First time I saw it I was in my early 20s. During the first scene I thought, “Interesting. Quirky. Oddly funny.” About ten minutes in I realized I was seeing something very special and unusual.
My observations then and in hindsight:
It was an incredible risk to have John Travolta dance. That scene could have come off as really stupid and pandering, but somehow it worked. And became iconic. Tarrantino had some balls.
I loved loved loved Christopher Walken’s scene. The way he drew you into the story of the watch, only to have it take a hilarious left turn. It’s beautifully written, and his deadpan delivery was classic. It’s wonderful being dared to laugh at something tragic.
Winston Wolf was a fascinating character. The scene where he gives a short lecture to Travolta and politely, but firmly, puts him in his place is absolutely priceless. The whole lead up starting with Marvin being shot and Jimmy using the N word to Jules was unlike anything I’d ever seen.
So many movies are hopelessly formulaic. What I remember most about my first viewing of Pulp Fiction was being constantly surprised. It was wonderful and rare.
I thought Maria de Medairos had some beautiful scenes with Bruce Willis. She is great when she talks about ordering blueberry pancakes. I also liked Bruce’s scene with her where he gets out of the shower, touches his ribs and jokes about cracking a rib in the boxing match. He seemed like he might have been acting that way in an early take.
I remember the first time I saw Pulp Fiction. It was playing at the cinema in the Radisson near the Kievskaya metro station in Moscow.
On the way out, I met a cute Ukrainian hooker who was working the hotel that night. She hadn’t eaten a thing all day, so I treated her to a Big Mac and a large hot tea at Mickey D’s across the street. It seemed appropriate somehow.
QT movies are essentially his wish fulfillment fantasies, so, if his fantasies mesh with yours, you’ll probably like him. He’s stylish, true, but I don’t think any of his movies were completely successful for me.
Flock of Seagulls was what Jules called the guy laying on the couch when he shot him for no real reason. It was a reference to his haircut, which was like the breifly popular English band. Flock of Seagulls. A lot of people do not get the reference.
I don’t see that. I feel Tarantino’s movies are homages to movie genres; crime movies, westerns, kung fu movies, blaxploitation, war movies, revenge movies, etc.
Being as he’s making movies about movies, the stories are inherently unrealistic.
YouTube is full of compilations of movie reactors watching various movie scenes. The Pulp Fiction reactions (specifically, the “Say What Again” and “Oh, man, I shot Marvin in the face”) are some of the best ones.
If you are in Los Angeles for any reason, check out Tarantino’s theater, The New Beverly. He often programs showings of his films. I saw a restoration of Jacki Brown there a while back and you’re right, the audience makes the experience richer.
I knew this would be the YoureMrLebowski clip - it’s one of the best reaction compilations I’ve seen; He’s no Johnny O’Dell (J2O), but his work is solid.
I first saw Pulp Fiction towards the end of its original release, in a sparsely attended midweek afternoon showing. I hadn’t seen Reservoir Dogs and I didn’t know what to expect. I was the only one who laughed out loud during the Walken speech - I think everyone else thought it was meant to be solemn and serious.
