Synopsis
A pair of low-rent hit men, Vincent Vega (John Travolta) and Jules Winnfield (Samuel L. Jackson), are sent out to collect a stolen briefcase for their mob boss employer, Marsellus Wallace (Ving Rhames). Having proven himself worthy, Wallace then entrusts Vincent to entertain his wife, Mia (Uma Thurman), while he is out of town. Meanwhile, Wallace has paid off aging boxer Butch Coolidge (Bruce Willis) to throw his next fight. The lives of these wildly entertaining characters intertwine with unexpected and violent consequences.
Quentin Tarantino has always had a talent for telling multiple stories in one film (see Reservoir Dog for details), and Pulp Fiction thrives on that. With five separate stories being told (Jules/Vincent, Butch, Honey Bunny/Pumpkin, Marcsellus Wallace, Mia) Taratino weaves a masterfully written script to bring them into their own individual worlds and somehow intertwine them back together. For example, you start off with Honey Bunny (Amanda Plummer) and Pumpkin (Tim Roth) discussing robberies they know about and ones they’ve committed. After the discussion they proceed to rob the diner they’re in. In the dialogue between the two characters you understand that they’re lovers, partners in crime and dedicated to the task. Once their robbery begins we break away to Vincent and Jules in a wholly other situation. We don’t come back to Plummer and Roth until the very end of the film, but their contribution to the overall story is firmly in place once you see who else is in the diner. Tarantino did a flawless job in making sure no stories were untied from the main one. Again, it’s one of his finest strengths as a director and writer.
What’s even more remarkable is that each story could probably stand on its own in its own film. On top of that, each story doesn’t feel rushed and you get a strong sense of who the characters are and how they fit into the grand scheme of things. It’s a perfect balance of strong storytelling and beautiful character development.
Are there any issues with the film? Well, I would have liked to know what the hell the band-aid on the back of Marsellus Wallace’s head truly meant. There have always been rumors that his soul was extracted from that point on his neck, but nothing officially confirmed. Other than that complaint (which really isn’t a complaint), you can’t argue with what Pulp Fiction truly turns out to be. It’s perfectly acted, written and directed. It launched the career of Samuel L. Jackson from star to movie God. It resurrected John Travolta’s career. It’s entertaining, grotesque and funny. It’s a damn good movie.
I can’t find much wrong with it, which makes this review regretfully sound like it’s gushing. That’s what you get with a great movie, folks.
As for the Blu-ray portion of this movie, it’s really quite good. You can see some intricate details in the film. For example, when Bruce Willis is introduced in the movie, when he’s discussing how he’s going to throw his fight for Marsellus Wallace, you can see all the fine details of his face come through… before Willis looked old. You can see a bit of unshaven stubble, a tiny bead of sweat, just all sorts of small details that weren’t noticed prior. Also, in the same scene, I was expecting at least some graininess in because of the dark red/black lighting, but nothing showed. It was a very clean, crisp picture that truly made this movie feel like it was in high-quality HD. With that said, when it’s daytime in some of the scenes you can pick up some grain, especially when you see the lovely gray California sky. That sort of stuff is unavoidable, and I can’t imagine it’s easy to clean up. Lionsgate did their best, and the majority of the film turned out really sharp. Also, there is no color banding present whatsoever.
As for the audio, it’s no new news how great the soundtrack to this movie turned out. This is probably one of the better movie soundtracks that squeaked out of the 90s (and there were a lot that were good). It sounds really sharp in 5.1 DTS-HD. It also seems a bit more balanced, especially in the first scene where Honey Bunny (Amanda Plummer) and Pumpkin (Tim Roth) were yelling. In the DVD version it’s a bit ‘loud’, but it seems a bit more even tempered in the Blu-ray version. Regardless, the sound is pretty darn sweet.
Finally, for the features you’re in for a treat. Here’s what you should expect:
• “Not the Usual Mindless Boring Getting to Know You Chit Chat” Cast Interviews – NEW
• “Here Are Some Facts on the Fiction” Critic’s Retrospective – NEW
• “Pulp Fiction: The Facts” documentary
• Deleted Scenes
• Behind-the-Scenes Montages
• Production Design featurette
• Siskel and Ebert “At the Movies” – The Tarantino Generation
• Independent Spirit Awards – interviews
• Cannes Film Festival – Palm d’Or Acceptance Speech
• Charlie Rose Show – Interview with Quentin Tarantino
• Theatrical Trailers and TV Spots
• Enhanced Trivia Track
• Stills Gallery
• Soundtrack Chapters
While you might have seen some of these before, and I know there are a couple that you haven’t seen, the entire package is still worth your time and money. Great featurettes packed with fantastic deleted scenes equals out to be special feature gold. There will be more than enough to keep you occupied well after the film has ended.
