Pulp Fiction Film Review

In class for the past two weeks, we watched Quentin Tarantino’s hit film Pulp Fiction.  In 1992, Quentin Tarantino was always seen as an independent film maker, but today the name Tarantino is well known in the film making industry.  Just this year Tarantino released his new film Django Unchained which has now grossed over 186.76 million dollars.  Personally, I have never heard of Quentin Tarantino until I watched his newest movie Django Unchained, which I personally thought was amazing.  I thought he was always a big time Hollywood film maker, until I read that he was actually an independent film maker.  When I heard that we were going to watch a Quentin Tarantino film in class I was excited to find out how Quentin Tarantino made his name in the world of film making. 

                Pulp Fiction was said to be the prize possession of Miramax.  This is because it was the first independent film to gross over 100 million dollars at the box office.  Essentially, the esteem this film had, had also given Miramax esteem as well.  It proved that there was still room for independent films in the market. ( Ronald Bergan,2006)

                Pulp Fiction was probably one of the best movies I have watched in a while, its satirical flavor, take on pop culture, and unconventional method of story-telling are elements of this movie that I believe make this movie stand out.  My favorite scene in the movie involved Vincent and Joules.  Vincent, who is played by the plump John Travolta, and Joules, who is played by Samuel L. Jackson work for a man named Marcellus Wallace.  Vincent and Joules do Marcellus Wallace’s dirty work, which involve killing those who double cross him and delivering his possessions. 

Vincent and Joules are hilarious, although the plot is very serious and the manner in which they say their lines are meant to be serious, they just come off to be very satirical.  One thing that I noticed, actually you would have to be deaf to notice, is the overuse of profanity.  Although the terms used in this film may be controversial to those with sensitive ears, I found that the profanity really added to the hilarity of the film. 

Another element of this film that really allowed it to stand out in my eyes was the films take on pop culture.  Typically in Hollywood style films, it is rare to hear the characters of the film speaking about elements of pop culture amongst each other.  In Pulp Fiction there are many instances where elements of pop culture are discussed.  In the opening scene, Vincent is telling Joules about the McDonalds in Amsterdam.  Vincent tells Joules that in Amsterdam the Quarter Pounder is not called the Quarter Pounder; instead it is referred to as a Royale with cheese.   There was also a conversation about Big Kahuna Burger, Joules talks about how he has longed to try a Big Kahuna Burger just before killing a man who had double crossed Marcellus.  Also, there is a scene about Vincent and Marcellus’s wife where they go to Fat Rabbit Slims, which is a 50’s themed diner whose waiters and waitresses are all dressed as iconic people of the 1950’s.

I think that the reason that this movie is pretty unique is because of its unconventional method of storytelling.  The beginning is also the final scene.  As a member of the audience, the method of storytelling is a fun and avant-garde way of presenting the pieces of this film.  Even though in the order they were presented the scenes did not fit together, each scene could stand independently and was amusing and was able to effectively tell a story.  This was one of those movies where you are constantly sitting in your seat adding things up, trying to figure out the story line.  Although some people dislike this method of storytelling, I believe it really makes the movie more interesting and adds to the fun yet wild feel of this film.