Film

#4 Pulp Fiction

#4 Pulp Fiction

I have the feeling you’re going to hate me. Pulp Fiction doesn’t deserve the spot of fourth best movie of all time. Quentin Tarantino, talented gentlemen that he is, has created better in his first feature length Reservoir Dogs. Let’s not even get started on how he stole the story for that from Asian cinema (see City on Fire for exactly the same story, without the Hollywood stars). City on Fire was made 1987, whilst Reservoir Dogs was released in 1992, how suspicious. But let’s forget that and look at Pulp Fiction itself.

Casting is incredible, young-ish versions of Travolta, Jackson, Thurman and Willis are all present and willing to do anything to get involved with the hot new thing called Tarantino. Other highlights include the narrative structure which undeniably changed the way directors looked at mainstream techniques. The storyline is woven in and out of each scene with seven main sections to the film. Ahh, yes the story itself, it tells of two bandits, two hit men, a boxer and the wife of a gangster committing atrocious acts of violence in and around a city. The film itself has a dark humour twinge with the violence coming with terrible timing and awfully disrespectful dialogue to their victims. An entire scene of the film is devoted to cleaning up a Honda Civic after Travolta shoots a man by accident in the head whilst talking to him from the passenger seat.

Dialogue is the highlight of Pulp Fiction. Storyline and narrative structure are perfect but it wouldn’t be the same without the profanity which surrounds it in every scene. During the course of the film there are 429 swear words, 265 of them are just the word fuck. Each character which we follow has the worst potty mouth which kind of allows you to relate a little more to them when they are running around creating these sick moments of violence.

Tarantino himself is overrated. Pulp Fiction is overrated. If you’re looking for Tarantino’s best work seek out Reservoir Dogs for a much slicker and self contained crime caper. Yet Pulp Fiction is still very good but it is not the best film ever. If you ever ask anyone, “what’s your favourite film ever?” 98% of the time many will turn around and quote a line from Pulp Fiction to you. It’s good, but not perfect.

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