# Dopers' opinions of Pulp Fiction (1994)? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 2, 2017, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-opinions-of-pulp-fiction-1994/795303 "2017-09-02T04:53:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Enright3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/enright3/32/2897_2.png) [@Enright3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enright3)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2019, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-opinions-of-pulp-fiction-1994/795303/121 "2019-05-25T13:25:56Z")
Count me in as sill thinking it should have won the Academy Award for Best Picture over Forrest Gump. Still my favorite movie of all time. ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2019, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-opinions-of-pulp-fiction-1994/795303/122 "2019-05-25T14:58:49Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > One of my students (a Russian) came up with an interesting interpretation. I asked who he thought the main character was, expecting him to say either Jules (for his repentance) or Vincent (for his damnation). He said “I think it’s Marsellus, because everything revolves around him. He’s the one who sets everything in motion. The lives of the others depend on him.” > > This is something I had never thought of. Maybe Marsellus is The Dark Lord? 😕 > > And maybe The Wolf is actually an Angel of Salvation, come to rescue Vincent and Jules from an untenable situation? > > I think it’s also noteworthy that Jules quotes “The Good Book,” while Vincent reads _ **Modesty Blaise** _ while on the crapper. And, like a good Elvis man, he also dies on the crapper. (Elvis may have been the “King of Rock and Roll” with his own “throne,” but he wasn’t “The King of Kings.”\*) > > \*Okay, I know this is a bit of a reach, but do you have another interpretation? :dubious: Well…Vincent dies in the shower actually. BUT, I’ll bet if QT had thought of that, he definitely would have rewritten it to have him get shot or fall back on the crapper. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2019, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-opinions-of-pulp-fiction-1994/795303/123 "2019-05-25T17:08:42Z")
> [@Dale\_Sams](#): > > Well…Vincent dies in the shower actually. BUT, I’ll bet if QT had thought of that, he definitely would have rewritten it to have him get shot or fall back on the crapper. Fair enough, but it’s the flushing of the crapper that put Butch on guard. (That and finding the submachine gun on the kitchen counter, something you can bet would never have happened if Jules had still been around.) I’ll modify my statement to say Vincent died _in the toilet_, rather than _on the crapper_, but the effect is basically the same. I find it interesting that Vincent craps twice in the same movie (most people in the pictures are \*never \*shown either crapping or whizzing). Maybe he was blocked after his dinner with Mia? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2019, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-opinions-of-pulp-fiction-1994/795303/124 "2019-05-25T17:33:27Z")
One side effect of heroin use is, apparently, constipation. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2019, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-opinions-of-pulp-fiction-1994/795303/125 "2019-05-25T19:14:34Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > One side effect of heroin use is, apparently, constipation. Well, there you go! 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2019, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-opinions-of-pulp-fiction-1994/795303/126 "2019-05-25T20:31:34Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Well, there you go! 😛 Or, not. ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2019, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-opinions-of-pulp-fiction-1994/795303/127 "2019-05-26T02:29:26Z")
Not a huge fan of everything he has done. That said, I just watched it a month or so ago. Still brilliant. Still amusing, unnerving. Perfectly written, beautifully cut. It feels slightly gritty, which I’ve always loved. Hell of a movie. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2019, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-opinions-of-pulp-fiction-1994/795303/128 "2019-05-26T06:42:36Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > Or, not. Thanks, Kramer. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Made\_in\_Macau](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eada6e/32.png) [@Made\_in\_Macau](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Made_in_Macau)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2019, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-opinions-of-pulp-fiction-1994/795303/129 "2019-05-30T01:14:03Z")
My issue is that after saying he blew Marvins head CLEAN OFF - we see Marvin’s head still in the place his shoulders intended. In my humble opinion, his films have revealed his limited talent as time has gone on. His talent is evidently greater than mine - but I have no desire to see KB, IB, H8 and definitely Jackie Brown or Django Unchained - again. MiM ---
**Author:** ![racepug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f1d935/32.png) [@racepug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racepug)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2019, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-opinions-of-pulp-fiction-1994/795303/130 "2019-05-30T18:35:14Z")
> [@control-z](#): > > Love it, one of my favorite movies. I don’t like the out of order scenes, **the whole gimp part was disturbing** , but it’s still a terrific movie with great characters and great dialogue. I won’t deny that I thought that whole “gimp” scene was strange. But I guess I’m a bit like the “narrator” in The Kinks’ “Lola” (who’d left home only a week before) - not exposed to all the weird things that our species “has to offer.” I’m more experienced than I was when that movie came out, of course - but in some ways I’m probably just as naïve as I was then. And, frankly, I’d like to keep it that way. ---
**Author:** ![racepug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f1d935/32.png) [@racepug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racepug)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2019, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-opinions-of-pulp-fiction-1994/795303/131 "2019-05-30T18:40:54Z")
> [@somepumpkin](#): > > Didn’t like it then. **I thought it was way too violent.** In fact, i had to turn it off when he stabbed the needle into her chest to resume watching it the next evening. In retrospect, I can understand the _artistry_ there but if QT was such a master he could work his magic w/o all the gratuitous violence. I also understand that blood sells. Shunpiker’s review: One thumb down and the other one sideways. It _was_ violent. There’s no doubt about that (I don’t want to meet anybody who thinks it wasn’t). But I’ve heard that _Reservoir Dogs_ was MUCH more violent than _Pulp Fiction_ was. I’ve never seen _Reservoir Dogs_. I was able to tolerate the violence in _Pulp Fiction_. I’m not sure I’d be able to do the same with _Reservoir Dogs_. ---
**Author:** ![racepug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f1d935/32.png) [@racepug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racepug)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2019, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-opinions-of-pulp-fiction-1994/795303/132 "2019-05-30T18:44:44Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > I loved it at the time it came out. I haven’t seen it since, oh, 1997. Would I still love it? No idea, and no real desire to find out. > > I lost interest in Tarantino ages ago, and didn’t bother to see “Inglorious Basterds” or “Django.” I saw _Inglorious Basterds_. I thought it was great. Christoph Waltz was fantastic as Hans Landa (I believe he won a ''Best Actor" Oscar for that performance). ---
**Author:** ![racepug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f1d935/32.png) [@racepug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racepug)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2019, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-opinions-of-pulp-fiction-1994/795303/133 "2019-05-30T18:52:47Z")
> [@BeagleJesus](#): > > **Jules: You remember Antoine Roccamora, half black, half Samoan, used to call him Tony Rocky Horror? > Vincent: Yeah, maybe. Fat, right? > Jules: I wouldn’t go so far as to call the brother fat, I mean he got a weight problem. What’s the n!gger gonna do? He’s Samoan.** OmG - I just laughed my ass off at that! > [@BeagleJesus](#): > > I love how Travolta and Jackson bring these characters to life with nothing more than quality dialog about absolutely nothing important. Agreed! ---
**Author:** ![racepug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f1d935/32.png) [@racepug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racepug)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2019, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-opinions-of-pulp-fiction-1994/795303/134 "2019-05-30T18:54:53Z")
> [@phungi](#): > > Still love the film, and can’t seem to turn it off when I find it on cable… still get a chuckle out of Mr. Wolf’s non-verbal reaction to Jimmie’s high-quality coffee Tee hee! ---
**Author:** ![racepug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f1d935/32.png) [@racepug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racepug)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2019, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-opinions-of-pulp-fiction-1994/795303/135 "2019-05-30T18:57:22Z")
> [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > Wow. We did _Stuart Little_. Your way seems better. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2019, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-opinions-of-pulp-fiction-1994/795303/136 "2019-05-30T19:30:13Z")
> [@racepug](#): > > It _was_ violent. There’s no doubt about that (I don’t want to meet anybody who thinks it wasn’t). But I’ve heard that _Reservoir Dogs_ was MUCH more violent than _Pulp Fiction_ was. I’ve never seen _Reservoir Dogs_. I was able to tolerate the violence in _Pulp Fiction_. I’m not sure I’d be able to do the same with _Reservoir Dogs_. “Reservoir Dogs” is absolutely more violent. The violence in “Pulp Fiction” is often gory, but it’s often preposterous and cartoonish. That is not true of “Reservoir Dogs.” > [@racepug](#): > > Christoph Waltz was fantastic as Hans Landa (I believe he won a ''Best Actor" Oscar for that performance). It was Best Supporting Actor… which, of course, he promptly won again just three years later for another Tarantino film. He is one of only eight men to win it twice (including Walter Brennan, who actually won it three times.) ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Wiggler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/red_wiggler/32/13190_2.png) [@Red\_Wiggler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Wiggler)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2019, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-opinions-of-pulp-fiction-1994/795303/137 "2019-05-30T19:41:38Z")
Waltz was the only thing making Django watchable. He’s fantastic. And I generally love all things Quentin (including PF). ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2019, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-opinions-of-pulp-fiction-1994/795303/138 "2019-05-30T20:04:18Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > I didn’t get the feeling that Jimmie threw the word around at home or anything. Rather, he was intentionally being an asshole towards Jules because he was pissed and had the upper hand in the situation. Jules “knew” Jimmie as a bit player in the business but it’s not as though they were going to get dinner that weekend or anything so Jimmie could afford to be a dick in some petty way. I agree with the poster from back in 2017 who thought that the problem – one of the problems – with the “dead n\*\*\*\*\* storage” scene was the way Tarantino delivered the line. My take on that scene was that Jimmie, married to a black nurse, and clearly a friend or associate of Jules’, has, or feels like he has, “N-word privileges”. Tarantino, however, gives the line like he’s aware he’s saying a taboo and loaded word, like he’s showing how edgy and controversial he is. Compare that to the casual way Jules uses the word when talking to Vincent or to Marcellus; to him, it just means “a black guy”. It’s organic to Jules, in a way that it isn’t, to Jimmie. Of course, that might have been Jimmie emphasizing it just to piss off Jules, since he knows he has leverage. Seems like a risky thing to do to a professional killer who’s just brought guns, a partner, and a dead kid into your house, though. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2019, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-opinions-of-pulp-fiction-1994/795303/139 "2019-05-30T21:01:21Z")
The complaint regarding Tarantino and his acting is weirdly reflected in Harrison’s Ford admonition to George Lucas: “You can type this shit, but you sure can’t say it.” Tarantino wrote great dialogue, he just wasn’t competent enough as an actor to pull it off. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2019, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-opinions-of-pulp-fiction-1994/795303/140 "2019-05-30T21:53:02Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > “Reservoir Dogs” is absolutely more violent. The violence in “Pulp Fiction” is often gory, but it’s often preposterous and cartoonish. That is not true of “Reservoir Dogs.” “I heard there was a director’s cut of Reservoir dogs. What could they add - a man’s only got two ears.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-opinions-of-pulp-fiction-1994/795303.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-opinions-of-pulp-fiction-1994/795303.md?page=8)