Quentin Tarantino’s style has infiltrated the public consciousness with his expert use of music both employing scores and modern pop music to make his points. An avid movie-lover throughout his life, Tarantino has often lauded the effect a perfect score can have on a film’s impact in the cinema and at home, sometimes, however, he needs a little bit of help and for one magical movie, Tarantino leant on the talents of RZA.
One of the best to ever do it, the director’s ear for the perfect song has seen all of his films’ soundtracks become an integral part of their cinematic iconography, if not an entire generation’s cultural identity.
The soundtracks of each of the films are unusually rich with songs from our past. But another keen trick Quentin Tarantino has up his sleeve is finding the right song for the right scene or moment, whether it is the opening of Pulp Fiction or the title sequence of Django, the director has an uncanny ability to find the powerful breaks of obscure singles and deliver them with devastating effect.
Tarantino once said of soundtracking his movies, “More or less the way my method works is; you have got to find the opening credit sequence first. That starts it off from me. I find the personality of the piece through the music that is going to be in it.” He enlisted RZA for his double feature Kill Bill.
Whether you prefer the first instalment of The Bride’s saga or enjoyed the climactic moments of the story as individual films, there is no argument that RZA’s first soundtrack was by far the best. Matching the fast-paced action sequences the first film has a lot of, the soundtrack is equally energetic and powerful. Using songs from his back catalogue as well as creating a few here and there, this soundtrack relies more heavily on the pounding beats in the hip hop producer’s heart.
Arguably the two most iconic moments of the film’s soundtrack come from the Nancy Sinatra song ‘Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)’ and the brilliant yet creepy whistle from Elle Driver as she attempts to assassinate The Bride. But, in fact, the best moment of the score comes from the Japanese band 5,6,7,8’s who performed ‘Woo Hoo’ during a particularly blood-thirsty scene.
The same style was used for the second instalment of the franchise. The soundtrack composed by Wu-Tang Clan founder, Tarantino was always going to be in good hands. The hip-hop impresario chose songs from his record collection—something we imagine was rich with classics—as well as creating some for specific scenes. Though there are some great moments on the record, including a piece from Ennio Morricone, a Johnny Cash track and a moment from Malcolm McLaren, the soundtrack is easily the weakest on our list, largely because of its comparison to Vol I.
Listen to the record aside from the film and this soundtrack certainly isn’t lacking any clout but, in comparison to those about to arrive at our list, this one is a little way behind.