The Movie Book

272 PULP FICTION

00:20

On a job for Marsellus

Wallace, Jules and Vincent

shoot some men who have

taken a suitcase belonging

to Marsellus.

00:54

Returning to her

house after the night

out with Vincent, Mia

accidentally overdoses

on Vincent’s heroin. He

takes her to his dealer

for an adrenaline shot.

01:43

Butch escapes from

the dungeon, but goes

back with a sword to

free Marsellus. He then

takes off on Zed’s bike.

02:13

Jules and Vincent

arrive at the diner for

some breakfast. Jules

discusses his miracle

and announces that he

is quitting the business.

I

n the early 1990s, a movie

fanatic and video-store clerk

named Quentin Tarantino,

originally from Knoxville, Tennessee,

had a seismic impact on American

movies. Although the likes of

Richard Linklater and Spike Lee

had brought exciting new ideas

to American cinema, it had been a

long time since it had felt dangerous.

Tarantino relocated to Southern

California, and his debut as the

director of Reservoir Dogs felt very

dangerous indeed—a foul-mouthed,

blood-soaked crime story that was

also incredibly funny. Two years

later, Tarantino followed up with

Pulp Fiction, which kept up the

verbal zing of its predecessor

but also introduced a dazzlingly

inventive structure and A-list

Hollywood stars.

Tarantino’s profane, freewheeling

style was like an adrenaline shot to

the heart—a motif that would appear

in Pulp Fiction. Part of what made

him such a novelty was his approach

to genre. Just as Reservoir Dogs had

reimagined the heist movie, so Pulp

Fiction took the conventions of the

B-movie—a gangland killing, a

boxer taking a dive, and a hitman

in search of redemption—and

repurposed them in new, brilliantly

knowing ways. The result has the

stylistic charge of a genre movie

while remaining a genuinely original

and innovative movie experience.

Structural shift

One of the iconic elements of Pulp

Fiction is its use of nonlinear

storytelling. By fracturing the

narrative, Tarantino does not allow

the audience to settle into the

traditional rhythms of watching ❯❯

IN CONTEXT

GENRE

Crime, thriller

DIRECTOR

Quentin Tarantino

WRITERS

Quentin Tarantino, Roger

Avary (story); Quentin

Tarantino (script)

STARS

John Travolta, Samuel L.

Jackson, Uma Thurman,

Bruce Willis

BEFORE

1955 Noir thriller Kiss Me

Deadly features a glowing

suitcase that’s thought to have

inspired the one in Pulp Fiction.

AFTER

1997 Similarly to Pulp Fiction,

Tarantino’s Jackie Brown

weaves together a large cast

and many plot elements.

2003 Revenge romp Kill Bill

sees Tarantino elevating Uma

Thurman to a blood-soaked

starring role.

00:24

At Marsellus’s club,

Butch agrees to take a fall.

As he is leaving, Vincent

and Jules arrive dressed in

T-shirts and shorts.

01:29

Butch returns to his

apartment to look for his

watch. He finds a gun and

shoots Vincent as Vincent

comes out of the bathroom.

00:00 00:30 01:00 01:30 02:00 02:34

02:01

The Wolf is called to

clean up the mess after

Vincent accidentally

shoots Marvin while

Marvin is in the

backseat of the car with

Vincent and Jules.

02:22

Pumpkin takes

Jules’s wallet and

asks about the case.

Jules allows Pumpkin

to leave with the wallet

but without the case.

Minute by minute

Vincent Vega (John Travolta) pairs

up with Mia Wallace (Uma Thurman) at

Jack Rabbit Slim’s for some comically

clichéd dance moves.