Pulp Fiction: Difference between revisions

Known for its rich, eclectic, pop-culture-laden dialogue, and mix of humor and over-the-top violence, ''Pulp Fiction'' is known as one of the best, most iconic films to come out of [[The Nineties]]. Also somewhat infamous for the controversy over proper writing credits. The Gold Watch chapter originated as an original script by [[Roger Avary]]. Tarantino bought the script with the intention of adapting it, as one would do a novel. In the final credits, Avary is given a "story by" listing.

 

 

Not to be confused with actual Pulp Fiction as a genre, which is found under [[Pulp Magazine]].

 

{{tropelist}}

* [[Afro Asskicker]]: Jheri Curl flavor.

* [[Alliterative Name]]: Vincent Vega, continuing the legacy of [[Reservoir Dogs|Vic Vega]].

* [[All There in the Manual]]: According to the script, the briefcase contained diamonds. Tarantino felt this was too similar to the plot of ''[[Reservoir Dogs]]'', and left it ambiguous.

* [[Anachronic Order]]: Quentin Tarantino's trademark style of storytelling. Here's how the film would play in chronological order:

** "The Gold Watch".

* [[Anti-Hero]]: Butch, Type III

* [[Bowdlerise]]: The broadcast version of the film goes to ''extreme'' measures to eliminate the existence of the character of The Gimp.

* [[Bound and Gagged]]: Butch and Marsellus.

* [[Cavalier Consumption]]: While Jules and Vincent are putting on a hit. Man, Big Kahuna Burgers are ''tasty''.

* [[Cliché Storm]]: In-universe: the ''[[Alliteration|Fox Force Five]]'' pilot described by Mia Wallace. From what she says, it appears to be a very generic and cheesy [[Five-Man Band|Five Girl Band]] series that wasn't picked up for a good reason.

* [[Cloudcuckoolander]]: Butch's wife has shades of this with the things she talks about.

* [[Cold-Blooded Torture]]: What's going to be happening to Zed. With pliers and a blowtorch.

{{quote|''I'm about to go medieval on his ass'' - Marcellus Wallace}}

* [[Creator Cameo]]: Quentin Tarantino plays Jimmie.

* [[Credits Gag]]:

** The manager is credited as "Coffee Shop" because when he's about to say "coffee shop manager" to Pumpkin he was cut off.

** Emil Sitka is "Hold Hands, You Love Birds!", his "line" in the Three Stooges short Lance was watching.

** The bartender's actual name in the script is English Bob (referenced by Jules in the diner scene). But his "My name is Paul and this is between y'all" line was so awesome that he's credited as "Paul" instead.

{{quote|'''Marcellus''': "...motherfucker."}}

* [[Driving a Desk]]: For no apparent reason Tarantino chose what looks like a 1940s black-and-white street background for the scene where Esmerelda drives Butch away from the fight.

* [[Drugs Are Bad]]: Only those [[Too Dumb to Live|stupid enough]] to {{spoiler|leave their submachine gun out in the open while going to the bathroom}} would ever dabble in heroin. Also, Mia nearly dies from an OD.

* [[Enemy Eats Your Lunch]]: "Mmm-mm. This ''is'' a tasty burger!"

* [[Faux Affably Evil]]: Jules when he and Vincent show up at Brett's apartment. Jules comes in, acts civil and friendly, and even politely asks Brett if he can [[Enemy Eats Your Lunch|take a bite of his burger and a drink of his Sprite.]] Of course, throughout the entire discussion, everyone present knows that Jules and Vincent are hitmen who, at best, are here to recover the glowy thingy in the briefcase, and at worst, are here to kill them, so Jules' act of civil politeness just serves to ratchet up the tension, until Jules finally dispenses with the whole thing and breaks Brett's concentration by shooting his buddy.

* [[Five-Bad Band]]

** [[Evil Genius]]: Jules, the guy certainly knows his Bible verses.

** [[The Brute]]: Vincent, mostly acts as muscle and is clearly dumber than Jules.

* [[Foot Focus]]: Long before it became a popular internet theory, foot fetishists had Tarantino figured out. It wasn't just the famous foot massage dialogue...sole shots, walking shots, and even a brief pedal stomping scene (yes, [[Rule 34|there's a fetish for that]]).

* [[Foreshadowing]]: Jules on Marsellus Wallace, "Does he look like a bitch?" "No." "Then, why did you try to fuck him like a bitch?...You tried to fuck him. And Marcellus Wallace does not like to be fucked by anybody except Missus Wallace."

* [[Freestate Amsterdam]]: [[Seinfeldian Conversation|Vincent tells us about this.]]

* [[Funny Background Event]]: By itself it's not particularly funny, but the classy party Winston Wolf is attending when he receives the summons to help Jules and Vincent becomes a lot funnier when you realize it's not even eight o'clock in the morning when it's taking place.

* [[Gorn]]

* [[Groin Attack]]: Marsellus puts a shotgun blast into the groin of his rapist.

* [[Hand Cannon]]: The giant revolver carried by the third guy in Brett's apartment.

* [[Heel Realization]]: The entire final part of the movie involves Jules' realization that he was, in fact, a tool used by wicked men. It's left unknown whether or not he helped Pumpkin and Honey Bunny have the same sort of realization as well.

* [[Hypocritical Humor]]: Whether it was intended for humor or not, in one scene, Jules tells Vincent to stop committing blasphemy by taking God's name in vain. Before and after that scene, however, Jules has no problem using the same language he scolded Vincent for, himself.

** During the opening scene, Pumpkin complains about how "[[Asian Store Owner|too many foreigners own liquor stores]]", which makes robbing them harder. Pumpkin is an Englishman in America -- a foreigner, in other words.

* [[Idiot Ball]]: The film is basically [[Stupid Crooks|Vincent]]'s [[Idiot Plot]].

* [[Idiot Hero]]: Vincent. Pretty much everything he says or does is a fuck up.

* [[Imagine Spot]]: Jules imagines Bonnie's potential reaction to coming home and finding "a couple of gangsters in her kitchen doin' a bunch of gangster shit."

* [[Imperial Stormtrooper Marksmanship Academy]]: [[Played for Laughs]] when that one guy misses [[Those Two Bad Guys|Jules and Vincent]]. At point blank range. [[Epic Fail|Six times.]] Understandably enough, this causes Jules to suspect [[Divine Intervention]].

* [[MacGuffin]]: The briefcase. Also the watch, which spent many years [[Squick|up various asses]] in a Vietnamese prison camp.

* [[Magic Bullets]]: One of the major plot points involves the "bad bullets" version of this trope, where a man empties a high-caliber revolver at Jules and Vincent (at almost point blank range), but completely misses them. After killing him, Jules and Vincent examine the bullet holes in the wall, which the camera could not see until they stepped back, suggesting that the bullets should have passed through them. Lampshaded and arguably justified, as Jules points out that it couldn't possibly be anything but divine intervention and Vincent has no better rebuttal than any other [[Flat Earth Atheist]]. However, the commentary points out that some bullet holes were ''already'' in the wall when Vince and Jules went in.

* [[Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane]]: The aforementioned Magic Bullets scene leads to an argument between Jules and Vincent regarding whether or not it was an act of God or pure luck. Also, [[Epileptic Trees|some theories about the briefcase include supernatural elements]].

* [[Meaningful Background Event]]: In the first scene, when Pumpkin and Honey Bunny are discussing the merits of robbing liquor stores or restaurants, Vincent can be briefly seen heading for the bathroom.

* [[Mugging the Monster]]: Two robbers try to hold up a professional hitman. Unusually, the conflict gets resolved more or less peacefully because of benevolence on the hitman's part.

* [[Nobody Poops]]: Averted. Vince goes to the bathroom three times, and during each visit [[Incredibly Lame Pun|shit goes down]].

* [[Noodle Implements]]: Marsellus Wallace tells Butch that he's going to call several of his men to "go to work" on his rapist Zed with a pair of pliers and a blowtorch, then proceeds to tell Zed that he's going to "get medieval on his ass." Since Zed had already been shot in the groin, one can only imagine what else of his is going to be pinched and burned.

** The blowtorch is for burning off his finger and toetips, so he can't be printed. The pliers are for pulling out teeth, so he can't be tracked via dental records. In other words, Marcellus wants him to die and never have it be known what happened. There are other uses for those pliers, but explaining will fall ''even further'' into squick territory.

* [[Rape as Drama]]

* [[Rape as Redemption]]: Marsellus.

{{quote|'''Tarantino:''' "I made the movie I wanted to make the ''first'' time."}}

* [[Retired Badass]] / [[Retired Monster]]: Jules presumably becomes one after the movie finishes.

* [[Riddle for the Ages]]: What was in the suitcase?

* [[Scary Black Man]]: Jules and Marsellus.

* [[Seinfeldian Conversation]]: So much!

* [[Spiritual Sequel|Spiritual Spinoff]]: [[Word of God]] admits that ''[[Kill Bill]]'' is somewhat based on the "Fox Force Five" pilot that Mia Wallace describes.

* [[Stupid Crooks]]: Vincent has a large number of personal [[What an Idiot!]] moments, two of which are directly in relation to his job as a hitman and enforcer for Marcellus Wallace's criminal empire. Not only does he provide us the [[Trope Namers]] for [[I Just Shot Marvin in the Face]], but Vincent also {{spoiler|leaves Marcellus' submachinegun in plain view while he [[Central Theme|goes to the bathroom]] at Butch's apartment when he's supposed to be waiting for Butch to show up and kill him. Butch ''does'' show up, and, upon noticing the gun, picks it up and shoots Vincent dead after he steps out of the bathroom.}}

* [[Take Our Word for It]]: The audience never sees what Marsellus Wallace sent Vincent and Jules to retrieve, but, going by the glow that radiates from the briefcase containing it, and the reactions of all the characters who see it, we're to believe it's pretty fantastic. Tarantino originally intended it to be the loot from ''[[Reservoir Dogs]],'' but changed it to an unseen light, and has stated that it's "whatever you want."

* [[Third-Person Flashback]]: At flashback to when Butch is given his father's watch, with [[Christopher Walken]] telling him the story, starts in first-person but then goes third.

* [[Those Two Bad Guys]]: Jules and Vincent.

* [[Throwing the Fight]]: Butch is supposed to take a dive. He does not. Things get out of control from there.

* [[To the Pain]]: Marsellus is about to "get medieval on your ass".

* [[Tragic Keepsake]]: Why Butch is so protective of his father's watch.

* [[Visual Pun]]: During the "adrenaline shot" scene, there are two board games in the background - "Operation" and "Life".

* [[Vitriolic Best Buds]]: Jules and Vincent, again.

* [[Wham! Line]]: "Garçon, coffee!" The second time we hear it. Wham, we're back at the beginning of the film. Oh, did you think we were just gonna let that scene hang there like that?

** "I DON'T REMEMBER ASKING YOU A GODDAMN THING!"

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Roger Ebert Great Movies List]]

[[Category:Notable Quotables]]

[[Category:Anthology Film]]

[[Category:Films of the 1990s]]

[[Category:Film]]