Pulp Fiction

(Quentin Tarantino, US 1994, 154 min., 35mm)

Quentin and Uma. Quentin Tarantino’s expansive follow-up to the hyper-cool Reservoir Dogs earned him the highest prize at the 1994 Cannes Film Festival. Pulp Fiction has since become a cultural phenomenon, revitalizing the structure of narrative cinema, introducing ever-familiar characters and quotes, and setting the bar high for what an independent film can achieve. The film would also debut a distinct style for which Tarantino would come to be known, that of sampling, quoting, and paying homage to seventies exploitation genres. This black comedy follows a diverse band of lowlifes, hitmen, gangsters, and thieves, as they get into trouble with drugs, guns, money, and heirlooms. Featuring an incredible cast (John Travolta, Uma Thurman, Samuel L. Jackson, Bruce Willis, and Christopher Walken), Pulp Fiction first brought together Tarantino and Thurman, who would become one of his favored leads.