For the past decade, the only place to see Quentin Tarantino‘s ultimate version of Kill Bill was in one of Tarantino’s own movie theaters. That is now changing. In huge, surprising news for film nerds everywhere, Lionsgate just announced it will release Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair in theaters nationwide on December 5.
“I wrote and directed it as one movie—and I’m so glad to give the fans the chance to see it as one movie,” Tarantino said in a press release. “The best way to see Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair is at a movie theater in glorious 70mm or 35mm. Blood and guts on a big screen in all its glory!”
This version of the film will be different from the one that recently played at the Vista Theater in Los Angeles, CA, too. It will include “a never-before-seen, 7.5-minute animated sequence,” which we assume is in addition to the one already in the film focusing on O-Ren Ishii, played by Lucy Liu.
Originally released as two films, Kill Bill: Volume 1 and Kill Bill: Volume 2, The Whole Bloody Affair combines all of that with a few nips and tucks to make it more cohesive. It runs over 250 minutes with an intermission and is a stunning work of cinema. In our mind, it’s Tarantino’s best film.
That it’s getting this wide release is something of a shock, though. In a recent interview, Tarantino spoke about why he was leaning towards only playing the film at his own movie theaters and never releasing it on Blu-ray. But, it seems, this is a compromise that allows people to see it in the best way imaginable but then also doesn’t force him to release it on physical media. You still have to see it in a theater.
There’s no word on when fans might be able to buy tickets or just how wide this release will be. All the press release says is that “select presentations of the release will be in 70mm and 35mm, and it is anticipated that the film will play in all major markets.” So keep an eye on your local theaters for this, potentially, once-in-a-lifetime experience.