The best Kill Bill quotes are powerful echoes of the kung fu revenge films and spaghetti westerns that inspired Quentin Tarantino’s beloved, bloody duology. Loaded with action, tons of laughs, excessive violence, and Tarantino’s signature dialogue, Kill Bill: Vol. 1 and Kill Bill: Vol. 2 are widely regarded as two of the eccentric director’s best movies. These movies tell the story of The Bride, the now-iconic protagonist who sliced her way toward killing the titular Bill, claiming revenge on her former crew and master.
Though the duology was short-lived, and it remains unclear whether Tarantino will make Kill Bill 3, the Kill Bill movies managed to seamlessly blend genre and styles while maintaining Tarantino’s brilliant writing style that led to many memorable lines. Along with the unstoppable Bride at the center of it all, there was a collection of standout characters in the Kill Bill movies, delivering dramatic, funny, and thrilling quotes that elevate the epic two-part revenge saga.
26 “Revenge Is A Dish Best Served Cold.”
Opening Title Card – Kill Bill: Vol. 1
One of the greatest Kill Bill quotes wasn’t a Tarantino original, but one lifted straight out of the iconic Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. It’s hard to imagine a more fitting quote to kick off a revenge flick with, and it’s another example of Tarantino’s quirky sense of humor. The meaning of the proverb pops up several times throughout the two movies, most notably in Japan when Beatrix seeks out the legendary swordsman Hattori Hanzo.
This quote also serves as a warning to all the characters in Kill Bill.
While he builds the katana, he also bestows a few wise warnings about the nature of revenge, and what it can lead to. Essentially, this quote also serves as a warning to all the characters in Kill Bill. The entire movie is about revenge, and Beatrix doesn’t care about the people she once worked with, not even if they had a child in the house when she killed them. She went in cold and gained revenge against everyone who hurt her.
25 “Bill… It’s Your Baby.”
The Bride – Kill Bill: Vol. 1
24 
From the café scene in Pulp Fiction to the farmhouse interrogation in Inglourious Basterds,Quentin Tarantino’s opening scenes often grab the audience immediately and prepare them for a wild ride. Such is the case with Kill Bill, and while the first moment of the movie is not a long scene like the two aforementioned examples, it nevertheless leaves a big impact.
The moment she says this, The Bride is shot in the head, kicking the movie off with brutality and cementing The Bride’s mission of revenge.
The black and white image of The Bride lying brutally beaten on the floor of a church in her wedding gown is the shocking first image the audience sees. She looks up in fear as her unseen killer, Bill, calmly speaks to her. However, the real shock comes with The Bride’s first words in which she attempts to spot the inevitable as she tells Bill her baby is his. The moment she says this, The Bride is shot in the head, kicking the movie off with brutality and cementing The Bride’s mission of revenge.
23 “Dying In Our Sleep Is A Luxury Our Kind Is Rarely Afforded. My Gift To You.”
Elle Driver – Kill Bill: Vol. 1
Elle Driver makes her iconic entry into the movie early on when The Bride is still in her coma. Confidently walking into the hospital and disguising herself as a nurse, she enters The Bride’s room and prepares to finish the job they started earlier. As Elle stands over her unconscious enemy, she reflects on how she hates her but also cannot deny that she is an impressive warrior.
She also comments on how the life of warriors does not often end with a peaceful death, so Elle’s plan to kill The Bride when she is in her coma could be seen as a generous act from one warrior to another. It is a glimpse inside the twisted mind of Elle as she tells The Bride she is doing this out of compassion, but the anger she shows when Bill calls off the assassination suggests that she might be afraid of what happens if The Bride ever wakes up.
22 “Your Name Is Buck…Right?”
The Bride – Kill Bill: Vol. 1
Controversial director Quentin Tarantino never shies away from vulgarity and brutality in his films and the Kill Bill movies are a sign of that. After awakening from a prolonged coma to realize that an orderly has been paying people to come and have sex with her after hours, she cuts his Achilles tendon before smashing his head with a door until he’s dead.
The buildup is intense as Beatrix remembers some of the words he spoke to her while she was in a coma, then uses them back on him as the last thing he hears before she exacts her revenge on him. It is a brutal moment of vengeance and no one deserves it more than the man who used his position to sexually abuse a defenseless woman, and who has likely hurt many other women over his career at the hospital.
21 “It’s Mercy, Compassion, And Forgiveness I Lack. Not Rationality!”
The Bride – Kill Bill: Vol. 1
The Bride is a relentless warrior on her path of revenge, not letting any distance or threat stand in her way of making those who wronged her pay with their lives. However, she is also not a monster and shows her sympathetic side when she faces off with Vernita Green in her suburban home. After The Bride willingly calls a temporary truce when Green’s daughter returns home from school, Green admits that’s more rational than she expected from her would-be assassin.
However, in this chilling line, The Bride quickly reminds her why she is there and that the truce will not last forever. Beatrix makes it clear that she has no reason to traumatize the little girl any more than she eventually will when she kills her mother. However, Beatrix is also there for revenge and Vernita needs to know that one moment of compassion won’t save her life.
20 “It Was Not My Intention To Do This In Front Of You.”
The Bride – Kill Bill: Vol. 1
“For That, I’m Sorry. But You Can Take My Word For It – Your Mother Had It Comin’!”
While the Bride showed honor in stopping the fight, Green was not ready to return the favor, attempting to catch the Bride off guard and shoot her, forcing the Bride to throw a knife into her heart. When the little girl stumbled upon the bloody mess, the Bride lets her know that this is not what she wants before inviting her to take revenge when she grows up, if she so chooses.
Of the many memorable Kill Bill quotes, this is the one that actually teases a potential story for Kill Bill 3, or even a spinoff in the Kill Bill timeline. There is no way that a little girl can’t see her mother murdered and not want to seek revenge later in her life. This looked like it could be a huge storyline in the future if Vernita’s daughter came after Beatrix for her own dish of cold revenge.
19 “I Can Tell You With No Ego, This Is My Finest Sword.”
Hattori Hanzo – Kill Bill: Vol. 1
“If On Your Journey, You Should Encounter God, God Will Be Cut.”
Hattori Hanzo swore an oath to stop creating the world’s finest katana blades out of moral and philosophical principles. He realized that his prowess as a sword maker allowed others to commit murder in his name, which was something he no longer wanted to be a part of. However, when Beatrix showed up in Japan demanding one of his blades, Hanzo felt a responsibility to aid her in her quest to take out Bill.
His conflicted thoughts come through in this line where he promises a perfect blade for the Bride to use in her bloody warpath. Few Kill Bill quotes convey the movie’s reverence for the Kung Fu genre as much as this one. This is a quote that fits in perfectly with any kung fu movie and is so over the top and mythical that it sounds perfect coming from Hanzo.
18 “The Price You Pay For Bringing Up Either My Chinese Or American Heritage As A Negative Is…I Collect Your F*****’ Head.”
O-Ren Ishii – Kill Bill: Vol. 1
Actress Lucy Liu played the iconic O-Ren Ishii, a woman who prided herself on being a cold, calculating yet fair leader of the famed Crazy 88, and her influence extended outwards towards the Yakuza circle she was involved in. Not everyone on the council was thrilled about having her lead, however, mostly due to her Chinese and American heritage. When one of her generals voices his displeasure, she immediately beheads him and delivers a warning to the rest.
Liu’s delivery is darkly comedic as she warmly and gently tells the men she encourages them to speak to her about their concerns, before adding one exception which comes with a brutal price if disobeyed. The eventual battle between The Bride and O-Ren Ishii is set up with this quote, as this warrior proves that she is no one that anyone should mess with.
17 “Those Of You Lucky Enough To Still Have Their Lives, Take Them With You!”
The Bride – Kill Bill: Vol. 1
“However, Leave The Limbs You’ve Lost! They Belong To Me, Now!”
For a display of raw killing power and bloodthirsty determination, the sequence in which the Bride takes on the Crazy 88 is perfect as she kills most of them and leaves the survivors writhing on the floor. While she surveys her bloody handiwork, she offers some choice words for those still breathing. It’s a testament to an earlier portion in the film when the Bride speaks with Vernita Green and tells her that compassion is a quality she lacks, which plays out to startling reality in this scene.
Though she is not willing to kill injured and helpless enemies, she does insist that they pay a price for standing up against her. This is also just one of the many great Kill Bill quotes around the Bride and O-Ren Ishii’s confrontation. This quote set up The Bride as someone everyone should fear.
16 “Attack Me With Everything You Have.”
The Bride – Kill Bill: Vol. 1
The Bride is certainly an impressive fighter as seen as she takes on the Crazy 88, but the thing that makes her the biggest danger to her enemies is her determination. She is a woman who takes every injury and every roadblock as motivation to keep going and hit back even harder. Aside from all of her amazing abilities, this is the quality that endears her in the hearts of the audience the most.
After taking on O-Ren’s entire army, The Bride still has to take on her more experienced and deadly former colleague. The fight initially seems like it will be over quickly as O-Ren strikes The Bride badly. However, in the face of her taunting, The Bride stays resilient and challenges O-Ren to finish her off as she can. Regardless of whether she truly believed she had what it takes to defeat O-Ren, the courage with which The Bride faces her enemy shows a power none of her enemies have.
15 “For Ridiculing You Earlier, I Apologize.”
O-Ren Ishii – Kill Bill: Vol. 1
The attempt on The Bride’s life is a brutal attack, and each time The Bride faces her former colleagues, it is clear that none of them are going to go easy on each other. However, there is a sense of honor and respect that exists between these warriors. For O-Ren, the respect she has for The Bride seems to be quite low when they initially begin their fight. She mocks her as a “silly Caucasian girl” who thinks she can fight like a samurai just because she has a blade.
However, as they continue to fight, The Bride also continues to prove herself, eventually striking a blow that causes O-Ren to realize that she is going to lose. While she is filled with shock and perhaps fear, O-Ren uses her final words to apologize to The Bride, not for the attack that left her in a coma, but for not having respect for her skills.
14 “Revenge Is Never A Straight Line. It’s A Forest, And Like A Forest, It’s Easy To Lose Your Way… To Get Lost… To Forget Where You Came In.”
Hattori Hanzo – Kill Bill: Vol. 1
Quentin Tarantino certainly has a love of revenge movies, as he has made several of them so far in his career. However, as satisfying as he can make the final act in some of those other films, Kill Bill is a more complex look at revenge and makes for a complicated commentary on the subject. While Kill Bill: Vol. 1 is a wild and entertaining take on the genre, it also hints at the less conventional conclusion that awaits the audience.
Hattori Hanzo offers this piece of advice to The Bride as she sets out on her mission, reflecting that, while the initial reason behind revenge might seem clear, once she sets off down that path, things can become less clear. Indeed, Bill’s betrayal of The Bride at the beginning of the story sets the audience up to want to see him pay, but the movie makes that payoff a more layered conclusion after everything that is learned.
13 “I Am Gonna’ Ask You Questions, And Every Time You Don’t Give Me Answers, I’m Gonna’ Cut Something Off.”
The Bride – Kill Bill: Vol. 1
“And I Promise You, They WILL Be Things You Will Miss!”
Getting to Bill meant sending a message in order to shake him, and the rest of her former gang. Her decimation of the Crazy 88 and the slaughter of O-Ren Ishii was certainly a sign of what she could do, but she was also looking for more information on her next targets.
The Bride takes Sofie, O-Ren’s right-hand girl who behaved just as callously towards Beatrix’s beating and apparent murder as the direct perpetrators.
Having already lost an arm to the Bride’s blade, Sofie is then questioned in a rather brutal manner. Sofie survives after being dropped off at the hospital, and while the audience doesn’t see how many answers she failed to give the Bride, the imagination of what happened to her is more disturbing. This shows how brutal The Bride is and how she is willing to do worse things than kill her enemies.
12 “One More Thing, Sofie… Is She Aware Her Daughter Is Still Alive?”
Bill – Kill Bill Vol. 1
Kill Bill being split into two movies might not have been Quentin Tarantino’s original plan, but it works surprisingly well as if it was always meant to be told in this way. This includes the shocking cliffhanger to Kill Bill Vol. 1 as Bill reveals that The Bride’s daughter is still alive following Bill’s vicious attack on her. While cliffhanger endings have become more popular in big blockbusters, this is one of the most effective uses as it shocks the audience while introducing a piece of information that changes everything for the next chapter.
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The two movies tell two different stories. In the first movie, The Bride is seeking bloody vengeance on anyone who hurt her. However, the second movie sees her closing in on Bill and realizing there is so much more to this fight than just killing for revenge. The Bride has something to live for, she just doesn’t know it yet.
11 “That Woman Deserves Her Revenge… And We Deserve To Die.”
Budd – Kill Bill: Vol. 2
Bill visited his brother Budd to warn him about Beatrix’s revenge quest, certain that he’d be next on her hit list. By that time, Budd’s life had spiraled into squalor as he worked a dead-end job for an unappreciative boss. It was a far cry from his glory days as a contract killer. When Bill brought the news, Budd was defiant on the outside, yet sympathetic on the inside. Deep down he knew that their actions warranted their own deaths, a very different sentiment normally seen from the villains in revenge movies.
However, that doesn’t mean that Budd is going to accept his fate willingly. Budd fights for his life because he knows no other way. Ultimately, out of everyone who tried to kill The Bride and massacred her wedding party, Budd was the one who realized that they had done something terrible and that fate was coming for all of them.
10 “Right At This Moment, The Biggest ‘R’ I Feel Is Regret.”
Elle Driver – Kill Bill: Vol. 2
“Regret That Maybe The Greatest Warrior I Have Ever Known…Met Her End At The Hands Of A Bushwhacking, Scrub, Alchy Piece Of S*** Like You! That Woman Deserved Better.”
Elle Driver might have hated Beatrix more than anyone, but along with that hatred came a noble sense of respect for her as a warrior. She understood full well how powerful the Bride was, and that underestimating her was a mistake. None of the other Kill Bill quotes conveyed the crew’s mutual respect for one another more than Elle Driver’s final words to Budd.
It is one of the talents of Tarantino as a writer that he is able to step into these pulpy genres, like revenge movies, and populate them with layered characters who are much more interesting than what audiences might have expected. Seeing Elle talking down to Budd like this shows that she knows there are levels to the people she has worked with. The Bride is the best of the best and deserves respect. Budd was low in her view, and never deserved to share a breath with Beatrix.
9 “You Know What I Did? I Killed That Miserable Old Fool!”
Elle Driver – Kill Bill: Vol. 2
“I Poisoned His Fish Heads, And I Told Him, ‘To Me, The Word Of An Old Fool Like You Is Worth Less Than Nothing!”
Despite the respect that Elle has for the Bride, when the two face off, it is a vicious fight in which neither warrior holds back at all. To goad the Bride into anger, she reveals that she had poisoned their mutual master Pai Mei. While it did achieve the objective she wanted, Driver failed to take into account Beatrix’s skill with a blade while under the heat of rage.
It is an impactful line for the audience as well as Pai Mei was cemented as the ultimate kung fu master and to learn of his death in such a treacherous way does the job of making Elle a detestable villain. This Kill Bill quote shows that Elle might have respected Beatrix, based on her previous quotes to Budd, but she didn’t respect the art of kung fu enough not to kill a respected master by poisoning him and mocking his death to The Bride. This marked Elle’s downfall.
8 “B****, You Don’t Have A Future!”
The Bride – Kill Bill: Vol. 2
Following Elle’s admission about the death of Pai Mei, the Bride steels herself, ready to finish her off and cross another name from her list. Elle continues to taunt her opponent, claiming she killed the Bide with her own sword that “in the very immediate future, will become my sword.” The Bride responds with this chilling threat, and they clash swords again. Despite the terrific finishing line, the Bride doesn’t actually kill Elle.
This was almost worse than death.
Instead, she simply plucked her other eye out and left her permanently blind and alone, screaming in the trailer, which suggests the future she does have left, will be an unpleasant one. This was almost worse than death. Elle is not only a merciless killer and a brilliant fighter, but she is highly arrogant and proud. Now, she has lost her sight in both eyes and that has likely ended whatever future she had in this world.
7 “I Have Only One More. The Last One; The One I’m Driving To Right Now. The Only One Left. And When I Arrive At My Destination, I Am Gonna’ Kill Bill!”
The Bride – Kill Bill: Vol. 2
Bill probably didn’t understand the kind of monster he’d inadvertently unleashed when he took young Beatrix Kiddo under his wing and taught her the killing arts. He opened her up to a whole new world of adventure, excitement, and danger the likes of which she didn’t know were possible. It all came crashing to a halt the moment he decided to have her killed at her own wedding. “The Bride” survived, and kicked off a campaign of bloody revenge that stopped right at Bill’s doorstep.
Beatrix wouldn’t let up, give up, or reconcile, making this promise directly to the audience. This quote was one of the best in the entire movie because it was the Bride explaining what this plot is all about. She is going to kill everyone who hurt her and the last person on her list is the one who called the shots, Bill. Beatrix is going to kill this man, and nothing will stop her.
