# New thoughts about an aging movie
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-thoughts-about-an-aging-movie/447728
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [May 2, 2008, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-thoughts-about-an-aging-movie/447728 "2008-05-02T07:43:07Z")
**Posts on this page:** 12
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Weyland-Yutani](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weyland-Yutani)
#### Post date: [May 2, 2008, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-thoughts-about-an-aging-movie/447728/1 "2008-05-02T07:43:07Z")
I must have seen Pulp Fiction about a dozen times before, between the Cinema, VHS, DVD and Television. Now it is playing on Starz. I always thought that the desire to get the watch was tantamout to victory. Not so much anymore, I would have had a nice breakfast and motored on someplace else, enjoying the company I had.
The cost of victory is often more than it is worth.
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### Author:  [@KGS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KGS)
#### Post date: [May 2, 2008, 8:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-thoughts-about-an-aging-movie/447728/2 "2008-05-02T08:28:10Z")
You know what really makes the movie seem dated? When Rosanna Arquette mentions she has a tongue stud, John Travolta reacts like she’s a freak of nature or something.
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### Author:  [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)
#### Post date: [May 2, 2008, 8:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-thoughts-about-an-aging-movie/447728/3 "2008-05-02T08:49:52Z")
Are we going to speak generally of old movies or _Pulp Fiction_ in particular?
If the latter, it took several viewings before I realized that every time John Travolta came out of the bathroom, something bad was happening.
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### Author:  [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brown_Eyed_Girl)
#### Post date: [May 2, 2008, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-thoughts-about-an-aging-movie/447728/4 "2008-05-02T15:07:43Z")
It’s still one of my favorite movies. I can’t say why precisely. It’s an amalgam, perhaps: the music, the camp, the casting, the memorable lines, the nod to '70s crime genre.
The movie never gets old for me.
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### Author:  [@Sir\_Rhosis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_Rhosis)
#### Post date: [May 2, 2008, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-thoughts-about-an-aging-movie/447728/5 "2008-05-02T22:54:33Z")
I notice now that one of the characters refers to a “cellular” phone. Draws a lot of attention to the line since we’ve shortened the word in everyday usage since then.
Sir Rhosis
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### Author:  [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)
#### Post date: [May 3, 2008, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-thoughts-about-an-aging-movie/447728/6 "2008-05-03T00:32:12Z")
How long you figure before Jackson’s sarcastic “But you _are_ aware of an invention known as television…” no longer makes sense to an audience?
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### Author:  [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)
#### Post date: [May 3, 2008, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-thoughts-about-an-aging-movie/447728/7 "2008-05-03T00:40:46Z")
[QUOTE=Bryan Ekers]
How long you figure before Jackson’s sarcastic “But you _are_ aware of an invention known as television…” no longer makes sense to an audience?
[/QUOTE]
What do you mean?
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### Author:  [@Sir\_Rhosis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_Rhosis)
#### Post date: [May 3, 2008, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-thoughts-about-an-aging-movie/447728/8 "2008-05-03T01:07:10Z")
To the OP’s actual point: Though I was never head over heels about the movie like many people, over the years, I like it even less. The “Gold Watch” sections between Willis’ character and Fabienne, his girlfriend, are just plain fucking painful, totally due to the actress playing her. Now, I own a copy of the screenplay, and even just watching the movie, one knows Fabienne is supposed to drive him nuts, but she does too good a job.
Dumbass me criticizing a performance because the actress is too good at interpreting the character!
Samuel L. Jackson is brilliant, though. I’ve never understood why he was considered the co-star and not the lead.
Sir Rhosis
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### Author:  [@Danalan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Danalan)
#### Post date: [May 3, 2008, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-thoughts-about-an-aging-movie/447728/9 "2008-05-03T01:29:44Z")
The only things I want to change about Pulp Fiction are the line about shotguns:
> [@](#):
>
> ```
> JULES
> We should have shotguns for this
> kind of deal.
>
> VINCENT
> How many up there?
>
> JULES
> Three or four.
>
> VINCENT
> Counting our guy?
>
> JULES
> I'm not sure.
>
> VINCENT
> So there could be five guys up
> there?
>
> JULES
> It's possible.
>
> VINCENT
> We should have fuckin' shotguns.
>
> ```
Vincent’s last line should be:
> [@](#):
>
> ```
> VINCENT
> We should have fuckin' *machine* guns.
>
> ```
This ties in with Vincent actually having a fuckin’ machine gun at Butch’s apartment.
Also, the Wolf’s lines about ‘I drive real fast’ should be changed. The reality is, that if you can’t risk undue police attention, you should drive the speed limit and obey all traffic laws. Of course, the script takes care of this, but the film omits the lines:
> [@](#):
>
> ```
> THE WOLF
> Fair enough.
> (he throws Vince his
> car keys)
> I drive real fuckin' fast, so keep
> up. If I get my car back any
> different than I gave it, Monster
> Joe's gonna be disposing of two
> bodies.
>
> JULES
> Why do you drive fast?
>
> THE WOLF
> Because it's a lot of fun.
>
> Jules and Vincent laugh.
>
> THE WOLF
> Let's move.
>
> ```
Other than these small issues, I love the movie. Hell, even with these, I love the movie.
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### Author:  [@ToeJam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ToeJam)
#### Post date: [May 3, 2008, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-thoughts-about-an-aging-movie/447728/10 "2008-05-03T04:19:28Z")
[QUOTE=Bryan Ekers]
If the latter, it took several viewings before I realized that every time John Travolta came out of the bathroom, something bad was happening.
[/QUOTE]
Holy Crap! I never realized that! :eek:
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### Author:  [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)
#### Post date: [May 3, 2008, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-thoughts-about-an-aging-movie/447728/11 "2008-05-03T04:20:01Z")
A bizarre little thing I noticed in the credits. When Marsellus Wallace has his accident while chasing Butch, one of the people in the crowd is Kathy Griffin. Not a character being played by Kathy Griffin - according to the credits she’s playing herself. I haven’t figured out what point Tarantino was trying to make by having a minor celebrity present during a car accident.
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### Author:  [@Danalan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Danalan)
#### Post date: [May 3, 2008, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-thoughts-about-an-aging-movie/447728/12 "2008-05-03T18:58:46Z")
[QUOTE=Little Nemo]
A bizarre little thing I noticed in the credits. When Marsellus Wallace has his accident while chasing Butch, one of the people in the crowd is Kathy Griffin. Not a character being played by Kathy Griffin - according to the credits she’s playing herself. I haven’t figured out what point Tarantino was trying to make by having a minor celebrity present during a car accident.
[/QUOTE]
He was probably going for some LA authenticity. Not that you’re constantly running into celebrities in LA, but it wouldn’t be all that unusual.
Of course, he might have promised her a part in the movie – or maybe a friend brought her to the set, and he decided to use her. There may be legal issues regarding paying her that dictate her being named in the credits; e.g. if she’s not named, she has to be paid scale as an extra, where if she’s named as herself she can agree to an unpaid cameo appearance.
It would be a good question to ask either of them, if one got the chance.