then attack with the other weapon, but it is crucial to maintain contact for this maneuver to be effective. It is nonsensical to attempt this action with the opponent's blade still directly in the center. Both points of control have been relinquished. It is astonishing that no fatalities occurred during this process. Either someone should have been severely injured through disembowelment or a stabbing, or the other person should have forcefully pierced through the middle space. In terms of a well-executed, realistic fight scene, I would rate this a two.

Kill Bill Sacrifices Realism In The Name Of Stylized Action

Influenced by a range of film genres such as Asian martial arts, Spaghetti Westerns, and Grindhouse exploitation, Kill Bill showcases Tarantino's amplified visual style, serving as a larger-than-life tribute to the movies that captivated him in his youth. Although sword-master Rawlings remains unimpressed by the fighting technique depicted in the movie's grandest and bloodiest sequence, the action undeniably leaves a lasting impact, allowing the audience to share in the exhilaration that Tarantino experienced as a young fan of 1970s low-budget action films.

The films that served as inspiration for Kill Bill were often far from realistic, weaving tales of revenge set in various locations ranging from feudal Japan to the Wild West to contemporary American cities. Tarantino could have chosen to present a more grounded and realistic sword fight between The Bride and her adversaries, but that would have undermined his intention of creating an intentionally heightened experience that resembles a gory legend, while also paying homage to the even more outlandish movies that influenced him.

Source: Insider/YouTube