Counting Down the Greatest Crime Films of All-Time: #95

Otto Penzler ranks, analyzes, & celebrates the 106 greatest crime films of all-time. Catch up on the series and find new installments daily here.

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Pulp Fiction (1994)

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TYPE OF FILM: Crime/Noir
STUDIO: Miramax Films
PRODUCER: Lawrence Bender
DIRECTOR: Quentin Tarantino
SCREENWRITER: Quentin Tarantino, Robert Avary
SOURCE: Original
RUNNING TIME: 154 minutes
PRINCIPAL PLAYERS:

John Travolta       …   Vincent Vega

Samuel L. Jackson       …   Jules Winnfield

Uma Thurman       …   Mia Wallace

Bruce Willis       …   Butch Coolidge

Tim Roth       …   Pumpkin

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DID YOU KNOW?

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An intriguing element of Pulp Fiction has been the speculation about what was so valuable in the briefcase stolen from Marsellus Wallace that Vincent Vega and Jules Winnfield are trying to recover, and why it is glowing. The favorite choice appears to be that it is Wallace’s soul, referencing the myth that when the devil takes a person’s soul, he takes it through the back of the head. When viewers see the back of Wallace’s head, there is a Band-Aid in the legendary spot where the soul is removed. As it happens, Ving Rhames had been shaving his head and accidently cut himself there. While the glow from the suitcase was never explained, the prop was merely an orange, battery-powered light bulb. Related to this speculation is that the combination of the lock on the briefcase is 666, further indicating that Marsellus had sold his soul to the devil.

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THE STORY

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Several seemingly unrelated stories eventually coalesce in a violent but often comic scenario. Two hit men, Vincent Vega and Jules Winnfield, are trying to retrieve a valuable briefcase stolen from their boss, Marsellus Wallace. When Wallace goes out of town, he tells Vega to take care of his wife, Mia, by taking her out for dinner and a night on the town. All is well until she makes a serious mistake. Meanwhile, Marsellus has told boxer Butch Coolidge to take a dive in his next fight. His pride takes over and he fights ferociously, accidentally killing his opponent, enraging Marcellus, so decides it would be wise to get out of town. In another vignette, the pseudonymous Pumpkin and Honey Bunny are lovers and thieves who spontaneously decide to rob the restaurant in which they are having a meal. It turns out to be a poor decision as it’s a much more dangerous target than the other places they’ve robbed.

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In one of the film’s most memorable moments, Jules quotes a passage from the Bible at the scene of an extremely violent murder. Much of the passage does not appear in the Bible at all. The part about the righteous man and the tyranny of evil men was mostly made up by Quentin Tarantino and Samuel L. Jackson. However, the second section, “And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger. And you will know My name is the Lord when I lay My vengeance upon thee,” is quoted from Ezekiel 25:17.

In another scene that left no one sitting comfortably and munching on popcorn, Vincent plunges a syringe into Mia’s chest as she has overdosed. If you ever wondered how he managed to do it, and how Thurman allowed it, the shot was achieved by having Travolta pull the syringe out of Thurman, then running the film backwards. Close observers can see a mark on Thurman’s chest disappear as she revives.

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BEST LINE

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(After Pumpkin and Honey Bunny rob the patrons in the diner, Jules turns the tables and asks for his wallet to be returned.) Jules: “I want you to go in that bag, and find my wallet.” Pumpkin: “Which one is it?” Jules: “It’s the one that says Bad Motherfucker.”