After it first debuted in 2006, I’d like to gently request that Quentin Tarantino finally give Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair an official release. While it was conceived as a single movie, as the runtime edged toward four hours, it was decided to split Kill Bill into two movies (or Volumes) instead.

Soon after the release of Volume 2 in 2004, Tarantino teased the existence of the director’s cut Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair. This blended the two halves as originally intended, in addition to adding scenes and dropping others. One big change is that the bloody House of Blue Leaves fight was shown in color, instead of black and white.

While Tarantino has long teased projects that never came together, such as a potential Kill Bill: Volume 3 or Star Trek 4, The Whole Bloody Affair is a different story. This director’s cut actually exists, and in theory, Tarantino could release it to home media or streaming whenever he wants. The issue is, he currently doesn’t want to.

Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair Cut Has Existed Since 2006

Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair made its debut at the Cannes Film Festival in 2006 to great acclaim. Since then, Tarantino has screened it many times at his New Beverly Cinema in Los Angeles, but the film has never been made available on DVD, Blu-ray or other home media releases.

As mentioned above, The Whole Bloody Affair makes a few changes to Volumes 1 and 2. There was more violence added to the anime chapter exploring O-Ren Ishii’s origins, Sofia Fatale (Julie Dreyfus) loses another limb to The Bride (something that was implied in the theatrical cut), and the cliffhanger ending of Volume 1 was also snapped.

Despite fan demand existing for Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair and its release being teased over the years, Tarantino has withheld it. This, naturally, has only created more demand, but Tarantino is content to keep his director’s cut as a rare object.

The Whole Bloody Affair Is How Tarantino Wants Kill Bill To Be Seen

Kill Bill was conceived of and sH๏τ as a single film, despite its epic runtime. Tarantino wanted a revenge film that combined lots of disparate ingredients. It’s a blend of a Western, a martial arts epic, anime, grindhouse (naturally), and many more.

It feels like a love letter to both cinema itself and the genres that Tarantino is obsessed with. Even so, there was no way the producers were going to release a four-hour epic, even with Tarantino’s name on it. Hence, its release was divided into two volumes, with the second half arriving six months after the first.

Tarantino may have gone along with this arrangement, but he always saw Kill Bill as one long saga; in short, The Whole Bloody Affair was the film he envisioned releasing. That’s also why demand for this version is so high, especially after it’s become something of a mythic object.

I Respect Quentin Tarantino’s Reason For Keeping Kill Bill Director’s Cut Locked Away

In 2025, Tarantino broke his silence on the lack of a release for Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair on The Church of Tarantino podcast. He reveals that he originally wanted to wait until the rights to Kill Bill reverted to him, but that in a world obsessed with content and streaming, he liked the rarity of the complete cut.

But also, I got to say, in this world that everything is available, and everything is for profit and everything is a chip to be sold on the market because everything is owned by corporations. That’s not owned by a corporation, that’s owned by me. And the fact that you have to come to my theater to see it, and it’s not just sitting on a stack of DVDs and Blu-rays that you get around to watching eventually. The minute it becomes in your hand, it just means less.

Tarantino’s logic makes complete sense because, in a media landscape where it’s possible to watch just about anything with a few clicks, Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair is a rare unicorn. There’s little doubt it would be a bestseller on a 4K disc or streaming re-release, but Tarantino wants his director’s cut to feel special.

Tarantino doesn’t just want to drop the definitive version of one of his favorite movies into the content churn. He’s been a student and defender of the cinematic experience his entire life, and while I’d love to see The Whole Bloody Affair ASAP, I can’t help but admire his stance on withholding it.

A Gentle Plea To Quentin Tarantino To Finally Release Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair

While I get why he’s limited Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair’s release, it is, at the end of the day, the version he intended people to see. After nearly 20 years of anticipation, it would be a real shame if the complete version were only ever screened in the New Bev on occasion.

He made Kill Bill to be seen by as many moviegoers as possible, so withholding it indefinitely feels self-defeating in that regard. It means that unless fans are willing to travel to Los Angeles, they’ll never get a chance to see it as intended.

The director also explained that as of 2025, he’s focused on other projects, so re-releasing Kill Bill isn’t his top priority. Maybe he could test out a limited theatrical run of The Whole Bloody Affair worldwide, just to gauge audience interest.

If it does well (which it undoubtedly would), Tarantino could decide on a potential streaming or physical release in time for Kill Bill’s 25th anniversary in 2028. Again, it’s currently not his focus, but it would be a shame if one of the most important works of Tarantino’s career was kept locked away indefinitely.

Source: The Church of Tarantino