Kill Bill opening scene - Camera Shots



The shot begins with just darkness, the audience not being able to see anything, just able to hear the sound of Beatrix Kiddo (Uma Thurman) panting in distress, along with the footsteps of Bill (David Carradine), although we don't know that it's Bill until later on  in the scene. The sound of the footsteps create an eeriness about the scene. It then cuts to an extreme close-up of Beatrix's face and part of a veil which straight away tells us that she is a bride. She is also covered in blood, which obviously lets us know that there has been some act of violence previously that we didn't see. The sound of the footsteps get louder, indicating that someone is walking towards her. It then translates very quickly to another extreme close-up, but this time of the feet that we can hear. The camera tracks the feet as they walk across the floor. It cuts back to the extreme close-up of Beatrix's face, in which her eyes change focus to be looking directly above her, implying that whoever is there is now standing over her. The main part of this scene happens now, when we see the handkerchief with the name Bill embroidered on it, wiping the blood of her face. This sets the entire plot to film, as we become aware it is Bill that has done this to her. In the final shot we can hear a gun being cocked,  then the sound of a gunshot and a splash of blood. The scene is cut very quickly so we don't know whose blood it is, and whether anyone was shot. The entire scene is shot in black and white,  to imply that this was a long time ago.