Pulp Fiction Uma Thurman

directed by Quentin Tarantino
USA 1994

Quentin Tarantino's second feature, Pulp Fiction, is at once immensely entertaining and remarkably weightless. The film's quintessential scene takes place outside the Jack Rabbit Slim's restaurant when Mia Wallace (Uma Thurman) tells Vincent Vega (John Travolta) not to be a "square." Forget the irony (after a ten year acting rut that included three Look Who's Talking films, Pulp Fiction's success made Travolta reputable again), Mia's line could be the film's mantra. Samuel L. Jackson's Jules Winnfield is still Tarantino's most fascinating creation. More than a repository of disposable trivia and smart-alecky responses, Jules embodies the film's surface concern with righteousness and redemption. Tarantino giddily incorporates countless texts (Kiss Me Deadly, Saturday Night Fever and so on) into this farcical noir Frankenstein that, not unlike Shelly's legendary monster, turns on itself by film's end. More important than the film's elegant structure is what the creation represents. Jonathan Rosenbaum summed the film up quite nicely as "a couch potato's paradise." No one in the film can access reality unless they are engaging the many ghosts of noir's past. Godard and countless others did this kind of thing way before Tarantino but Pulp Fiction had such a profound effect on older Gen Xers because it spoke to a newer generation's shared consciousness. This consciousness embodied many things: a fear of penetration (if anything, the film's infamous rape sequence is a frightening reminder of just how subconsciously afraid Tarantino and his heterosexual male fanbase are of their inner-queer) but, more specifically, an infatuation with the movies. When the Wolf (Harvey Keitel) makes Vincent and Jules change clothes, Jimmie (Tarantino) calls them dorks for wearing lame sports t-shirts. By pointing out the articles belong to Jimmie, Tarantino acknowledges his own dorkdom. In turn, it makes him "cool" (not enough though to permit his liberal use of the word "nigger") and a hero to his media-savvy generation. In the end, it's not that Tarantino has no life, it's that his life is the movies. Much like his characters, the director can only live by engaging cinema.

Excerpt from Ed Gonzales review in Slant magazine located HERE

Posters

Theatrical Release: October 14, 1994

Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews

Recommended "Tarantino" Reading (CLICK COVERS or TITLES for more information)


Quentin Tarantino: The Man and His Movies by Jami Bernard	Quentin Tarantino: Interviews (Conversations With Filmmakers Series) by Quentin Tarantino, Gerald Peary	Quentin Tarantino: The Cinema of Cool by Jeff Dawson	Quentin Tarantino (The Pocket Essentials Series) by D. K. Holm	Quentin Tarantino: Shooting from the Hip: The Biography by Wensley Clarkson	Tarantino A to Zed: The Films of Quentin Tarantino by Alan Barnes, Marcus Hearn	King Pulp: The Wild World of Quentin Tarantino by Paul A. Woods	Reservoir Dogs by Quentin Tarantino

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DVD Comparison:

Wild Side Video (France) 3-disc - Region 2- PAL vs. UFA (Germany) - Region 2- PAL vs. Miramax (2-disc Collector's Edition) - Region 1 - NTSC vs. Alliance Atlantis (Canada) - Region 1 - NTSC vs. RCV (Netherlands) - Region 2 - PAL

Big thanks to Pavel Borodin, Guillaume and especially Geert Jan Alsem for all the Screen Caps!

(Wild Side Video (France) - Region 2- PAL LEFT vs. UFA (Germany) - Region 2- PAL MIDDLE vs. Miramax (Collector's Edition) - Region 1 - NTSC - LEFT)

DVD Box Covers
Distribution	Wild Side Video Region 2 - PAL	UFA Region 2 - PAL	Miramax Region 1 - NTSC
Runtime	2:28:00 (4% PAL Speedup)	2:27:50 (4% PAL Speedup)	2:34:13
Video	2.28:1 Original Aspect Ratio 16X9 enhanced Average Bitrate: 6.21 mb/s PAL 720x576 25.00 f/s	2.21:1 Original Aspect Ratio 16X9 enhanced Average Bitrate: 4.86 mb/s PAL 720x576 25.00 f/s	2.35:1 Original Aspect Ratio 16X9 enhanced Average Bitrate: 5.57 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate: Wild Side
Bitrate: UFA
Bitrate: Miramax (Collector's Edition)
Audio	English DTS 5.1, English Dolby Digital 5.1, DUB: French Dolby Digital 5.1	English DD 5.1, DUB: German DD 5.1	English DTS & DD 5.1, DUB: French DD 2.0 Surround
Subtitles	French (FORCED with English audio)	Forced German with English audio, Turkish, none	English (HoH), Spanish, None
Features	Release Information: Studio: Wild Side Video Aspect Ratio: Widescreen anamorphic - 2.28:1 Edition Details: DISC ONE • The Film • "Plus De Pulp" (Explanations & Anecdotes, Feature Film long - in French only) • DVD-ROM Features: • Weblinks • Jack Rabbit Slim's Trivia Twist • Screenplay Viewer • Open Mic Commentary (in English only) • Reviews And Articles DISC TWO "Making-Of" (10mins) (in English with FORCED French Subtitles) Picture & Poster Galleries 5 Deleted Scenes: (20mins) (in English with FORCED French Subtitles) • Quentin Tarantino Introduction (2mins) • "The Drug Deal Monologue" (3mins) • "Mia Interviewing Vincent" (5mins) • "The Esmerelda Cab Scene" (6mins) • "Monster Joe's Truck And Tow" (4mins) Interviews with the Designer/Decorator (7mins) (in English with FORCED French Subtitles) 4 Theatrical Trailers Bonus Trailer: • "Kill Bill" Cannes Film Festival - "Palm d'Or Acceptance Speech" (5mins (in English and French) "The Tarantino Connection" (Scenes of The Film with Commentary - in French only) Charlie Rose Show (55mins) (in English with FORCED French Subtitles) "Filming" documentary (31mins) (in English with FORCED French Subtitles) Cast And Crew Filmographies (in French only) TV Spots (in English with FORCED French Subtitles) DVD-ROM Features: • Screenplay • Screensavers • Wallpapers • Weblinks (in English only) DISC THREE Audio CD - 5 tracks: • Al Green • Kool & The Gang • Chuck Berry • Dusty Springfield • Brothers Johnson 40-Page Collector's Booklet (in French) Easter eggs: DVD Credits: On DISC TWO, select "Autour Du Film", then press [Up], then [Enter]. Scene Parody: On DISC TWO, go to the second page of the filmographies section, then all the way down until you select the gun and press [Enter]. DVD Release Date: October 5th, 2004 Digipak Chapters 24	Release Information: Studio: UFA Aspect Ratio: Widescreen anamorphic - 2.21:1 Edition Details: • Featurette • Drück den Burger • Trailer • Cast & Crew • Triviales • Marsellus Wallace's Koffer: Die Theorie • Goofs • Deleted Scenes DVD Release Date: July 17th, 2000 (Keep) Case Chapters 27	Release Information: Studio: Miramax Aspect Ratio: Widescreen anamorphic - 2.35:1 Edition Details: • Soundtrack Chapters • Enhanced Trivia Track • Sneak Peaks of Jackie Brown and Pulp Fiction soundtrack • DVD-ROM Features • Pulp Fiction: The Facts • Deleted scenes introduced by Quentin Tarantino • Behind-The-Scenes Montages • Production Design Featurette • Siskel & Ebert 'At The Movies' - 'The Tarantino Generation' • Independent Spirit Awards • Cannes Film Festival - Palm d'Or Acceptance Speech • Charlie Rose Show • Theatrical trailers from US, Japan, France, UK and Germany • TV Spots • Some more stuff... DVD Release Date: August 20, 2002 2-Disc Digi-Pack Chapters 26

(Alliance Atlantis (Canada) - Region 1 - NTSC - LEFT vs. RCV (Netherlands) - Region 2 - PAL - RIGHT)

DVD Box Covers
Distribution	Alliance Atlantis Region 1 - NTSC	RCV Region 2 - PAL
Runtime	2:34:14	2:28:03 (4% PAL speedup)
Video	2.35:1 Original Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 5.30 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s	2.35:1 Original Aspect Ratio 16X9 enhanced Average Bitrate: 6.74 mb/s PAL 720x576 25.00 f/s
Bitrate: Alliance Atlantis (Canada)
Bitrate: RCV (Netherlands)
Audio	English DD 5.1, DUB: French DD 2.0 Surround	English DTS & DD 5.1
Subtitles	English (HoH), None	Dutch, None
Features	Release Information: Studio: Alliance Atlantis Aspect Ratio: Widescreen letterboxed - 2.35:1 Edition Details: • Deleted scenes introduced by Quentin Tarantino • Theatrical trailers from US, Japan, France, UK and Germany DVD Release Date: July 1, 2001 Amaray (Keep) Case Chapters 26	Release Information: Studio: RCV Aspect Ratio: Widescreen anamorphic - 2.35:1 Edition Details: • Promotional trailers of Reservoir Dogs, Jackie Brown and Things To Do In Denver When You're Dead DVD Release Date: October 16, 2002 Amaray (Keep) Case Chapters 16

Comments

A quick glance will assure you that the French Wild Side Video release has the best image, but like The Piano, the pristine French release has non-removable French subtitles. It is the sharpest and has strong color balance but has been cropped on both sides... a shade. What a shame! It is in a 3-disc (2 DVDs, 1 CD) Boxset as well - overflowing with extras (some in English). In fact the Wild Side Video edition wins in every category. Audio - the optional French DUB is in 5.1 (as well as DTS and 5.1 English tracks), the menus are inspired and the Extras complete! Of the other releases:

The German edition has contrast boosting but has still managed to remain quite sharp, but the manipulation has messed the colors badly... and I notice some edge enhancement.

The Alliance Atlantis is an old release with inferior video and audio, and is also censored according to dvdcompare.net.

The image of the RCV looks sharper than the Region 1 CE. This is even more noticeable if you look at the screenshots in their native resolution. Also, the Region 1 CE seems to be vertically stretched a little and has some minor cropping.

The Region 1 CE obviously has a lot more extra features than the RCV, but there is also a 2 disc release from RCV, with an identical first disc and a second disc containing:
- Deleted Scenes
- Trailers
- Behind the Scenes
- Interviews
- Documentary
- Pulp Fiction Receives the Palm d'Or

Still, not as many features as the Region 1 CE.

It truly is a shame about the non-removable subs on the Wild Side Video edition, but it has the most effort and expense put into it. After that I would get the Dutch edition and 3rd - the Miramax (CE).

- Geert Jan Alsem + Gary W. Tooze

DVD Menus

(Wild Side Video (France) - Region 2- PAL LEFT vs. UFA (Germany) - Region 2- PAL MIDDLE vs. Miramax (Collector's Edition) - Region 1 - NTSC - LEFT)

(Alliance Atlantis (Canada) - Region 1 - NTSC - LEFT vs. RCV (Netherlands) - Region 2 - PAL - RIGHT)

Subtitle Sample

Apologies - couldn't nab a subtitle screen in the Wild Side version!

(Wild Side Video (France) - Region 2- PAL TOP vs. UFA (Germany) - Region 2- PAL 2nd vs. Miramax (Collector's Edition) - Region 1 - NTSC - 3rd vs. Alliance Atlantis (Canada) - Region 1 - NTSC - 4th vs. RCV (Netherlands) - Region 2 - PAL - BOTTOM)