Where do you start while talking about a movie like Pulp Fiction.
Do you mention the fact that it became one of the biggest cult films of the nineties and turned Quentin Tarantino into the world's first superstar director?
What about the fact that it brought John Travolta back from the dead and gave us Samuel L Jackson - for which the movie world should be truly grateful.
Well, wherever, you start, the tricky thing with PF is knowing where to stop.
Yes, okay, it's just another movie after all. A humble strip of film which cost a mere $8million to make and grossed over $250million.
Very rarely do you get a movie that's not aimed at the summer audiences yet deliver some of the hippest dialogue, chemistry between the leading stars and some jaw dropping moments of drama which defy belief.
For the movie fans, there is a wealth of cross references including an enigmatic suitcase inspired by Robert Aldrich's Kiss Me Deadly; a stomach-churning scene in a music shop which pays homage to Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Deliverance and Beyond the Green Door. Not to mention the fact that Vincent Vega (Travolta) is the brother of Michael Madsen's character in Reservoir Dogs.
Pulp Fiction also boasts a soundtrack to die for, ranging from that electrifying opening track Misirlou - recently re-used in the Luc Besson movie Taxi - to Son of a Preacher Man by Dusty Springfield.
There's no typical score in terms of cymbal clashes and violins at all the right moments. Just a series of songs which enhance the scene and thrust you into the bloody world of Vincent Vega, Jules Winnfield (Jackson) Mia Wallace (Uma Thurman), Marsellus Wallace (Ving Rhames), Butch Coolidge (Bruce Willis) and Fabienne (Maria de Medeiros).
Whereas some films don't have enough plot to fill the 90 minute plus running time, Tarantino's epic was really three films in one, a heady mix of eloquent hit men, corrupt boxers and crime kingpins that collide on a very strange couple of days in California.
It's certainly not for all tastes. The often outrageous dialogue and unmentionable scenes of violence would leave even the most weathered film fan watching through latticed fingers. It's also a movie which benefits from repeated screenings as the erratic chronology can leave many first time viewers scratching their heads,
PF was the film that educated as well as entertained. Viewers found out what they called a Big Mac in Paris (a Royale with cheese); wannabe romeos discovered the perils of foot massage and there was a little too much information when it came to supplying an injection of adrenaline into a woman's heart - do not try this at home kids.
With some juicy dialogue, fantastic performances and excellent pacing, it's unlikely that Tarantino will get this lucky again. He's perhaps wisely played it safe for the last five years polishing scripts such as Crimson Tide and Titanic while getting less than fantastic reviews for acting in a string of films and the Broadway version of Wait Until Dark.
He did make a fine return to form last year with Jackie Brown and has high hopes for his next low budget drama, 40 Lashes.
© 1999 Roger Crow
