This was the movie that started my cinema obsession. I saw it four times in the movie theater and was obsessed with it as a 17 year old high school student. I never bothered to delve deeper into the meaning until I read one of Roger Ebert's books "The Great Movies" in which he called "Pulp Fiction" a movie about "Fate, Choice and Destiny." I started thinking about the fact that out of the two hitmen characters, Jules is the one that gets out alive. At first glance, the movie doesn't seem to have a point and it's just a slice of life or "fiction." I say Ebert was on to something here when you think about the lengths Tarantino goes to, in order to explain "the gold watch." Without "the gold watch" Vincent Vega may still be alive, Marsellus Wallace never get's raped, and Bruce Willis doesn't wind up killing someone. I ultimately think it's a move about redemption (Jules) and the myriad paths of the choices we make in life. (The Gold Watch). Just one man's humble opinion.
Yep, and butch was betraying his family values cheating his way out, breaking a pact and stealing all the money, he had his option to redeem himself saving Marcellus from an injustice faith. If u notice his path before killing zed's minion is full of watches, Willis respected his family name making a moral choice. I saw that scene when I was 10 and gave me nightmares but made me also realise that cinema could be dangerous, creative, exciting and a form of art.
Well Bruce Willis did kill someone in the boxing match he won. He killed that dude Floyd. For seeing it 4 times and being obsessed with it idk how u couldn’t catch that.
The less plot the better with Tarantino. I love the focus and attention he brings to his characters...feeling "real," as you put it. I've always thought of Quentin Tarantino's characters as real people who are completely unaware that they're in a genre film, which is why they're allowed mundane conversations about cheeseburgers or TV pilots or potbellies- completely non-perfunctory dialogue and situations- but with some of these characters subconsciously coming to realize it throughout the course of the film, which is why we often see characters wanting to "leave the life" like with Jules here, or Beatrix Kiddo, or Django in a way, etc.
Stellar review. 'Pulp' will always be QT's most definitive, influential, nuanced, and substantive work and you illustrate that point beautifully here. I challenge the notion that everyone loves Kill Bill, though. I've kinda loathed it for years and viewed it as the beginning of the overly indulgent, borderline plagiarist Tarantino that lives on to this day. Even in his best latter work, I find myself cringing a couple of times.
I used to think that Samuel L Jackson was the main star but it was actually Travolta. Jackson was the supporting actor. However after seeing the movie several times I finally understood how the movie was centered more around Travolta.
To imply that there even is a "main character" to such a multi-faceted work is sort of an unnecessary imposition. You're correct to say that a good chunk of the story is definitely centered around Vincent, though.
Pulp is a morality tale. Two roads diverging. Samual Jackson’s character takes the high road, Travolta’s continues with the life. The quality of mercy in the restaurant robbery is transformative.
+deepfocuslens So underrated indeed. I'm a dude and what I appreciated the most was the dialogue the characters had. It wasn't squeaky clean because they were girls. In real life, girls have a potty mouth too!
The term 'pulp fiction' comes from magazines and books made from cheap wood pulp in contrast to glossy magazines. So it's not meant to be taken as high art (or haute cuisine if we stay with kitchen analogies), as you rightfully pointed out. To me, the film is like a Big Kahuna Burger: tasty junk food and one of the quintessential 1990s staple dishes, comparable with The Big Lebowski or Out Of Sight. There's a Michael Caine film from the early 1970s called Pulp, scenes of which Tarantino alludes to in PF. It's an ironic detective story set on the Mediterranean island of Malta. It has the same meta-perspective on a genre that it claims to be part of.
If Mia had died from the o/d, Wallace probably would have punished VV in a similar way to how he punishes the rapists. That would have been his punishment for "giving" her heroin. By saving Mia, he avoids this fate, but he then gets shot by Butch, also because of his addiction, and the constant need to try to poop that it causes.
Great review of a fine film! My favs include The Deer Hunter, Rosemary's Baby, Notorious, Aliens, American Hustle, Barton Fink, Fitzcarraldo, Jaws, Catch 22, Metropolis, Modern Times, Python's Holy Grail, Amelie, 2001, et al. Love this YT channel! I'm subscribed 4 sure.
Interesting your comment about the moral center, how all the little seemingly unrelated stories tie together, the characters seemingly passing by each other as pedestrians do affect each other. Well done review!
Like you, I am quite fond of the Butch sequence--in part because I'd read a great deal about the film before actually seeing it, and that segment contained the one event that genuinely surprised me. Also, I agree that people who spend a lot of time wondering what's in that briefcase are wasting their time focusing on the wrong things...but having said that, I have a theory: From the first time I saw the film, I concluded that the light that shines on a person's face when they look inside the briefcase is actually reflected light...probably off a spectacularly valuable piece of jewelry made primarily out of gold. In Tarantino's script, Marcellus is described as speaking in a voice that sounds like a cross between a gangster and a king, so I figure that the item in the briefcase is a crown. Gold, king...crown. It kinda makes sense.
@@QM571 but then why would Tim Roth at the end say "is that what I think it is?" Why would he know what marsellus' soul looks like? A crown on the other hand is recognisable
@@euphoriaggaminghd Marcellus is a legendary God-like figure in the criminal underworld, he runs LA. Roth is a serial criminal he's def heard of him before. Maybe it just symbolizes the opportunity for power.
I really like your reviews. English is not my native but still I can see that you choose the words that are perfect for describing the emotion and so on :D thx.
I like how the thing that saves Wallace and redeems butch is a Japanese sword, when the military man that talked to butch as a kid was talking trash about Asians calling them racial slurs
Pulp Fiction is one of those films that only seem to get better with subsequent viewings - unlike say *cough* TDK *cough* which in mind gets worse. As much as I like Tarantino I have to say that Pulp Fiction is on a pedestal of all his films and he's yet to match it - in other words his other movies pale compared to it. The two that gets closest to it are ironically his first, Reservoir Dogs, and his latest, The Hateful Eight. It's all about the interesting characters and relatable dialogue. Inglorious Basterds bears Eli Roth's tasteless touch whereas Kill Bill almost becomes a parody of itself at some parts and the over-the-top action scenes kills it. Also what kills Django Unchained in the last 20 minutes. Modern hip hop in the wild west is just too much - even for Tarantino. No such issues in Pulp Fiction. Here's what's interesting with Pulp Fiction: I sometimes say that the trick is not that you tell a good story, it's *how* you tell a story. Tarantino is really good at making even what appears to be totally banal and even mundane events appear interesting. Sometimes they're a red herring, other times vital clues or plot elements. That's a rare quality. The story of Pulp Fiction is remarkably thin on its own but his way of telling it in a non-chronological way, tying the individual stories together around some pivotal events with no main protagonist sets it apart. Again, none of his other films can match it in this regard. Btw, Tarantino borrowed this non-chronological technique from 60's French cinema and the French New Wave. The 1964 film "Bande a part" even was the inspiration for the name of Tarantino's production company name A Band Apart. This is another strength of Tarantino's - his ability to incorporate and revive themes and techniques long forgotten by the movie going public's mind. All this stems from his love for cinema from all over the world, all genres and all eras. Most other film makers are remarkably limited in their influences and scoff at the B-movies or cult cinema Tarantino admires as much as the widely respected classics. I think this above all made him an unique film maker quite unlike the ones that came before him. One thing Pulp Fiction revived was the film with many famous actors in it, something which we haven't seen since the disaster films of the 1970's which made Hollywood stay well clear of this concept for almost 20 years. Rather than having these actors appear in some forgettable cameo part they appear as truly memorable characters who become integral to the story. Eric Stolz, Harvey Keitel and Christopher Walken are minor characters and yet their parts enhance the flavor of the film by imprinting their own stamp. They could almost have their own story or movie. Several "cult actors" appear too. Very Tarantino and highly enjoyable for those who recognize them. At the time it was also generally thought to be impossible to make a movie people would want to see without having major A-list actors, and without them as the protagonists. Back in 1994 only Bruce Willis was an "A-lister" whereas John Travolta, while famous, had been going downhill since his heyday in the late 70's. The opening shot is brilliant on its own, it could work as a short film. The opening title also bears Tarantino's touch. 60's surf music is suddenly crudely replaced with 70's funk. One would think something like that would never work, but it does. Somehow he pulls it off. Several memes were born out of Pulp Fiction too. When I was in France some years back I actually went inside a McDonald's to see if they really call their QP's with cheese, Royale with cheese. They do. I was in Amsterdam, The Netherlands two years back but never checked if they put mayonnaise on their fries there - heck who'd go to a fast food joint in a place full of great beer, epic bars and "coffee shops" ? I "dig" Amsterdam though. So people still talk about what's in the briefcase? Sigh. Check out the imdb - home of the worst weirdos and social misfits - and all their crazy speculation threads there. Some believe the briefcase contains Marcellus Wallace's *soul* (!) and that the plaster on his neck covers the hole where they removed it from (!!). You couldn't make these things up if you tried. These people should go speculate about every episode of Lost or something they're "smart enough" to "get". Fools. One thing I have noticed though which may or may not have been intended by Tarantino, is the bullets missing both Travolta and Jackson. While the former dismisses it as mere bizarre luck that doesn't mean anything the latter interprets it as a warning and divine intervention. Later, or actually earlier since the film is told non-chronologically, we see that Travolta is shot dead by Bruce Willis's character whereas Jackson isn't around since he has retired from the job as a hitman/enforcer for Marcellus Wallace. I'm not a religious person, fact is my position is apatheism (agnostic) but I wonder if this was intended as a real warning in the film. It certainly plays out that way. I find the "did God prevent the bullets from hitting" dialogue in the car hilarious too. Right in the middle of mentioning this Travolta accidentally shoots Marvin in the face. Apparently God didn't stop *that* bullet or something like that from happening. The irony! An atheist would laugh his/her ass off. It wasn't even his intention to kill Marvin he just accidentally fired. :) I'm not sure this was intended by Tarantino either but it's brilliant! The irony given the previous event and Jules Winfield (Samuel L. Jackson's character) talking about God stopping bullets. Pulp Fiction is full of memorable and brilliant scenes like these. Travolta's evening with Thurman and his monologue in the mirror does reflect a lot of men falling for women they know they shouldn't/can't have a relationship with. You have to tell yourself to end it there and not take it further. Very relatable if you've been in a similar situation. :) Vincent Vega (Travolta) has a habit of going to the bathroom a lot. Four times in the movie and the last time was his undoing... A hitman that reads books but doesn't watch tv. Only in a Tarantino movie. Enough praise and I want to conclude by saying that I watched Pulp Fiction two weeks ago to cap off a hard day of studying. Watched for half an hour, then micro sleep made me close my eyes but I've seen the movie so many times the scenes played out inside my head anyway as I listened. Later I had short naps but whenever I woke up I felt I was right back on track and realized how great the scene is. Few films can do the same thing to me when I'm tired. Last of all: Pulp Fiction is easily better than both "Forest Gump" and "The Shawshank Redemption" - all of which were nominated for the Best Picture Oscar that year. Pulp Fiction should have been the winner the same way Midnight Cowboy was in 1969. Time to watch your review again. :)
I want to hear your thoughts on Django Unchained......I really love that film and there are filmmakers like Spike Lee who are in your league here. So it would be great if you could introduce your POV ....and of course the critique of White Savior exhibited in the movie is fairly obvious but I want to see other layers of your take.
I remember when PF came out and what a hhuuuuggggeee deal it was. Saw it on tape fresh- wasn't that impressed. In retrospect however, I consider it and also enjoy it as a sort of "Nevermind" of its medium.
Reservoir Dogs as like a heist movie without the heist. Idk I kind of feel like the pieces are evenly split and Bruce Willis’s character is the protagonist.
Besides Pulp Fiction, Uma Thurman and Maria de Medeiros (Bruce Willis' girlfriend) were also in another movie together: the erotic NC-17 rated 1990 drama "Henry & June," directed by Philip Kaufman. You may also want to review Kaufman's other two masterworks, The Right Stuff and Unbearable Lightness of Being.
I think Andy Warhol is the Andy Warhol of movies. Tarantino is more like the Bob Dylan of movies. That is, Dylan having gone electric, not his folk persona. Dennis Hopper once called Tarantino the Mark Twain of movies. I’ll take that. And I think he is subtle in that he’s deceptively bombastic. Yeah, Kill Bill is one of his lesser movies, for sure. But Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is almost better than Pulp Fiction. I need to see your review of that.
Just watched the movie again, such a Great flick. If Jack Rabbit Slims was a fictional place that Tarantino dreamed up for the movie, that alone was genius and surprised it didn't materialize after the fact. Vince was perplexed of the $5 shake, and Buddy Holly was a terrible waiter lol
You should review more classic gangster movies. I notice you like to review old classic films like citizen kane vertigo and even mention some silent films. Have you ever seen little caesar which most consider the grandfather of gangster films. Which was followed by the public enemy and scarface. Edward g robinson is considered the first hollywood gangster actor. Without little caesar we wouldnt have movies like the godfather, pulp fiction, goodfellas, scarface, ect.
Would you be able to review some of Peter Weir's films? I find him to be a brilliant and versatile director, with one of his films, 'Fearless' currently my No. 1 film off all time. I'd highly recommend watching it. Beautifully tragic and life-affirming.
The Universe - meaning Tarantino, who can play God in his own movie - lets Samuel L. Jackson live because though he has been walking a narrow, violent path, now he wants to "walk the earth," meaning explore spirituality and grow. The Universe saves Bruce Willis because much against his own interests he feels compelled to rescue Marcellus, showing that he has a core of decency. But The Universe kills John Travolta because he has no interest in changing or improving, as shown by his annoyed bafflement at Samuel L. Jackson's attempt to explain what he intends to do
Would love to know more about your thoughts on The Hateful Eight from saying that you "loved it" as I've found people extremely divided on it, saying that the violence there was not deserved, and saying its one of the worst of Tarantino's films. I too really enjoyed the movie, and while I wouldn't put it above Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, or Inglorious Basterds, its still right up there. Could you please elaborate your thoughts?
Maggie i saw this film when i was 9 years old in 1995 sssh dont tell my mum. She got in trouble with my dad for showing to me at such a young age. When i first saw it i loved it. But didnt watch it again until 2007. Then i bought it on dvd in 2008. Now i watch it at least 2 to 3 times a year. It is one of my favourite films of all time. I still think its Quentin's best film. Btw his violence in his films he doesnt condone. He saw an interview with him that he is commentating on violence in society. Btw i know this whole script off by heart.
Philip Moore Obviously he won't condone the violence in his films. If he did, we wouldn't get to see the glamorized barbarity in the rest of his stuff. ;-) He loves to explore it almost sadistically. Quinton's a slippery one. Also, cool story. I watched Pulp when I was 10, expecting a Spanish Western.
Great review! One of my favorites. Also, now that the criterion is out, would you consider reviewing Punch-Drunk love? I'm interested to hear your thoughts on it.
Thanks. Wasn't planning on review Punch-Drunk Love. It's not one of my favorite PTA films. But I would be very open to watching it again. Perspective change.
I don't trust anybody who watches Pulp Fiction and can't find a moral center. It's one of the most blatantly moralistic films of all time, let alone in Tarantino's filmography - and that's NOT a bad thing! [See: Scorsese.] It's written all over the divergent fates of Vincent and Jules. Anyone still in denial is either superimposing their own prejudice against Quentin's later work onto his earlier stuff or they're simply not paying attention to what's happening on the screen.
Yes, Pulp Fiction is fantastic, but more than that it is just so unique. And even today, it still is -- his movies are tough to copy. And I definitely agree with you on his later works as being (unnecessarily) a bit over the top, at least in some sequences. We part ways on The Hateful Eight, though. I thought it was almost a predictable Tarantino film, if there is such a thing. There was never any doubt that Samuel Jackson was going to be the "hero", for example. While it was still a very watchable movie, I was disappointed in it. I think it is his worst movie thus far.
godblessyou for not including music. The mirror has me totally baffled - is this the ultimate irony? Your body language speaks volumes. If only we knew somebody who could write words on a page, with a Sharpie...you stepped right out of the categories with the deempt - you don't have to be a beautiful person ever, anymore. Please make a three minute movie. Lighting, dialogue, the works. Perhaps you know a competent actor. I don't. No offense, you can write but you can't ignore the camera. Impeccable actors become what they portray. Not even Leo knows this. Ah, Hollywood, the Big Lie.
+deepfocuslens I have watched the movie great review. I really appreciate the way you explain a movie amazing. I like to know from you whose physical acting is best and whose emotional acting is best ?
My apologies - the crying bit (confessions!) was superb acting. No debate. I guess it was genuine.Funny how that works. Can you cry if you, for instance, talk about your dad? On "cue" as they say in this big Lying Glacier of a town? Hollywood lies, lies, lies. Write. Act. Film. Simple.
I want you to know that I have seen pulp fiction and yes hi I am not a huge fan of Quinturn Tino at all and I don’t white kill Bill at all when you said every one likes that movie and not everybody does I don’t like your bill at all but there’s one what movies I do like a lot that Quentin Tarantino has presented in that movie is in fact Hostile I don’t know if you like horror films or any like that but I want to recommend that you do a movie review on hostel and the Warriors you might like that one the doctor of that is a fact is Walter Hill it has something to do with the tales from the crypt episodes so I want to recommend that you review Those movies at that too the Warriors and hostile and no one‘s that came after it probably I don’t know if you like her films or not but I said couple your videos and I guess I will consider being of your and friend and I’m subscriber to you now because I like your content and I will be watching and no I don’t mean anything perverted I assume that you’re married
deepfocuslens My girlfriend loves it, and while I liked it at first, I end up hating it the more I think about it. I tried watching it again today, but it makes me cringe. XD I can agree that the movie has themes it can explore, but the execution on how the director "explores" those themes is just so bad it's annoying. In my opinion, of course. XD I do want to see his movie "The Holy Mountain," though.
deepfocuslens couldn't agree more 😉. Also great review. I Don't have any people my age who have the appreciation, love, and obsession for film I do, so it's really nice hearing what you have to say.
"But bacons tastes GOOD. Pork chops tastes GOOD."
This was the movie that started my cinema obsession. I saw it four times in the movie theater and was obsessed with it as a 17 year old high school student. I never bothered to delve deeper into the meaning until I read one of Roger Ebert's books "The Great Movies" in which he called "Pulp Fiction" a movie about "Fate, Choice and Destiny." I started thinking about the fact that out of the two hitmen characters, Jules is the one that gets out alive. At first glance, the movie doesn't seem to have a point and it's just a slice of life or "fiction." I say Ebert was on to something here when you think about the lengths Tarantino goes to, in order to explain "the gold watch." Without "the gold watch" Vincent Vega may still be alive, Marsellus Wallace never get's raped, and Bruce Willis doesn't wind up killing someone. I ultimately think it's a move about redemption (Jules) and the myriad paths of the choices we make in life. (The Gold Watch). Just one man's humble opinion.
I adore this fucking comment. Bravo, kid!
Yep, and butch was betraying his family values cheating his way out, breaking a pact and stealing all the money, he had his option to redeem himself saving Marcellus from an injustice faith. If u notice his path before killing zed's minion is full of watches, Willis respected his family name making a moral choice. I saw that scene when I was 10 and gave me nightmares but made me also realise that cinema could be dangerous, creative, exciting and a form of art.
Well Bruce Willis did kill someone in the boxing match he won. He killed that dude Floyd. For seeing it 4 times and being obsessed with it idk how u couldn’t catch that.
Total moral center. Especially with Jules struggling and questioning his life. And Bruce saving someone that wants him dead. There is heart there.
Not only heart, but a soul as well...
What about Vincent's monologue on importance of being loyal?
The less plot the better with Tarantino. I love the focus and attention he brings to his characters...feeling "real," as you put it. I've always thought of Quentin Tarantino's characters as real people who are completely unaware that they're in a genre film, which is why they're allowed mundane conversations about cheeseburgers or TV pilots or potbellies- completely non-perfunctory dialogue and situations- but with some of these characters subconsciously coming to realize it throughout the course of the film, which is why we often see characters wanting to "leave the life" like with Jules here, or Beatrix Kiddo, or Django in a way, etc.
Potbelly convo was to imply she was pregnant, hence her craving all that food
I just finally saw Pulp Fiction, and it was a blast to experience!
I envy you.
Great review as always. Pulp Fiction is a gem of cinema, and it is by far my favorite movie of Quentin Tarantino.
Stellar review. 'Pulp' will always be QT's most definitive, influential, nuanced, and substantive work and you illustrate that point beautifully here. I challenge the notion that everyone loves Kill Bill, though. I've kinda loathed it for years and viewed it as the beginning of the overly indulgent, borderline plagiarist Tarantino that lives on to this day. Even in his best latter work, I find myself cringing a couple of times.
I used to think that Samuel L Jackson was the main star but it was actually Travolta. Jackson was the supporting actor. However after seeing the movie several times I finally understood how the movie was centered more around Travolta.
Agree
To imply that there even is a "main character" to such a multi-faceted work is sort of an unnecessary imposition. You're correct to say that a good chunk of the story is definitely centered around Vincent, though.
I love this movie! One of my all time favorites. It's the type of film you have to watch a few times to fully appreciate.
Have you seen Denis Villeneuve's Arrival? It is great science fiction and drama, i loved it!
I love Pulp Fiction, one of my favourites.
Pulp is a morality tale. Two roads diverging. Samual Jackson’s character takes the high road, Travolta’s continues with the life. The quality of mercy in the restaurant robbery is transformative.
Great review, my psychedelic homegirl. I just want to give Death Proof a shout out. I'm one of the few people who enjoys that film.
I love that movie so much. Practically have it memorized. Very underrated.
+deepfocuslens So underrated indeed. I'm a dude and what I appreciated the most was the dialogue the characters had. It wasn't squeaky clean because they were girls. In real life, girls have a potty mouth too!
metalmanny666 Oh yeah! This is very true. The way I talk makes the girls in Death Proof look like blushing old southern women.
+deepfocuslens I've heard your potty mouth on Twitter. It's fucking great.
I loved Death Proof too .. it's a symbol of female empowerment
The term 'pulp fiction' comes from magazines and books made from cheap wood pulp in contrast to glossy magazines. So it's not meant to be taken as high art (or haute cuisine if we stay with kitchen analogies), as you rightfully pointed out. To me, the film is like a Big Kahuna Burger: tasty junk food and one of the quintessential 1990s staple dishes, comparable with The Big Lebowski or Out Of Sight.
There's a Michael Caine film from the early 1970s called Pulp, scenes of which Tarantino alludes to in PF. It's an ironic detective story set on the Mediterranean island of Malta. It has the same meta-perspective on a genre that it claims to be part of.
If Mia had died from the o/d, Wallace probably would have punished VV in a similar way to how he punishes the rapists. That would have been his punishment for "giving" her heroin. By saving Mia, he avoids this fate, but he then gets shot by Butch, also because of his addiction, and the constant need to try to poop that it causes.
The moral centre of the Movie to me, is the final redemption of each character within their own twisted storyline.
yes its totally about redemption especially that diner scene at the end with jules and ringo
My God she articulate most of my sentiments on pulp fiction and educated me on so much i didn't know
I agree. The suitcase is a lot of wasted energy.
I love this movie!! It’s such a masterpiece and one of my favorite movies and one of the greatest movies ever made. It’s so darn well made.
Great review of a fine film!
My favs include The Deer Hunter, Rosemary's Baby, Notorious, Aliens, American Hustle, Barton Fink, Fitzcarraldo, Jaws, Catch 22, Metropolis, Modern Times, Python's Holy Grail, Amelie, 2001, et al.
Love this YT channel! I'm subscribed 4 sure.
Hands down one of my favorite movies. Love this one.
Interesting your comment about the moral center, how all the little seemingly unrelated stories tie together, the characters seemingly passing by each other as pedestrians do affect each other. Well done review!
Like you, I am quite fond of the Butch sequence--in part because I'd read a great deal about the film before actually seeing it, and that segment contained the one event that genuinely surprised me.
Also, I agree that people who spend a lot of time wondering what's in that briefcase are wasting their time focusing on the wrong things...but having said that, I have a theory:
From the first time I saw the film, I concluded that the light that shines on a person's face when they look inside the briefcase is actually reflected light...probably off a spectacularly valuable piece of jewelry made primarily out of gold. In Tarantino's script, Marcellus is described as speaking in a voice that sounds like a cross between a gangster and a king, so I figure that the item in the briefcase is a crown. Gold, king...crown. It kinda makes sense.
shakestopher I like the theory that it's Wallace's soul.
I've read about that one, it works.
@@QM571 but then why would Tim Roth at the end say "is that what I think it is?" Why would he know what marsellus' soul looks like? A crown on the other hand is recognisable
@@euphoriaggaminghd Marcellus is a legendary God-like figure in the criminal underworld, he runs LA. Roth is a serial criminal he's def heard of him before. Maybe it just symbolizes the opportunity for power.
This movie changed cinema. I still remember the first time I saw this movie. I think I was 13 when this movie came out.
I really like your reviews. English is not my native but still I can see that you choose the words that are perfect for describing the emotion and so on :D thx.
What’s your native language?
@@jaketheadventurer2772 turkish
I like how the thing that saves Wallace and redeems butch is a Japanese sword, when the military man that talked to butch as a kid was talking trash about Asians calling them racial slurs
Pulp Fiction is one of those films that only seem to get better with subsequent viewings - unlike say *cough* TDK *cough* which in mind gets worse. As much as I like Tarantino I have to say that Pulp Fiction is on a pedestal of all his films and he's yet to match it - in other words his other movies pale compared to it. The two that gets closest to it are ironically his first, Reservoir Dogs, and his latest, The Hateful Eight. It's all about the interesting characters and relatable dialogue. Inglorious Basterds bears Eli Roth's tasteless touch whereas Kill Bill almost becomes a parody of itself at some parts and the over-the-top action scenes kills it. Also what kills Django Unchained in the last 20 minutes. Modern hip hop in the wild west is just too much - even for Tarantino. No such issues in Pulp Fiction.
Here's what's interesting with Pulp Fiction: I sometimes say that the trick is not that you tell a good story, it's *how* you tell a story. Tarantino is really good at making even what appears to be totally banal and even mundane events appear interesting. Sometimes they're a red herring, other times vital clues or plot elements. That's a rare quality. The story of Pulp Fiction is remarkably thin on its own but his way of telling it in a non-chronological way, tying the individual stories together around some pivotal events with no main protagonist sets it apart. Again, none of his other films can match it in this regard. Btw, Tarantino borrowed this non-chronological technique from 60's French cinema and the French New Wave. The 1964 film "Bande a part" even was the inspiration for the name of Tarantino's production company name A Band Apart. This is another strength of Tarantino's - his ability to incorporate and revive themes and techniques long forgotten by the movie going public's mind. All this stems from his love for cinema from all over the world, all genres and all eras. Most other film makers are remarkably limited in their influences and scoff at the B-movies or cult cinema Tarantino admires as much as the widely respected classics. I think this above all made him an unique film maker quite unlike the ones that came before him.
One thing Pulp Fiction revived was the film with many famous actors in it, something which we haven't seen since the disaster films of the 1970's which made Hollywood stay well clear of this concept for almost 20 years. Rather than having these actors appear in some forgettable cameo part they appear as truly memorable characters who become integral to the story. Eric Stolz, Harvey Keitel and Christopher Walken are minor characters and yet their parts enhance the flavor of the film by imprinting their own stamp. They could almost have their own story or movie. Several "cult actors" appear too. Very Tarantino and highly enjoyable for those who recognize them.
At the time it was also generally thought to be impossible to make a movie people would want to see without having major A-list actors, and without them as the protagonists. Back in 1994 only Bruce Willis was an "A-lister" whereas John Travolta, while famous, had been going downhill since his heyday in the late 70's.
The opening shot is brilliant on its own, it could work as a short film. The opening title also bears Tarantino's touch. 60's surf music is suddenly crudely replaced with 70's funk. One would think something like that would never work, but it does. Somehow he pulls it off.
Several memes were born out of Pulp Fiction too. When I was in France some years back I actually went inside a McDonald's to see if they really call their QP's with cheese, Royale with cheese. They do. I was in Amsterdam, The Netherlands two years back but never checked if they put mayonnaise on their fries there - heck who'd go to a fast food joint in a place full of great beer, epic bars and "coffee shops" ? I "dig" Amsterdam though.
So people still talk about what's in the briefcase? Sigh. Check out the imdb - home of the worst weirdos and social misfits - and all their crazy speculation threads there. Some believe the briefcase contains Marcellus Wallace's *soul* (!) and that the plaster on his neck covers the hole where they removed it from (!!). You couldn't make these things up if you tried. These people should go speculate about every episode of Lost or something they're "smart enough" to "get". Fools.
One thing I have noticed though which may or may not have been intended by Tarantino, is the bullets missing both Travolta and Jackson. While the former dismisses it as mere bizarre luck that doesn't mean anything the latter interprets it as a warning and divine intervention. Later, or actually earlier since the film is told non-chronologically, we see that Travolta is shot dead by Bruce Willis's character whereas Jackson isn't around since he has retired from the job as a hitman/enforcer for Marcellus Wallace. I'm not a religious person, fact is my position is apatheism (agnostic) but I wonder if this was intended as a real warning in the film. It certainly plays out that way.
I find the "did God prevent the bullets from hitting" dialogue in the car hilarious too. Right in the middle of mentioning this Travolta accidentally shoots Marvin in the face. Apparently God didn't stop *that* bullet or something like that from happening. The irony! An atheist would laugh his/her ass off. It wasn't even his intention to kill Marvin he just accidentally fired. :) I'm not sure this was intended by Tarantino either but it's brilliant! The irony given the previous event and Jules Winfield (Samuel L. Jackson's character) talking about God stopping bullets.
Pulp Fiction is full of memorable and brilliant scenes like these.
Travolta's evening with Thurman and his monologue in the mirror does reflect a lot of men falling for women they know they shouldn't/can't have a relationship with. You have to tell yourself to end it there and not take it further. Very relatable if you've been in a similar situation. :)
Vincent Vega (Travolta) has a habit of going to the bathroom a lot. Four times in the movie and the last time was his undoing... A hitman that reads books but doesn't watch tv. Only in a Tarantino movie.
Enough praise and I want to conclude by saying that I watched Pulp Fiction two weeks ago to cap off a hard day of studying. Watched for half an hour, then micro sleep made me close my eyes but I've seen the movie so many times the scenes played out inside my head anyway as I listened. Later I had short naps but whenever I woke up I felt I was right back on track and realized how great the scene is. Few films can do the same thing to me when I'm tired.
Last of all: Pulp Fiction is easily better than both "Forest Gump" and "The Shawshank Redemption" - all of which were nominated for the Best Picture Oscar that year. Pulp Fiction should have been the winner the same way Midnight Cowboy was in 1969.
Time to watch your review again. :)
I want to hear your thoughts on Django Unchained......I really love that film and there are filmmakers like Spike Lee who are in your league here. So it would be great if you could introduce your POV ....and of course the critique of White Savior exhibited in the movie is fairly obvious but I want to see other layers of your take.
I remember when PF came out and what a hhuuuuggggeee deal it was. Saw it on tape fresh- wasn't that impressed. In retrospect however, I consider it and also enjoy it as a sort of "Nevermind" of its medium.
Great way to describe it actually
Reservoir Dogs as like a heist movie without the heist. Idk I kind of feel like the pieces are evenly split and Bruce Willis’s character is the protagonist.
Besides Pulp Fiction, Uma Thurman and Maria de Medeiros (Bruce Willis' girlfriend) were also in another movie together: the erotic NC-17 rated 1990 drama "Henry & June," directed by Philip Kaufman. You may also want to review Kaufman's other two masterworks, The Right Stuff and Unbearable Lightness of Being.
Could you do a top 5 Tarantino movies?
I think Andy Warhol is the Andy Warhol of movies. Tarantino is more like the Bob Dylan of movies. That is, Dylan having gone electric, not his folk persona. Dennis Hopper once called Tarantino the Mark Twain of movies. I’ll take that. And I think he is subtle in that he’s deceptively bombastic. Yeah, Kill Bill is one of his lesser movies, for sure. But Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is almost better than Pulp Fiction. I need to see your review of that.
Big Jay Oakerson wants his gloves back.
Just watched the movie again, such a Great flick. If Jack Rabbit Slims was a fictional place that Tarantino dreamed up for the movie, that alone was genius and surprised it didn't materialize after the fact. Vince was perplexed of the $5 shake, and Buddy Holly was a terrible waiter lol
You should review more classic gangster movies. I notice you like to review old classic films like citizen kane vertigo and even mention some silent films. Have you ever seen little caesar which most consider the grandfather of gangster films. Which was followed by the public enemy and scarface. Edward g robinson is considered the first hollywood gangster actor. Without little caesar we wouldnt have movies like the godfather, pulp fiction, goodfellas, scarface, ect.
I love watch reviews of clasic movies and practice English at the same time
One of my favorite movies!!!
Very groundbreaking and believable.
Great review.
Like your style for review You create a picture of the movie and provide information Good job
Would you be able to review some of Peter Weir's films? I find him to be a brilliant and versatile director, with one of his films, 'Fearless' currently my No. 1 film off all time. I'd highly recommend watching it. Beautifully tragic and life-affirming.
The Universe - meaning Tarantino, who can play God in his own movie - lets Samuel L. Jackson live because though he has been walking a narrow, violent path, now he wants to "walk the earth," meaning explore spirituality and grow. The Universe saves Bruce Willis because much against his own interests he feels compelled to rescue Marcellus, showing that he has a core of decency. But The Universe kills John Travolta because he has no interest in changing or improving, as shown by his annoyed bafflement at Samuel L. Jackson's attempt to explain what he intends to do
Directed by Tarantino but written by himself with Roger Avary.
i think tarrantino is very entertaining but not very deep
Would love to know more about your thoughts on The Hateful Eight from saying that you "loved it" as I've found people extremely divided on it, saying that the violence there was not deserved, and saying its one of the worst of Tarantino's films. I too really enjoyed the movie, and while I wouldn't put it above Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, or Inglorious Basterds, its still right up there. Could you please elaborate your thoughts?
It is definitely one of my favorites by far. I reviewed it when it came out.
scroll through her channel her review of basterds and hateful eight and django are all on there
I liked "Hateful Eight" but I thought it was a bit too long. It's almost like a mystery novel. Definitely worth seeing.
btw im going to watch Pulp Fiction this weekend
What’s with the gloves? Loansharking on the side?
I love Pulp Fiction, great vídeo!!!
have you seen Mel Gibson's Hacksaw Ridge?
Thanks. No, I haven't.
Looks good, waiting for a review soon (if you watch hehehe ✌)
Maggie i saw this film when i was 9 years old in 1995 sssh dont tell my mum. She got in trouble with my dad for showing to me at such a young age. When i first saw it i loved it. But didnt watch it again until 2007. Then i bought it on dvd in 2008. Now i watch it at least 2 to 3 times a year. It is one of my favourite films of all time. I still think its Quentin's best film. Btw his violence in his films he doesnt condone. He saw an interview with him that he is commentating on violence in society. Btw i know this whole script off by heart.
Philip Moore Obviously he won't condone the violence in his films. If he did, we wouldn't get to see the glamorized barbarity in the rest of his stuff. ;-) He loves to explore it almost sadistically. Quinton's a slippery one.
Also, cool story. I watched Pulp when I was 10, expecting a Spanish Western.
yes he is my fav director
Great review! One of my favorites. Also, now that the criterion is out, would you consider reviewing Punch-Drunk love? I'm interested to hear your thoughts on it.
Thanks. Wasn't planning on review Punch-Drunk Love. It's not one of my favorite PTA films. But I would be very open to watching it again. Perspective change.
Can you review Jackie Brown i love that movie
Great review! I would love to see you review American Graffiti.
Damn! I haven't seen that movie in ages. Forgot all about it haha
Yeah, I watched it recently after a friend and I had a conversation about George Lucas' career. Wish he would make a movie like that again.
When you are a younger artist you are more ambitious, passionate, and more determined.
I like your reviews, deepfocuslens. You're good.
Would you be able to review Blue Valentine or Eyes Wide Shut?
I've been thinking about reviewing Eyes Wide Shut lately.
Check out Pump up the Volume! Great tune by Leonard Cohen in it too!, @Deepfocuslens!
Jackie Brown was another great Tarentino film.
django is very bombastic
I don't trust anybody who watches Pulp Fiction and can't find a moral center. It's one of the most blatantly moralistic films of all time, let alone in Tarantino's filmography - and that's NOT a bad thing! [See: Scorsese.] It's written all over the divergent fates of Vincent and Jules. Anyone still in denial is either superimposing their own prejudice against Quentin's later work onto his earlier stuff or they're simply not paying attention to what's happening on the screen.
Bailey At The Movies ...
Your reviews would be much more interesting if you would say what the plot is.
Cool gloves
you must review once upon a time in hollywood
Make this channel more active.
Yes, Pulp Fiction is fantastic, but more than that it is just so unique. And even today, it still is -- his movies are tough to copy. And I definitely agree with you on his later works as being (unnecessarily) a bit over the top, at least in some sequences.
We part ways on The Hateful Eight, though. I thought it was almost a predictable Tarantino film, if there is such a thing. There was never any doubt that Samuel Jackson was going to be the "hero", for example. While it was still a very watchable movie, I was disappointed in it. I think it is his worst movie thus far.
I like ur voice. Good review.
It's probably the most quotable movie after the Godfather.
Nice Gloves.
wonderful ! I have subscribed!
godblessyou for not including music. The mirror has me totally baffled - is this the ultimate irony? Your body language speaks volumes. If only we knew somebody who could write words on a page, with a Sharpie...you stepped right out of the categories with the deempt - you don't have to be a beautiful person ever, anymore. Please make a three minute movie. Lighting, dialogue, the works. Perhaps you know a competent actor. I don't. No offense, you can write but you can't ignore the camera. Impeccable actors become what they portray. Not even Leo knows this. Ah, Hollywood, the Big Lie.
+deepfocuslens I have watched the movie great review. I really appreciate the way you explain a movie amazing. I like to know from you whose physical acting is best and whose emotional acting is best ?
great review. thanks!
My apologies - the crying bit (confessions!) was superb acting. No debate. I guess it was genuine.Funny how that works. Can you cry if you, for instance, talk about your dad? On "cue" as they say in this big Lying Glacier of a town? Hollywood lies, lies, lies. Write. Act. Film. Simple.
Andy Warhol made films...
Have you seen once upon time in America?
yah
deepfocuslens how it is?
Awesome review
I want you to know that I have seen pulp fiction and yes hi I am not a huge fan of Quinturn Tino at all and I don’t white kill Bill at all when you said every one likes that movie and not everybody does I don’t like your bill at all but there’s one what movies I do like a lot that Quentin Tarantino has presented in that movie is in fact
Hostile I don’t know if you like horror films or any like that but I want to recommend that you do a movie review on hostel and the Warriors you might like that one the doctor of that is a fact is Walter Hill it has something to do with the tales from the crypt episodes so I want to recommend that you review
Those movies at that too the Warriors and hostile and no one‘s that came after it probably I don’t know if you like her films or not but I said couple your videos and I guess I will consider being of your and friend and I’m subscriber to you now because I like your content and I will be watching and no I don’t mean anything perverted I assume that you’re married
Have you ever seen Santa Sangre?
Nope
deepfocuslens My girlfriend loves it, and while I liked it at first, I end up hating it the more I think about it. I tried watching it again today, but it makes me cringe. XD
I can agree that the movie has themes it can explore, but the execution on how the director "explores" those themes is just so bad it's annoying. In my opinion, of course. XD I do want to see his movie "The Holy Mountain," though.
Way better director than writer
classic❤
Tarantino masterpiece
Vote for Joe Biden.
dude sexiest girl ever
she's a 7.
Reminds me of Aubrey Plaza
@@SparksDrinker 7? How pretty was the last girl you got into your mother's basement, kid?
Junk film...
hey! i have that flannel!
It's sexxxy. ;)
deepfocuslens couldn't agree more 😉. Also great review. I Don't have any people my age who have the appreciation, love, and obsession for film I do, so it's really nice hearing what you have to say.
He is way overrated!!!!