If you’ve been following the progress so far, you’ll know that the next installment in the remembering of Quentin Tarantino’s movies is the utterly brilliant :
Released in 1994 in a whirlwind of controversy that still hadn’t quite died down from “Reservoir Dogs”, Quentin’s second film as writer / director proved that not everyone suffers from the dreaded “second album” curse.
The IMDB lists the films plot as:
“The lives of two mob hit men, a boxer, a gangster’s wife, and a pair of diner bandits intertwine in four tales of violence and redemption.”
Not much of a description when outlining the plot to one of the most influencial pieces of cinema to date. But as I’ll try to highlight along the way, some of QT’s best work comes from the stories, characters and dialogue. Plot is just there as a studio executive’s box that needs ticking.
It’s both blamed and praised equally for the come backs of Bruce Willis and John Travolta who you may remember from such woefullness as the “Look Who’s Talking” films. Up to the time of Pulp Fiction millions would have been forgiven for thinking they were finished. It also gave the world Samuel L. Jackson. Now, he had of course been a working actor before that, but I think it’s fair to say that we all took proper notice of him when he put on the Afro, balck suit and gave the speech about striking down upon thee.
As I mentioned in the “Reservoir Dogs” bit, Tarantino once again employs the story telling technique of jumping among the film’s time line. But he takes it a few steps further by jumping within the time lines of each of the 4 story lines, all the while working to the climax of the film when they all come together in the diner, which is where we started off in the first place.
The opening scene of the two diner robbers is played again at the end, but we get to see how it came to be and what was going on outside of their booth before they launched their attack. If you watch the two scenes back to back, you’ll notice differences in dialogue and character placement. This wasn’t a continuity mistake, but rather a purposeful attempt to highlight the fact that the same event can be seen differently through different eyes.
Aside from the story lines, characters and overall genius the film gave us great moments.
The cameo from Christopher Walken as he gives Butch the origin story of his Father’s watch for example. Urban legend would inform us that Mr Walken strolled on to the set with his lines memorized and delivered that entire scene in one take, then went home. I’m sure it happened a little differently to that, but I won’t bother looking for proof because I just want to believe it.
The suitcase that Jules and Vincent are chasing down for their boss Marsellus, and what it contains. All we get is an orangy gold glows when it is opened, without seeing what it is and without being told either. Urban legend would have us believe that it is the soul of a never mentioned crime boss nemesis of Marsellus. It would also try to convince us that the band aid worn on the back of the neck of Marsellus is where said nemesis removed his soul. Again I have never tried to look for proof to the contrary, I’d also love this to be true.
And then of course there is the dialogue:
“Where is my Honda?”
“I’m sorry baby, I had to smash that Honda”
“Who’s motorcycle is this?”
“It’s not a motorcycle baby, it’s a chopper”
“Who’s chopper is this?
“It’s Zed’s chopper baby”
“Who is Zed?”
“Zed’s dead, baby”
I’d also love to think that this is where Samuel L Jackson’s love of the words “Motherfucker” and “Repugnant” began.
“… picking up itty bits of brain and skull on account of your dumbass. This is some fucked up repugnant shit… … … I’m a mushroom cloud laying motherfucker, motherfucker. I’m the Guns of the Navarone… …”
There are so many great things about this movie that I can’t possibly list them all. The gangsters, the violence, the drugs, the 50′s diner dancing competitions the Wolf who fixes problems, and the gimps.
Quentin was accused of giving glory to the violence and drugs, but what he did was treat the lives of the gangsters as that of a normal Joe. They spoke about normal everyday things when on their way to a hit. They laughed at stuff they found funny and panicked when shit hit the fan. These were ordinary people living lives extraordinary to the rest of us. They did their jobs when they had to and when they weren’t working, they were normal people again. Normal people aren’t fun in films like this, so we focus on their time at work.
That’s my assumption anyway.
Again, the use of music in this film made the soundtrack essential to your music collection as it was as much a part of the film as any other moment or character.
During the climas of the movie when the diner robbers are doing their thing, but get interrupted by Jules who was waiting for Vincent to return from the men’s room, Jules offers the robber his wallet. And at that moment, the character and the film was summed up by the stitching on the wallet:
“Go ahead, reach in there and get it”
“Which one is it?”
“The one that says “Bad Mutha Fucker”
I’ll admit that up until that moment in cinema history, I had never really understood “geeks” who collected movie memorabilia and merchandise from their favourite films.
But that was the moment that made me seek out and acquire my very own “Bad Mutha Fucker” wallet.
‘Til next time…
Ummmmm Brucey
Ok, your best review yet. I can tell you love this movie.
I was about 16 and there was some kind of house party in a friend’s house. We sat around the TV to watch Pulp Fiction - most of them had seen it before, but I had not. As they laughed and quoted and talked among themselves, I gradually worked my way from behind the couch where I was standing, to a lying down position, one foot from the TV. I wanted to see every blood spatter, I wanted to hear every ‘motherfucker’, I wanted to wallow in some of the greatest dialogue that has ever been in a movie. As Pulp Fiction played out, I completely forgot there were other people in the room. I was sitting beside Marvin when he got shot in the face, I was helping Steve Buschemi take orders at the diner, I was standing over the young Butch when Christopher Walken told him where his father’s watch had been, and yes, I was in that gimp mask.
Pulp Fiction will always be Tarantino’s masterpiece. I adored Kill Bill (both volumes) and I think Reservoir Dogs is among the greatest ensemble pieces ever, but Inglourious Basterds will have to be something very special if it wants to compete with Pulp Fiction for the title of best Tarantino film.
Jelly:
Take a cold shower.
Darren:
I really love this movie, but I fear I’m just sounding gay for Quentin.
It’s one of those films that you can’t just jump into half way through. Even having seen it over a dozen times I’ll still have to catch the very first frame to truly appreciate it.
“Don’t even try to tell me about foot massages. I am the king of foot massages. I got my technique down, I don’t be tickling or nothing”
Class.
Ah Pulp Fiction - I think the one movie in my youth that kicked off more discussions than any other.
I went to see this in the cinema with a bunch of friends. I remember coming out of it and we all were looking at each otehr knowing we had just seen something completely different and cool and original and weird and cool and exciting and bloody and cool and disturbing.
That suitcase thing sure brought up some great answers.
1) The popular theory that is was Marcellus soul. Yes the plaster was supposed to be where the soul was extracted, the kids in the apartment were ‘Satans helpers’. Evidence to support this are the combination of the suitcase (yes ’666′) and the fact that Jules and Vincent were saved by the ‘miracle’ (they were saving a soul, it was divine intervention).
2) The diamonds from Resevoir Dogs. QT loves linking his movies together so this is one I knida liked.
3) The key to Zion. OK so this is a recent one but bear with me. Vincent and Jules are agents - they are able to dodge bullets! Butch is a bad ass with a katana, Marsellas is a weird ass kind of mix between Morpheus and the Architect. Yeah the Matrix came WAY after Pulp Fiction but maybe we are all in the matrix huh?
4) When asked about the contents of the case, Tarantino once remarked, “Two lightbulbs and a battery. Next question?”