 Critics and audiences worldwide hailed Pulp Fiction as the star-studded motion picture that redefined cinema in the 20th Century! Writer/Director Quentin Tarantino (Academy Award® Winner - Best Original Screenplay, 1994) delivers an unforgettable cast of characters - including a pair of low-rent hit men (John Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson), their boss's sexy wife (Uma Thurman) and a desperate prizefighter (Bruce Willis) - in a wildly entertaining and exhilarating motion picture adventure that both thrills and amuses! 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. Written by Soumitra Reviewer's Note: Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman on September 28, 2011 -- Perhaps understandably a lot of film lovers insist that the greatest era of film was whatever era they grew up with, or at least whatever era it was that they started really paying attention to films. People who frequented movie houses during the Golden Age will argue that fine films pretty much ended shortly after World War II. Baby boomers will insist that nothing post-1970's has any merit. And younger audiences just now getting their sea legs in terms of wide film going experiences would probably be hard pressed to name anything they consider a classic that was released pre-1990. Such are the vagaries of time, and such are the vagaries of proclaiming any given film an "all time classic," especially if that "all time" phrase only accounts for a few years or even a couple of decades. Films need to age (like fine wine in those ads of yesteryear) in order to really LATCH ONTO something akin to a lasting reputation, no matter what the initial response to their theatrical exhibition may have been. In fact the perspective that comes with passing time, not to mention hindsight, can work both for a film's benefit or toward its detriment. There are any number of films which were pilloried upon their original release which are now considered at the very least minor classics. On the other hand, films which were the flavor du jour are now looked at with decidedly more cynical eyes. So where does Pulp Fiction reside in this rather vast spectrum? Rarely has a film been greeted with such unanimous acclaim as Pulp Fiction was in 1994. Winner of the Palme d'Or at Cannes that year, and later nominated for seven Academy Awards (winning for the original screenplay by director Quentin Tarantino and collaborator Roger Avary), the film was lionized for doing everything from resurrecting John Travolta's then pretty moribund career to injecting new life (no pun intended, considering the famous syringe scene in the film) into the whole crime thriller neo-noir genre. But even in 1994 there were a few quibbling naysayers in the bunch, those who found the film's overarch dialogue risible and who had issues with what they perceived was the film's too self conscious attempts to be innovative. These people argued that Tarantino was simply too aware of his own brilliance, and thereby deprived Pulp Fiction of a more organic, up from the roots originality, and instead the film had a sort of pre-fab, neomodern aesthetic imposed from without that hobbled the film's inherent sensibility. What does all of this look like now from the vantage point of coming on twenty years since the film's original release? From the vantage point of this particular reviewer, Pulp Fiction is still the bracingly original masterpiece it was when it was first released. I personally can't think of another film whose two and a half hour (more or less) running time seems to whiz by in the blink of an eye the way Pulp Fiction's does. I was frankly a little astonished when I saw how many Blu-ray.com readers hadn't yet seen Citizen Kane or Ben-Hur, two all-time classics I recently reviewed, so I shouldn't assume that most of those reading this review have already seen Pulp Fiction. Pulp Fiction handily twists Ben-Hur's straightforward narrative and even out-convolutes Citizen Kane's pretzel logic storytelling to deliver one of the most complex structures in mainstream film of at least the last fifty years, so a plot summary is well nigh impossible. A brief survey of the many stars featured in Pulp Fiction will allow any newcomers to the film a moment to contemplate the sheer narrative audacity Tarantino employs, since really none of these parts could be rightly termed a mere cameo. The film offers John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Uma Thurman, Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Amanda Plummer, Ving Rhames, Rosanna Arquette, Christopher Walken and Bruce Willis in a labyrinthine plot which deals with a number of disparate and desperate characters whose lives are strangely interwoven. We have two post-ironic hitmen (Travolta and Jackson) doing dirty work for a gangland boss (Rhames) who is also demanding that a boxer (Willis) take a dive in an upcoming bout. Thurman is the moll, Roth and Plummer are goons about to hold up a café, and the few mentioned above not detailed here drift in to various plot points at certain times. But this brief (very brief) overview is a little bit like saying, "The Bible is about God," with no disrespect to either God or Mr. Tarantino. The film has a deliberately complex structure which is decidedly non-linear, and the film also exults in a virtually nonstop stream of pop and cultural references that include everything from the mysterious glowing briefcase of Kiss Me Deadly to Marilyn Monroe's windswept skirt. Is this film self-aware, even too self-aware? Well, yes, but isn't that the point? Tarantino is a film geek par excellence, and he stuffs Pulp Fiction to the brim with references to other films, as well as any number of other cultural detritus which drifts by most of us unnoticed. Tarantino's fine eye for detail and incredible ear for dialogue has probably never had a finer moment than in Pulp Fiction. The two most bracing things about Pulp Fiction are two elements which are seemingly at odds with each other but which in Tarantino's universe go together like hand and glove, namely violence and humor. This is a film filled to the breaking point with absolutely gratuitous, over the top violence, but it is also one of the inarguably funniest films of the past 25 years or so. What is so captivating about Tarantino's achievement is how often the violence and the humor work together, side by side, to create this film's patently manic energy. For anyone who's seen the film, memories of the first scene where the hitmen "get into character" or the later iconic scene with Thurman's character and the incredible shot of adrenaline will know exactly what I'm talking about. There are very few films that manage to walk a tightrope as artfully as Pulp Fiction does, and the fact that the film remains so seemingly effortlessly balanced is why it will remain a classic for this or any other era. Caveat for you slipcover freaks (and you know who you are): I won't spoil the "surprise," other than to say Tarantino is playing with your OCD tendencies. Anyone looking for a "pristine" slip for Pulp Fiction is going to have to take a deep breath. Revisiting Pulp Fiction for the purposes of this review was like getting back in touch with a dysfunctional family whose quirks are only too recognizable, but who you end up loving anyway. This film is so stuffed with great performances and great bits of dialogue that it's almost useless to try to single one or two moments out. Fans of the film are going to be very pleased with the video and audio components of this release, as well as a couple of new supplements appended to previously released extras. Anyone new to the film is in for one of the thrill rides of their film-loving lives. Highly recommended. Ending: This one may not seem a likely candidate for confusing movie endings, but it is. With its non-linear plot, we all know that Jules will retire from his life as a contract killer, while Vincent Vega will continue to work for Marsellus Wallace until he is killed with his own gun by Butch. So why end the movie with the two hitmen walking safely out of the bar? --- It's because the hero, or heroes, need to live. Though they're professional killers, by the end of the movie, Jules and Vincent have won our hearts. (Admit it, you feel disappointed every time you see Vincent die.) So for all intents and purposes, they are the movie's heroes. In fact, in the final scene, they have performed a heroic deed. They, mainly Jules, have spared Pumpkin and Honey Bunny's lives and hopefully turned them away from a life of crime, giving this violent movie a peaceful resolution. Jules and Vincent have essentially redeemed themselves, or put themselves on the path toward redemption. If that doesn't earn them the right to live at the end of the movie, what does? Cast Notes: John Travolta (Vincent Vega), Samuel L. Jackson (Jules Winnfield), Tim Roth (Pumpkin / Ringo), Amanda Plummer (Honey Bunny / Yolanda), Eric Stoltz (Lance), Bruce Willis (Butch Coolidge), Ving Rhames (Marsellus Wallace), Phil LaMarr (Marvin), Maria de Medeiros (Fabienne), Rosanna Arquette (Jody), Peter Greene (Zed), Uma Thurman (Mia Wallace), Duane Whitaker (Maynard), Paul Calderon (Paul / English Bob), Frank Whaley (Brett). IMDb Rating (05/01/16): 8.9/10 from 1,291,297 users Top 250: #7 IMDb Rating (07/25/14): 9.0/10 from 956,446 users Top 250: #5 IMDb Rating (08/05/11): 9.0/10 from 493,350 users Top 250: #5
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