Posted on Sunday, 18 December 2011

100 All-Time Films (To see the entire list, click here) Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction (1994) It is amazing that this film is 17-18 years old. Before all of the fanboys started immortalizing Quentin Tarantino as the greatest director or writer, there was Pulp Fiction. He began the idea a few years earlier with Reservoir Dogs which in my opinion, is a little sloppy (but let’s be fair, it was his first major feature) and perfected it in Pulp Fiction.  Tarantino did a few things with the film that no one really had done so successfully before. He had this crazy mix of humor and violence (remember the scene where John Travolta and Samuel L Jackson’s characters are discussing the foot massage right before they were going to make a hit?) and a wealth of cinematic/pop culture allusions that have become so common in films nowadays. What stands out for me are two things; the non-linear editing and, of course, the dialogue. Tarantino found the film more interesting for the viewer if the scenes were jumbled up. We see characters die only to reappear later and scenes that seem out of place until we later see how they fall into context. It was a fascinating technique that films now try to imitate (Christopher Nolan’s Memento is one that pops into my head). But nothing is more imitated or copied today than Tarantino’s brilliant script that stands as one of the best, and certainly one of the most influential, of all-time. Tarantino discusses trivial issues that you would find on an episode of Seinfeld but with a dark twist to it. He has us become ‘buddy-buddy’ with the characters which helps us to relate to them more. I’m sure you, or someone you know, has recited the ‘Royale with cheese’ scene word-for-word once or twice.  What Tarantino did with Pulp Fiction was a game-changer. Independent films began to be looked upon as respectable as A-list Hollywood actors began alternating between expensive studio films and and low budget indie-style productions. The film became a phenomenon and a huge influence on directors and filmmakers today. 

100 All-Time Films (To see the entire list, click here)

Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction (1994)

It is amazing that this film is 17-18 years old. Before all of the fanboys started immortalizing Quentin Tarantino as the greatest director or writer, there was Pulp Fiction. He began the idea a few years earlier with Reservoir Dogs which in my opinion, is a little sloppy (but let’s be fair, it was his first major feature) and perfected it in Pulp Fiction. 

Tarantino did a few things with the film that no one really had done so successfully before. He had this crazy mix of humor and violence (remember the scene where John Travolta and Samuel L Jackson’s characters are discussing the foot massage right before they were going to make a hit?) and a wealth of cinematic/pop culture allusions that have become so common in films nowadays. What stands out for me are two things; the non-linear editing and, of course, the dialogue.

Tarantino found the film more interesting for the viewer if the scenes were jumbled up. We see characters die only to reappear later and scenes that seem out of place until we later see how they fall into context. It was a fascinating technique that films now try to imitate (Christopher Nolan’s Memento is one that pops into my head). But nothing is more imitated or copied today than Tarantino’s brilliant script that stands as one of the best, and certainly one of the most influential, of all-time. Tarantino discusses trivial issues that you would find on an episode of Seinfeld but with a dark twist to it. He has us become ‘buddy-buddy’ with the characters which helps us to relate to them more. I’m sure you, or someone you know, has recited the ‘Royale with cheese’ scene word-for-word once or twice. 

What Tarantino did with Pulp Fiction was a game-changer. Independent films began to be looked upon as respectable as A-list Hollywood actors began alternating between expensive studio films and and low budget indie-style productions. The film became a phenomenon and a huge influence on directors and filmmakers today. 

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