I think one of the best parts of that scene was watching Vincent in the background trying not to laugh into his coffee as Jules is getting yelled at.
When Marvin gets shot and Jules is about to call Jimmie to see if he can use his garage, doesn’t he say something like “I ain’t got no other partners in 818”? We see Jimmie in a nice domestic setting and his language is a bit incongruous, but if Jules referred to him as a partner, he must have been a hit man or collector and had a past just as unsavory as Jules.
Don’t know if that changes the context of the scene for anyone.
Next time you watch the scene with Brett, watch Vincent. When Jules starts the Ezekiel 25:17 speech, Vincent cocks his gun. It’s obvious he’s heard this before.
This. I’ve never watched the movie again after the first time, because I was so creeped out by that section.
I’ve never liked it. I hate Tarantino’s stuff.
So you’re pretty ***ing far from OK?
Bumped.
Here are 25 fun facts in honor of the film’s 25th anniversary: 'Pulp Fiction': 25 fun facts in honor of the 25th anniversary | CNN
These. A fantastic movie, expertly constructed, every bit of it works. Is it dated? A bit, but time dates everything, so what does that matter?
Actually, I disagree about the characterization of Jimmie as a bit player. His role is obviously undefined, but his home indicates a level of income that isn’t matched by Jules/Vincent (of course, J/V might spend their money on other things) and… IIRC… isn’t there an indication that Jimmie is related (perhaps by marriage) to Marcellus?
I like Tarantino’s violent, off-the-wall movies, so I like Pulp Fiction. I think the latter is very dependent upon the former.
It remains a great movie, and is one of the ten most important movies made in the last half century.
I don’t feel it’s overly dated. To my mind, “dated” can mean one of three things:
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The movie is technically dated, in the sense that it is visibly obvious the film was made in an earlier time when the technical standards of cinema were not at a modern level. The original “King Kong” is dated in that sense.
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The movie is stylistically dated, in the sense that the manner of direction, acting, et al. are perceptibly of an earlier time. Essentially all movies made prior to the 1950s are dated in this manner, and a lot from that decade and after.
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The movie is aesthetically dated (might be a bad word but I cannot think of a better one), in the sense that the movie’s sense of what people will find tasteful is now out of touch.
The last one is the one I think can bother me the most, or at least take me out of the movie. Movies in the 1980s, for instance, had a huge amount of pointless tits-and-ass and casual racism that today seems incredibly dated - even truly great movies, like “Die Hard.” “National Lampoon’s Vacation,” a hilarious movie, has jokes about young girls having affairs with their teachers that are treated as lighthearted gags that today strike the viewer as really uncomfortable.
Pulp Fiction to my eyes is not dated at all in points 1 or 2. One can argue Jimmy’s speech veers into Point 3, though Tarantino’s still pulling that shit.
To add; this is kinda what saves it for me. It’s been made pretty clear that Jules and Jimmy go way back, but now Jimmy’s kinda straight living up in the valley with his wife.
Jimmy is just incredibly pissed off and trying to hurt Jules. He’s married to a black woman, so I don’t think he’s in the KKK.
And it yet again repeats the urban legend that Mia and Vincent stole the trophy. They just cut and pasted other “fun facts”. So much for reporting. Maybe Dumb Donald is right about CNN being fake news? 
I don’t think so - when Jimmie & Winston are talking about the linens, Winston refers to “your Uncle Marcellus”, but I think that’s just a rhetorical device:
“Your Uncle Conrad, and Aunt Ginnie, were they millionaires?”
“No.”
“Well, your Uncle Marcellus is. Now I’m positive, if Uncle Conrad and Aunt Ginnie were here, they would furnish you with a whole bedroom set. Which your Uncle Marcellus is more than happy to do.”
And then he pulls out the wad of cash and gives his recommendation of oak.
BTW, I think this scene also shows Jimmie is willing to stand up for himself even to the Wolf. He doesn’t really care about the linens from Uncle Conrad & Aunt Ginnie - he’s making it clear he wants to be compensated for his time & trouble & getting involved in a murder.
Good point. It’s pretty subtle, and I can see that interpretation. Thanks!
I didn’t see it that way. He looks intimidated, and I think, honestly, his concern about the linens is that Bonnie will find out. That is Jimmy’s overriding concern at all times; Bonnie can’t find out what the hell is going on, and if a set of linens vanish - not just some cheap ass Walmart throwaways, but stuff that was given to you as a gift - vanish, you’re damn straight your wife’s gonna know. Jimmy says Conrad and Ginnie are dead, so it’s not that they’ll mind. His WIFE will mind. If I got rid of OUR best set of linens of course my wife would know. If she got rid of it, I’d know. How do you hide that?
But you know what, a big ol’ wad of cash can convince you to devise a story. Jimmy certainly isn’t as willing to take orders as Jules and Vincent are, but he appears very awed by Winston anyway; the cash just smoothed it all out. It’s the safe move for Winston, and everyone has a price. (For all people whine about Tarantino’s acting, he’s fine in this movie for this role.)
As to the “uncle” thing, though, clearly you’re right, it’s just a funny rhetorical device.
I only read to post 43 or so before replying, so this may be addressed later, but…
Have any of you ever been around nefarious people? Don’t you even distantly know of some unsavory criminals? Sure you don’t invite them to Thanksgiving dinner, but you must have seen bad guys before on TV or in movies, right?
Vincent is a professional hit man, and he is driving around with a loaded and chambered handgun IN HIS HAND? There are half a dozen safeties on a model 1911 that can keep it from firing. My point is that it was NOT an accidental shooting – at least not a full accident (and that gets to the root of unsavory persons). He was pissed at the guy for not backing him up in his argument with Jules. The guy is just a flunky anyway, and if he was in the way when they killed the other guys they would have mowed him down with them. But Vincent asked the guy to side with him in the “miracle” debate, with a loaded gun pointed at his face. Since the guy wasn’t smart enough to say what the proven killer wanted him to say - - - the gun ‘accidentally’ blew his whole face into a red mist.
The subtext was quite clear: “Fuck you Marvin, you lowlife Motherfucker! You know that was just a fluke, and you are letting Jules win this debate because you are afraid to pick a side! Die you low life coocksucking bitch!” Followed by the criminal’s stock response when they are too rash, oops- an accident happened. I sure didn’t blow his head off on purpose because he is letting my friend leave the life due to some fluky circumstance, it was an accident.
Bullshit, when Marvin refused to take his side he eased the hammer back and when they hit the bump the finger he had on the trigger ‘accidently’ fired a round. So he took fourteen actions to make the accident possible, and then one pothole meant the end of Marvin.
Even though he had a locked and loaded pistol firmly in hand and pointed at a friendly’s face with the hammer back in a moving car over uncertain terrain ---- it was an accident.
Yes, and if an arsonist wraps prima cord around a five gallon can of gasoline in a thunderstorm, and sets up lightning rods that all run directly to an initiating agent ---- then the lightning caused the ensuing explosion and fire. It was an accident, or at most an act of god, and in all honesty – the arsonist did not set the fire, but would you call that an accident?
Does anyone really believe Vincent just “accidentally” shot Marvin? I am pretty sure that accident would not have happened if Marvin had said: “That ain’t no miracle- just one of those things that happen, man.”
Wow. Will have to watch that scene again, but I will say my interpretation is that Vince is a dumbass palooka who is anything but a professional hit man.
I agree. When he get’s shot on the crapper backs it up. He leaves a Mac-10 (or whatever it was) sitting out on the kitchen counter when he is specifically waiting for Butch to show up (even though the odds of Butch doing that where pretty low.)
BTW, Pulp Fiction is on Netflix at the moment, and I just rewatched the scenes in question.
That’s certainly a valid interpretation, but I still think he’s angling for some cash. The last thing he says to Winston before Winston stops him and asks if Conrad & Ginnie were millionaires was “I really want to help you guys out and all, but -” The Bonnie situation was already out there - he just could have said to Winston that Bonnie would absolutely know that their best linens were missing.
Plus, are you saying he was actually reluctant to give up the linens, when that’s part of the plan to get rid of the headless body & blood covered killers in their house? Jimmie didn’t strike me as that stupid - of course he’s going to do whatever’s necessary to get rid of them before Bonnie arrives.
And when they show the linens on the seats in the car - man, if those were really their best linens, they really should have redirected some of the coffee budget to the linen budget.
Vincent is literally in the middle of a sentence when the gun fires, and is pretty shocked when it does. And Vincent, while he demands respect, isn’t really the type to shoot a guy just for saying he doesn’t want to get involved in someone else’s argument. He didn’t disagree with Vincent or Jules, he just wanted to stay out of it.
He did have his finger on the trigger when he turned around however. I’m guessing he didn’t take any NRA gun safety classes.
I only saw it a few years ago, and I enjoyed it (once I realized that it was not shown in chronological order). One detail I can’t remember is: what became of the briefcase? Did Jules and Vincent hand it over to the Wolf to return it to Marsellus? Or did they still have it with them when they went for breakfast?
Did they even take it with them after Jules ate that guy’s burger?