- Pulp Fiction directed by Quentin Tarantino premiered in the US on this day 30 years ago (October 15th, 1994).
- The non-linear crime film, regarded as Tarantino’s magnum opus, remains a key cornerstone of cinema culture; inspiring entire generations of both screen art and parody across the globe.
- From the much-ridiculed Boondock Saints to Bullet Train, here is a list of significant examples.
Few films have been as instantly iconic as Quentin Tarantino‘s Pulp Fiction.
Rich with refreshingly snappy dialogue and what’s since become a signature blend of irony and high-impact violence (the real “gourmet s**t”), the Miramax-distributed indie not only took pop culture by storm but also swept the prestige award circuit: from taking the Palme d’Or in an upset win to Best Original Screenplay at the 67th Academy Awards.
Brought to life by an all-star cast of John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Uma Thurman Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Bruce Willis, and Ving Rhames, the flick is treated with considerable reverence — by film bros and actual critics alike. To this day it’s been the subject of virtually endless discourse about the extensive pastiche of cinematic influences; as well as its legacy upon the art of screenwriting.
But we’re not here to contribute to that already crowded conversation. Instead, we’re shedding light on the significant movies that owe something to Pulp Fiction on its 30th anniversary. The key phrase here being “significant,” given there aren’t enough hours in the day to shout out every Smokin’ Aces, The Big Hit, Get Shorty, or decades of hack student films.
Check ’em out below.
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The Movies Inspired By Pulp Fiction
There are a few cutesy cosmetic connections between Out of Sight and Pulp Fiction — George Clooney was Quentin Tarantino’s co-star in From Dusk Till Dawn, which the latter also penned; Ving Rhames and Samuel L. Jackson are featured, alongside Michael Keaton who actually reprised his role as Ray Nicolette from the Tarantinoverse (Jackie Brown, to be more specific). But that’s not why it’s made the list.
The film itself is a rare non-derivative homage to its inspiration; with explicit nods like the freeze frames, tonality, and of course, non-linear crime plot. In fact, we’ll go so far as to say this is the closest a post-Pulp Fiction effort has come to recapturing the original magic.
Widely regarded as the British answer to Pulp Fiction, this was (and continues to be) a stunning introduction to the powerhouse that is Guy Ritchie. One that, much like Out Of Sight, commendably flaunted the same DNA while making it their own. A good deal of the early Ritchie-isms here can still be seen in his later works.
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Essentially what happens when a studio (and director) makes a $6 million version of a student film. It wanted to be Pulp Fiction so badly, yet failed to understand what made Pulp Fiction tick.
Perhaps the most blatant rip-off spotlighted:
- Opens with a monologue set inside a breakfast diner
- Features multiple interlinking perspectives with an emphasis on the “look how cool I am” soundtrack
- Features a drug overdose
- Sarah Polley’s Ronna Martin is styled remarkably similar to Uma Thurman’s Mia Wallace; to the point she’s carried like the latter in a scene with syringes
That being said… it did the job.
This was just Pulp Fiction in a modern font with a dreamier (and strangely more uplifting) conclusion. But again, it did the job.
Yes, it’s an adaptation of Kōtarō Isaka’s 2010 novel Maria Beetle. But there’s no denying what it draws from not just Pulp Fiction but also Kill Bill. If only the dialogue and the fight scenes were more memorable. Certainly not the worst Tarantino clone to date by any stretch of the imagination, though it’s not a particularly well-executed one, either. This one gets three out of five shrugs from us.
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