Pulp Fiction
Info and Spoiler
Pulp Fiction is a Academy Awar winning 1994 film directed by Quentin Tarantino, who co wrote the screenplay with Roger Avary. The film has a fragmented storyline and is known for a "eclectic dialogue", heavy arthouse and independent film influences, ironic and campy style, unorthodox camerawork, and numerous pop culture references. Tarantino and Avary won Academy Awards for Best Original Screenplay and the film was nominated for seven Oscars in total, including Best Picture; it also took home the Palme d'Or at the Festival de Cannes.
The plot, in keeping with most other Tarantino works, runs in
nonlinear order. The unconventional structure of the movie is an example of a
so called postmodern film. The film's title refers to the pulp magazines popular
during the mid 20th century, known for their strongly graphic nature. Much of
the film's dialogue and many of its scenes are based on other works of "pulp"
fiction, that is to say bits of other, less acclaimed, works.
Directed
by Quentin Tarantino
Produced by Lawrence Bender
Written by Quentin Tarantino
Roger
Avary
Starring John Travolta
Samuel L. Jackson
Uma Thurman
Harvey
Keitel
Tim Roth
Amanda Plummer
Maria de Medeiros
Ving Rhames
Duane
Whitaker
Peter Greene
Eric Stoltz
Rosanna Arquette
Steve Buscemi
Christopher
Walken
Bruce Willis
Cinematography Andrzej Sekula
Editing by Sally
Menke
Distributed by Miramax Films
(USA Theatrical)
Buena Vista Pictures
(Non-USA
Theatrical & Worldwide Home Video)
Overview and synopsis
Pulp
Fiction is divided to six distinct but interrelated stories where a boxer, two
hitmen and a crime boss meet fates in a course of two days, although each story
recounts a separate incident, they share some common characters. As is common
in Tarantino's films, they are not arranged in chronological order. The use of
a non-linear structure is one element of the film which identifies it as part
of the neo noir tradition, despite a initial appearance as a action, black comedy
satire. The narrative structure as a whole is nearly circular, as the final scene
overlaps and resolves the interrupted first scene.
A black comedy directed in a highly stylized manner and employing many pop culture references, Pulp Fiction joins the intersecting storylines of Los Angeles gangsters, fringe characters, petty thieves and a mysterious briefcase. In keeping with Quentin Tarantino's directorial trademark of nonlinear story telling, Pulp Fiction is written out of sequence, telling several stories concurrently that intersect as the film progresses.
Pulp Fiction is character driven, with considerable screen time devoted to conversations and monologues, that reveal a characters' senses of humor, philosophical perspectives and histories. The film starts out with a hold up in a restaurant staged by armed entrepreneurs Pumpkin and Honey Bunny, then picks up the stories of mob hitmen Vincent Vega and Jules Winnfield, Mia Wallace and Marsellus Wallace, prizefighter Butch Coolidge, and finally returns to where it began, in the restaurant, where Vincent and Jules stop for a bite, foil the hold-up and set the robbers on a more righteous path.
Homage as style
Like Tarantino's other works, Pulp Fiction is full of homages to other films and tv shows, particular a gangster genre, as well as other pop culture artifacts. The movie has been described as a pastiche of popular culture since 1950. In the sole overt example of literary pulp fiction in the movie, Vincent Vega is seen in several scenes reading the first Modesty Blaise novel while sitting on a toilet. The edition Vincent reads has a mock up cover Tarantino had the prop department make, based upon the cover of an early edition of the novel. The cereal Lance is eating when Vincent comes to his house with Mia is called Fruit Brute, which was discontinued in 1983. Fruit Brute shows up in Reservoir Dogs and Kill Bill. The majority of clocks in the movie, especially in the pawnshop, are set to 4:20, a drug culture reference. The movie itself was originally going to be titled Black Mask, the name of the magazine largely responsible for popularizing hardboiled detective fiction in the 1930s. Butch's double cross of Marsellus is possibly an homage to the 1929 Dashiell Hammett crime novel Red Harvest, whose protagonist challenges an organized crime operation by blackmailing a boxer into "unfixing" a fixed fight.
The scene in which Marsellus sees Butch while crossing the street in front of Butch's car is reminiscent of the scene in which Marion Crane's boss sees her under similar circumstances in Psycho. The scene in which Butch stabs Maynard with the katana is identical to a scene in Bruce Lee's Enter the Dragon, from the same camera angle, Butch is seen stabbing Maynard, who is standing behind him, directly through the stomach and holding the sword in place for a few seconds, while he makes exactly the same facial expressions as Bruce Lee does in the same scene in his movie. When he pulls the sword out and Maynard is seen falling in the same way as the victim in Enter the Dragon. The dungeon scene is believed to be an homage to John Boorman's Deliverance; and Zed was the name of Sean Connery's character in Boorman's follow-up, the sci-fi film Zardoz. "Zed's dead" was one of the last lines spoken in that film. Also, it is believed that Butch's weapons of choice (bat, chain saw and katana) are homages to Walking Tall, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) and samurai films.
Tarantino has also created his own pop artifacts, partly to establish recurrent motifs in his films and partly to avoid showing actual commercial products in certain scenes. Big Kahuna Burger is featured not only in the Pulp Fiction apartment scene, but also in From Dusk Till Dawn, Reservoir Dogs and most recently, "Death Proof". The Red Apple cigarettes that Butch buys inside Marsellus's bar also appear in various ways in Jackie Brown, Kill Bill: Volume 1, "Grindhouse" and Four Rooms. (A Red Apple billboard also appears in the background of a scene in Romy and Michele's High School Reunion. Tarantino was dating Mira Sorvino, one of the film's stars, at the time.) Iconic items of Tarantino's also appear: Jules uses a STAR model B 9mm-caliber pistol, and Vincent uses an Auto-Ordnance Colt 1911A1 model .45 ACP-caliber pistol. Both weapons, each chrome plated with a custom mother-of-pearl grip—are owned by the director.
Plot elements
The mysterious briefcase
The
combination of the mysterious suitcase is "666", the "number of
the beast". Whenever asked, director Tarantino has replied that there is
no explanation for the case's contents: it is simply a MacGuffin. Originally,
the case was to contain the diamonds stolen in Reservoir Dogs, but this was seen
as too mundane. For filming purposes, the briefcase contained an orange light
bulb, silver foil, and a battery. Despite Tarantino's explanation, many theories
have been proposed for the contents of the briefcase. Among these is the idea
that Marcellus Wallace sold his soul to the devil, and the suitcase contains this
soul. Claimed evidence for this include the fact that Marcellus has foggy, dead
eyes and a band-aid over the back of his head (where the devil sucked out his
spirit). Also, many small details point to the fact that the kids in the Big Kahuna
Burger scene were supernatural henchmen of the devil, including the fact that
none of them bled or showed any wounds when shot, and the fact that none of their
bullets hit Jules or Vincent (Jules later claimed that this was the intervention
of God, which fits with the theory). Finally, the fact that the suitcase glows
and its combination is the number of the beast support the idea.
In a video interview with fellow director and friend Robert Rodriguez on the popular social networking site, Myspace, Tarantino "reveals" the secret contents of the briefcase, but the film cuts out and skips the scene in the style employed in Tarantino and Rodriguez's double feature, Grindhouse, with a caption that says "Reel Missing." The film resumes with Rodriguez discussing how radically the knowledge of the briefcase's contents alters one's understanding of the movie.
The glowing briefcase used in the 1955 film noir Kiss Me Deadly, in which a briefcase glows due to its nuclear contents. When Tarantino learned of the similarity, he said it was purely accidental but that he liked the idea.
Jules' Bible
passage
Jules delivering the famous quotation.In the final diner scene,
Jules explains that he recites a Biblical passage, Ezekiel 25:17, each time he
kills someone. Jules's version of the passage reads as follows:
“ The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he who in the name of charity and good will shepherds the weak through the valley of darkness, for he is truly his brother's keeper and the finder of lost children. And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who attempt to poison and destroy my brothers. And you will know my name is the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon thee. ”
Jules's pronouncement is a typically obscure Tarantino reference to Karate Kiba / Chiba the Bodyguard, a 1976 film starring Sonny Chiba, whom the director would later cast in Kill Bill. Karate Kiba opens with the exact same biblical misquote, likewise attributed to Ezekiel 25:17 (this "passage" is not actually recited as in the Bible; the version spoken by Jules and Chiba is a pastiche of different real passages and made-up passages).
Toilet motif
Tarantino
uses the toilet or bathroom as a plot device to signify a crucial turn in the
plot. Instances include; when Jules and Vincent are shooting Brett and his companions,
a fourth man is hiding by the toilet, waiting to fire; when Mia comes back from
'powdering' her nose at Jackrabbit Slim's, their quiet dinner turns into their
competing in a dance contest, and they become more and more attracted to each
other.
Any time Vincent enters a bathroom, things go wrong. Surprisingly, the problems increase in magnitude as the movie moves forward chronologically; due to poor washing habits, Vincent soaks one of Jimmy's bathroom towels in blood while washing up after a accidental car shooting; Vincent and Jules’ breakfast and philosophical conversation in the diner turns into an armed robbery while Vincent is in the bathroom; while Vincent is in the bathroom worrying about the possibility of going too far with Marsellus' wife, Mia mistakes his heroin for cocaine and overdoses while attempting to snort it; Vincent goes to the toilet during a stake out at Butch’s apartment then is killed by Vincent's MAC-11 when he comes out.
Redemption
All of the events which take place
through the film are centered on redemption, be it the case of Butch, who goes
on to save Marsellus Wallace- whom he had swindled earlier in the film- from certain
death, or Jules Winnfield, who has a moment of clarity near the end of the film,
after living the life of a low rent gangster, murdering and stealing.
Cast
Tarantino cast Travolta in Pulp Fiction only because Michael Madsen
chose to appear in Kevin Costner's Wyatt Earp instead. Travolta was paid just
$140,000 for his services, but the film's success and his Oscar nomination as
Best Actor revitalised his career. Travolta was subsequently cast in several hits
including Get Shorty, in which he played a similar character, and the John Woo
blockbuster Face/Off. The exchange in which Mia Wallace asks Travolta's character
"Can you dig it?" to which he responds "I can dig it" is a
nod to Travolta's career-making role in Saturday Night Fever. Travolta, not a
real-life smoker, learned how to expertly roll Drum brand tobacco into cigarettes
for his part.
Samuel L. Jackson as Jules Winnfield: The role of Jules was
written with Jackson in mind by Tarantino as a payback for casting others in place
of Jackson in previous films. However Jackson nearly lost the part after the initial
audition. Paul Calderon, Jackson's friend, managed to argue for a second chance.
Jackson flew to Los Angeles and auditioned a second time, winning over Tarantino.
Jules was originally scripted with an Afro; due to a mix up in wardrobe, he wears
Jheri Curls. For his performance, Jackson received an Oscar nomination for Best
Supporting Actor.
Bruce Willis as Butch Coolidge: In Tarantino's original
script the character of Butch is a fighter in his twenties. The character was
aged to a washed-up boxer to accommodate Willis in the role.
Ving Rhames as
Marsellus Wallace: Rhames gained considerable acclaim for his dynamic portrayal
of the sadistic Marsellus Wallace. His performance paved the way for supporting
roles opposite some of Hollywood's most popular stars in such big budget features
as Mission Impossible, Con Air and Out of Sight.
Uma Thurman as Mia Wallace:
Thurman beat out Holly Hunter and Meg Ryan to win the role of Mia Wallace. Thurman
dominated most of the film's promotional material, appearing on a bed with cigarette
in hand. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress in a Supporting
Role for her work in Pulp Fiction and was launched into the celebrity A-list.
She took no advantage of this new found fame and chose to not do any big budget
films for the next three years.[ Thurman's outfit reappears in two of Tarantino's
later films, Kill Bill, Volume 1 and Kill Bill, Volume 2.
Harvey Keitel
as Winston Wolfe or simply "The Wolf": Keitel agreed to be in the film
as he had previously starred in Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs in which he played
Larry Dimmick, the cousin of Jimmy Dimmick in Pulp Fiction. The name "Winston
Wolf" was borrowed from a regular customer named "Winston Wolff"
who frequented the video store where Quentin Tarantino worked. The real Wolff
was a video game programmer.
Tim Roth as "Pumpkin" or "Ringo":
Roth had also starred in Reservoir Dogs alongside Keitel and was brought on board
again. A year after Pulp Fiction, Roth would again appear with Eric Stoltz in
Rob Roy, in which Roth's character kills Stoltz's character. Tim Roth used his
native British accent in Pulp Fiction but used an American accent in Reservoir
Dogs.
Amanda Plummer as Honey Bunny or Yolanda: Plummer gained a lot of attention
with a small amount of screen time. She followed up with director Michael Winterbottom's
Butterfly Kiss, in which she plays a serial killer. According to sources such
as IMDB and the DVD factoids, the role was written for Plummer in mind.
Christopher
Walken as Captain Koons: The Vietnam War veteran. Walken delivered a small but
memorable performance scene in the movie as his often played slightly "off"
persona. He appeared in another small but memorable role in the "Sicilian
scene" in the Tarantino-written True Romance a year earlier.
Quentin
Tarantino as Jimmie Dimmick: Tarantino played a small role in the film as he had
done previously in Reservoir Dogs. The part was more than a cameo proving the
director could act. He was following a long line of directors that have played
small parts in their films, most famously Alfred Hitchcock, who appeared briefly
in thirty-seven of his own movies.
Out of the $8 million it cost to make the
movie, $5 million went to the cast. The film is known for revitalizing the career
of John Travolta, and helping establish Samuel L. Jackson and Uma Thurman as major
stars
Other actors considered for the film included Daniel Day-Lewis as Vincent; Paul Calderon as Jules; Mickey Rourke and Matt Dillon as Butch; David Rodriguez as The Gimp, Michelle Pfeiffer, Meg Ryan, Joan Cusack, Isabella Rossellini, Daryl Hannah (later cast in Kill Bill) as Mia, and Johnny Depp and Christian Slater (previously cast in True Romance) as Pumpkin. Tarantino has also said that he originally wanted to cast Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love as Lance and Jody, respectively.
Reception
Made on a budget of just $8 million, the film was a major
success, earning $107,928,762 at the U.S. box office and $213,928,762 in total.
Pulp Fiction is found at the top of critics' lists and in popular rankings, at 5 on the IMDB Top 250 List. It boasts a 95% certified fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes and a Metascore of 94 on Metacritic. As of December 29, 2006, Pulp Fiction is 5 on Metacritic.com's list of All-Time High Scores. In 2000, readers of Total Film magazine voted it the 18th greatest comedy film of all time. In Britain (2001), it was voted as the 4th greatest film of all time in a nationwide poll for Channel 4.
In 2005, Time.com named it one of Time Magazine's All-Time 100 Movies. It won the 1994 Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival and the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. It was named Best Picture by the L.A. Film Critics Association and the National Society of Film Critics.
The film was controversial, partly due to graphic violence and partly due to perceived racism, as Jackson and Travolta played moderately sympathetic characters, the former of which freely used the words "motherfucker" and "nigger", along with variations of the words. Also, white characters were repeatedly shown harming black characters (ie, the pawnshop rape, Vincent shooting Marvin, Butch running Marcellus over with a car). However, it should be noted that several white characters are harmed or murdered by other white and black characters as well. The two main characters, Jules and Vincent, are of different races, and not once during the entire film do they acknowledge the race of the other, where most filmmakers would seize the opportunity for racial jokes. Also, Tarantino's character is married to an African-American woman. Some felt the film glamorized violence while others thought Tarantino was criticising excessive violence through a "twisted sense of morality".
In
a suitable twist, Pulp Fiction has itself become something of a pop culture icon.
Several films, TV shows, and video games have referenced the movie's memorable
and minuscule moments.
Awards
Pulp Fiction has both won, and been
nominated for, many awards.
It has won the following accolades:
Year
Award Category — Recipient(s)
1994 Academy Award Best Original Screenplay
— Quentin Tarantino
1994 BAFTA Best Supporting Actor — Samuel L.
Jackson
1994 BAFTA Original ScreenPlay — Quentin Tarantino/Roger Avary
1994 Palme d'Or Quentin Tarantino
1994 Edgar Award Best Motion Picture
Screenplay — Quentin Tarantino
It was nominated for the following Academy Awards:
Best Actor (John Travolta)
Best Supporting Actor (Samuel
L. Jackson)
Best Supporting Actress (Uma Thurman)
Best Director (Quentin
Tarantino)
Best Film Editing (Sally Menke)
Best Picture (Lawrence Bender,
producer)
It was nominated for the following BAFTA awards:[25]
Actress
in Leading Role (Uma Thurman)
Director (Quentin Tarantino)
Michael Balcon
Award (Lawrence Bender and Quentin Tarantino)
Actor in Leading Role (John
Travolta)
Cinematography (Andrzej Sekula)
Editing (Sally Menke)
Sound
(Stephen Hunter Flick/Ken King/Rick Ash/David Zupancic)
Soundtrack
The soundtrack album cover.Main article: Pulp Fiction (soundtrack)
No film
score was composed for Pulp Fiction, with Quentin Tarantino instead using an assortment
of surf music, rock and roll, soul and pop songs. Notable songs include Dick Dale's
rendition of "Misirlou", which is played during the opening credits.
Some of these songs were suggested to Tarantino by his friends Chuck Kelley and
Laura Lovelace, who were credited as Music Consultants. Lovelace also appeared
in the film as "Laura" the waitress.
The soundtrack album, Music from the Motion Picture Pulp Fiction, was released along with the film in 1994. In addition to songs from the film, it contains excerpts of dialogue, such as Jules' "Ezekiel 25:17" and "Royale with Cheese". The album peaked on the Billboard 200 at No. 21. The single, Urge Overkill's cover of the Neil Diamond song, "Girl, You'll Be a Woman Soon", peaked at No. 59.
A two disc collector's edition of the album was issued in 2002, the first disc contained the songs, including five additional tracks; and the second disc was a spoken-word interview with Tarantino.
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