Pulp Fiction (2002, DVD)

The success of Quentin Tarantino's 1992 feature-film debut Reservoir Dogs gave the writer/director some newfound fame in the independent film community. With loads of critical acclaim and an adoring fan base, Tarantino was hot with his sophomore films currently in the works. In 1993, Tarantino's script for Tony Scott's True Romance was a hit with fans and critics even though it wasn't up to par with Reservoir Dogs. In 1994, Tarantino had another script that was later changed by Oliver Stone and other writers for the film Natural Born Killers in which Tarantino decided to move away from the project only to receive story credit.

With a growing cult following, Tarantino was also helping to build careers including for friend Roger Avary for his 1994 feature-length debut film Killing Zoe. Around that same time, Tarantino and Avary were working on stories that would not just be for Tarantino's second film but also one of the greatest films of all-time, Pulp Fiction.

Stories by Tarantino and Avary that turned into a script by Tarantino who also served as director, Pulp Fiction is a non-linear story involving two hit men, an aged boxer, a mob boss and his wife, and many other people in the realm over the course of two days. In comparison to Reservoir Dogs, the film does have a lot of quirky references to pop culture, intense character study, and extreme violence but what sets it apart isn't just its non-linear approach but the development of its characters and the premise of the entire film. Winner of the 1994 Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival, Pulp Fiction not only made Tarantino an iconic filmmaker but would also revive the career of 70s superstar John Travolta while making new stars in Uma Thurman and Samuel L. Jackson. Also starring Tarantino regulars Steve Buscemi, "The Great" Christopher Walken, Harvey Keitel and Tim Roth along with Bruce Willis, Ving Rhames, Amanda Plummer, Maria de Medeiros, Eric Stoltz, Rosanna Arquette, Peter Greene, Frank Whaley, and many more. Pulp Fiction is a full-on masterpiece that remains cool ten years since its release.

The story, sort of, begins when a couple Pumpkin (Tim Roth) and Honey Bunny (Amanda Plummer) discuss robbing places while eating in a diner where they decide to rob. Then the story segues into a different one where two hit men named Jules (Samuel L. Jackson) and Vincent (John Travolta) discuss Vincent's hiatus in Europe where he talks about the differences between European and American culture, notably burgers and hash bars. On their way to a meeting with an associate who has gotten himself into a connection with their boss Marsellus Wallace (Ving Rhames), the boss is going on a trip where Vincent has been asked to take his wife Mia (Uma Thurman) out for a good time. Jules isn't sure it's a good idea since he remembered Marsellus beating up a guy who gave Mia a foot massage. They meet Brett (Frank Whaley) and his friend Marvin (Phil LaMarr) where Jules notices the briefcase they have that Marsellus needs. After killing one of the Brett's friends, Jules goes into a philosophical reading of a text from the bible where he and Vincent kill Brett.

Hours later, Marsellus is talking to an aged, washed-up boxer named Butch (Bruce Willis) who has been asked to throw an upcoming fight he's supposed to have tonight. Vincent and Jules arrive later on with different clothes to bring Marsellus his briefcase, as Vincent gets ready to take Mia on the night on the town. Before he does that, he meets up with his drug buddy Lance (Eric Stoltz) and wife Jody (Rosanna Arquette) for some heroin. High as a kite, Vincent goes on the road and enters the home of the Wallace as he waits for Mia where they go to a restaurant that Vincent as first is amazed by since it's a part 50s diner with all sorts of people dressed as 50s icons. They're served by a waiter (Steve Buscemi) who is Buddy Holly where they ask for their meals in quirky dialogue where Mia orders a $5 milkshake that tastes good and later, there's a dancing contest and Mia wants the trophy so she and Vincent dance and win the contest.

Vincent and Mia are victorious upon their return home where Mia plays a cover of Neil Diamond's Girl, You'll Be A Woman Soon before she accidentally OD's on Vincent's heroin unbeknownst to him where he takes her to Lance and things get crazy. Around that night much later, Butch has a dream about a war captain named Koons ("The Great" Christopher Walken) who tells young Butch about the death of his father and the watch his father had. Butch ends up not throwing the fight as he runs for his life in a cab with a suspicious cab driver named Esmeralda (Angela Jones) who asks him about the fight and the man he killed. Marsellus is angry as he sends Vincent to find him where Butch returns to his motel room with his sweet, na ve girlfriend Fabienne (Maria de Medeiros).

The next morning, Butch is ready to leave town with Fabienne as she forgot to pack his father's watch as he is forced to go to his apartment and get the watch. He finds a gun and a hit man there in which, he kills him, as Butch is ready to leave when suddenly, he comes across Marsellus. After hitting him with his car, Marsellus and Butch get into a scuffle at a pawnshop when the owner, Maynard (Duane Whitaker) knocks them both out.

Maynard calls his friend Zed (Peter Greene) for some fun with Butch and Marsellus tied up and let a man called the Gimp (Stephen Hibbert) watch Butch, as Zed is ready to have some fun with Marsellus. Butch escapes but couldn't bear hearing what Zed and Maynard are doing to Marsellus as he ponders on what to do.

Then the story goes back to the day before with Jules and Vincent's meeting where a man (Alexis Arquette) tries to kill them both but he ends up getting shot. Jules meanwhile sees that the bullets were shot directly at him but he didn't die. Suddenly, Jules and Vincent get into a discussion over divine intervention where Jules accidentally shoots Marvin. They stop at Jules' friend Jimmie (Quentin Tarantino) where they needed help. Jules calls Marsellus who sends his friend the Wolf (Harvey Keitel) to clean things up. After that, the story comes full circle right at the beginning where Jules contemplates his role after replaying the divine intervention he saw in his head.

First and foremost, Tarantino is a writer first and his screenplay for Pulp Fiction is one of the best scripts ever written in the history of cinema. With contributions from Roger Avary, the film's script isn't just filled with witty dialogue that is funny in its pop culture references but also philosophical at times while even being funny in intense scenes. While the script also has the use of the word "n*gger" a lot in the film especially from the mouths of Tarantino, Jackson, Rhames, Whitaker, Greene, and Travolta, it's not meant to be racist but the way people talk to each, notably Jackson and Rhames in their dialogue together.

The genius behind the dialogue is how playful it is and Tarantino is a true genius when it comes to dialogue. He's even more brilliant for the way he approached the story by taking it in a non-linear, episodic format where each story is equally as good while not making the film uneven or inconsistent. There's a pacing in the story that is very relaxing and everything seems in its right place.

Another brilliant aspect in Tarantino's Oscar-award winning screenplay with Avary is its character development and study. The major characters develop not just as fun people but also those who live very dangerously. Even the smaller characters like the Wolf, Captain Koons, Jimmie, and the rest of the supporting characters provide depth to their short time where you not only want to see more of them but really, they play more as part of the story. Any aspiring writer who wants to learn the craft of storytelling should watch Pulp Fiction for its story guidelines, dialogue, and all sorts of ideas. Particularly the character study where we wonder what they will do, what they won't do and what are they aiming for.

If Tarantino's brilliance as a screenwriter is amazing, his ability as a director is equally as potent. He brings in some fine, intense moments where he lets the actor act and have fun while the film serves as an ode to the filmmakers he loved, notably Jean-Luc Godard and the Hong Kong filmmakers. There's a bunch of notable references to that in the film along with his knowledge of pop culture. There's one great moment where Uma Thurman's Mia Wallace draws a square where the square is shown as a playful reference to cinema'spast.

The way Tarantino moves the camera with his steadicam is so powerful where you move and play with the characters while joining some crazed adventure and wondering how this scene is going to be intense but how can you overcome something very heavy at the same time. While the film's violence is extreme along with some of the nature of its characters, it'a meant to be realistic in the way Tarantino sees things. Sure, there are some things that are fun but there are some things that are just gritty in life. In many respects, Tarantino is both a realist and a pop culture connoisseur

This is why Tarantino has been sought out as one of the finest filmmakers in the past 15 years because he knows what an audience would want while giving them some freedom at what they think. Especially in what is in the briefcase where Tarantino said it could be anything you imagine. The most popular theory among fans of the film is something that has something to do with religion with clues like the briefcase's combination number, Jules' bible talk, the bandage on the back of Marsellus' head, and the divine intervention. Then again, it could be a reference to the previous stories of Tarantino in the briefcase. That's what is so enjoyable about Pulp Fiction, it lets you have fun and be part of the film.

Complementing Tarantino's eye-wielding vision is Reservoir Dogs cinematographer Andrezj Sekula for his use of real-time night visions in the exterior scenes with a dash of color while on daytime exterior scenes, there are loads of sunny colors that is given a classical, intimate feel in the way Gordon Willis used his photography for The Godfather. Sekula brings in a lovely, majestic tone to the film's look with help from production designer David Wasco and art director Charles Collum who help bring that gritty Los Angeles look in its outskirt along with some nice, suburban feel in the scenes in the Valley. Helping along with the technical achievements of the film is editor Sally Menke with her fast, inter-cut approach to editing while adding a nice segues to the film's stories for its non-linear approach.

If Pulp Fiction defines cool, then adding to that definition is its amazing soundtrack produced and assembled by Karyn Rachtman. A mix of cuts from the 1960s and the 1970s, the soundtrack is filled with great songs that you'll even be singing as the film defines the tunes themselves. Some cuts like Dusty Springfield's Son Of A Preacher Man, Dick Dale's Misirlou, and the Revels' Comanche are being rediscovered while Dick Dale's career was instantly revived. Even cuts from Ricky Nelson, the Statler Brothers, Maria McKee, and Chuck Berry are notable standouts including a couple of cooler cuts from Kool & the Gang with Jungle Boogie and Al Green's soulful Let's Stay Together. The best cut of the soundtrack is a cover of Neil Diamond's Girl, You'll Be A Woman Soon by Urge Overkill that really is the centerpiece of the soundtrack that not only brought more exposure to the Chicago alt-rockers but proved that Neil Diamond is cool, for life.

Now we come to the film's amazing cast of actors where everyone and I mean everyone shined in their performances. With smaller roles from Phil LaMarr, Frank Whaley, Alexis Arquette, Julia Sweeny, Bronagh Gallagher, Paul Calderon, Angela Jones, Stephen Hibbert, Kathy Griffin (in a cameo role), and the ubiquitous Steve Buscemi as Buddy Holly, that's just the beginning of a great group of actors. Duane Whitaker and Peter Greene are both devilishly fun and perverse as Maynard and Zed, respectively, in their sick, twisted way in a scene that is sick yet you just can't help but watching.

Quentin Tarantino even shines in his performance as Jimmie with his no-tolerance mouth since he plays a guy who might be in trouble but doesn't want trouble while he brings in his best role as an actor with this film. If there were one character I would love to play in this film, it would be the Wolf by Harvey Keitel. Why? The dude is organized, gets right to the point, doesn't talk bullsh*t, doesn't waste time, he's a fast-thinker and hell, he's one hell of a driver. Keitel is the man when it comes to situations like these.

Eric Stoltz is hilarious in his role as Lance, especially in a scene where he's trying to find a book and stuff to save Mia's life while Rosanna Arquette is a hoot with her multiple piercing and one-liners in a very intense scene where she brings some comedic relief that was so needed. Then, you have "The Great" Christopher Walken where the few minutes he had were brilliant to watch, especially with the dialogue he had about how he had to hide the watch where he's just flawless in anything he does.

Tim Roth and Amanda Plummer are both intense in their performances while in an intense scene with Jackson, we see their fear and how restrained they are while being cool in the situation in stellar performances. Maria de Medeiros is rapturously sweet in her role as Fabienne with her na ve, loveable dialogue as she brings a rare innocence to the film's often intense, violent tone. Then you have Ving Rhames who is just menacing with his presence as Marsellus Wallace and in the scene involving with Bruce Willis, Whitaker, Greene, and the Gimp, he has his moment to shine with the line, "I'm a get medieval on your *ss". The conviction and determination he said in that line proved how powerful Rhames is. He's a motherf*cker you don't want to f*ck with, even if he's in drag.

Bruce Willis brings another great performance as the washed-up Butch with his burned out look and witty dialogue while he has some great scenes with de Medeiros as a loveable man while his character, in the Zed/Marsellus scene, is trying to figure out what to do in a situation. Willis proves himself as more than just a film superstar but an actor who can pretty much do more than just action films, which he would show more in The Sixth Sense. Uma Thurman is exquisitely cool in her role as Mia Wallace with her references to pop culture and that cat-look she possessed while she carries amazing chemistry with Travolta, notably their dance. She even has a hilarious moment where she tells this really bad joke that ends up being funny in a bad way in a performance that would put her in the international map.

John Travolta delivers not just his most iconic performance since Saturday Night Fever but his best since the highly underrated 1981 Brian de Palma thriller Blow Out in a role that would give him the comeback he deserved after a slew of bad movies and the even lamer Look Who's Talking films. Here, Travolta delivered in what he knew best, dance and be suave where he brings a classical likeability to his scenes with Thurman while his character is also cool but develops as someone a bit ignorant in a very poignant scene with Samuel L. Jackson. It's not just that Vincent doesn't get it but he's just amazed that Jules is having a moment of clarity and refuses to acknowledge what they just saw, which would prove fatal to him. Travolta would not only get an Oscar nomination for Best Actor but would prove his brilliance in the years to come with some great roles till he became an egomaniac in more recent years with some very awful films.

The film's best performance overall goes to Samuel L. Jackson as Jules. While he plays a cool, cold motherf*cker who has the mentality of a killer, Jackson brings a complexity that is very rare in cinema. He brings a philosophical presence in his scenes when he's about to kill when he quotes Ezekiel 25:17 but when he feels the presence of God, his character starts to change. While remaining the cool man that he is in scenes with Tarantino, Rhames, and Keitel, we see how intellectual he is without conforming to the stereotype most African-American actors usually have to contend with. Jackson brings a smooth development to his character and turns into a moral conscious with the fact that he's a flawed man that provides more depth into his role. Not only did he get supporting actor nominations for this role but also he would become a superstar after this while remaining one of the most diverse and compelling actors of his generation. Many people think Pulp Fiction is about Travolta but in truth, the film really belongs to Samuel L. Jackson.

Ten years after it won the Palme d'Or at the 1994 Cannes Film Festival, Pulp Fiction isn't just a landmark film for independent films but also would prove that there's an audience for low-budget, innovative films with offbeat storylines and realistic characters. While Tarantino's style has often imitated in the years to come, his influence hasn't been duplicated as he evolved more into an auteur with a vision that is unparalleled with those in his generation.

Pulp Fiction isn't just one of the best films of the 1990s but also one of the greatest films of all-time as its currently # 16 in the IMDB list of Best Movies of All-Time. Though it lost to Forrest Gump at the Oscars, Pulp Fiction proved to have more of longevity than Robert Zemekis' film about a simple-minded man did. It's one of those movies everyone has to see, depending on what type of film you liked. There s something for everyone in Pulp Fiction and to this day, it hasn't dated and like Fonzie, it's still cool.

QT Reviews:

Reservoir Dogs (1992):

http://www.epinions.com/content_146698702468

True Romance (1993):

(Coming Soon)

Natural Born Killers (1994):

(Coming Soon)

From Dusk Till Dawn (1996):

http://www.epinions.com/content_116924714628

Jackie Brown (1997):

http://www.epinions.com/content_191119593092

Kill Bill (2003/2004):

(Coming Soon)

Grindhouse (2007):

http://www.epinions.com/content_345840062084