Just like the movie, I'd like to start with the dictionary definition of the word pulp. Pulp Fiction is a (comic) book printed on the cheapest paper possible containing lurid and violent stories. Quentin Tarantino's (director and writer of the Pulp Fiction) idea behind Pulp Fiction was to take three separate generic stories, which all have already been seen before, and connect them in the unique way.

The movie itself was a huge success when it launched. It premiered at Cannes Film Festival, and it won the Palme d'Or, which is the highest prize awarded at the aformentioned festival. Pulp Fiction went on to win critical success as well as a huge box office gross.

John Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson
Story of the movie isn't chronological. The movie starts with a prologue, which has little to do with the actual story and abruptly ends, leaving us with a sense of curiosity. Following the prologue, we have three main chapters which revolve around the notorious criminal, Marsellus Wallace (Ving Rhames), his wife (Uma Thurman), his hitmen (Samuel L. Jackson and John Travolta) and a few other individuals which are connected to the story (of which Bruce Willis' character is most relevant to the plot). A lot of these stories are happening at the same time, but Tarantino decides to show each of the chapters in its entirety, each from a point of view of a different character. This makes the story more dynamic, less predictable and harder to follow. Also, it builds anticipation and the feeling of discovery as we connect the dots between the chapters.

Dialogues between the characters are nothing short of genius. They can go on for a very long time without any cuts, which is typical for Tarantino movies, but they never get boring. On the contrary, they have a great impact on the story and character development. One of the best examples for that is the dialogue between the two hitmen, who are on their way to kill someone, and they are talking just like regular people. They talk about McDonald's, the metric system, giving women foot rubs, and so on. It's carried out perfectly. You can imagine having the same conversation with someone on the idle Sunday afternoon. Besides dialogues, this movie has one of the best monologues (or speeches, if you prefer) in the movie history. It's delivered by Samuel L. Jackson just as he is about to kill his target. It's worth watching if you haven't already (or you want to see it again, like I do!).



The soundtrack fits perfectly with the movie and enhances the feeling of authenticity of certain scenes. All of the songs are songs from the pop culture. Tarantino said that he uses already popular songs because they have a great impact on the movie and he wouldn't like to give so much power over his movie to the composer. Some of the best songs from the movie are Dick Dale's Misourlou, Urge Overkill's Girl, You'll be a Woman Soon and Dusty Springfield's Son of a Preacher Man.

Pulp Fiction is definitely one of the must see movies. It's well crafted, original, intellectually engaging and, above all, entertaining. Personally, it's one of the best movies all time, right next to Inglorious Basterds (also Tarantino's movie) and the Godfather. I highly recommend you to watch it, if you already haven't!

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