Culture news “It’s the biggest regret of my life” Tarantino’s Kill Bill could have turned into a drama. Uma Thurman was the victim of a serious accident
Quentin Tarantino is one of movie buffs’ favorite directors for several decades. In “only” 10 films, this American filmmaker has established himself in Hollywood as well as in the rest of the world. He is at the origin of several masterpieces of the 7th Art including the diptych Kill Bill with Uma Thurman in the title role. However, he regrets this drama that occurred on the set.
The “Kill Bill” phenomenon
Born from the fertile imagination of Quentin Tarantino in 1994 on the set of Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill is a two-part film released in quick succession in 2003 and 2004. The filmmaker behind Django Unchained and more recently Once Upon a Time in Hollywood with Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie tells the tragic story of Beatrix Kiddo aka “Black Mamba” left for dead by her former acolytes during her wedding. She finally comes out of a coma after four years and sets out to take revenge on her tormentors who betrayed her.
Kill Bill Vol.1 and Kill Bill Vol.2 openly take inspiration from 70s kung fu films and spaghetti westerns to create a unique and stylized revenge story that only Quentin Tarantino can tell. This homage to a creative 7th Art finds its audience in theaters, without blowing up the box office. Volume 1 earned 180.9 million US dollars at the box office for a budget of 30 million, while volume 2 did a little less well with 152.2 million for a similar budget. The Kill Bill diptych still remains a must-have in cinema today. Whether with the press or the general public, they were unanimously acclaimed upon their release. Kill Bill Vol.1 is rated 85% and Kill Bill Vol. 2 84% on RottenTomatoes.
Quentin Tarantino’s biggest regret
The Kill Bill saga is today a timeless classic that moviegoers regularly enjoy rewatching. However, not everyone knows the drama that occurred at the end of filming of the second volume. Indeed, Uma Thurman emerged seriously injured from the last scene in which she drives a convertible on a sandy road. Quentin Tarantino required his actress to shoot the sequence herself rather than using a stunt double. Frightened, she finally gave in.
That’s when the tragedy occurs. Uma Thurman loses control of her car which violently hits a palm tree on the edge of the redoubt. Extracted from the car, she was sent to the hospital because she was injured in the neck and knee. From this accident, she has several physical after-effects and is extremely angry with Quentin Tarantino. She clearly had the impression that he wanted to kill her, she expressed to our colleagues at New York Times in 2018:
Quentin came to my dressing room and, like all directors, he didn’t like being told no. He was furious because I would waste a lot of their time if I refused, but I was afraid. (…) He told me “I promise you the car runs well. And it’s a straight line.”
I felt this burning pain and I thought, “Oh, my God, I won’t be able to walk again.”
When I came back from the hospital with a neck brace, damaged knees, a huge egg on my head and a concussion, I wanted to see the car, I was very angry.
With Quentin, we had a huge argument, I accused him of trying to kill me. And he was very angry about that, and I guess that’s understandable, because he didn’t feel like he wanted to kill me. -Uma Thurman
Shortly after, Quentin Tarantino returned to this drama at the microphone of Deadline. He did not attempt to defend himself and simply pleaded guilty.
I’m guilty of putting her in that car, but not guilty in the way people say. (…) Making him do this stunt is the biggest regret of my life. – Quentin Tarantino