Sources: Wikidata · OpenAlex. The record of the motion picture, not an assessment of this cell.
FILM NOTES
Kill Bill: Volume 1 arrived in 2003 through Miramax, a Quentin Tarantino production that split its source screenplay into two volumes and announced itself as a genre collision of samurai film, spaghetti western, and grindhouse revenge cinema. It marked a stylistic peak for the director, built around Uma Thurman's lead performance, and became one of the defining action releases of the early 2000s, prized for its structure, soundtrack, and visual ambition.
This cell carries the name given to Thurman's character throughout the film, a former assassin known only by that designation until later reveals. She is the axis the entire story turns on, and collectors seek her out because she anchors both volumes as protagonist and driving force of the revenge narrative. A 35mm cell bearing her name alone, without scene specifics, functions as a character identifier, the kind of frame studios and collectors treat as a stand in for the film's central figure rather than a single narrative beat.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm theatrical release print of Kill Bill: Volume 1 (2003).
Gauge
35mm, confirmed by four perforations per frame on both edges; the strip holds three frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges; spacing appears even and the punched edges look clean with no torn or missing perforations visible.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible along one edge, accompanied by what appears to be a Dolby Digital data-block strip in the inter-perforation zone, consistent with a dual-format optical release print.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture at sufficient resolution to quote any text or key numbers.
Base & colour
The base shows a slight cyan-blue tint typical of modern safety stock; the dye image appears warm and well-saturated with no visible fading or red shift.
Projection history
Light horizontal scratching is visible across the frame area, consistent with a print that has passed through a projector gate.
Picture
Positive colour image; all three frames appear to be consecutive frames from a single continuous shot, and the content is consistent with a theatrical release print of Kill Bill: Volume 1 (2003).
Era check
The cyan-tinted polyester safety base, Dolby Digital inter-perforation data blocks alongside a variable-area optical track, and warm dye saturation are all consistent with a 35mm theatrical release print from the early 2000s.
Read from the original intake capture shown below. Observations only — film is authenticated, not graded.
This original motion picture film element has been examined and authenticated by Crown Grading in partnership with National Film Vault, and encapsulated for archival preservation.
Why so little survivesRelease prints were leased to theaters, not sold. When the run ended they went back to the distributor to be destroyed, and most were. What collectors hold today came from the prints that escaped that order, and no new 35mm prints of these films are being struck.
CROWN SERIAL 000062974
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
