Kill Bill references guide - The Quentin Tarantino Archives

Kill Bill: The Tarantino Archives Ultimate Reference Guide. Compiled by Sebastian, Pete and the rest of the crew from www.tarantino.info. The contents of these pages were written by the community, please do not reprint and/or publish information on these pages without asking for permission and/or referring/linking to www.tarantino.info, thank you and enjoy!

Introduction: This movie guide lists a wide range of movies that have inspired Kill Bill (both Volumes). It provides cover/poster images, links to buy them and the information on how they influenced Kill Bill or how those movies are somehow linked to it as well. These movies are not listed in order.

Kill Bill has often been described as a movie geek’s movie i.e. a movie for people who know all the various genres and films that are referenced. A movie for people who’ll shout out in excitement “Ah, that shot’s from a Leone film! did you see that?!”. Of course Kill Bill is entertaining for everybody regardless. But you definitely get the movie-encyclopedic kick out of it if you know what’s behind Kill Bill. The Tarantino Archives community have done research on the film’s influences/references and what follows is a comprehensive list (to be extended) of movies that likely inspired Kill Bill or where the ideas may have came from. Kill Bill was inspired by many different genres and films. Not all movies listed here are ‘officially’ movies that inspired it. The titles may contain scenes, characters, shots that are similar or might have a connection. Most of these movies were chosen by our online community.

2024/2025 update: this Kill Bill references guide used to be dispersed across several sub pages, we’re now updating it and it’ll all be on one page. Pictures and screenshots are still the old ones and will eventually be replaced by bigger and better material. Let us know if you want to help out. Please note that just because we identified a reference somewhere or a similarity, that does not mean that it was intentional or was in fact an influence.

References to Western Movies (American & Italian)
References to Horror and Thriller Films
References to Classic Exploitation Cinema (American and European Cinema)
References to Mainstream Classics (American and European Cinema)
References to Japanese Cinema
References to Chinese Cinema
References to TV shows, Comics, Cartoons & Anime
References to Tarantino Films
Actresses and actors (generally)
- Nicoletta Machiavelli
- Jeannie Bell
Related links to accompany the Kill Bill references guide:

References to Western Movies (American & Italian)

This section of the Kill Bill References Guide lists all references with Western films, for example American Westerns or Spaghetti Western.

The Searchers (1956 / John Ford)

When the Bride exits the church before finding Bill on the porch.
When the Bride limps off from the trailer after her encounter with Elle Driver.
The latter is a version of the last shot from The Searchers – where John Wayne limps off into the desert before the door of the house shuts – which in itself was a reference to an earlier William S. Hart western – taking Tarantino’s references all the way back to the silent era.

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly (1966 / Sergio Leone)

The opening shot is a reference to a similar scene in The Good The Bad and The Ugly in which Eli Wallach points a gun at Clint Eastwood, who is near-death from dehydration and being out in the sun for hours and hours.
The music played when Sentenza (Lee Van Cleef) appears for the first time (“Il Tramonto” by Ennio Morricone) is used in Kill Bill: Volume 2 when the Bride exits the church and finds Bill.

Once Upon a Time in the West (1968 / Sergio Leone)

On her way to Budd’s trailer (after escaping the coffin), The Bride is walking through a sun-bathed desert out of focus, then slowly comes into focus, just like Henry Fonda in C’era una volta il West.
It’s clear as well, that the profile image of Budd it’s the same as Charles Bronson in Once Upon A Time In The West.

Death Rides a Horse (1967 / Giulio Petroni)

The extreme closeup of the eyes followed by a bright orange/yellow spaghetti western flashback of the massacre. When The Bride’s Vengeance Theme plays, we also get a red/orange spaghetti western flashback.

The opening scene of Death Rides a Horse is very similar to the first part of the anime sequence in Kill Bill: Volume 1 (The little kid assists to his family massacre hidden somewhere, the villains burn the house and one of them wears a skull pendant similar to O-Ren father’s killer skull ring).
The trailer says: “The bandits who killed 5 defensless people made one big mistake. They should have killed 6”. In Kill Bill The Bride says “The DiVAS thought they killed 10 people that day but they made a mistake, they only killed 9”.
Lee van Cleef says: “Somebody once wrote that revenge is a dish that has to be eaten cold”.
The main theme composed by Ennio Morricone plays during The House of Blue Leaves fight.

The Mercenary (1968 / Sergio Corbucci)

The music Il Mercenario (ripresa) and L’Arena composed by Ennio Morricone are both from The Mercenary (aka A Professional Gun)

A kind of “Death List Five” (The word bank is underlined twice like Bill’s name in Beatrix list).

Django Kill…If You Live…Shoot! (1967 / Giulio Questi)

The main character in Django Kill…, only known as “The Stranger” (Tomas Milian), is buried alive but manages to dig himself out. The scene is almost take for take reenacted in Kill Bill Vol 2 when Beatrix escapes from the grave of Paula Schultz.

Navajo Joe (1966 / Sergio Corbucci)

The music “A Silhouette Of Doom” and “The Demise Of Barbara, And The Return Of Joe” composed by Ennio Morricone are both from Navajo Joe.

The scene with an axe thrown into the head of a Crazy 88 could also be a reference to a similar shot in Navajo Joe, but may be generic.

References to Horror and Thriller Films

City Of The Living Dead (1980 / Lucio Fulci)

The blood tears (Left: GoGo Yubari) are reminiscent of a scene in Fulci’s City of the Living Dead.

A woman is buried alive, like The Bride in Kill Bill: Volume 2.

Deep Red (1975 / Dario Argento)

Strangulation with a chain can also be seen in Argento’s Profondo Rosso.

The Psychic (1977 / Lucio Fulci)

“Seven Notes In Black” theme from The Psychic (aka Seven Notes in Black) is used in Kill Bill.

Zombi 2 (1979 / Lucio Fulci)

There’s a Zombi 2 reference shot when Budd points the mace to the Bride’s eye reminiscent of the splinter in the eye in Fulci’s film.

The Blood Spattered Bride (1972 / Vicente Aranda)

The title for Chapter 10 is a direct reference to this 1972 Spanish horror/revenge film The Blood Spattered Bride about a newly wedded couple that is haunted and tortured by the ghost of a dead woman.

Dead and Buried (1981 / Gary Sherman)

Elle Driver tries to kill The Bride disguised as nurse. Pretty similar to a scene in Dead and Buried.

References to Classic Exploitation Cinema (American and European Cinema)

Eaten Alive (1977 / Tobe Hooper)

Quote used by Buck in Kill Bill: “My name is Buck and I’m here to fuck” is from Eaten Alive, Hooper’s follow-up to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. In Eaten Alive, the character Buck is played by Freddy Krueger himself, Robert Englund.

Twisted Nerve (1968 / Roy Boulting)

The tune whistled by Elle Driver (Daryl Hannah) in the hospital is the same as that whistled by Martin Durnley in Twisted Nerve.

Game of Death (1978 / Robert Clouse)

The Bride’s yellow track-suit is a direct homage to the one worn by Bruce Lee in Game of Death, the last and unfinished Bruce Lee movie.

Black Mama White Mama (1972 / Eddie Romero)

The music “Police Check Point” from Black Mama White Mama, composed by Harry Betts, is used in Kill Bill.

Thriller: A Cruel Picture (1974 / Bo Arne Vibenius)

Elle Driver’s look is inspired by Christina Lindberg‘s character in Thriller: A Cruel Picture, a Swedish rape and revenge film.

Switchblade Sisters (1975 / Jack Hill)

The other inspiration for Elle Driver’s one eyed look and personality would be the character of Patch in Jack Hill‘s Switchblade Sisters. Sidenote: Tarantino also contributed to an audio commentary for a home video release of this film, initially released in the US through his label Rolling Thunder Pictures.

Escape From New York (1981 / John Carpenter)

Elle Driver and Snake Plissken (also an eye-patch) could be brother and sister.

Bury Me an Angel (1972 / Barbara Peeters)

In the script, The Bride says that “she went on what the movie advertisements refer to as a Roaring Rampage of Revenge”. The tagline for Bury Me an Angel, 1972 exploitation film (also a female revenge film), reads: “She’s a Howling Hellcat Humping a Hot Steel Hog on a Roaring Rampage of Revenge!”

Rolling Thunder (1977 / John Flynn)

One of Tarantino’s favorite films, he used its title for his own distribution company, Rolling Thunder Pictures. Read about his thoughts on the film in Cinema Speculation.
The Acuna Boys’ name is taken directly from the name of the gang of villains in Rolling Thunder.

Gone in 60 Seconds (1974 / H.B. Halicki)

The row-of-sunglasses on Sheriff Earl McGraw’s car dashboard gag is a direct lift from the opening scene of the original Gone in 60 Seconds.

Circle of Iron (1979 / Richard Moore)

David Carradine plays a hand-made Flute in Kill Bill: Volume 2, he carved it himself. It is the same flute he used in Circle of Iron aka The Silent Flute.

The Doll Squad (1973 / Ted Mikels)

This story of female assassins kind of inspired the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad, who also wear similar outfits to those the girls wear in The Doll Squad.

Violent City (1970 / Sergio Sollima)

O-Ren killing the two bodyguards is reminiscent of the Charles Bronson flick Violent City by Sergio Sollima.

I Spit On Your Grave (1978 / Meir Zarchi)

There are plot similarities of female revenge or rape-and-revenge in I Spit on Your Grave, a very violent self justice movie.

Ms .45 (1981 / Abel Ferrara)

Ms. 45 is another female revenge film.

Three Tough Guys (1974 / Duccio Tessari)

The O.S.T. to Three Tough Guys was composed by Isaac Hayes. The main theme from this movie is used in Kill Bill during the The Bride Vs. Pai Mei fight sequence.
The track “Run Fay Run” is used during O-Ren’s anime sequence when she kills the General.

References to Mainstream Classics (American and European Cinema)

Grease (1978 / Randal Kleiser)

Pussy Wagon lyric in the song Greased Lightnin’: “We’ll get some purple French tail lights and thirty-inch fins, oh yeah/A palomino dashboard and duel muffler twins, oh yeah/ With new pistons, plugs, and shocks, I can get off my rocks/You know that I ain’t braggin’/she’s a real pussy wagon….

Citizen Kane (1941 / Orson Welles)

There is an homage to Citizen Kane in the early moments of the film. As Black Mamba lies in a coma, she is silhouetted against a background of the window of her hospital room.

The Lodger (1927 / Alfred Hitchcock)

The Bride walks on the glass floor

The Charlie Chan Series

It is said that Earl Derr Biggers was tired of the sinister and evil image of Orientals in detective novels, and in retaliation he created his good and affectionate detective, Charlie Chan. Chan debuted in the novel “The House without a Key” (1925). Chan was a Chinese-Hawaiian-American, who approached his cases with a patient Eastern calm and worked to understand the characters of the people he jeopardized. He was distinguished by his quoting of Confucius and his ever-present “Number One son”.
In Kill Bill, Sheriff Earl McGraw calls his son Edgar McGraw “Son Number One”

Black Sunday (1977 / John Frankenheimer)

The trailer for this film ,which contained a split screen sequence, may have inspired the opening Elle Driver sequence.
The character in Black Sunday played by Martha Keller goes into a hospital and disguises herself as a nurse to kill Robert Shaw‘s character with a poisoned syringe.

Dressed To Kill (1980 / Brian DePalma) (Furious Cinema)

Once more, the killer nurse and the split screen; this is more likely what Tarantino may have been referencing.

Miller’s Crossing (1990 / The Coen Brothers)

O-Ren Ishii killing the two bodyguards as a kid.

Scaramouche (1952 / George Sidney)

The Bride versus Johnny Mo on the railing fighting.

Blade Runner (1982/ Ridley Scott) (Furious Cinema)

Daryl Hannah improvised the scene where Elle Driver’s eye gets removed by The Bride and she goes “nuts”. She did this because she thought it would make Quentin Tarantino laugh. He did and that scene entered the final film. She sustained injures from breaking so many things in the bathroom. This scene is very close to Pris’ death, a character played by Daryl Hannah in Blade Runner.

Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan (1982 / Nicholas Meyer)

The opening quote comes from this film: Khan said: “Ah Kirk, my old friend. Do you know the Old Klingon proverb that tells us ‘Revenge is a dish that is best served cold’? It is very cold in space.”
Buck’s trucker friend wears a Star Trek belt.

Shanghai Noon (2000 / Tom Dey)

Go Go’s technique with the ball.
Jackie Chan ties the rope to the horseshoe, he kicks it,and wraps it around his neck in the same way.

Modesty Blaise (1966 / Joseph Losey)

Modesty Blaise is a film adaptation about a sexy, hip female secret agent.
Second QT connection: The book Vincent is reading in Pulp Fiction.

The Wicked Dreams of Paula Schultz (1968 / George Marshall)

Name Referenced in Chapter 7: “The Lonely Grave of Paula Schultz”.

Dr.Jekyll and Mr.Hyde (1941 / Victor Fleming)

Name Referenced: Beatrix used from Beatrix Emery character played by Lana Turner.

Can She Bake a Cherry Pie? (1983 / Henry Jaglom)

Title of deleted Chapter from the script “Can She Bake a Cherry Pie?”. This is possibly a reference to both the film and the old folk song used in the film, as the flighty neurotic character Black plays in the film separates from her husband, meets another man and gets pregnant by the end of the film. The folk song goes “Can she bake a cherry pie, Billy Boy, Billy Boy? / Can she bake a cherry pie, charming Billy?, in addition to this, another version of this song was sung by Gina Young with lyrics that included “Here comes the bride, all dressed in white.”

References to Japanese Cinema

Lady Snowblood (1973 / Toshiya Fujita)

Lady Snowblood is a girl revenge movie that bears lots of resemblances. O-Ren Ishii is largely inspired by this character.
The song “Flower of Carnage” is from this film. Meiko Kaji stars in that film and sings the theme.

The duel in the snow:

A snow covered garden:

The division in chapters:

The villains look at their victim:

A cruel master
A tough training
The animated sequence:

Battle Royale (2000 / Kinji Fukasaku)

The Gogo Yubari character somewhat is inspired by Battle Royale. The actor Chiaki Kuriyama stars in Battle Royale
The scene where Go-Go stabs a man in the crotch and asks him if he still wants to “penetrate her” is a homage to Chiaki Kuriyama‘s infamous scene in Battle Royale.

Samurai Reincarnation (1981 / Kinji Fukasaku)

This film (by the same director as Battle Royale) narrates of a sword maker gives Sonny Chiba (Jubei) a sword that he has forged to destroy his undead enemies… this is similar to the scene where Sonny Chiba character Hattori Hanzo gives The Bride his forged sword he tells her “If, on your journey, you should encounter god, god will be cut”.
Other analogies so Samurai Reincarnation can be recovered in the classic Japanese atmosphere and flute music.

Shikoku (1999 / Shunichi Nagasaki)

Film with Chiaki Kuriyama whose weft is following:
The Shingon sideboard in Japan narrates that number 88 is to represent all the present evil in the world, and to free yourself from all these evils you can do a tour of 88 Buddhist temples.

Goke: Body Snatcher From Hell (1968 / Hajime Sato)

The orange sunset sky behind the airplane in Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill is a homage to “Goke“, as Tarantino wanted to evoke the look of the opening scenes from it.

Ichi The Killer (2001 / Takashi Miike)

A crazy 88 is vertically sliced in half

The camera enters inside the head

Quentin Tarantino chose actor Jun Kunimura to be Boss Tanaka after seeing him scream in Ichi the Killer.

Shogun Assassin (1980 / Robert Houston)

The bloody fight in the House of Blue Leaves is somewhat inspired from it.
Shogun Assassin from 1980 is edited together from the first two Lone Wolf and Cub movies from the 1970s. The producer also added bizarre music and English voiceovers. BB and The Bride watch this in Volume 2.

War of The Gargantuas (1966 /Ishiro Honda)

QT ordered the staff to shoot a miniature set of Tokyo like a landscape from this giant monster movie. He even screened a video of War of the Gargantuas to Daryl Hannah because in his mind, Kill Bill is a kind of War of the Blonde Gargantuas.

Fudoh (1996 / Takashi Miike)

The gangs in Fudoh are somehow similar to the Crazy 88s.

Black Lizard (1968 / Kinji Fukasaku)

The Crazy 88 inspired by the yakuza gang in Black Lizard.

The Streetfighter (1974 / Shigehiro Ozawa)

Sonny Chiba classic. The Streetfighter inspired some of the martial arts action in Kill Bill. Tarantino’s favorite.

Destroy All Monsters (1968 / Ishiro Honda)

Not only Destroy all Monsters but many more Godzilla movies and their Tokyo cityscape miniatures found its way into Kill Bill and were an inspiration for it.

Samurai Fiction (1998 / Nakano Hiroyuki)

The House of Blue Leaves shadow fight and The Bride’s training with Pai Mei looks similar to the opening sequence in Samurai Fiction, just in blue.

Tokyo Drifter (1966 / Seijun Suzuki)

The glass floor shots in The House of Blue Leaves.

Zatoichi (1962)

Series of movies about a blind samurai swordsman. The scene with O-Ren assuming power of the yakuza with the bosses on the table resembles that at the beginning of Zatoichi.

Sukeban Deka (1987 / Hideo Tanaka)

A movie about a japanese Schoolgirl with a ball and chain.

Sanjuro (1962 / Akira Kurosawa)

Samurai Fighting, blood fountains. Influential samurai movie by master Kurosawa.

Battles Without Honor (2000 / Junji Sakamoto)

Starring Tomoyasu Hotei. The music “Battle Without Honor or Humanity” composed by Tomoyasu Hotei plays in Kill Bill.

The Yagyu Family Conspiracy (1978 / Kinji Fukasaku)

Music from this film appears in Kill Bill.

Lone Wolf and Cub: Babycart to Hades (1972 / Kenji Misumi)

aka Lightning Swords of Death starring Tomisaburo Wakayama as Itto Ogami. In the third film of the Lone Wolf and Cub series, Ogami Itto volunteers to be tortured by Yakuza to save a prostitute, and is hired by their leader to kill an evil chamberlain.

A prostitute bites a piece of her pimp’s tongue off who dies after a few seconds. (Reminds the scene when the Bride kills the trucker in the hospital)

The one vs one army scene

A solemn and poetic final duel

References to Chinese Cinema

Five Fingers of Death (1973 / Cheng Chang Ho)

The vengeance theme in Kill Bill Volume 1 (from the TV show Ironside) is actually the same theme used when Lo Lieh is about to fight in this classic Shaw Brothers kung fu film also known as King Boxer. The Theme itself is by Quincy Jones.

The orange flashback of the defeat

The master teached Lo Lieh a letal technique (The “iron fist”) that he used at the end to kill the big bad.

A guy gets his eyes poked out

36th Chamber of Shaolin (1978 / Gordon Liu)

Shaolin Master Killer (the alternate title) is one of the greatest kung fu movies with Gordon Liu, by the Shaw Brothers studios. In that film, the Gordon Liu character undergoes tough training to become a Shaolin monk. In Kill Bill Volume 2, Gordon Liu himself plays a former Shaolin monk, this time sending The Bride through tough training.

Master of the Flying Guillotine (1976 / Jimmy Wang Yu)

Music from Master of the Flying Guillotine was used (Super16 by Neu!, the rights were bought), and also the mace Go Go is using is reminiscent of the flying guillotine. Note that this movie has already influenced a James Bond film called Octopussy.

Fist of Fury (1972 / Lo Wei)

This Bruce Lee film is also know The Chinese Connection. The many-on-one fight at the House of Blue Leaves references the Bruce Lee film ‘at several parts, including the surrounding mob’s fear when the main character strikes a fighting stance. Also, in each fight the hero eventually dives to the floor and attacks their opponents’ legs.

The Chinese Boxer (1970 / Jimmy Wang Yu)

The House of Blue Leaves scene was inspired by a scene in The Chinese Boxer. Wang Yu fights against 100 enemies in this film. One of the first no-swords but open-contact kung fu movies. Yuen Woo-Ping‘s father was in the film also.

The Five Venoms (1978 / Chang Cheh)

The Five Deadly Venoms is a Shaw Brothers film that inspired the DiVAS. A kult kung fu film.
Two sound effects (Sword swings and Axe throws) are used in Kill Bill.

Sidenote on Pai Mei: The Pai Mei character is a reoccuring legend in many kung fu movies, such as Clan of the White Lotus, Executioners from Shaolin and Abbot of Shaolin.

References to TV shows, Comics, Cartoons & Anime

Alfred Hitchcock Presents

There is a scene in the episode ‘Breakdown‘ of the Alfred Hitchcock Presents series that is very similar to the Bride getting her legs back to work in the back of the Pussy Wagon in Kill Bill: Volume 1. In this Alfred Hitchcock directed episode, the main character gets involved in a car accident in which he breaks his neck. He is not able to move and people who come by mistake him for being dead and rob him and strip his car. Then he figured that the next time people would come by, he had to move something to show them he was alive. He’s lying on the seats of his car when you hear him think: “If only I could move… move a little bit” and then we see the shot.

Ironside (1967, TV series)

Score excerpt from the detective series Ironside, composer is Quincy Jones.

Kage No Gundan – Shadow Warriors (TV series)

Stars Sonny Chiba as Hattori Hanzo. In Kill Bill, Chiba’s Hanzo is a distant relative of the original Hattori Hanzo. There are four series, each of them in a different period. The inspiration for Kill Bill came mostly from Season 4. Lucy Liu‘s character O-Ren Ishii is named after Sue Shihomi’s character O-Ren in Season 4.

Kung Fu (TV series, 1972 – 1975)

The TV show’s concept was invented by Bruce Lee. The series ended up starring David Carradine. The Bride walking barefoot through the sunbaked, mountainous terrain of Barstow, CA on the way to Budd’s trailer is reminiscent of Kwai Chang Caine’s trek through the desert in the opening of the series.

The Green Hornet (TV show)

The theme song by Al Hirt is in Kill Bill. Bruce Lee played Kato in that series. Also: Kato masks worn by The Crazy 88.

Match Game ’73

Brett Somers famous “Good gravy, Marie!” line is quoted by Earl McGraw.

Super Heroes and Cartoons

Superman

Bill’s Superman / Clark Kent / The Bride monologue.

Captain America

The Serpent Society is a fictional organization of snake-themed supervillains in the Marvel Comics universe. The group was initially formed from the membership of a previous supervillain team, the Serpent Squad. The group, like its predecessor, has been made up of longtime antagonists of Captain America and his fellow Avengers.
Some members of the DiVAS are named like some members of the Serpent Society:

Black Mamba (Tanya Sealy), a former call-girl, has a device implanted in her brain that gives her a limited form of telepathy that enable her to scan the thoughts of nearby individuals, usually to find an image of a someone that the person holds dear. She then manifests the Darkforce into the image of that cherished person, which in turn, almost hypnotically seduces its target into embracing it. Once physical contact is established, Mamba then lets the Darkforce constrict her victims to death, or at the very least, to unconsciousness. Oftentimes the victim is in too deep a state of ecstacy or euphoria to even notice. When Diamondback left the Society, Asp and Black Mamba followed, and they teamed with the African huntress named Impala to form the short-lived mercenary group called “Bad Girls, Inc.” Black Mamba later joined the Crimson Cowl’s Masters of Evil, but recently returned as a member of the Bad Girls

Copperhead (Robert Reynolds or Davis Lawfers, depending on the source) was the leader of the Fourth Serpent Squad (consisting also of Fer-de-Lance, Black Racer, and Puff Adder), and one of the Viper’s most loyal minions. On a mission for her, he helped to contaminate Washington D.C.’s water supply with a chemical that could transform people into human/snake hybrids. During this assignment, friction existed between the Cobra and himself. When the Cobra became the new leader of the Society, Copperhead did not remain too long. In fact, he was only seen as a member in the X-Men Annual. Copperhead has no superhuman powers but are equipped with a pair of guantlets which fires power blasts and poisoned darts. For protection he wears a suit of copper-colored scale mail.

Cottonmouth (name unknown) hails from Mobile, Alabama. He has bionic jaws and steel teeth. He can extend his lower jaw up to a foot from his upper jaw. His jaws possess superhuman strength and extremely sharp fangs. Cottonmouth and Death Adder killed M.O.D.O.K. on the Society’s first mission. For a while, for reasons never explained, Cottonmouth assumed Bushmaster’s real identity of Quincy McIver.

Sidewinder (Seth Voelker), who possessed a cloak that allowed him to teleport himself and a companion. He was the group’s leader until Diamondback defected and the Viper’s Serpent Squad infiltrated the Society, after which he retired and left leadership to the Cobra. Later Sidewinder updated an offensive capability in his costume he called his “side effects”: miniature flying constructs that he cybernetically controlled which shoots charges of electricity. Sidewinder was apparently killed once, but has since reappeared, the explanation offered being that another person died while wearing his teleportation cloak. Sidewinder, now reformed, has shown up in New Thunderbolts #7. A second Sidewinder has recently been seen as part of the group under Cobra’s leadership.

Peanuts

Peanuts was a syndicated daily comic strip written and drawn by American cartoonist Charles M. Schulz, which ran from October 2, 1950 to February 13, 2000. The strip was one of the most popular and influential in the history of the medium. At its peak Peanuts ran in over 2,600 newspapers, with a readership of 355 million in 75 countries, and was translated into 40 languages. It helped to cement the four-panel gag strip as the standard in the United States. Reprints of the strip are still syndicated and run in many newspapers.

The dirty Bride approaching the cafe reminds us of a Peanuts character called “Pig Pen”.

The House of Blue Leaves waiter is dressed like, and called by the others, Charlie Brown.

The Simpsons

Shooting through the cereal is a reference to the episode of the Simpsons called “Simpsoncalifragilisticexpiala-D’oh-cious,” which features an episode of Itchy and Scratchy called Reservoir Cats (a parody of Reservoir Dogs), guest directed by Quentin Tarantino. In the cartoon, Tarantino turns up and says something like, “What I’m trying to say with this cartoon is that violence is everywhere. It’s, like, even in our breakfast cereal, man.”

Japanese Anime

Ghost in The Shell (1995 / Mamoru Oshii)

Anime sequences by Production IG who did the anime in Kill Bill.

Kite (1998)

This anime movie also concentrates on a little girl orphan who becomes a hitman.

References to Tarantino Films

These are either clear references or just the director’s trademark shots or techniques that can be observed across his body of work.

Reservoir Dogs

The Bride pulls a single blade razor from her cowboy boot which is a direct homage to Mr. Blonde (Michael Madsen) in Reservoir Dogs, who pulls a razor from his cowboy boot in the infamous ear scene.

When the Bride and Bill are talking, Bill says that he hears a gunshot to the kneecap is quite painful. In Reservoir Dogs, Mr. White (Harvey Keitel) says to Mr. Orange (Tim Roth), “Aside from the kneecap, the gut is the most painful area a guy can get shot in.”
Michael Madsen stands in the doorway of his trailer and strikes the same pose as he does against the pole in Reservoir Dogs.

Mr. Blonde gasoline jerry can is in Budd’s trailer

As the sheriff walks into the destroyed wedding chapel with bodies on the floor, the radio starts. Before it gets to the right song, someone can be heard singing “Dónde Està”. In the Reservoir Dogs torture scene, the same sound bite is heard before Mr. Blonde changes the station to K-BILLY.
Vernita Green complains about being given a codename she doesn’t like. Mr. Pink had a similar argument in Reservoir Dogs.
The black/white suits

The trunk shot

The toilet scene

True Romance

Buck has the same “Elvis Presley TCB” sunglasses as Clarence Worley in True Romance.

On the wall in Budd’s trailer hangs a poster for Mr. Majestyk (1974). In True Romance, Drexl (Gary Oldman) refers to Clarence as “Motherfuckin’ Charlie Bronson: Mr. Majestyk.”

Pulp Fiction

During the scene at the House of Blue Leaves, right before The Bride cuts off Sofie’s arm, she tells O-Ren that they have “unfinished business.” The close up camera angle of The Bride’s lips is the same angle Quentin Tarantino used in Pulp Fiction when Mia told Vincent (through a microphone) that she’d be down “in two shakes of a lamb’s tail.”

At the beginning of the scene where the sheriff walks into the church after the wedding massacre, there is music playing. When the singers say “Donde esta” there is a static sound like a radio changing station. Quentin used this same sound effect in the opening credits of Pulp Fiction to change from “Misirlou” to “Jungle Boogie”.
Quentin Tarantino has confirmed in interviews that the “Deadly Viper Assassination Squad (DiVAS)” was inspired by “Fox Force Five”, the fictional television show that Mia Wallace filmed in Pulp Fiction.
When the Bride says the word “square” to Vernita, she draws three sides of a square in the air with her finger. Uma Thurman’s character in Pulp Fiction did nearly the same thing, except drew all 4 sides of the square.

A violent wake up

The black/white suits

The white Honda that Butch crashes in Pulp Fiction and that is driven in Jackie Brown is seen at the parking lot of the strip club Budd works at as the title of Chapter 7 appears.

The Bride says that Vernita Green is the “deadliest women in the world with a knife”, Mia Wallace says the same line referring to her character in Fox Force Five
The black/white suits.

When the Bride arrives at the Tokyo airport, she walks in front of a Red Apple cigarettes advertisement. Red Apple cigarettes were first seen in Pulp Fiction.

Trunk shot: While The Bride is interrogating Sofie Fatale, who’s lying in the trunk of her own car. We see from Sofie Fatale’s point of view the Bride, wearing a helmet.

Bare feet

The finger shot

The bathroom scene

Natural Born Killers

Bill says that The Bride is a natural born killer.

From Dusk Till Dawn

Michael Parks plays Sheriff Earl McGraw, the same character that the Gecko brothers killed at the beginning of From Dusk Till Dawn.

Buck says “Are we absolutely clear on Rule #1?” This same line was used by George Clooney in From Dusk Till Dawn.

Others: Trunk shots; Red Apple Cigarettes; Bare feet

Jackie Brown

The animated map

Jackie’s black suit

Also: The trunk shot: Bare feet shorts; Bathroom scenes;

The white Honda Civic

Corpse view

Elle says, “Now, you should listen to this, ’cause this concerns you.” Samuel L. Jackson says the same line in Jackie Brown.

Tarantino Brands

Tenku Brand Beer: Billboard.
G.O. Juice: Billboard.

Actresses and actors (generally)

Nicoletta Machiavelli

There is a reference to the Italian actress Nicoletta Machiavelli (Navajo Joe). One of the Bride’s fake names is: Arlene Machiavelli.

Jeannie Bell

There is an homage to the blaxploitation star and playmate Jeannie Bell (TNT Jackson). Vernita Green’s new name in Kill Bill is Jeannie Bell.

Kill Bill: An Unofficial Casebook
Kill Bill soundtrack (contains information as to which movies the tracks are from)