Pulp Fiction review, Pulp Fiction DVD review

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Buy your copy from Amazon.com Pulp Fiction (1994) Starring: John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Bruce Willis, Uma Thurman, Ving Rhames, Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Eric Stoltz, Rosanna Arquette, Maria de Medeiros, Christopher Walken
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Rating: R
Category: Drama

Quentin Tarantino's seminal "Pulp Fiction" has become such an integral part of the mainstream culture that it's easy to take the movie for granted. Indeed, some will blame "Pulp Fiction" for being the film that launched a thousand shitty indie movies. ("2 Days in the Valley," stand up. Now, walk slowly out of the room.) What people should remember is that "Pulp Fiction," lousy knockoffs aside, forever changed what we should expect from a movie, in terms of its dialogue, characters and story structure. Its influence is apparent in movies as far-ranging as "Grosse Pointe Blank," "Go" and "Memento." While moviemaking of late appears to have sunk to pre-"Pulp" levels of uninspired mediocrity, make no mistake: the ripple effect of "Pulp Fiction" will be felt for decades to come. Centuries, if we're lucky.

The multiple-act, non-sequential story begins in a diner, with a daft couple (Tim Roth and Amanda Plummer) going from sweet talk to mass robbery in the blink of an eye. Then we meet two hired guns, scripture-quoting Jules (a never better Samuel L. Jackson) and dopey heroin user Vincent (John Travolta), retrieving a suitcase that belongs to their boss, crime lord Marcellus Wallace (Ving Rhames, and if you still don't know what's in the suitcase, write me, now). Vincent later takes Marcellus' wife Mia (Uma Thurman) out for a night on the town, where she proceeds to overdose on some of Vincent's high-grade junk. Meanwhile, Marcellus pays boxer Butch (Bruce Willis) to throw his next fight, but Butch double-crosses him. Their subsequent confrontation lands them both in a basement with a sodomizing redneck and the Gimp.

The flashier aspects to Tarantino's movie get most of the press the obscene but smart and wickedly funny dialogue, the non-linear timeline, the obscure and wildly varied soundtrack, the dance sequence with Vincent and Mia, soullessly revisited by both parties in "Be Cool" but the most underrated aspect of "Pulp Fiction" is its tone. Tarantino loves all of his main characters, and not in a John Waters or Todd Solondz kind of way. Tarantino even plays the majority of these characters against each other, but in the end, we like them all. That's not an easy thing to do, and Tarantino does not succumb to a cheap compromise in order to make it work. He finds the honor among thieves; just when someone is about to cross the point of no return, Tarantino saves them. It's an essential key to why "Pulp Fiction" resonated with so many people, even those who normally abhor foul language and gratuitous violence.

There are many career-defining performances in "Pulp Fiction," along with a couple of career-ending ones. Travolta enjoyed -- then thoroughly wasted -- a staggering career renaissance upon "Pulp's" release. He was able to flaunt his most memorable talents (his dancing chops) without the pressure of carrying the movie (that was Jackson's job, Supporting Actor Oscar nomination be damned). Rhames is hilarious as the soft-spoken but ruthless Marcellus; his line about getting "medieval" on the ass of someone who wronged him was the movie quote that the AFI let slip away when compiling their recent list. Harvey Keitel and Christopher Walken also provide invaluable support in near-cameo roles.

And then there's Samuel L. Jackson. It must have killed him to know that he didn't have a chance in hell of winning the Oscar for Supporting Actor (it was all but given to Martin Landau, whose performance in "Ed Wood" was perfectly fine but ultimately forgettable), because this is without a doubt the best role he will ever play in his life. A man equally comfortable with a Bible verse and the 'F' bomb, Jules is the movie's soul, a hitman who possesses, if not a conscience, a profound grasp of karma.

If anyone suffers in the movie, it's the women. Sure, Butch's girlfriend Fabienne (Maria de Medeiros) has her funny little soliloquy about Madonna's potbelly, but is mostly remembered as the dummy who left Butch's watch behind at his apartment after he stiffed Marcellus and flew the coop (suffice it to say the watch has enormous sentimental value). Rosanna Arquette fares even worse, playing Eric Stoltz' shrieking harpy of a wife with an impossible number of earrings all over her face and body.

The women issues aside, "Pulp Fiction" is easily one of the best movies, if not the best movie, of the '90s. Tarantino himself knew what a tough task he faced in following it up when he joked that he was "gonna pull a Terrence Malick" and disappear for 20 years. He was only out of the director's chair for three years (though ubiquitous in every other aspect during the time in between), but "Pulp's" eventual follow-up, "Jackie Brown," seemed like a concerted effort on Tarantino's part to lower everyone's expectations of him. If that sounds selfish, it's because it is -- but in retrospect, it was the smarter play than pulling a James Cameron, who begged for respect with each project and then ran for the hills when he finally got it. "Pulp Fiction" is the kind of moment that doesn't strike twice: a brash, smart, wildly entertaining movie that will be oft imitated but never duplicated.

~David Medsker

DVD Review:
The two-disc Special Collector's Edition of "Pulp Fiction" is one of the best DVDs out on the market. The two discs are presented inside of a creative box cover, along with a fifteen-page booklet and a miniature replica of the Jack Rabbit Slim's menu. The film itself has been transferred over in a widescreen aspect ratio, and includes a 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround audio track. Now to the extras themselves, which are plentiful, except for the terrible omission of an audio commentary track from anyone working on the film. Usually, Tarantino is a sucker for recording commentary, and his past efforts are also some of the best tracks you can find on DVD. "Pulp Fiction" was a pop culture atom bomb, so it surprises me that not only has Tarantino passed on a director/writer commentary, but that the film's stars have also opted not to record their own thoughts as well.

The second disc of the film is packed with bonus material nonetheless, including a documentary on the making-of the film "Pulp Fiction: The Facts," the entire "Charlie Rose Show" interview with Quentin, a production design featurette, and behind-the-scenes montages. Also located on the second disc are a series of deleted scenes, theatrical trailers, and TV spots, but some of the better material is found within special material like the feature "Siskel & Ebert: At The Movies The Tarantino Generation," Quentin's Paml d'Or acceptance speech at the Cannes Film Festival, and a collection of reviews and articles on the release of the film.

There are even more cool features located on the discs, including soundtrack selections and still galleries, as well as a few very cool features that you can access by slipping the disc into your DVD-ROM drive. This is clearly a DVD box set that every film buff should have in their collection, so be sure to pick this one up on your next trip to the store. And while you're there, indulge yourself with the purchase of every other Tarantino film. It's not like it won't be worth it.

~Jason Zingale