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Well I have to say I was expecting a Salt type espionage thriller? It turned out for me at least was something far better. Dark and gritty and pretty brutal I absolutely loved it. thought Lawrence was outstanding!
Yep, have to say her look reminded me of Lea Seydoux in MI Ghost Protocol when she assassinates the MIF agent at the start of the movie.
Excellent directorial debut film from the twisted mind of QT. Keeps its ambitions simple and realistic yet introduces the voice of my generation. Here's a film that has people talking about pop culture and meaningless stuff, just like we do in everyday situations. Yet amidst all that, an exciting crime story unfolds with an uncomplicated but tense climax. Then there's the cast, a bunch of has-beens and nameless faces that would soon find themselves (back) in the game thanks to this film. And let's not forget the many memorable scenes, now classics in their genre, like Madsen's torture dance and the erroneous shooting finale.
If you haven't got a lot of money, just make the best of it. Tell a simple story full of interesting conflicts that aren't particularly expensive to film. Don't worry about cheap equipment and film stock; but rather, own it. Give the film a deliberate '70s look and sound and have your characters act like it's a play. Squeeze out the "cool" orange all over the picture; drop F- and S-bombs like a drunken sailor, and all the kids my age will worship at your altar. Kevin Smith also went for inexpensive "talkies" like CLERKS, but clearly, Tarantino would become the grand master of the game.
I don't expect everybody to love this movie the way I do, but in my opinion, this is one of those seminal '90s "dude" films along with HEAT, TRAINSPOTTING and Tarantino's follow-up movie, PULP FICTION. Tarantino really did create a b(r)and apart; his first film may very well be one of his best.
One of the best of the 90s.
Its awful yet so much fun at the same time. Highly quotable and the score is far better than the movie deserves.
Some Bond alumni in there too!
Better than the first by far. The cheese in the acting just makes it more memorable and unique among the Die Hard clones from the 90s.
Great film!!!
If RESERVOIR DOGS gave Tarantino a name, PULP FICTION built him the fame. It's a very lengthy film that's pretty much about nothing (as the title suggests) and heavier on dialogue than on anything else--but it's a compulsively watchable movie, both arrogant and successful in its reliance on Tarantino's screenwriting talents. Choices made in the casting and music departments are unexpected as much as they are brilliant. PULP FICTION defies predictability and swims upstream as far as genre conventions go; yet the movie is all the more unique and fascinating because of that. Above all, it's an infinitely quotable film; from "Step aside, Butch... (and so on)" all the way to Ezechiel 25:17 ("the path of the righteous man..."), PULP FICTION allows for countless recitations between geeks (and tough guys) of my generation.
But let's talk Sam Jackson, up until that point a relative unknown who had had to satisfy himself with playing very small bit parts in films like COMING TO AMERICA and slightly bigger bit parts in films like JURASSIC PARK. I distinctly remember recognising Jackson from GOODFELLAS and PATRIOT GAMES but being blown away by his performance in PULP FICTION, the first time ever Sam-"M.F."-Jackson would leave a lasting impression on me. Donning a fro like it's nobody's business, dropping the N-word left and right, finding the proper facial expressions and vocal inflexions for his role as Jules, Jackson generated a whole new career for himself with this part.
Is PULP FICTION better or worse than RESERVOIR DOGS? It's different, despite a few minor winks and nods to its predecessor. What matters is that it's a highly enjoyable, entertaining, re-watchable exercise in "cool" filmmaking from a man who embraces the past while shaping the cinema of the future. And nobody does it better, despite the likes of Kevin Smith and others trying hard to accomplish the same legacy in the '90s before giving up. I was 12 when PULP FICTION hit theatres and became a phenomenon. I caught the bug at the right age. A quarter of a century later, I'm still as big a fan of the film as I was then. QT has since moved on to bigger projects and some of PULP FICTION's glory has withered, but I'll continue to nurture a fondness for the movie, longer lasting than the taste of a five dollar milkshake or mayonnaise on fries...
IMO, the best film of the 90s.
Great review! It's been some years since I watched it, but Pulp Fiction is one of my favourite films. For me, PF is really a display of Tarantino's dialogue writing talent; nobody in the industry does it the same way he does. I often wonder how Tarantino's CR would have been like.
Edit: This also reminded me of the time one of my teachers used PF as an example in narrative. That was brilliant. A brilliant teacher as well!
Saw it at the London film festival. Tarantino and Keitel were in attendance. Met Tarantino outside and got his autograph. Knew then this guy was something special. What a cool film and a great title!
@Torgeirtrap, I like to use scenes from Bond films in my science classes. Always a lot of fun, that. :)
I should attend one of your classes, @DarthDimi! Don't know much about science, but the Bond references should keep a Bond fan's attention. :-D
You'd be surprised how well that works. ;-)
As for QT's films... surely they can do marvels in other classes, but science...? Maybe my biology colleagues can have some fun with Kill Bill. :)
I don't doubt it works great! Always loved it when my teachers were able to use pop culture references to keep things interesting in class.
Fantastic film.
It takes a lot of guts for a relatively young filmmaker who is incredibly popular amongst the younger crowd to suddenly and unexpectedly explore a theme like ageing with dignity. After playing things cool and innovative with PULP FICTION, Tarantino went for something entirely different, something many people, at the time, called "boring". JACKIE BROWN, based on Elmore Leonard's novel "Rum Punch", talks about nondescript middle-aged people who are trying to escape their life of dreadful routine and the loss of ambition. It takes the film two hours and a half to execute precisely one plan that has most of its key players at the crossroads; an elaborate two-hour build-up must satisfy our curiosity about their motives, backstory... For some, this very protracted storytelling is just too much.
Take me, for example, a 16-year old when JACKIE BROWN is released, hoping for something close to a PULP FICTION 2 but ending up in a blaxploitation homage full of long drawn-out conversational scenes with little action to speak of. It took me a while in the theatre before I had accepted that what I was seeing wasn't anything close to QT's previous two endeavours. Only Sam Jackson's portrayal as Ordell Robbie kept me interested to some extent. What can I say: the man is awesome in almost everything he does.
But times have changed. I have changed. And since the release of JACKIE BROWN I have come to understand, grasp as it were, what the film is all about and why it's one of Tarantino's best. Themes are being addressed which filmmakers rarely dare touch because they speak to, at best, a very limited section of the audience. More than that, Tarantino takes his time to develop the story, to approach his characters' feelings, motivations and intentions with scientific scrutiny. He doesn't rush through this story to artificially create a sense of pace and narrative rhythm; rather, he negotiates the multilayered story with surgical precision. I have come to admire his boldness. It's not so much his patience but ours that he puts to the test. But our resulting fulfilment is his achievement and his alone, an admirable finality to one of the few films that still allow themselves to pause and breathe in an era of frenetic storytelling everywhere.
Pam Grier and Robert Forster give magnificent performances. Secondary characters are also fleshed out well; the likes of Bridget Fonda, Michael Keaton and Robert De Niro make them interesting despite their de facto dullness. Add to that a wonderful selection of songs and musical cues and combined with Taratino's controlled but fascinating screenwriting, you've got a winner. JACKIE BROWN was never going to dominate box offices but at least it showed a side of its director rarely seen before. In a sense, it was Tarantino's true breakout film, a project that demonstrated his abilities beyond the gimmicks of its two predecessors. Like good wine, the film grows better with age... For isn't that what the film is all about--how to age well and keep your eyes open for opportunities?
Another great movie.
I concur!
It's one of those films that just gets better everytime you watch it.
Like you, i was underwhelmed seeing it for the first time, but after many viewings i consider it one of his best and most mature films.
On Tarantino, I just watched this interview with him. It's a few years old, but an interesting watch:
@Torgeirtrap
I had seen the interview before. Good stuff, isn't it?
It certainly is! Love interviews where the person interviewed gets the chance to provide answers without interruptions.
Tarantino is always brilliant in interviews. Really enthusiastic and knows his stuff.
Another great piece of cinema from the visionary Murnau. Funny thing here is that J. Jonah Jameson is in the film.