Well guess what folks? VOL-1 made it’s U.S. television debut tonight on the STARZ! network and I managed to catch most of the movie in the Fullscreen format (I was switching back and forth from “Clone Wars” and a boxing match so I didn’t see this in it’s entirety) but SURPRISINGLY the “Foolscreen” format was put together quite nicely EXCEPT:
-On Chapter 1: Vernita’s lovely sunlit ass isn’t captured when Nikki arrives from school.
(WITHOUT A DOUBT, THE ABSOLUTE WORST OF ALL)
-The O-Ren family massacre sequence. I swear, It’s like having your face pressed up against the TV screen watching this. Everything is in EXTREME close-up. I’m sure newcomers to KILL BILL who watch this scene for the first time will be confused as hell and turned off because you can’t make out what the hell’s going on. It’s so bad that when Beatrix mentions the “pedophile” line, we only get to see one of O-Ren’s eyeballs.
-The Crime Council meeting: Only the left side on the table (The one that Boss Tanaka is sitting in) gets the most coverage.
But really, those are the only sequences that suffer in the fullscreen format. I would have assumed that the “De Palma” split-screen effect with Elle dressing up as the nurse would have been butchered (I didn’t see this scene because I was in the middle of a fight) but when the other split-screen sequence occured (When The Bride yells out "O-REN ISHIII!) this looked like it was formatted well and both characters appeared on both sides of the screen.
However, I can’t say it was hilarious to see the “Shaw Scope” logo presented in Fullscreen because I actually own a few Shaw movies on VHS where the “Shaw Scope” logo appears…Only to have the rest of the movie presented in “Foolscreen” >:(
VOL 2 just got done airing on the same channel. They played it back to back with VOL 1–and in fullscreen. But to tell you the truth, the fullscreen didn’t look as bad as it does on Vol 1. In fact, there was actually one moment that looked better in fullscreen. It’s when Pai Mei puts a hole in the board. Hard to explain how it could be different from widescreen, but if you just see it you might notice how it looks cooler.
The end of the movie had a David Carradine interview that I’ve never seen before where he talks about the script. I’m sure we’ll see it again on the special edition.