Pulp Fiction

“I am gonna get medieval on your ass.” -- Marsellus Wallace

There is a famous syringe scene halfway through 1994’s “Pulp Fiction” in which a character passes out because of a drug overdose. The character awakens from a semi-unconscious, life-threatening state after a syringe is punched through her chest. There is a pin-drop silence in the room, and for that moment everyone around her is completely petrified. Then one character utters: “That’s fuckin’ trippy.”  This one scene in “Pulp Fiction” summarizes the reaction of audiences and critics after seeing the movie. People didn’t know how to react initially. It’s not like the film evokes straight-out-of-book responses. Some people liked the film’s unique structure; a few tried wrapping their heads around the puzzling narrative; and still others hated it because of its violence and language.

Surely, “Pulp Fiction” is a freewheeling, trippy ride that is beautifully envisioned, thoroughly absorbing, and deliberately convoluted. Nonetheless, the film generated unequivocal positive responses from the critics; it has a rating of 9/10 at IMDB and a 94% approval rating with the Rotten Tomatoes critics. Indeed, “Pulp Fiction” ushered in an era of moviegoers that were popularly associated with the “Tarantino” generation. What’s more, the film’s success had a blazing impact on Tarantino’s career, with a few critics calling him one of the greatest directors of all time, while others questioned Tarantino’s immediate fame. Whatever the case, Tarantino became a linchpin of urban gangster violence that was earlier associated with the Martin Scorsese era.

On the surface, it is futile to dissect “Pulp Fiction.” The story line makes no sense because Tarantino presents the story as a set of nonlinear montages. In fact, the film’s motif feels like a collage, where several short segments are compressed in no order. Furthermore, there is no cohesive timeline of events added to the plot. I call the film’s plot a story of two gangsters, probably carrying on their routine daily activities. Told in a chapter-like format, we first meet two hit men, Vincent (John Travolta) and Jules (Samuel Jackson), who are sent out by their boss, Marsellus (Ving Rhames), to collect a suitcase. Marsellus asks Vincent to entertain his newly wed wife, Mia (Uma Thurman), while he is out of town. Meanwhile, Marsellus has asked Butch (Bruce Willis) to throw his next fight. These stories intersect at some point, and the characters are trapped in unwanted situations.

If Scorsese heralded a modernistic gangster era, then Tarantino elevated it to the next level with his signature style. First and foremost, narratively, Tarantino differs from Scorsese, as the former is not interested in developing his characters. Tarantino’s emphasis is on the straight-out-of-life, time-capsuled characters, meaning the characters are everyday people, and their characters are developed by rapid on-screen chitchats. Vincent and Jules are smartly dressed guys in suit-and-tie outfits. They have sharp tongues, with profanity flowing at every verbal exchange. When they are not operating as gangsters, they discuss irrelevant topics like foot massages, hamburgers, milk shakes, and pets. They have differing points of view on the matters discussed, often using counter arguments to support their analysis. Surely, a few exchanges are overly comic, as we learn different types of foot massages and differences between a filthy and dirty animal, which is probably an interpretation of a criminal person in today’s society. But faced with whatever crisis, Vincent is the coolest and most-calm guy, whereas Jules is the more aggressive of the two. However, Jules is also very religious, uttering famous lines from the Bible in the opening shot. In the climax, Jules demonstrates the way of the gun, and how he views a righteous man and his place in the society. You see Jules views everything in the light of God. He likes to talk by providing a detailed reasoning for his actions. On the other hand, Vincent is quite an introvert, remaining mostly silent and talking only when necessary. “Pulp Fiction” revitalized Travolta’s career, and he perfectly plays the smooth-talking character of Vincent. Likewise, Samuel L. Jackson carries the gangster’s persona, who is clear about his motives. Indeed, the dynamic combo of Travolta and Jackson makes “Pulp Fiction” supremely entertaining.

Much has been said about the film’s violent tone, but in my opinion there are only two violent scenes in the movie. The first one occurs when Butch is on the run and locked up by punks in a shop. To escape, Butch decides which weapon to use; first he picks a hammer, then a chainsaw, followed by a baseball bat. Eventually, he spots a samurai sword perched on the wall and decides to use it on his perpetrators. He bleeds a guy to death, but we never see the blood or torn body parts. Tarantino focuses on capturing the action indirectly and not its visual impact. Nonetheless, in the entire sequence, Butch suddenly becomes the executioner, as the situation forces Butch to inflict a violent recourse. This is the only scene where a character doesn’t use a gun. In retrospect, this segment drops a hint about Tarantino’s next work, “Kill Bill,” and it acts as a tribute to the Samurai genre. Finally, in the last shot, when a trigger-happy Vincent accidentally shoots a guy in the backseat of their car, we only see the blood splatters on the windows, with no dead body in the entire sequence. However, the violent impact is later described by a third person at the scene, and the conversation presents the visual imagery of the dead body. Repulsive as this might sound, we are spared the sight of a mutilated corpse. Tarantino stylizes violence in a comic way, without glorifing it. The violence is cartoonish, and the eccentric dialogue lays the foundation of the film’s violent modus operandi.

In addition to a marvelous script, “Pulp Fiction” also succeeds in its set design, which is evident in the famous dance sequence. Here, Tarantino first focuses the camera on the faces, capturing the emotions and uncertainty of the characters. Slowly, he swirls the camera down to the legs, now demonstrating the perfect harmony that exists between the two characters performing on the stage. It’s a perfect shot of two charismatic stars, temporarily locked in an unspoken bliss. There is another shot of Butch escaping in a taxi, where a minor adjustment to the film’s palette injects a surreal look to the film. In this shot, the camera is focused on the girl, while we see a sweating Butch in the backseat. The sequence feels as if it is shot in black-and-white, with the camera switching back-and-forth between the two characters.

It is true “Pulp Fiction” defined the Nineties generation like no movie had done. It’s a perfect ensemble piece, featuring superb performances from everyone in the cast, notably from Travolta and Jackson. Whether Tarantino is still a one-hit wonder boy is something I will let you decide.

Video:

As one of the most-anticipated titles on Blu-ray, “Pulp Fiction” blazes its way to disc via a stunning-looking 1080p transfer. Lionsgate presents the film using an AVC encode, framed in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1. The first thing that stands out about the 1080p is its outstanding clarity and sharpness. Starting with the indoor diner shot, the transfer is crisp and devoid of any print damage; there is no trace of specks or dust popping up. The vibrant, colorful palette presents deep and vivid colors. For instance, the colors ooze out, especially in the dance sequence and later at a bar where Vincent and Butch meet for the first time; the reddish touch-up to the entire sequence, along with perfect lightning, makes this one of the most-beautiful scenes in the film in HD. Tarantino employs a number of close-up shots, mainly in the scenes with Vincent and Jules, and the close-ups are tight, with nice detail. Likewise, the blacks are solid, with a well-balanced contrast ratio. These scenes are never too bright, thereby retaining the natural detail of the nearby objects. The flesh tones are natural, too.

Audio:

“Pulp Fiction” is presented to us in a terrific-sounding, lossless 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track. Mostly, the film is driven by verbal exchanges between the characters. The dialogue is crisp and clean for the entire duration, and the front channels remain active throughout. The film’s music forms an important part in a few sequences. In the dance sequence, the rear channels are activated, providing an immersive sonic experience. The gunshots are loud and heavy, packing in a good amount of bass. Also, the film can be viewed in English and Spanish subtitles.

Extras:

This Blu-ray edition ports all the bonus features from the previous two-disc edition. In addition, Lionsgate has included new retrospective interviews for this release.

Starting off, we get new interviews with the cast. John Travolta recalls his time with Quentin Tarantino and how they discussed Travolta’s career. At that time, Travolta was impressed by Tarantino’s unique style of storytelling. Samuel Jackson recalls his audition segment, and how he got the role ahead of Lawrence Fishburne. Eric Stolz talks about the script that was 130-pages long, mainly consisting of dialogues. Travolta discusses his fear working with Tarantino, since he felt Tarantino lacked a cohesive vision.

“Critic Retrospective” shows several film critics discussing the work of Quentin Tarantino, specifically “Pulp Fiction.” According to one critic, Stephanie Zacharek, “Pulp Fiction” is a beautifully constructed movie that she doesn’t respond to. Her favorite scene is the dance sequence, which is perfectly shot. Another critic sees “Pulp Fiction” in continuity with “Reservoir Dogs.” Everyone acknowledges the impact Tarantino and how he became the fabric of the generation.

“Pulp Fiction: The Facts” begins with Scott Spiegel discussing Tarantino’s work in “Natural Born Killers,” and why he was impressed with Tarantino’s script in “Reservoir Dogs.” We see Tarantino presenting his thoughts on the three stories in the film.

Following this, we get a set of five deleted scenes. The “behind-the-scenes” montage shows the cast on the set for shooting two scenes: Vincent and Mia at a diner, and Butch hitting Marcellus. Next, we get a short production-design segment in which the film’s designers talk about Tarantino’s choice in picking a location in Southern California.

“At the movies” shows Roger Ebert and the late Gene Siskel discussing their thoughts on Tarantino and “Pulp Fiction.” Ebert feels Tarantino has a flair for self-promotion. Both are surprised at the level of penetration achieved by Tarantino’s “Pulp Fiction.” Ebert further adds that in the history of cinema, Tarantino is the only director called a “Rock-‘n’-Roll” star.

We get more interviews in “Independent Spirit Awards,” followed by Tarantino’s acceptance at Cannes.  Following this, we get a long interview segment with Tarantino on the “Charlie Rose Show.” Tarantino recalls his childhood days when he would remember films and their directors more clearly than his study lessons.

Finally, we get theatrical trailers, TV spots, an enhanced trivia track, a stills gallery, and soundtrack chapters.

Parting Thoughts:

With its nonlinear narrative, “Pulp Fiction” is hailed as a perfect film in every aspect. It has garnered godly praises from its audience and critics. It’s not a modern masterpiece, but, nonetheless, it remains a hugely entertaining film because of its unique approach to storytelling. This Blu-ray edition will rank as one of the best catalogue releases of 2011. Highly recommended.