Surely this is a good film, but I just cannot classify it as 'outstanding' or 'amazing'.
For example, I can see why 'A Clockwork Orange' is astonishing. I can recognize 'Schindler's List' as a cult. 'Melancholia' is so good, yet it's criminally underrated. And so on.
But this movie didn't strike me at all. Am I missing something? :)
All kinds of commentary and explanations are welcome.
Some people feel the rain. Others just get wet.
I believe you are missing something.
There's the witty casual dialogue through out.
(one prime example: Jules and Vince discussing foot massages prior to the hit)
Also the extreme non-linear structure.
Both things in mind (and I've considered them before), I still don't see the 'wow' factor. I've encountered 'witty casual dialogue' and unusual structure in other movies (made before and after '94), it's not like it pioneers it, for example.
As I said, it's definitely a very good movie. But I wouldn't agree on the spectacular epithete.
Keep the comments comin', maybe someone will point out something I didn't catch :)
Some people feel the rain. Others just get wet.
Maybe not "pioneer" but it absolutely did popularize non-linear structure in the way it's handled. Flashbacks had been done before but the way the story rewound itself in Pulp Fiction was unique. Reservoir Dogs had flashbacks that were more traditional in a sense.
So what makes it a classic is indeed the dialogue and the way it's structured. Other things were great too (like the cinematography) but if you're looking for what makes it "wow" you've got the answer.
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I'd love to see you in the moonlight with your head thrown back and your body on fire.
there's way more to it than just the structure and dialogue.
It's damn near brilliant every moment from start to finish. It's like constantly taking another rich bite every single moment because it's all new (at the time) and clever and entertaining, funny, dark, interesting.
This is literally a perfect movie. The scene of Bruce and his girlfriend in the hotel is the only moment of all 2.5 hours that isn't damn brilliant.
The reason why it has its wow factor aside the banter between all the characters and the non linear structure, is the story itself of following two gangsters around in their day job like that, the before and after and all the in between was something new.
And the cast... Travolta as a gangster, brilliant.
The music, surfer music in a gangster movie? Brilliant.
This movie has so many parts in it that are so hilarious to watch over and over. People may not get it on the first viewing and I've seen it happen. I've seen this movie probably over 50 times (maybe over 70, I lost count) and when I introduce this movie to someone and actually watch it with them, I watch the movie and then when the funny part happens, I laugh and on many occasions at that same time I see the person not laughing at the part I just laughed at (they either look confused or didn't get that it was supposed to be funny) and it's got me laughing even more to see the person's reaction. Many times it happens at the part when Vincent, Jules and Marvin are driving in the car and then Vincent shoots Marvin in the face. Vincent says "Well you gotta have an opinion. You think God came down from Heaven and stopped those motherfing bullets" and then BLAM! "Oh s**t! I just shot Marvin in the face. Why'd the *beep* you do that? I don't know, maybe the car hit a bump or something. The car didn't hit no motherfing bump!" I'm laughing the whole time at it and there's absolutely no reaction from the other person; like nothing just happened and it's like people don't get it the first time they watch it. And one of persons I was watching it with used to watch Saturday Night Live every week so I found that even more odd. So there's many layers to this movie (just watch it more and more) and I'm not saying that it doesn't happen with other movies but I think it happens with this movie waayyy more.
I'm Batman!
Well I've just seen it for the first time and i did laugh on that part you described, the whole film was hilarious. Your friend myst be incredibly boring or i must be outside the norm (lol)
"You don't understand. I coulda had class. I coulda been a contender. I coulda been somebody!"
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I guess I just don't have the same sense of humor. I don't see any point in watching something 50, 70, or more times if I didn't like it the first time. I don't know if I can even watch it a second time. I just didn't see anything that really appealed to me. I just didn't see the point of the "movie."
shareNot sure why you put movie in quotes. It's like you're suggesting that Pulp Fiction isn't an actual movie.
No offense, but 'I just didn't see the "point" of the movie' makes more sense.
Having said that, I just watched PF for about the 15th time and love everything about it -- the style, the performances, the dialogue, the structure, the humor, the music...I can't find a thing wrong with it. One of the most entertaining movies of all time in my opinion.
It's amazing because it's nothing you've ever seen before...
The mulitple stories,
The non linear story telling,
the awesome characters,
the cool dialogue,
and goddamn dialogue man,
This movie is so *beep* quotable.
The movie is just so Fun man,
you can't take your eyes off it
I was blown away when I first saw this...
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Actually non-linear storytelling was originally done in 1956 by Stanley Kubrick in the movie The Killing. I agree with your post but I figured I'd point out that Kubrick was the first to do non-linear storytelling.
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It's extremely well written and highly entertaining.
shareI always answer with this:
The question should be "What is not so great about this movie?"
The answer is nothing.
All glory to the Hypnotoad
They explain every reason for why things happen in their situations. Like real people anywhere. It doesn't get rid of casual dialogue with personal topics that makes things interesting.
Compare it to eavesdropping on church girls and finding out they're doing something *beep* up with a facade masking everything. That right there is priceless.
Posts like this are very annoying because you didn't say what you didn't like about the film. Did you find it boring? Because for many people it is one of the most entertaining movies of all time.
shareBeats me. I guess the dialogues and how they feel so realistic. They really are about nothing and that's what makes it entertaining.
shareSo many movies ripped this movie off that for people who watch this movie for the first time may not realize what a breath of fresh air this movie was at the time. While Tarantino rips off older movies in his movies, he does it in a way where he betters the borrowed stuff and makes it his own.
Plus the use of music, while done in many 80s movies, was taken to a new height in this movie where he did not rely on the same old commonly used songs.
Pretty much, Tarantino took some of the elements introduced in 80s indie movies and took them to the next level.