The lives of two mob hit men, a boxer, a gangster's wife, and a pair of
diner bandits intertwine in four tales of violence and redemption.
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Writers: Quentin Tarantino (story),
Roger Avary (story),
Stars: John Travolta,
Uma Thurman,
Samuel L. Jackson
Storyline
Jules Winnfield and Vincent Vega are two hitmen who are out to retrieve a
suitcase stolen from their employer, mob boss Marsellus Wallace.
Wallace has also asked Vincent to take his wife Mia out a few days later
when Wallace himself will be out of town. Butch Coolidge is an aging
boxer who is paid by Wallace to lose his next fight. The lives of these
seemingly unrelated people are woven together comprising of a series of
funny, bizarre and uncalled-for incidents.
User Reviews
I
can only speak for myself, but I had never seen anything as stylish,
cleverly constructed, well written and electrifying as this milestone
when I first saw it in 1994. What really pulled me in right from the
start is what we've now come to know as a Tarantino trademark: the
dialogue. When gangsters Jules and Vincent talk to each other (or all
the other characters, for that matter) there is a natural flow, a sense
of realism and yet something slightly over the top and very theatrical
about their lines – it's a mixture that immediately grabs your attention
(even if it's just two dudes talking about what kind of hamburger they
prefer, or contemplating the value of a foot-massage). Then there's the
music: the songs Tarantino chose for his masterpiece fit their
respective scenes so perfectly that most of those pieces of music are
now immediately associated with 'Pulp Fiction'. And the narrative: the
different story lines that come together, the elegantly used flashbacks,
the use of "chapters" – there is so much playful creativity at play
here, it's just a pure joy to watch.
If you're a bit of a film
geek, you realize how much knowledge about film and love for the work of
other greats – and inspiration from them
- went into this (Leone, DePalma, Scorsese and, of course, dozens of
hyper-stylized
Asian gangster flicks), but to those accusing Tarantino of copying or
even "stealing" from other film-makers I can only say: There has never
been an artist who adored his kind of art that was NOT inspired or
influenced by his favorite artists. And if you watch Tarantino's
masterpiece today, it's impossible not to recognize just what a breath
of fresh air it was (still is, actually). Somehow, movies
- especially gangster films - never looked quite the same after 'Pulp
Fiction'.
Probably the most influential film of the last 20 years, it's got
simply everything: amazing performances (especially Sam Jackson); it
features some of the most sizzling, iconic dialogue ever written; it has
arguably one of the best non-original soundtracks ever - it's such a
crazy, cool, inspirational ride that you feel dizzy after watching it
for the first time. It's – well: it's 'Pulp Fiction'. 10 stars out of
10.
