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Thursday, May 19, 2011

Tarantino's Love of Putting Uma Through Hell

Here's what Uma Thurman has been through in Tarnatino Movies:

Pulp Fiction

She gets off easy in this one, just an overdose for doing a drug improperly and the famous syringe in the heart sequence that snaps her out of the OD. 

Kill Bill

This is a different story.  These two volumes aren't linear, but I'm going to try to do this linearly to see exactly how much punishment she took.

  • It all starts with Pei Mei.  Two things of note, aside from all the beatings she probably took at his hands.  Her fist was probably never the same again after having to punch that wall so many times, and carrying those buckets of water up those stairs could not have been fun.  I never really got how old Pei Mei was, because in his back story, the situation between him and the monks took place in "one double aught three" which to me means 1003 and that would make him nearly 1000 years old.  I never really got that, but the word "aught" is pretty loosely defined. 
  • The Texas wedding is probably the worst beat down she takes.  Nothing like a good death squad to ruin a perfectly good wedding rehearsal.  A bullet in the head is most people's worst days ever, and may not have been for her. 
  • While comatose, she gets raped by the orderly watching her and god knows who else.  I don't think her legs not working after the coma qualifies as punishment, but it still would suck.
  • Her first battle with O-Ren is a bloodbath.  So bloody in fact most of it had to be filmed in black and white.  From the beginning to end, she almost gets killed by Gogo, has to fight like a hundred people, and then almost loses to O-Ren in the snow.  She gets slashed up pretty bad.
  • Her next battle with Copperhead goes a little better, even though it leaves her with a new rival (the daughter).  She gets some shit thrown on her and there's a lot of glass to cut her up, but she wins the fight.  That's the important thing.  She always wins in the end. 
  • The battle with Bud is one of the roughest.  For starters, getting shot in the chest with rock salt probably wouldn't feel too good.  Bud is the evilest in a way because he buries her alive.  Now what's worse, being buried alive or being shot in the head?  I'd probably rather be shot in the head myself, well, unless I'm Uma Thurman and I've been taught the punching trick of Pei Mei.  QT has had many incredible scenes in his film career, and "The Buried Alive" scene is near the top of the list.
  • The Elle fight is much smoother than the other assassins, but nevertheless, she does take some punishment. 
  • Lastly comes the battle with Bill, which is anti-climatic.  I suppose the biggest punishment she takes from him is the mental punishment of seeing that her daughter is still alive, though that doesn't really count so the only punishment she takes from him is getting hit with that dart containing "truth serum."  

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