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 story into two volumes for theatrical release. Built from decades of genre homage, martial arts cinema, spaghetti westerns, and Japanese revenge pictures, it became one of the defining stylistic statements of early 2000s American film, prized for its structure, its soundtrack, and its willingness to fracture genre into something new. The film's box office success and cultural footprint cemented Uma Thurman's performance as a career high point and gave the era a fresh icon of cinematic vengeance.
This cell carries The Bride, the character at the center of the entire saga, a former assassin driven by a singular mission of retribution. Collectors seek her image because she anchors the film's identity, appearing across posters, trailers, and promotional material as the visual shorthand for the whole Kill Bill project. A 35mm cell bearing her name alone, without further descriptor, suggests a straightforward representation of the character herself, likely drawn from a trailer, title sequence, or credits reel where her presence alone was meant to carry the weight of introduction. Such pieces are valued as foundational artifacts of the film's marketing and identity.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm theatrical release print of Kill Bill: Volume 1 (2003).
Gauge
35mm, four perforations per frame on both edges; the strip holds three frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on each edge; spacing appears even and the punched corners appear rounded and clean.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible along one edge, with what appears to be a Dolby Digital data-block strip in the inter-perforation zone on the same edge; a DTS timecode line also appears present as a thin dashed line adjacent to the optical track.
Edge print
Not clearly legible in this capture; faint edge markings are present but cannot be quoted with confidence.
Base & colour
Base appears with a slight blue-cyan tint consistent with a colour print stock; dye image reads as warm-toned with no obvious red shift or fading.
Projection history
Light horizontal lines are visible across the frame area, consistent with projection wear; no splices or cue marks are visible in this capture.
Picture
Positive colour image; all three frames appear to be consecutive frames from a single shot and are consistent with a release print of Kill Bill: Volume 1 (2003).
Era check
The combination of variable-area optical track, Dolby Digital data blocks, and DTS timecode line is consistent with a theatrical release print from the early 2000s, matching the 2003 release of the film on record.
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 000062978
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
