The purpose of intertextuality is to enhance meaning in what you are watching and to give you an idea in your head about what might happen in the film as you are watching it because you may have seen something which has the same aspects in it. So, an example of this is displayed in a few of Quentin Tarentinos films, Kill Bill and Reservoir Dogs particularly. There is a scene in Kill Bill volume 2 where the bride confronts Bill's brother Bud in the hope for revenge but gets shot down by Budd as soon as she opens the door.
The soundtrack featured when the bride is laying on the floor is an intertextual reference from the western made in 1966, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. One of the most famous endings in cinema history is the duel between the good (Blondie) the bad (Sentenza) and the ugly (Tuco). As well as the soundtrack, there is a reference between these characters and three of the characters in Kill Bill. The Bride being the good, Bill being the bad and his brother Bud being the ugly. First of all the bride has the same qualities as Blondie who is the good guy as she is just set out to kill the bad guys, not only are there intentions similar she has blonde hair which could make you associate her with Blondie. Clint Eastwood plays the character of Blondie which gives that character an iconic status, which in reference to Kill Bill also gives the bride an iconic status. As the bride is referenced to Blondie as the good character you therefore make the assumptions that she will win any fight that comes her way. This scene shows the bad guy Sentenza being shot down by Blondie which tells you when you are watching Kill Bill that the bad guy (Bill) may die and the good character will be the one to murder him (the bride).
Another intertextual reference from this scene is the mexican stand off shot where two or more people are pointing a gun at each other, this is also shown in Reservoir Dogs which is also directed by Quentin Tarentino.
During the scene when the bride is trying to escape from the coffin the soundtrack played also originated from The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, as well as the same soundtrack it also is featured in a graveyard. The sound reference tells you if she's getting out or not.
Excellent Lyndsey; you have explained the connotations of the inter textual sound reference splendidly and in detail. Both sequences are of course examples of creative film making - no computer generated images but effect reliant on sound and image.
ReplyDeleteNote also that Tarantino's bride is also in a graveyard!