Pulp Fiction
1994
Directed by Quentin Tarantino
Netflix sleeve: A burger-loving hit man (John Travolta), his philosophical partner (Samuel L. Jackson), a drug-adled gangster's moll (Uma Thurman) and a washed-up boxer (Bruce Willis) converge in this sprawling, comedic crime caper fueled by director and co-writer Quentin Tarantino's whip-smart dialogue. Their adventures unfurl in three stories that ingeniously trip back and forth in time, resulting in one of the most audacious and imitated films of the 1990s.
This is one of those movies that I heard a lot about but wasn't allowed to see back when it was first released. If I do the math right I was 14 when Pulp Fiction hit theaters. If I were a parent, I wouldn't let my 14-year-old see it. If you've seen it, then you know exactly why. It's not a kid-friendly story. For me, Tarantino's stuff is okay, not great. Some of it I really like, some I don't. This one, I could take it or leave it. I will say that I loved the Kill Bill movies and Inglorious Basterds. Pulp Fiction does give us a lot of classic moments and lines, so it's fun watching it for those scenes. And what's in the briefcase? Really? My 10th grade English teacher once took a class period to explain to us that it was Marcellus' soul. Not sure what that had to do with The Iliad, but it was a memorable lecture.
It totally was his soul. I'm a huge fan of Pulp Fiction. I still have it on VHS somewhere around here. Ha.
ReplyDeleteIn other news, I had a dream last night I was at a blogging convention and you were there and asked me about mortgages. I'm assuming it has to do with the fact I read your noisy apartment post before hitting the sack last night. Odd.
the brief case in this movie is what is referred to as a:
ReplyDeletemacguffin (aka: mcguffin, maguffin i believe)
it's basically an element in a movie that serves no purpose other than to keep the plot moving.
hitchcock first talked about its use back in the 1930s .. google it. it's funny how often it's used.
j "thanks film school!" h