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.
Articulating the wow factor of Pulp Fiction and why it so beloved is a bit like trying to decipher Da Vinci's Mona Lisa. It is a work that is rich enough to fill several text books for academics from the dialogue to the structure, music and pop culture references. In saying that, the film demonstrates an unusually masterful level of direction especially considering that it was only Tarrantino's second film, and that just three years before, he was an unknown working on Reservoir Dogs.
People on this thread have said that its mainly down to the nonlinear narrative, but as you've said before- this had already been done before. Most famously in Orson Welles Citizen Kane.
From here I'll take a more direct route to answering your question- Pulp Fiction is as celebrated as it is for being an exercise in style and dear god what style it is. In no other film are you ever likely to see a reference to the Fonz's attitude be used to prevent a deadly shootout, or see a stand off climax in a recital of a fictional bible passage. It is perhaps equally as unlikely that you would see a character openly admit that they recite dramatic speeches if for though no other purposes than the coolness of doing so. Perhaps it is this quote that summarizes the film.
"I been saying that s--t for years, and if you heard it, that meant your ass. I never gave much thought to what it meant. I just thought it was some cold-blooded s--t to say to a mother f--ker before I popped a cap in his ass."--Jules.
In that quote is perhaps the best summary of the film and the surrounding acclaim. It is a post modern film that is truly lacking any definitive meaning for all its mythology and exists for no other reason than its own virtuosic coolness.
And that, I think is cool.
Best,
Are you missing something? Yes, good taste in movies.
shareI just finished it and, in my opinion, it's a *beep* masterpiece. It shows the absurdity of typical action movies, the true colors of everything on the other side of law, it shows just how *beep* up the world can be and what kind of people end up on the loosing end of it all, and all of that while being witty and funny. I mean, it's enough to watch the part where the gangsters wife almost OD'd after a fun night to properly appreciate the message of the movie. But, then again, every Tarantino movie is like that in a sense, so no surprise there. :)
shareViewers don't have to think too hard.
Just soak it in and either enjoy the dialogue and actions or not.
It's not for everyone, probably not for many 83 year-old Puritans.
It's a riveting movie from beginning to end.
Name as many others as you like and they just aren't as good.
If you don't read the newspaper you are uninformed. If you do...you are misinformed---Mark Twain
I think this is a My Bloody Valentine or Autechre situation.
Both artists changed their field so radically and had so many imitators that it's hard to listen to them now without their signature sound feeling a little stale and overrated, even though they wholly deserve the accolades they've received.
Newer generations have a problem seeing what the big deal is because they have no reference to before that style existed; it's been regurgitated so many times it appears to have always existed.
While Tarantino hasn't made a classic film since Jackie Brown, his films with Roger Avery in the 90's were unlike anything before them in many ways.
Unfortunately, so many people have bitten that style that it hardly seems fresh, which is a shame.
After Pulp Fiction EVERY crime film was a close comparison to that and True Romance, et al.
I'd kill to see Pulp Fiction for the first time again.
It figuratively burned the screen alive on my first viewing.
Every other film had the "sound turned down" in comparison for years.
I'd kill to see Pulp Fiction for the first time again.
It figuratively burned the screen alive on my first viewing.
Every other film had the "sound turned down" in comparison for years.
The greatest thing for me in this movie and many other Tarantino-movies is that it conveys a special sense of familiarity. We can very much relate to the characters, to their stories, the way they talk and about what they talk. You feel like you're sitting together with friends, like you're right there with them in the thick of it. It's not artificial, Tarantino's way of storytelling flows very naturally, the plot carries itself effortlessly through clever scripts and a keen eye for detail.
You have to let it sink in and savor every line of dialogue. Don't look for fancy gimmicks, eye-candy CGI and monstrous, orchestral scores. These movies are some of the most down-to-earth films you'll ever find, because Tarantino's a 100% moviemaker. He LOVES making movies and he loves the craft; that devotion flows into every scene he's filming. THAT is what you may have missed.
I can't relate to a single character in this movie. The best I've got is either Bonnie who we never really saw, but I would have divorced someone who deals with gangsters and brings a dead guy into my house. Or maybe slightly with Mia/Vince at the diner about small talk (I can't stand it, but doesn't mean I need cocaine/guns/heroin/etc. to live my life to the fullest), but that's where it stops. I don't need fancy gimmicks or CGI, but I do appreciate a good orchestral score. Maybe these characters were down-to-earth to you, but they seemed outlandish to me. This was the first Tarantino movie I watched start to finish, but I've heard of his style. The only thing I saw was Tarantino's devotion to vulgarity, blood, and "trying" to blow people's minds. I was just blown away that people thought it was a masterpiece. It's some pretty depraved crap. It did have some good elements (I'll admit some of the dialogue/banter was kind of epic/hilarious, but it tried too hard, and the non-linear nature was semi-interesting but left more questions than answers) but I still only gave it 1/10 because of all the blind praise it gets just because it was "unique for the time" or "blew my mind." I usually have to really hate a movie to only give it one, but in this case I made the exception. It didn't appeal at all, didn't live up to any hype, and was, quite frankly, pretty boring. I've seen my last Tarantino movie.
shareTotally agree. I don't think it deserves such a high ranking.
shareThe part I loved the most were Jules and Vince's story, them killing the teenagers, blowing off the guy's head by accident and having to clean it up and then Jules redemption. I haven't seen a sheer story either like that or as good as that in pretty much any movie. And, stories are not just what happens it's also who it happens to and the world it happens in and they were all superb, and they justify the other stories because we learn more about who Vincent is and what's going to happen to him after they part ways.
You can't sort of just tell someone what's so great about a movie. It'd be like asking someone why they like chocolate cake so much and they told you what the recipe was. You could find plenty of other foods that contain some of those ingredients and ask why the person doesn't love that food as much as they do chocolate cake. It's not just one ingredient, it's all of them put together in the right measurements cooked for the proper amount of time and allowed to cool if necessary. For someone who just doesn't like chocolate cake, they can know all that but it won't matter one bit if when they taste it they either don't like it at all or don't get what all the fuss is about.
You're not missing anything. It's just not a movie you like for whatever reason. Every movie, no matter how good, will have tons and tons of people who honestly just don't like it.
Thanks. I believe you're the first person on this thread that's saying, "Maybe you just don't like it and that's okay." You certainly were respectable about it, too.
I'm with the OP on this one. I didn't see what was so great about it in light of all the "praise" it gets. I just don't like this chocolate cake. Maybe there's too much frosting or something. Whatever it was, I didn't like this movie and it just straight up didn't appeal to me. You can tell me all of the pieces to this movie, and individually they sound good. I don't mind a little gore/language, I like epic lines (most of these seemed contrived, unfortunately), and I like intertwining stories, but this cake just didn't taste good at all.
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