Pulp Fiction (1994)

Film: Pulp Fiction

Director: Quentin Tarantino

Country: USA

Released: May 1994

Runtime: 154 minutes

Genre: Crime Drama

Studio: A Band Apart / Miramax

Influenced: Paul Thomas Anderson, Lynne Ramsay, Robert Rodriguez, Edgar Wright, Rian Johnson

Tarantino's love for cinema began at a young age. He dropped out of high school to pursue a career in filmmaking, taking jobs at a video rental store in California, where he honed his knowledge of movies and started writing screenplays. One of his earliest scripts was True Romance, which he sold to producer Lawrence Bender. This script gained attention in Hollywood and helped establish Tarantino as a talented writer, leading to the green light for his breakthrough movie, Reservoir Dogs (1992), which he wrote and directed and which won acclaim for its unique storytelling, sharp dialogue and ensemble cast. True Romance, directed by Tony Scott, appeared a year later and in many ways was a dry run for Pulp Fiction, boosting Tarantino's profile and status even further. Then came Pulp Fiction, co-wrote by Tarantino and Roger Avary and the movie in which all of Tarantino's creative sparks really caught fire, produced on a relatively modest budget of $8.5mn, with much of the cost going towards securing the ensemble cast.

Various actors from Reservoir Dogs – such as Steve Buscemi, Harvey Keitel and Tim Roth – would reappear in Pulp Fiction, enhanced by the star quality of John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Bruce Willis, Uma Thurman, Eric Stoltz, Amanda Plummer and Christopher Walken. Michael Madsen was originally slated for the role of Vincent Vega, but Tarantino rewrote the part specifically for Travolta, after the two met for an in-depth chat. Travolta turned down a role in From Dusk Till Dawn (1996), saying he preferred the script for Pulp Fiction, and this decision would reinvent his career. The primary plot revolves around two hitmen, Jules (Jackson) and Vincent (Travolta), who work for a crime boss named Marsellus Wallace (Ving Rhames). Other storylines involve Marsellus' wife Mia Wallace (Thurman), a boxer named Butch Coolidge (Willis), a pair of small-time crooks (Roth and Plummer), a briefcase and a watch.

As well as the clever casting and intricate plot, what also makes Pulp Fiction such a well-loved movie are the dialogue and the music. Memorable moments include the iconic Royale with Cheese dialogue between Jules and Vincent when discussing fast food in Europe, Mia and Vincent's dance sequence at Jack Rabbit Slim's, accompanied by Chuck Berry's You Never Can Tell, and the memorable Ezekiel 25:17 recital delivered by Jules before he executes his victim. Other favourite moments of mine include Walken's monologue about the watch, the adrenaline shot scene involving Mia and Mr Wolfe's appearance at the end of the movie. On a more superficial level, I also love the hairstyles, from Thurman's iconic black bob to Jackson's legendary Jheri curl. Some people find the movie, and Tarantino's work more generally, overly self-conscious and indulgent, but there's no arguing with the fact that Pulp Fiction is a wonderfully structured movie, full of criss-crossing narratives that somehow coalesce. 

Pulp Fiction won the Palme d’Or in 1994, turning Tarantino into a global superstar and establishing his signature cinematic style, full of dialogue-heavy scenes and pop culture references. There was a punk ethos to his movies that inspired a new generation of indie filmmakers. Beneath the clever dialogue and elaborate structure of his movies, Tarantino tells old-fashioned stories of revenge and redemption, and in the case of Pulp Fiction we see how Vincent is redeemed by his brush with apparent divine intervention, while Jules isn't. Pulp Fiction received seven Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, and won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay (shared by Tarantino and Avary). The eclectic soundtrack, featuring songs from various genres and eras, also became a defining feature of the movie. Arguably no film from the 90s has more recognisable lines or iconic moments.