One of director Quentin Tarantino’s most beloved films is finally making it to 4K UHD in 2023. And just in time for its 20th anniversary. Via Variety, we’ve learned that Kill Bill Volume 1 and Kill Bill: Volume 2 will release in a newly remastered version later this year. Lionsgate has gained the release rights to the film, along with another Tarantino classic, Jackie Brown. This news means that Lionsgate has the largest collection of Tarantino films under its umbrella. They also own the rights to Reservoir Dogs, Death Proof, Inglourious Basterds, Django Unchained, and The Hateful Eight.
There is no word yet on extras for the upcoming Kill Bill release. But we can tell you one thing fans of Uma Thurman’s Beatrix Kiddo definitely want to see. Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair. Originally, Tarantino meant for Kill Bill to be one long film. Indeed, he shot it that way. But when the running time hit nearly four hours, the studio convinced Tarantino to split the film in half. But Tarantino had a print with the longer version, which screened once at the Cannes Film Festival in 2004, and again at his own LA theater the New Beverly in 2011 and 2015.
This edited-together version had some minor changes, such as a full-color action sequence in the House of the Blue Leaves. That was changed for the U.S. market to receive an R-rating. At one point in the 2000s, they displayed box art for a home video release of Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair at Comic-Con in San Diego. But they never released it, and that company no longer has the rights. Tarantino had always planned to add a new animated sequence to the film, but never got around to it. Maybe it’s finally happening? Even if it’s not, it will be great to finally have this iconic movie in a properly remastered format.