Pulp Fiction

''Pulp Fiction'' is a 1994 American crime film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino, who conceived it with Roger Avary.See, e.g., King (2002), pp. 185–7; ; Starring John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Bruce Willis, Tim Roth, Ving Rhames, and Uma Thurman, it tells several stories of crime in Los Angeles, California. The title refers to the pulp magazines and hardboiled crime novels popular during the mid-20th century, known for their graphic violence and punchy dialogue.

Tarantino wrote ''Pulp Fiction'' in 1992 and 1993, incorporating scenes that Avary originally wrote for ''True Romance'' (1993). Its plot occurs out of chronological order. The film is also self-referential from its opening moments, beginning with a title card that gives two dictionary definitions of "pulp". Considerable screen time is devoted to monologues and casual conversations with eclectic dialogue revealing each character's perspectives on several subjects, and the film features an ironic combination of humor and strong violence. TriStar Pictures reportedly turned down the script as "too demented". Miramax co-chairman Harvey Weinstein was enthralled, however, and the film became the first that Miramax fully financed.

''Pulp Fiction'' won the Palme d'Or at the 1994 Cannes Film Festival, and was a major critical and commercial success. It was nominated for seven awards at the 67th Academy Awards, including Best Picture, and won Best Original Screenplay; it earned Travolta, Jackson, and Thurman Academy Award nominations and boosted their careers. Its development, marketing, distribution, and profitability had a sweeping effect on independent cinema.

''Pulp Fiction'' is widely regarded as Tarantino's masterpiece, with particular praise for its screenwriting. The self-reflexivity, unconventional structure, and extensive homage and pastiche have led critics to describe it as a touchstone of postmodern film. It is often considered a cultural watershed, influencing films and other media that adopted elements of its style. The cast was also widely praised, with Travolta, Thurman, and Jackson earning particular acclaim. In 2008, ''Entertainment Weekly'' named it the best film since 1983 and it has appeared on many critics' lists of the greatest films ever made. In 2013, ''Pulp Fiction'' was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

Plot

Narrative structure

''Pulp Fiction''s narrative is told out of chronological order and follows three main interrelated stories that each have a different protagonist: Vincent Vega, a hitman; Butch Coolidge, a prizefighter; and Jules Winnfield, Vincent's business partner."Pulp Fiction: The Facts" (1993 location interview), ''Pulp Fiction'' DVD (Buena Vista Home Entertainment).

The film begins with a diner hold-up staged by a couple, then begins to shift from one storyline to another before returning to the diner for the conclusion. There are seven narrative sequences; the three primary storylines are preceded by intertitles:
# "Prologue – The Diner" (i)
# Prelude to "Vincent Vega and Marsellus Wallace's Wife"
# "Vincent Vega and Marsellus Wallace's Wife"
# Prelude to "The Gold Watch" (a – flashback, b – present)
# "The Gold Watch"
# "The Bonnie Situation"
# "Epilogue – The Diner" (ii)

If the seven sequences were ordered chronologically, they would run: 4a, 2, 6, 1, 7, 3, 4b, 5. Sequences 1 and 7 partially overlap and are presented from different points of view, as do sequences 2 and 6. According to Philip Parker, the structural form is "an episodic narrative with circular events adding a beginning and end and allowing references to elements of each separate episode to be made throughout the narrative". Other analysts describe the structure as a "circular narrative".

Summary

Hitmen Jules Winnfield and Vincent Vega arrive at an apartment to retrieve a briefcase for their boss, gangster Marsellus Wallace, from a business partner, Brett. After Vincent checks the contents of the briefcase, Jules shoots one of Brett's associates. He declaims a passage from the Bible, and he and Vincent kill Brett for trying to double-cross Marsellus. They take the briefcase to Marsellus and wait while he bribes boxer Butch Coolidge to take a dive in his upcoming match.

The next day, Vincent purchases heroin from his drug dealer, Lance. He shoots up and drives to meet Marsellus's wife, Mia, having agreed to escort her while Marsellus is out of town. They eat at Jack Rabbit Slim's, a 1950s-themed restaurant, and participate in a twist contest, then return home. While Vincent is in the bathroom, Mia finds his heroin and snorts it, mistaking it for cocaine. She suffers an overdose; Vincent rushes her to Lance's house, where they revive her with an injection of adrenaline into her heart. Vincent drops Mia off at her home, and the two agree never to tell Marsellus about the incident.

Butch bets the bribe money on himself and double-crosses Marsellus, winning the bout but accidentally killing his opponent as well. Knowing that Marsellus will send hitmen after him, he prepares to flee with his girlfriend, Fabienne, but discovers she has forgotten to pack a gold watch passed down to him through his family. Returning to his apartment to retrieve it, he notices a suppressed MAC-10 on the kitchen counter and hears the toilet flush. When Vincent exits the bathroom, Butch shoots him dead and departs.

When Marsellus spots Butch stopped at a traffic light, Butch rams his car into him, leaving both of them injured and dazed. Once Marsellus regains consciousness, he shoots at Butch, chasing him into a pawnshop. Butch gains the upper hand and is about to shoot Marsellus, but the shop owner, Maynard, captures them at gunpoint and binds and gags them in the basement. Maynard and his accomplice Zed take Marsellus into another room and begin to rape him, leaving the "gimp" – a silent figure in a bondage suit – to watch over Butch. Butch breaks loose and knocks the gimp unconscious. Instead of fleeing, he decides to save Marsellus, and arms himself with a katana from the pawnshop. He kills Maynard and frees Marsellus, who shoots Zed in the crotch with Maynard's shotgun. Marsellus informs Butch that they are even, and to tell no one about the rape and to depart Los Angeles forever. Butch picks up Fabienne on Zed's chopper, and they ride away.

Earlier, after Vincent and Jules have killed Brett in his apartment, another man bursts out of the bathroom and fires at them, but every shot misses; after briefly checking themselves for wounds, Jules and Vincent shoot him dead. While driving away with Brett's associate Marvin, Jules professes that their survival was a miracle, which Vincent disputes. Vincent accidentally shoots Marvin in the face, killing him, and covering Vincent, Jules, and the car interior in blood in broad daylight. They hide the car at the home of Jules's friend Jimmie, who demands they deal with the problem before his wife, Bonnie, comes home. Marsellus sends a cleaner, Winston Wolfe, who directs Jules and Vincent to clean the car, hide the body in the trunk, dispose of their bloody clothes, and take the car to a junkyard.

At a diner, Jules tells Vincent that he plans to retire from his life of crime, convinced that their "miraculous" survival at the apartment was a sign of divine intervention. While Vincent is in the bathroom, a couple, "Pumpkin" and "Honey Bunny", hold up the restaurant and demand Marsellus's briefcase. Jules distracts Pumpkin with its contents, and then overpowers him and holds him at gunpoint; Honey Bunny becomes hysterical and points her gun at Jules. Vincent returns with his gun aimed at her, but Jules defuses the situation. He recites the biblical passage, expresses ambivalence about his life of crime, and allows the robbers to take his cash and leave. Jules and Vincent leave the diner with the briefcase in hand.

Cast

* John Travolta as Vincent Vega:
:Jules' partner-in-crime, working for Marsellus Wallace. Tarantino cast Travolta in ''Pulp Fiction'' because Michael Madsen, who had played Vic Vega in ''Reservoir Dogs'', chose to appear in Kevin Costner's ''Wyatt Earp'' instead. Madsen has since expressed regret over his decision. Harvey Weinstein pushed for Daniel Day-Lewis in the part. Travolta accepted a reduced rate – sources say either US$100,000 or US$140,000 but the film's success and his Academy Award nomination for Best Actor revitalized his career. Vincent is the brother of Vic Vega aka Mr. Blonde in ''Reservoir Dogs'' (1992), and in 2004, Tarantino discussed an idea for a movie starring Travolta and Madsen as the "Vega Brothers"; the concept remains unrealized.
* Samuel L. Jackson as Jules Winnfield:
:Vincent's partner-in-crime, working for Marsellus Wallace. Jackson's first audition was overshadowed by Paul Calderón; Jackson had assumed the audition was merely a reading. Weinstein convinced him to audition a second time and his performance of the final diner scene won over Tarantino. Jules was originally scripted with a giant afro,Enhanced Trivia Track, ch. 3, ''Pulp Fiction'' DVD (Buena Vista Home Entertainment). but Tarantino's PA mistakenly bought a Jheri curled wig. Tarantino was enraged but Jackson persuaded him to keep it since the hairstyle had gained popularity through the rap group N.W.A. Film critic Owen Gleiberman took it as a "tacit comic statement about the ghettoization of lack peoplein movies". Jackson received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor. Calderón appears in the film as Paul, a bartender at Marsellus's social club, as well as Marsellus's assistant. Tarantino wrote the role for Laurence Fishburne, who turned it down. According to Tarantino, Fishburne refused it because his team did not see it as a starring role; Fishburne later said he turned it down because he felt the film glamorized heroin.
* Uma Thurman as Mia Wallace:
:Wallace's wife and an aspiring actress. Miramax favored Holly Hunter or Meg Ryan for the role of Mia. Alfre Woodard and Meg Tilly were also considered but Tarantino wanted Thurman after their first meeting.Dawson (1995), p. 155. She dominated the film's promotional material, appearing on a bed with cigarette in hand. She was nominated for an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. Despite being launched into the celebrity A-list, Thurman chose not to do any big-budget films until '' Batman & Robin'' (1997) three years later.
* Harvey Keitel as Winston Wolfe:
:A "cleaner" who aids Jules and Vincent. Tarantino wrote the part of Wolfe for Keitel, who had starred in ''Reservoir Dogs'' and was instrumental in its production. In Tarantino's words, "Harvey had been my favorite actor since I was 16 years old."Enhanced Trivia Track, ch. 23, ''Pulp Fiction'' DVD (Buena Vista Home Entertainment). Keitel had played a similarly employed character in ''Point of No Return'' (1993).
* Tim Roth as Ringo/"Pumpkin":
:A burglar and Yolanda's boyfriend. Roth had starred in ''Reservoir Dogs'' alongside Keitel. He had used an American accent in ''Reservoir Dogs'' but used his natural, London accent in ''Pulp Fiction''. Though Tarantino had written the part with Roth in mind, TriStar head Mike Medavoy preferred Johnny Depp or Christian Slater. Early in development, Tarantino had contemplated casting Roth as Vincent and Gary Oldman as Jules, rewriting the characters as "two English guys".
* Amanda Plummer as Yolanda/"Honey Bunny":
:Ringo's girlfriend and partner in crime. Tarantino wrote the role of Yolanda for Plummer to partner her with Roth. Roth had introduced Tarantino to her, saying: "I want to work with Amanda in one of your films but she has to have a really big gun."
* Maria de Medeiros as Fabienne:
:Butch's girlfriend. Tarantino met de Medeiros, a Portuguese actress, while traveling with ''Reservoir Dogs'' around the European film festival circuit.
* Ving Rhames as Marsellus Wallace:
:A crime boss and employer of Jules and Vincent. Before Rhames was cast, the part of Wallace was initially offered to Max Julien and Sid Haig, but both turned down the role. According to Bender, Rhames gave "one of the best auditions I've ever seen". His acclaimed performance led to him being cast in big-budget features such as ''Mission Impossible'' (1996), ''Con Air'' (1997) and ''Out of Sight'' (1998).
* Eric Stoltz as Lance:
:Vincent's drug dealer. Gary Oldman was the preferred choice among TriStar executives, based on his portrayal of drug-dealing pimp Drexl Spivey in ''True Romance'' (1993).
* Rosanna Arquette as Jody:
:Lance's wife. Pam Grier read for the role, but Tarantino did not believe audiences would find it plausible for Lance to yell at her. Tarantino later cast Grier as the lead role for ''Jackie Brown''. Ellen DeGeneres also read for the part of Jody. Rosanna's sister Alexis (then known as Robert Arquette) also appears in the film, as a man emerging from a bathroom to shoot at and miss Vincent and Jules who then kill him.
* Christopher Walken as Captain Koons:
:A USAF veteran of the Vietnam War who delivers a young Butch his father's coveted gold watch. During Koons' monologue, which is interspersed with colourful descriptions of the Viet Cong, he mentions a soldier called "Winocki". Joe Winocki (John Garfield) is a character in the 1943 film ''Air Force'' directed by Howard Hawks, one of Tarantino's favorite directors. Tarantino played a character named Desmond Winocki in a guest appearance on an episode of '' All-American Girl'' titled ''Pulp Sitcom''.
* Bruce Willis as Butch Coolidge:
:An aging boxer on the run from Marsellus having