1994 was the year I finally had enough money to put together a decent home theater system. A few months after seeing Pulp Fiction and Clerks in the theater - two films I absolutely loved - I purchased the LaserDisc formats for each. Watched each at home many times.
When they’re talking at the table before the robbery, Honey Bunny says she doesn’t want to kill anybody while robbing a liquor store, and Pumpkin says they (the store owner) will probably put them in a situation where it’s them or us. So it sounds like their guns are loaded.
There’s something interesting in the robbery scene. When Pumpkin is robbing the store, he asks questions, like “put your wallets in the bag, is that clear? I said is that clear?” When he’s holding the gun on Jules, he says “I’m gonna count to three; if you don’t open that case, I’m gonna unload in your fuckin’ face. We clear?” Later, once Jules pulls his own gun and takes control of the situation, he doesn’t really ask questions like that. He tells Ringo to let go of his gun, put his hands on the table, and sit his ass down. It’s an interesting way to draw a distinction between the two characters; Pumpkin as someone faltering and unsure, Jules as someone who takes absolute control of a situtation.
For all the talk of how Pulp Fiction glorified violence, it’s kind of a morality tale. Of the three who witnessed the miracle, only the believer survives. The denier and the doubter both get killed. I think Marvin’s last words were “I don’t even have an opinion.”
I’ll say “I need a tasty beverage to wash this down” quite often when I’m eating something and I need a drink. Not quite a direct quote, but close enough.
That line of Jules’ always made me laugh for some reason.
Maybe you should have seen 2 Days in the Valley instead. It’s a pretty good movie with a good cast.
Hamburgers: the cornerstone of every nutritious breakfast.
I didn’t see this movie when it was first released and ended up watching it on video almost a year later after friends desperately pleaded with me that I needed to watch this film. Naturally, I was blown away with it. I bought the video the next day and proceeded to watch it at least once a week for the next several months. Got to the point I could quote/recite extensive portions of dialogue. Mrs. Cardigan eventually got tired of me quoting Ezekiel 25:17 at the dinner table ("The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the iniquities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he who…blah blah blah) and insisted we watch something different for a change. I haven’t seen the movie now for several years but if anyone wants me to explain why a watch should be passed down to one’s son they need only ask once.
It was only after I watched Pulp Fiction that I decided to check out all of QT’s other movies (yeah, I saw Reservoir Dogs second). He made several other great films but let’s be honest, Pulp Fiction will always be regarded as the finest.
Even PTerry had a go at Pulp Fiction:
“That --ing zombie is going to end up on the end of a couple of --ing handy and versatile kebab skewers,’ said Mr Tulip. ‘An’ then I’m gonna put an edge on this --ing spatula. An’ then… then I’m gonna get medieval on his arse.’
There were more pressing problems, but this one intrigued Mr Pin.
‘How, exactly?’ he said.
‘I thought maybe a maypole,’ said Mr Tulip reflectively. ‘An’ then a display of country dancing, land tillage under the three-field system, several plagues and, if my --ing hand ain’t too tired, the invention of the --ing horse collar.”
“The Truth” - Terry Pratchett
Maybe-
https://wiki.lspace.org/Mr._Tulip
It seems that Mr. Tulip and Mr. Pin are parodies of Neil Gaiman’s characters, Mr. Vandemar and Mr. Croup (“The Old Firm”) who are hired assassins in Neverwhere . Although in Neverwhere , it is Mr. Croup, the small one, who is an Art connoisseur. However, Terry has denied this, saying that they are rather parodies of all two-man crime teams everywhen.
So, Neverwhere, Pulp Fiction, and more
Doy. Thanks for the catch. I’ve had a day. At least I didn’t say Love and a .22.
But you did say Six Rooms, when I think you meant Four Rooms.
Ah, now I remember the parody (from where I know not) called “Gump Fiction” where Forrest was Vincent and he proclaimed “We are going to get medieval on your buttocks.”
Two like that, sounds like some bad inflation!
I enjoyed it.
In general, I’d say that Pulp Fiction is the only Tarantino movie that I’ve felt was particularly good (and the opening scene of Inglourious Basterds). He does write some reasonably good dialogue but, for my money, I’d always say that there’s no film better than the overlooked The Long Kiss Goodnight, if you want some cracking dialogue movie (as well as the Princess Bride, of course).
In terms of movies in the Pulp Fiction style, my personal favorite was the also overlooked Destiny Turns on the Radio - which actually predates Pulp Fiction. (The reviews on IMDB are largely negative but, apparently, because people went in expecting a Tarantino movie - which it isn’t - and they appear to be downvoting it for that.)
And in terms of his attempts to do blaxploitation/John Woo/etc. films, I’d generally say that the originals were all better. They didn’t generally have the budget to do all the action stuff so they focus more heavily on the plot, character development, and atmosphere. With the budget to do all the action and special effects, and the clout of an auteur, Tarantino does too much action, rests too much on his laurels, and there’s no one in the editing room able to trim it down to something more reasonable.
There is a certain stylistic sensibility of being a nerdy white guy’s auteur interpretation of schlock and foreign low-budget films. I can appreciate how others can appreciate that qualitative difference. I’m not personally one of them. I liked the authentic originals more.
Interesting point.
I OTOH, hated the schlocky originals and hate the QT fanboi re-imaginings even more so.
I should be the audience for Deathproof, but it was so unbelievably stupid I couldn’t stand it.
I know criminals are generally stupid (Vincent included) but what did those numb-nuts think they were going to do with the briefcase? They must have known who they were dealing with. They didn’t even really have a plan. Barely a concept of a plan.
I haven’t had the pleasure of seeing it in a theater, but I’ve seen it any number of times on VHS/DVD. And the “shot in the heart” scene is truly a masterpiece. Horrific and hilarious all at once.
Hmm, I just looked them up, and I agree, but due to Travolta, I cant even rate Pulp Fiction are very good. The first parts of Django were really good, until they go into some weird crazy stupid-ass plot to get his wife back. Waltz is so good.
Inglourious Basterds, though.
No, I did not like that film, terribly unrealistic and impossible. US Soldiers, in Uniform, wandering around nazi held territories? Impossible. The Resistance had enough problem, and they were natives and did not wear uniforms.
Parts of Pulp Fiction, and the first two thirds of Django.
I saw it in my old home town theater. I was there for the weekend and took it in. Loved it.
I’m a big Tarantino fan and I’ve loved everything of his (I’ve seen them all except for Death Proof). This may have been his best, but I keep changing my mind when I think of the others. The only one that doesn’t really thrill me is Reservoir Dogs, but it’s still a good movie.
I’m also amused that people try to figure out why Marcellus has a band-aid on the back of his neck. Tarantino has said he had a scar there, but, really, it seems unlikely, and doubly unlikely a random scar would be so exactly centered. He said the scar would be distracting but isn’t the Band-Aid just as distracting? Everyone who saw the scene noticed it; most would not pay that much attention to the scar.
The reason is obvious. You never saw Marcellus in the early going. Suddenly, Butch sees him as he crosses the street. It is essential that the audience immediately knows that man is Marcellus; otherwise, Butch running him over makes no sense. But the audience has never seen Marcellus’s face. So how do they know who that man is?
Because you can see the Band-Aid. Tarantino makes sure it’s prominant whenever you see Marcellus previously, putting it into the audience’s mind.
That is brilliant filmmaking.