Sound Analysis On “Kill Bill”
Kill
Bill is a is a 2003 American martial arts action film, written and directed by
Quentin Tarantino, staring the A Lister actress Una Thurman as the “Bride”, who
is determined to seek revenge on a assassination squad led by a man named Bill,
played by David Carradine after they try to kill her and her unborn child, this
is an incredibly action packed film to which sound is crucial, this is strongly
shown in the scene where the Bride is trapped in a coffin to which she is eager
to escape in order to survive .
The scene starts with camera closing up on
the Bride’s face as well as other parts to represent the tight space she is
placed in, as well there is a strong use of Non-diegetic sound with the use of
a music sequence which represents the idea of western music due to the use of
the instruments such as banjos as well human based instruments such as foot
tapping and whistling, this gives off the immediate impression to the audience
that this is a western based film which creates key themes such as action as
well as areas of suspense due to the whistling which gives of mysterious aspect
in the idea that there is something lurking around the corner .
The first use of diegetic sound, which is
portrayed in this scene, is the sound of crickets, this immediately gives of
the impression to the audience that this scene is taking place in a hot climate
as well as taking place at night time, due to the fact that crickets are
nocturnal as well as there natural habitats being in humid, this then
foreshadows towards the close up shots of the Bride’s face who is drenched in
sweat and deep breathing as well as using long shots of her figure trapped in a
coffin, this creates the immediate impression hence the diegetic use of deep
breathing and grunting ,shows that this particular character is anxious and
under pressure, as well as it creates tension and intrigues the audience to discover
how she is going to get out of the coffin , it then moves on to the bride
taking off her boots and with the use of diegetic sounds to represent the
clanky sounds of metal attached to her boots gives of the idea that she is
ruthless due to metal being extremely dangerous as well as giving off the clue
that she is going to use the metal as a key weapon to escape.
Throughout the scene the bride is
constantly kicking, touching as well as hitting the coffin in order to explore
the weakest spot in the wall in order to escape, this automatically persuades
the audience to believe they are in this small compartment space, which
convinces the audience to feel uncomfortable as well as claustrophobic which
creates the key theme of suspense, as well when the Bride does finally get her
hands on a knife in order to cut her hands free from a tied up rope, the use of
diegetic sounds to create the sound effect of the cutting of the rope makes the
viewers feel extremely uncomfortable as they are so determined and anxious for
her to be set free this is due to the use of synchronous used as the sounds
produced are extremely high pitched and squeaky which is extremely
uncomfortable to listen to , to which the Bride’s facial expressions as well as
the audiences match , it also causes strong aspect of suspense as the audience
are concerned that the bride wont be able to cut the rope off as well as
accidently cut her hand open instead due to the great amount of blood which is presented
on her top clothing , this is all due to the dramatic non-diegetic western
music which crescendo’s when nearer the point of her hands being released ,
this creates tension due to the sound increasing and leaves the audience with a
“sitting on the edge of a seat” type feeling .
A similar scenario is presented later on
in that scene when the “Bride is shown punching a wall in order to escape from
the coffin, the use of diegetic sounds to create the punching sound as well as
the breaking of the wood is incredibly effective as it creates a sense of
freedom as well as bravery which intrigues the audience to explore what is
going to happen next and will the Bride successfully escape the coffin as well
as involving deep breathing as well as gritting of the Bride’s teeth, this use
of natural human sounds creates emotions which we as viewers can relate to when
were in dangerous situations .
In conclusion the use of sound in this film
is crucial due to the it being an martial arts themed film so to create that
sense of tension and action the use of sound through composed music, nature and
human vocals is important in order to create a sense of realism.
