….That did it, man — I’m fuckin’ goin’, that’s all there is to it…you’ll dig it the most. But you know what the funniest thing about Europe is? In Paris, you can buy beer at McDonald’s. Also, you know what they call a Quarter Pounder with Cheese in Paris? They don’t call it a Quarter Pounder with Cheese? No, they got the metric system there, they would not know what the fuck a Quarter Pounder is. What’d they call it? Royale with Cheese..i seen ’em doing it. And I don’t mean a little bit on the side of the plate, they fuckin’ drown ‘em in Mayonnaise.
Well, that’s how the viewer is introduced to Vincent and Jules, the hit men from L.A.’s criminal underworld and their fast talk and perverse humor. It’s the sheer flow of conversations packed with sharp-mindedness, crude language and profanity without a straightjacketed face-to-face format and repetition of words and sentences, which lend an exciting edginess to this stylishly crafted cult movie. Interestingly, as the name suggests, Pulp Fiction is about nothing, but an interwoven tale of small-time gangsters and the pace of which is driven by dialogues. What amuses me is the deliberate effort of Tarantino to befuddle his audience through the effortless rendition and casual attitude towards murder and violence {I could be wrong but this is my key take-out}. Every element seems to be leading to the other, and it took sometime for me to come out of the sense of wonderment that the beginning is the end is the beginning. Many situations that are familiar to an average viewer are strewn around and each situation leaves the viewer abruptly as he/she is almost getting cozy with it. The plot, unlike other movies, wholly, is non-linear and fragmented with separate narratives overlap over each other, almost like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. Gluttony, that inordinate desire to consume endlessly something that one likes and I don’t mind committing this sin of watching this cubicle of events, when Mia subjects reluctant Vincent to a battery of questions, which delineates her what kind of person she is going to have dinner with …”…there’s two kinds of people in this world, Elvis people and Beatles people. Now Beatles people can like Elvis. And Elvis people can like the Beatles. But nobody likes them both equally. Somewhere you have to make a choice. And that choice tells me who you are…” The restaurant JACKRABBIT SLIM’S – “Next best thing to a time machine” deceives one with its exterior of a quaint English pub. The interiors are done up with the booths which are made out of the cut up bodies of 50s cars. The waiters and waitresses, the replicas of 50’s icons: Marilyn Monroe, James Dean, Donna Reed move around the dance floor servicing their patrons. The conversation between Mia and Vincent meanders through and reaches a point when he asks her about the pilot show she worked in. She says “It was about a team of female secret agents called Fox Force Five. Fox, as in we’re a bunch of foxy chicks. Force, as in we’ re a force to be recokned with….there was a blonde one, Sommerset had a photographic memory, the Japanese fox was a Kung fu master, the black girl was a demolition expert, the French fox’ specialty was sex…” and her specialty – Knives. The character I played, Raven McCoy, her background was she was raised by circus performers. So she grew up doing a knife act. According to the show, she was the deadliest woman in the world with a knife…” Sounds familiar, isn’t it ? This is the initial brain-wave for Kill Bill series.
I like that part when Mia touches upon “Uncomfortable silences”, which most of us experience almost everyday. .. While we fill in those uncomfortable spaces with so much unnecessary and trivial stuff to feel comfortable, but with someone special we comfortably share silence. And now the classic dance sequence between Mia and Vincent, And that’s how I want my man to dance with me!! huh, any wondrous feet? Have you observed how Mia introduces her fellow to the audience ? so what type of person Vincent is?bed I love watching Uma {Mia} dance with Travolta {Vincent} time & again, the unexpressed joy and feel their love of the dance …. It’s endearing to replay the moment when a man’s mind and feet are being led by a woman’s playful heart, which is the ultimate sensorial experience! Mademoiselle covers the dance floor, with her fellow challenging her throughout…..what one can enjoy the most in this scene is the enthusiasm and the hip-swiveling rhythm both of them dance with, which comes out from nowhere. One more outstanding track in this movie is Urge Overkill’s version of Neil Diamond’s “Girl, You’ll Be A Woman Soon”, which is even better than the original. la femme diabolique, elle allèche des hommes, la regarder comment elle fait des hommes pour danser à ses airs Pulp Fiction‘s pop culture references and filmic allusions — which, by turn, either enthrall or enrage critics — are much more than “a sheer cinematic spectacle, a fun-house experience of vibrant sights and sounds”… Rather, Pulp Fiction taps into the storehouse of collective memory that is popular culture, and in so doing, illuminates the complex and contradictory relationship between movies and memory…. ” Breaking Time “Any time of the day is a good time for pie” — Fabienne. More on this cult-rendition
*green colored bodies of the content lead you to further links. I touched upon my favourite cubicle from this cult-movie here.
Update: I observed the video is, no longer, available. It’s fine …we have one more visual delight for Chuck Berry’s “You can never tell” ..thank you YOUTUBE!
7 comments
Comments feed for this article
November 13, 2006 at 2:31 am
alok
eh, you are asking too much 🙂
November 18, 2006 at 6:48 pm
jyothsnay
dear boy
Neither, I am pretty **uncertain to expect John Travolta as my man as I rapidly fall short of Mia/Uma….but I want that energy.that fascination.that gleam.that impenetrable indifference.boy,thats sexy!
November 24, 2006 at 12:32 pm
scarecrow
just to add to the Mia-Vincentexchange there was a joke also which Mia tells Vincent..
“So there’s Papa Tomato, Momma Tomato and Baby Tomato walking along the street. Baby Tomato starts lagging behind, and Papa Tomato starts getting really angry. So, he turns around and squishes Baby Tomato and says, ‘Ketchup.'”
tough a corny one but its timing and renderation is quite amazing…
Tarantino is one of my all time fav, and it quite muddles me all the time as to which i liked more ‘Pulp Fiction’ or the ‘ Kill Bill II’.
Talkin abt movies and memory ‘Memento’ is also one masterpiece…
December 4, 2006 at 1:02 pm
jyothsnay
yes boy
I remember that…I never got self muddy in confused waters as “Pulp Fiction” stayed as the primary protagonist for me …”Kill Bill” certainly has a distinct character, but PF has all the audacity to mock life at its sternest…it’s a KILLER because its dialogues n the casualness clung to them..what do u say
J
December 5, 2006 at 8:54 am
scarecrow
By Kill Bill, i only meant its 2nd part.
Both KB II and PF are quite different in all the comparable aspects.. actually a comparison is just impossible. Both are masterpieces in their own ways and quite dear to me..
anyway, an interesting trivia abt Pulp Fiction:
Pulp Fiction comes in 1st beating Scarface and GoodFellas in one category.
Can you guess that?
Ans : Pulp Fiction has the ‘F’ word spoken abt 259 times bettering the count of 219 and 231 of Scarface and GoodFellas respectively.
December 5, 2006 at 9:17 am
jyothsnay
Boy o boy, I was about to say that…FUCK acquired a newer meaning in Pulp Fiction!
how u been? oh, u make me feel guilty again. I have been sooo busy, well not great an excuse…..but i am guilty of not being able to frequent ur blog..will send u some nice music ….take care-jyo
May 22, 2008 at 2:56 pm
Anonymous
You never can tell ….
🙂
It was a teenage wedding and the old folks wished them well
You could see that Pierre did truly love the mademoiselle
And now the young monsieur and madame have rung the chapel bell
C’est la vie, say the old folk, it goes to show you never can tell
They furnished off an apartment with two rooms by themselves
The coolerator was crammed with TV dinners and ginger ale
But when Pierre found work the little money coming worked out well
C’est la vie, say the old folk, it goes to show you never can tell
They had a hi-fi phono, boy did they let it blast
Seven hundred little records, all rockin’ rhythm and jazz
But when the sun went down, the rapid tempo of the music fell
C’est la vie say the old folk, it goes to show you never can tell
They bought a souped up jittny, was a cherry red fifty three
They drove it down to Orleans to celebrate their anniversary
It was there where Pierre was wedded to the lovely Mademoiselle
C’est la vie say the old folk, it goes to show you never can tell
It was a teenage wedding and the old folks wished them well
You could see that Pierre did truly love the Mademoiselle
And now the young Monsieur and Madame have rung the chapel bell
C’est la vie say the old folk, it goes to show you never can tell