Film Student FINALLY watches *PULP FICTION* 

Lets get some love for Bruce Willis. May his final years be full of love.

In the scene where Vincent buys his heroin, the dealer said "I'm all out of balloons". Mia snorted the heroin like cocaine because she didn't think it would be heroin, because it wasn't in a balloon.

One of my favourite details in this movie is the way Vincent angrily drops Mia's unconscious body onto the ground to argue with Lance. Tarantino is a master at creating comedy out of serious situations. As for whether this movie had a point, the way I see it is that it's a story about redemption. We see various people living the life of crime. Some manage to get out of it alive, some don't, some succeed, some don't. The pattern among those who had a better ending is that they showed positive traits like humility, honour, forgiveness. This applies to even minor characters. For example, Marvin is assumed to have ratted out his friends to Marcellus, which is why Vincent and Julius took him with them, and he ends up accidentally dying. Pretty much all major characters are faced with a trial, and their stories are about whether they succeed or fail that test. Those who fail don't get a good ending.

I saw "Pulp Fiction" the weekend it opened. The following Saturday I went back and saw it again to make sure. The next morning my Aunt Pat got home from church and I asked her if she had any plans. She didn't. I asked if she wanted to go see a movie? She responded in the affirmative. Then she asked me what we were going to see. I told her it was a secret. She was intrigued, we went. I ran ahead once we got out and got the tickets so she wouldn't know what we were seeing. We got into the auditorium and sat down and I said, "Auntie, you are about to see some of the most heinous footage ever filmed. You will see people doing terrible things to each other and you will find yourself feeling filthy because you are laughing your ass off at the carnage". "What movie have you brought me to" she asked? "Auntie, this is 'Pulp Fiction'". "OH!!! I've been wanting to see that!!!! How do you know so much about it"? "I've seen it twice already". My auntie was born on St. Patricks Day, 1925. When we first saw "Pulp Fiction" she was 69 years old. When Mia got the needle in the chest she roared with laughter. I kept an eye on her throughout the movie. She was entranced. She loved it. When it was over she asked, "You are getting it on Laser-disc when it comes out, right? Copy it onto VHS for me so I can watch it and take it to share with friends". I did so. She raved about the movie to everyone. This tiny little old Irish-American woman known for her Texas Baked Beans and her Christmas cookies was encouraging everyone to experience the glory of "Pulp Fiction". She died in June of 2018. I hadn't watched the movie in probably 10 years or more at that point, and I haven't watched it since that I can think of. But I know that when I finally get around to it... I'll be thinking of her. Love your reaction.

The stories are more connected thematically, with the primary theme being salvation. Vincent saves Mia, Butch saves Marcellus and is in turn saved from Marcellus, Vincent and Jules are saved from the bullets, and Jules “saves” the diner robber. Jules accepts his salvation from the bullets and quits, Vincent denies it, hence why he is at Butch’s apartment alone the next day and ends up being killed. And while Tarantino has always been vague about what was in the briefcase, one of the most compelling theories is that it’s Marcellus’s soul (the combination is 666).

Pulp Fiction was a shoe-in to win best picture in 1994 - and then they released Shawshank Redemption, Quiz Show and Forrest Gump. That was a crazy year for film.

I like that the first scene of this movie is the couple saying "Man.... why doesn't anybody rob restaurants?" and they make such a strong case you think "Yeah... seems like a good idea!".... then the final scene provides you with the answer, because you have no clue who could be in there.... maybe 2 stone cold assassins who've already capped 4 dudes that day, and have no problem making it 6 lol

Seeing this in the theater in '94 when I was a teenager is what made me want to make a movie and inspired me to take screen writing classes in college. Still a very personal favorite movie 👍

Saw this in the theater when it came out; blew my mind. As far as I'm concerned, one of the top 5 movies of all time.

In Tarantino’s defense: the part for Jimmie was originally offered to Steve Buscemi, but he had to turn it down (can’t remember why). In this case, it was just Tarantino stepping into shoes someone else didn’t fill more than just giving himself a cameo in his own movie.

Glad, you finally got this up. I really enjoyed the full length reaction so I’m looking forward to see how it is when edited and tricked out with all the bells and whistles.

I was in second year of uni when this came out. All my dorm mates loved this movie and I "had to" watch it many times before parties. I hated it at the time. I thought it was weird, disturbing and I didnt get the story. It probably took me at least 15 years for me to start to love it. Now I just enjoying the style, dialog, music etc...

The other great postmodern film that bookended the 90s: "Memento". It not only breaks the time line, it deliberately shapes it to attain a particular effect. If you haven't seen it, you must. It is so much your cuppa, dear. :)

I heard that some movie theaters in Lebanon thought that they accidentally received the movie out of order and so they re-cut it and put it back together in chronological order, which defeats the purpose and takes away all the stylistic points of this masterpiece, in my opinion.

Although there was a trove of edgy, experimental film-making in the 90's, film-makers with enough clout were already trying new and edgy things with big studio resources at least since the fifties, and the post Hays-code auteurs of the 60's were pushing all kinds boundaries. The mother of non-linear storytelling in cinema is of course Kurosawa's "Rashomon" (1950) but Tarantino was more directly inspired by Kubrick's "The Killing" (1956) about a heist at a racetrack, told several times from beginning to end but from each time from a different participant's POV. (That influence will be much more apparent when you see "Resevoir Dogs") Meta-self awareness punctuated by text and graphics on-screen was a big part of the style and humor of 60's Batman. The "don't be a"-drawn-square-with-fingers gag was a direct reference to an episode of original 60's Flintstones. "It's Quentin, of course it's bloody as 'hell" You saw "Inglorious Basterds" and that's not the only time he opts for "burnt to a crisp" for the most satisfying kills.

she was doing coke, he was doing heroin. you dont snort heroin

Great reaction. Love your laugh. I love how much you appreciate this movie as a viewer and a film student.

It's always great to watch a first time reaction from someone who has studied (or is studying) film and pop culture. This was extremely enjoyable. There's so much lore about the making of this film, I'm sure you read some in the comments e.g. the plaster on the back of Marcellus's neck, Vincent being on the shitter all the time etc. Glad you caught the 'news' about the Jack Rabbit Slims trophy on the radio. The first Tarantino flick I saw was his breakout one, Reservoir Dogs. Saw it on a whim since the movie we were going to see originally was sold out. It blew my mind and remains one of my all time favourites. My Sunday afternoon comfort film though is Jackie Brown. Great soundtrack. Superb and original reaction!

When that 'uncomfortable foreshadowing' came up I nearly spit my coffee out on the screen laughing.

I truly admire your dedication and ability to consistently not swear.

I saw it 3 times in the cinema. My friend saw it 5 times in the movie. We spent days afterwards trying to figure out how the film all fit together. The best part is the film gets better the more you see it. Have fun!

QT’s direction was focused on the INTERCONNECTIVITY of multiple storylines. This was a theme introduced by Stoppard’s Rosencranz and Guildenstern Are Dead (with Hamlet). The early 90’s were fixated on the multifacicity of truth that the 80’s covered up.

One of my favorite scenes ever is when they are walking out oh the diner and stop look both ways before putting their guns away.

It’s a lot of fun listening to you explain something a lot of us watched 29 years ago. Haha.

When I first saw this movie, it blew me away. I was 16 and never saw anything like this before. That's why Pulp Fiction has cemented a spot in my favorite movies list forever.

For whatever it's worth, Jacqui, I love hearing your analyses come through in the form of film history lessons (like you did with Pulp Fiction). I hope all your post-reaction commentary has an element of this. I feel like I'm getting a film degree through your words, thank you!

I remember the first time I saw this movie 😃. And while at first I didn't have the best time with it, rewatching it and seeing these types of reactions/interpretations and their subsequent analysis helped to make me appreciate QT and his movies (especially Pulp Fiction more and more each time). As always great to see another lovely reaction 👍🏾 Keep up the good work 😁🤙🏾

Nick Fury having Jules' bible quote on his gravestone is not the only reference to this elsewhere in Samuel L Jackson's career. In the Star Wars prequels, Mace Windu-Jackson's character-has his lightsaber engraved with the characters B M F in the "aurabesh" script of the Star Wars franchise; this is a nod to Jules' wallet being inscribed with the words "Bad Motherfucker".

I subscribed the moment I heard you say, "...you kill it you clean it." Awesome!

Something I think people miss in this movie is that Butch's girlfriend Fabienne is probably pregnant. That's why she's trying to break the news to him by alluding to "pot bellies" etc. She also walks to the side of the bed after he passes out as if she's going to tell him, and then says "never mind". I don't know if Butch has already guessed as much though, as it would definitely explain why he freaked out about the watch as if he needed to pass it on in order to truly honor his father.

By far my favorite movie of all time and i watch it once a year between Christmas and New Year... This movie for me personaly is ART and a masterpiece. There is no other movie like Pulp Fiction!

The editing of this video was fire. Good job both of you!

Every time Vincent goes to the toilet, something bad happens. Mia overdosed, Butch gets his weapon and kills him, and the diner gets robbed

It wasn't cocaine she snorted. It was heroin.

Yeah, good review and great summation. Your point about the movie being more about the craft is spot on. At the time, i was finishing college and Art history - dealing with Fauvism really rammed home the idea in painting of "colour for the sake of colour", whilst movies like this were very apparent in being "film for film's sake"... it was the whole celebration of art for it's own sake, which i loved and still love. Oh, My God. To be a young adult in the 1990s... what a time to be alive! It was Amazing. Thanks for reviewing this masterpiece with serious intelligence and please keep on enjoying & absorbing art & influences and developing new ideas & opinions and don't ever stop, really.

Great review! Thanks Jac!

Finally caught one of these as it gets uploaded! Came over from the old channel. Shame you can't do the videos with Sam anymore, he seems fun, but from the reasons given, it sounds like the wisest move to preserve the friendship and possibly work together again later. Let's get to the movie!

Pulp Fiction has post modern elements, but the reason why it's so profound and so hard to pin down by film archivists is because it is one of the few films whose central theme is serendipity. When you have robbers and hitmen as main characters everything is heightened. The serendipity they toy with can be their end. The random conclusions also makes for a gripping tale. Serendipity as a theme traditionally is used with comedies, since it makes for good punchlines or curiosities like in Alice in Wonderland. But in a crime saga the punchline is death. Pulp Fiction also owes its origin to Goddard's 60's film Vivre sa vie  ('To Live Her Life: A Film in Twelve Scenes') which is broken into episodes and even has a dance scene in a bar.

Best reaction i have seen so far with a litany of eloquence

It's one of my favourite movies! Also I'm really impressed how you remember little details from other movies like the quote on Nick Fury's headstone and Wiress' actress from Hunger Games!

Very good reaction video! You just got yourself a new subscriber!

Ving Rhames, who plays Marcellus Wallace, has a rather prominent scar on the back of his neck. Since the back of his neck was going to be so prevalent in that first shot, Rhames asked if he could cover it with a band aid. It certainly has led to some wild theories though. Some speculate the mystery glowing contents of the briefcase are Marcellus Wallace's soul, and the band aid covers the mark where it was snatched out lol

One of my all time favorite movies. Went to see it TWICE in the theater back when it was first released.

In the opening scenes at the diner you can see Travolta heading to the bathroom.

All I can think of during Christopher Walken's scene is Eddie Izzard's wonderful impression of this scene "he died of watch in ass disease". Loved the reaction, Jacqui.

There's a theory and a fact about Marsellus Wallace's band-aid The in-universe fan theory is that the briefcase contains Wallace's soul and the band-aid covers where it was taken from, the fact is that Ving Rhames cut himself shaving his head Another fact Uma Thurman had an anxiety attack before filming the dance scene because of Travolta's past The not-so subtle reference to Hitchcock's Psycho when Butch is in the car and watches Marsellus walking by is frame by frame identical when Janet Leigh's character watches her boss

My wife had to write a paper on Dark City. It took her years to be able to think about watching it again after that.

'Everyone knows closets are made of cedar.' Lol, OK. You got me with that one, lol.

I think the fundamental theme of this film is redemption (although not necessarily virtuous redemption) - nearly every significant character in this film is either redeemed by another, or redeems themselves, or seeks to redeem themselves.

That was fun. PF is one of my favorite movies. Saw it when it was new for the first time and have watched it to thw point that I cam quote pretty much the whole thing. Your reactions leading up to some of the more messed up scenes were great.

I watched this one in the theatres when it came out. I had a really hard time following the dialogue, as I hadn't come to the US yet. But even with that, the movie was a RIDE. I am somewhat of a movie buff, but that was the most different thing I had ever seen.

My fav part is the pov shift on Walken to looking direct to camera after the camera sees the watch closeup

You're the first one who guessed that in a cameo role it's Steve Buscemi!!! I watched the reaction to the film from many people and no one knew who this waiter was, clever girl, you are well versed in cinema and music, it's noticeable and nice to watch people like you! I really like Quentin Tarantino's films.

Really enjoyed your reaction to this, so fun. I'm old enough I remember watching this in the theater. For it's time, it was like a bolt of lighting in the Hollywood landscape that changed so much after it - some good, some bad. Saying that, Jackie Brown as the follow up is so different, but showing QT's ability to have a deep character study without all the pizzazz of jumping around like crazy. From the same time period, Fargo by the Coens' was another big moment in the 90s - if you haven't watched or reacted yet, you might dig it.

C’mon, film student! You know exactly what is in the briefcase. A MacGuffin.

All the characters in the tale experience pretty extraordinary circumstances, many of which they survive just by the skin of their teeth or seemingly in spite of everything working against them. They react to them in a variety of ways, and each seemingly experience very different results. Contrast between Vince and Jules is pretty obvious. Vince survives: - the Date with the Boss's Wife Gone Wrong - shot at point blank in Brett's apartment - the Bonnie Situation - and the Diner Robbery the last 3 of those (though chronologically the first) he experiences the same with Jules. Vince makes mistake after mistake, repeatedly tempting fate. And he ultimately ends up dead.

That was forking great. Holy shirt. :) The contents of the suitcase is the perfect McGuffin.

The car Winston Wolf was driving was a 1990 Acura NSX. Interestingly, the engine was behind the driver.

I love that we're basically in The Good Place watching this with the "shirt" and "forks".🤣

Interesting to see and hear your point of view. With your education in film. Lovely.

If I remember the story correctly, "Pulp Fiction" was written in chapters out of perceived necessity. Quentin and Roger Avary did not believe they would have the budget to shoot a feature-length film. To work around this potential problem, they broke up the story into individual chapters, then planned to film each chapter as its own short length film. The plan was to eventually shoot each chapter as funding could be found so that the full length film would eventually be assembled. They realized it could take months or longer to film the story in this fashion. Luckily, that limitation never happened but the film was still shot and edited into the format that Quentin and Roger originally devised.

Excellent analysis.

I still recall the sense of awe I had walking out of the theater all those years ago...

"If anyone is a Gilmore Girls fan....." Ya goddamn right.

"every possibility is more disturbing than the last" Freekin' gold

The other thing we used to discuss a lot when the film was new was that it was a morality story about Jules and Vincent. Jules is awed and transformed by the divine intervention and begins a new way of life. Vincent takes no note of it, continues his criminal ways, and is destroyed by it the next day.

Good catch on the details. Sharp eyes and ears for the different take on the diner scene.

My first taste was Reservoir Dogs in the cinema. I was laughing in the first ten minutes when the mobsters argued over tipping the waitress and again over who was which colour. The humour in the dialogue set me up for fandom right there and then. Hateful Eight is probs my fave.

"But I I don't want to be a Pirate!" In regards to your post reaction blouse ...Seinfeld lol 😂 What I love about Tarantino movies, outside of how he tells a story, is it's a story you've never heard before or it's a slight alternative to story you have heard before. Either way, he's a MASTER story teller.

Awesome selection! Possibly my favourite Tarantino film, and Tarantino is very possibly my favourite film-maker. I would highly recommend all of his movies, just brilliant and often bizarre stuff. 👍✌❤ Edit: Loving the running count on "Very Tarantino" elements. 😂

That's Steve Buscemi as that Buddy Holly waiter.

Good job. I’ve seen a number of reactions and yours is one of the best. Well edited with good analysis. Please do some classic Hollywood. “The Apartment” for example. I’d be curious to know what you think and if you haven’t seen them before it will add to your education.

I love how horrific yet like.... wholesome? Heartwarming? It is when Butch and Marcellus make amends.

"Publicly shame me for never having seen this up to this point" If you insist: WHAAAATTT!?!?!?!?! You're an film student and never seen this!?!?!?!?!?!? WTF?!?!?!?! All jokes aside. The most "Tarantino thing" for me is conversation. I feel like in English classes (at least the ones I took), it was too often emphasized that we should get to the point and always stay relevant to it. I feel like too often that translates badly into bad writing in conversations in both written media and film. Tarantino draws out conversation to feel more real as opposed to most writers who's conversation hit the bullet points of what they want to say than hitting the actual flow of a real conversation. Tarantino will draw you aside from those points into random things (like a debate on foot massages or guessing game for characters in media) to make the conversation feel genuine and yet still feel a part of the story. I'm not much of a writer, only done it for fun. But I will say, I've been most inspired by Tarantino when trying to write conversations. I could go on a whole rant about this but I'll try to keep it succinct. Also, the diner robbers were not the ones who hit Jack Rabbit slims. Mia and Vincent didn't win the trophy. They stole it. That is what the radio was saying. As for Marcellus's bandage. That was because the actor sustained a real injury, so they just kept the band aid for the whole movie. As far as Tarantino movies. Pulp Fiction is my number 1, with Inglorious Bastards being my number 2.

Vincent is at Butch's place waiting with Marcellus for Butch. That's why Vincent is (as always) reading in the restroom while Marcellus is near, coming back with TWO drinks!

The radio talking about someone stealing from Jack Rabbit Slim's wasn't about the couple who rob the diner. Mia and Vincent didn't win the Twist Contest, so they stole the trophy, lol

7:48 Good catch on your first watch. Smart and gorgeous, that's a deadly combination. 😊

brilliant reaction!

Oh and at the beginning you see Vincents back as he’s going to the bathroom as honey bunny and ringo are talking. Great reaction. 👏😊

Watched all his films and Jackie Brown is my favourite.

I also went to film school and actually took a class that was dedicated to studying Tarantino movies (my professor was an Italian filmmaker who loves Tarantino) my final project for that class was a video essay that compared the similarities between The Hateful Eight and The Thing.

Really fantastic job 🙂

I've seen the movie back then at the cinema. It was an awesome experience. Half of audience left halfway thru the movie the cinema because they couldn't stand what they saw. The other half laughed their ass off and had a brilliant time. I belonged to the second group. Also the scene with needle is probably the scene in cinema history where the most people closed their eyes. Even if nothing is to see. 😁

saw it in the theater opening weekend. there were cheers when bruce willis picked up the sword.

Tarantino has always loved cinema and he has said that his films are the types of movies that he loves and wants to watch. They aren't particularly deep with philosophical meaning, they are geared towards entertainment meant to enthrall the viewer. That's why I love his film making! The movies he makes are fun and interesting, focusing on style and intriguing dialogue and crazy storylines. They are always a good time because I can just sit in the experience and escape from the mundane or even the pressures and complexity of life. It is living Art.

Absolute masterpiece

Funniest line in the movie. "you read the Bible Ringo?"... "Not lately, no." LMAO.

I saw this on VHS a few months after it hit theaters. I didn't know what to make of it at first. When I watched again a few years later, it sunk in. It's what literary critic Alan Kirby calls "high postmodernism," referring to the apex of the style during the mid-late 90s ("Seinfeld" is another example). As a young man during the time, I recall that it was how we Gen-Xers related to each other, because we were all latch-key kids who grew up on TV reruns and old movies, so the references in Pulp Fiction were stuff we already knew, and dropped in casual conversations anyway!

She played a time traveler once who would watch for serial killers being executed then she would travel back in time to before they made their first kill and carry out the sentence. A pair of FBI agents ended up suspecting her of murder and one of the agents had a best friend who was the victim of a serial killer. It was really complex, but the time traveler was going insane because she could remember both the original timeline and the altered timeline. For example, at one point she attracted attention because her fingerprints were found at a murder scene but the murder took place when the time traveler was six. After being questioned the traveler went back and cleaned up the fingerprints, removing the FBI attention. Later something else happens and the same agent shows up to question her. She greets the agent with, "My aren't you persistent." even though in the agent's memory they were meeting for the first time. She was amazing in that episode. The Outer Limits: A stitch In Time. "I don't understand." "You don't need to understand."

The radio talking about Jack Rabbit Slims was actually talking about how two people stole the trophy. Vincent and Mia didn't win the dance contest, they just stole the trophy afterwards.

you skills at swearing while not really swearing are amazing!

13:38 They didn't win the trophy, but they did take it home.

I've seen this dozens of times and I never got the forshadowing of Marcus until you pointed it out. Yeah, that's a subscribed.

I find it interesting that every time Vincent goes to the bathroom, something bad happens. And he is always going to the bathroom because narcotics users are usually constipated due to nerves being relaxed.

Hey Jacqui, first time watching one of your videos. I think you should watch Kevin Smith's filmography. His first film (Clerks) was made after he dropped out of film school. He got as many credit cards as he could and maxed them all out. It is shot mostly in one location and in black and white. I love it because it is amazing, and watching it, you feel like you could have made it. From there, each movie seems to have a bigger and bigger budget, and you can watch him grow. I just think it would fit your channel very well!

Lore has it that Wallace's soul was in the briefcase... the ultimate MacGuffin. The Bandaid was apparently where his soul was taken out.

When this came out I saw it with my now ex. She knew the dance scene was important but not what set it off in her mind. I explained the dichotomy of Vincent on heroin, downer, and Mia on coke. Him dancing slow and casual and her coked up to the gills. Awesome scene.

Hey, there. I've been enjoying your videos last weeks... I'd love to see you watching and analizing Sean Baker's films. I got to his work during the pandemic and has become my favourite filmmaker ever since. Love to hear your thoughts on him... Keep up the good work, cheers!

The truth is that when Vincent came out of the bathroom and saw what was up, he'd have cut Yolanda (Honey Bunny) in half before Jules had time to say anything.

I've loved this movie since I was ten years old (my older sisters could be very irresponsible when it came to which pirated VHSs of theirs I watched). Played the soundtrack to death too, which helped me learn Jules' bible verse all the faster 😁