RIP Marjane Satrapi

Marjane Satrapi is gone. They say she died of a broken heart...at 56.

She was the author of the great graphic novel Persepolis, about her childhood in Iran, filled with bleak humor, which also criticised the regime and made a plea for women there (and anywhere).  That was made in a feature animated film in black and white (like the novel), co-directed with Vincent Paronnaud.  Persepolis was ipart of Cannes Competition in 2007, it won ex-aqueo the Grand Prix and later on she was nominted for an Oscar, actually the first woman director to be nominated in the animated feature category.

She continued directing with Poulet aux prunes, The Voices, Radioactive and Paradis Paris. 

statement:

“Marjane Satrapi died of sadness a little over a year after the death of Mattias Ripa, her husband and the love of her life,” members of her family said in a statement sent to Afp. Ripa, a Swedish producer, actor, and screenwriter, died on April 8, 2025. A series of posts on Satrapi’s Instagram page in the weeks before her death spelled out the message: “For I Lost the love of my life.”

Hollywood Reporter obit here. 

Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair (2025)

You're in for a Treat !

The complete version of Kill Bill (s), aka The Whole Bloody Affair, is in Selected Romanian cinemas, for a Very Limited period of time ! With an Intermission too ;) and in Glorios Shawscope !!!

Let's be Crystal Clear on this, Kill Bill was supposed to be just one film, not two, it was separated due to duration by the infamous youknowho producer and distributor. Tarantino was a bit upset but he conformed. Then he did his own cut. Now he even extended it.  Results: a new film, better than any other version, superior in storytelling, rhythm, timing and flow. 

Resume:

Kill Bill vol. 1 -2023 -1h51 = 69 % metascore nr 153 top imdb

Kill Bill vol. 2 -2004 -2h17- metascore: 83%, not in top imdb

Kill Bill; The Whole Bloody Affair -2004/2025 4h 13.-95 % metascore

Top 32 in top imdb !!!

Features the films:
The Golden Stallion -Paramont 1949
Shogun Assassin -1980

Soundtrack:
'Music a silouthette at doom' by Morricone -from Un dollaro a testa
Sunny road to Salina -Christophe 1970
The Chase -Alan Reeves
About Here with samples from Rod Argent Zombies' "She's Not There"
Goodnight Moon-Shivaree

The whole soundtrack here:
https://download-soundtracks.com/movie_soundtracks/kill-bill-whole-bloody-affair-soundtrack/

Credits:

2004 -2025 restored, Visiona Romantica

Now the differences:
The first change you'll notice is an extra 10 minute animated sequence that shows O-Ren Ishii getting revenge on the man that killed her parents. It's animated beautifully and gives O-Ren's character even more depth than she already had. Secondly you'll notice that the legendary fight scene at the House of Blue Leaves is now in full color. With this scene in full color you get to really see the carnage that The Bride creates. You see guys heads being chopped off and geysers of red blood bursting from their neck. You see limbs chopped off with bursts of red blood. You fully see the red blood soaked floor of the building and the red bloody water of the pond. It makes the scene so much more impactful. The third change you see, albeit a minor one, is you actually see how The Bride interrogates Sofia for information. Which of course includes her asking her questions and in turn chopping her arm off for not answering. But the last change and by far most important is at the end of Volume 1, Bill makes no mention of The Brides child still being alive. That small change not only improves Volume 1 but drastically improves Volume 2. Originally you go into Volume 2 technically ahead of The Bride as you know about her kid and she doesn't. But that small change puts us on equal footing with The Bride. It makes the scene of her coming through the door to her child not just shocking and impactful to her but to us, the audience. Before seeing this I'd argue that Volume 1 & 2 are clearly two films and shouldn't count as one. Now, after seeing this, in no way can I say that, they so clearly go together as one film. This is no doubt the definitive way to watch and experience Kill Bill. It's an absolute masterpiece in my opinion.
+++

The old Klingon proverb  "Revenge is a dish best served cold." shown at the beginning of the standard theatrical version of Kill Bill Vol. 1 is not present. A dedication to filmmaker Kinji Fukasaku is in its place, as was also the case in the opening of the Japanese theatrical release of Kill Bill Vol. 1.
+++

While the 2004 Cannes cut of this film has had various special screenings throughout the past two decades, Lionsgate's 2025 theatrical release is the first time this unified version of Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003) and Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004) has become accessible to a wider audience. 

There may have been minor alterations made from the Cannes cut to Lionsgate's cut, but here are some notable differences that separate THE WHOLE BLOODY AFFAIR from VOLUME 1 and VOLUME 2.Modern Lionsgate logo plays before VOLUME 1's original Miramax logo. [*2025 only]
The "Kill Bill" title card during the opening credits contains the subtitle "The Whole Bloody Affair".
The uncensored Japanese version of VOLUME 1 is used for the first five chapters.
In Chapter 3, an additional 7.5 minutes of content is added to VOLUME 1's anime sequence in which a 13-year-old O-Ren attempts to kill Pretty Riki in an elevator.
At the end of Chapter 5, every shot after the Bride's final exchange with Sofie from VOLUME 1 is omitted (from airplane to end credits).
Between Chapters 5 and 6, a static "INTERMISSION" title card (white text, black background) stays on screen for 15 minutes. "Lonely Shepard" plays over the first few minutes of the intermission with the remainder being silent.
Everything from the opening of VOLUME 2 that precedes Chapter 6 is omitted (from Miramax logo to "Vol. 2" title card).
In Chapter 6, the Bride's opening narration at the Two Pines chapel from VOLUME 2 is omitted.
Entire cast, crew and song list from VOLUME 1 is integrated into VOLUME 2's end credits.
The uncensored version of Yuki's Revenge (2025) plays after the credits, front-loaded with an animated lobby jingle. [*2025 only]


9 out of 10 !!! 4 1/2 out of 5 !!!


Mega-trivia:
In Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004), Beatrix Kiddo (The Bride) is buried alive in the grave of Paula Schultz. This is a famous Quentin Tarantino "Easter Egg" connecting the film to Django Unchained (2012), as Paula Schultz is believed to be the deceased wife of Dr. King Schultz.
This video explains the connection between the grave of Paula Schultz in Kill Bill and Dr. King Schultz in Django Unchained.

Backrooms (2026)

 Backrooms. 

Impressive.

Most impressive if you count the director, Kane Parsons is 20 years old ! It's based on his youtube found footage series & Kane Pixels. 

To be seen and appreciated in a cinema !!! Really !

Plot description: After a therapist's patient disappears into a dimension beyond reality, she must venture into the unknown to save him.

I saw it tonite., and the theater was packed with teenagers. They knew the backstories, the innerworld of the film, the odds and inns. I guess it's one of the reasons Backdoors has a great thetrical run, the best of A24 til now (overpassing Civil War ). 

Totally psychedelic & psychotronic, some M.C. Escher angles and tricks, reminding recent Exit 8, and some other cool mindf*cks, Cosmatos' Beyond the Black Rainbow, Tarsem's The Cell, Cube, Us, Severance office sets  (actually inspired by the Backwoods originals) and Twin Peas Black Lodge landscape and soundscape, even shades of Eraserhead. 

Imdb suggests you see thse movies before seeing this. I guess you can also do that afterwards. 

The production /set design is all practical, was built as a maze. And the colors (yellowish) and the lightning. Widescreen cinematpgraphy mixed with video formats.

Could've been more claustrophobic, and it has some weaknesses, clumsiness, confusing ideas, also starts too slow and it's too long, but still, as I wrote above, Impressive.

Chiwetel Ejiofor is Clark, the Alone Man, the furniture shop `Architect` and Renate Reinsve (fresh from Oscar's Sentimental Value and Cannes fare, Fjord) is Mary, a shrink whose book Window of self is a also a clue. Mrk Duplass is the Third Man, as a scientist with a more complicated backstory...

A sort of Malice in Wonderland occurs. Some RMI too, or not ? 

And there is also a clue from a classic film and tale/book, The Neverending Story...

Anyhu, I hope a new serious genre Director was born...

Horror had a great (Theatrical too) run recently, with (i'm mentioning my chouces here): Ari Aster (Hereditary, Midsummer, Beau is Afraid, Eddigton), Ti West (In the Valley of Violence, The Sacrament, X, Pearl, Maxxine), Osgood Perkins (exec. producer here- Longlegs, The Monkey), Damian McCarthy (Caveat, Oddity, Hokum),  Zach Cregger (Barbarian, Weapons), Tilman Singer (Luz, Cuckoo), Charlie Polinger (The Plague), and feminin fare too, Coralie Fargeat (The Substance), Julia Ducournau (Raw, Titane, Alpha)...

I just hope this will not start another weak franchise as I just saw a whole video about the backstory of the Backrooms here...

3 1/2 out of 5, 7 out of 10 !

Sound design and soundtrack wise, kudos, this song from Boards of Canada on the closing credits was the highlight. 

https://pitchfork.com/news/boards-of-canada-soundtrack-backrooms-end-credits/

also a Klaus Doldinger song in it too (Moonchild). 

Fjord pe 13 iunie in cinema -proiectie unica !

Communique:

Fjord, filmul lui Crsitian Mungiu, premiat cu Palme d'Or se vede in 90 de cinematografe din Romania !

Doar pe 13 iunie ! 

Premiera oficiala va fi in ianuarie 2027 !

la Brasov la Cinema One, bilete aici

si la AFI Cinema City

Deja e apropae soldout ! Ceea ce ma bucura. Va fi racoare in cinema pe 13 iunie !