#94: Pulp Fiction (1994)

Oscar Winner: Best Original Screenplay (Also nominated for 6 other categories)

A Royale with cheese… the big brains on Brad… Honey Bunny… the twist contest… the soundtrack… Ezekiel 25:7… The best way to describe Pulp Fiction is by one word… Cool. Even if the language, violence and drugs that appear repulse you, one has to admit that Quentin Tarantino’s film oozes with Cool.

This is one of the films on the list that I had seen many times, mainly from my time in college, and it still holds up today. It’s now historically known as the movie that brought independent film to the forefront. There are so many memorable scenes and quotes that it’s almost overwhelming. For better or for worse, there are images and moments from this movie that will stick with you for a long time, and to me that is one of the elements that makes a great film.

Pulp Fiction is an ode to the inexpensive fiction magazines that were widely published from the 1920s through 1950s. It tells four original tales that involve gangsters, a boxer, and rather chatty robbers that all connect in someway. The viewer is never quite sure what to expect because everything is intertwined in a non-linear fashion, which was very new and original at the time. The stories almost abandon any sense of theme or purpose, but dive headfirst into a world that you know exists, but one that you don’t want to admit does. You just have to accept that this world that Tarantino has created is pure entertainment and as uncomfortable as it is, you have to sit back and enjoy.

What particularly stands out is the performances and the dialogue. The movie practically made Samuel L. Jackson and Uma Thurman a household name and John Travolta should still be paying Tarantino some compensation for revitalizing his career. Also, the verbiage used between the characters is so unique and clever, but at the same time captures how two people talk to each other. You feel as if you are spying on somebody’s conversation versus hearing a movie script. By blending this innovative, yet real-life conversation with dynamic chemistry between the actors, Tarantino created a world that filmmakers have been trying to recreate since.

The only downfall of this film is the middle story, following Butch (Bruce Willis). Besides for its very funny opening with Christopher Walken and its fury of an ending, it’s boring and way too long with a pace that is not like the others. Still, that segment wasn’t enough to keep it from being nominated for Best Picture in 1994 with an amazing class; Four Weddings and a Funeral, Quiz Show, The Shawshank Redemption, and Forrest Gump (which won).

There was a huge outcry when it didn’t win, especially because it won the prestigious Golden Palm award at the Cannes film festival. I think people must move past that because Pulp Fiction made a huge impact on pop-culture and changed the way the studio system looked at independent films. Which to me is a bigger legacy than receiving the coveted recognition.

I give Pulp Fiction 4.5 out of 5 briefcases.