The Movie
A true modern classic, Pulp Fiction remains one of the most quoted, emulated, and simply enjoyed film of the last 20 years. Writer/director Quentin Tarantino far exceeded the buzz generated by his first feature film, Reservoir Dogs, unleashing a brilliantly non-linear journey through the L.A. crime scene. We follow the lives and fortunes of a handful of interconnected tough guys and their ladies, shedding blood and finding salvation in the least expected places.
I could try and summarize the plot, but why? Pulp Fiction is less about the story and more about how that tale unfurls. It is in a sense a treatise on storytelling itself. Witness the out-of-control gossip between Vincent Vega and Marcellus Wallace's wife (John Travolta and Uma Thurman), Captain Koons' riveting, prescient monologue about The Gold Watch, and the high-stakes twists and turns of the whole Bonnie Situation.
The dialogue was more delicious and repeatable than anything audiences had heard in ages, all the more so when delivered by a stellar cast in some of the best work of their careers. And the decision to start with the beginning, end with the middle and mix it all up in between--although it's all still understandable--shows the kind of cinematic cajones that most filmmakers can't even imagine.
The Picture
That bold creativity carried over to the cinematography as well, a daring 21:9 concoction that will, for example, place the person speaking tiny and out-of-focus in a mirror at the bottom right corner of the screen, so don't even think about watching this one pan-and-scan. The movie has been given a complete director-approved 1080p/24 remaster for the occasion of its Blu-ray debut.
For the most part, the image is quite strong, remarkably clean and preserving well the many peculiar subtleties of focus. I can't quite read the menu at Jack Rabbit Slim's but plenty of other details pop. We can almost feel the various textures of the actors' skin, while the vertical dividing line in the split-focus shots now clearly visible.
A fair amount of edge enhancement is evident, as well as some unfortunate strobing in fast camera pans or quick motion through the wide frame. Blacks are generally fine; we can appreciate the weave, the pucker, the sheen of Vincent and Jules' dark business suits; but heads of dark hair can become unpleasantly nondescript.
I also noted a weird shake early on as Jules and Vincent enter the lobby of Brett's apartment building, looking like the erratic weave of film through the camera, but this anomaly did not recur. Even so, I should point out that the movie has not looked this good since the theater in 1994.
The Sound
The new DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack shines brightest in the clarity of the dialogue and the mix of the eclectic, seemingly omnipresent music. The cues in the rear are at times so subtle as to be barely perceptible, or to leave us wondering if a car just drove by outside, and at other times can be quite aggressive. We might hear someone shouting in one speaker behind us, and shortly thereafter a car crashing in another speaker.
Birds can be heard chirping quietly but undeniably in the background during Christopher Walken's speech, a gunshot can phase around the room with a distinctive roar, and the walls fairly shudder when Samuel L. Jackson goes off on one of his tirades. Highs can sound a little clipped here and there, but once again this might be a best-ever for the technical presentation of this title.
This disc also includes the DTS-HD Master Audio Sound Check feature for the home theater.
The Extras
The Blu-ray handily pulls together an assortment of previously released bonus material from the past 17 years, largely sourced from TV broadcasts celebrating the film's acclaim and all in standard definition. A complete listing of the extras can be found below. My favorites include the deleted scenes hosted by the manic Mr. T., referencing the laserdisc format at one point, and his Cannes Film Festival award acceptance speech complete with the profanities from the crowd and his one-finger reply.
The first of the two brand-new additions is "Not the Usual Mindless Boring Getting to Know You Chit Chat," 43 minutes of retrospective cast interviews, greatly insightful as this was such an incredible ensemble. Also here is the 20-and-a-half-minute "Here Are Some Facts on the Fiction," a critics roundtable chaired by Elvis Mitchell. Both of these are in high definition.
Final Thoughts
With Pulp Fiction, an upstart filmmaker gave us a glimpse of where movies could take us, and I for one have been following eagerly ever since. This respectable audio/video remaster and ample complement of fresh/vintage extras, all at a bargain price, make a return trip irresistible.
Product Details
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