PULP FICTION ------------ The film opens in a diner as a couple of thieves discuss the possibility of holding up restaurants. This leads us into three distinct strands; a date between a hit man and the wife of his boss, the boxer who is supposed to throw a fight and the cleaning up of a hit man's mistake. The stories are told in non chronological order and we finally return to the diner for the final scene. 1. What is contained in the briefcase? There is no real answer to this and Tarantino has actually said that he didn't know what to put in the case so he decided to leave it to the viewers to decide. There's no truth to the 'friend of a friend' rumour that Quentin said the briefcase contains Marsellus' soul. One interesting suggestion is that it contains the diamonds from 'Reservoir Dogs'. 2. What films have influenced Tarantino in the making of 'Pulp Fiction'? The dance competition is clearly influenced by Jean Luc Godard's 1964 film 'Bande A Parte' which Tarantino has named his production company after. The unknown contents of the briefcase are a homage to Robert Aldrich's film 'Kiss Me Deadly', made in 1955. When Butch stops at the lights and sees Marsellus crossing the road, we are reminded of Alfred Hitchcock's film 'Psycho' when Janet Leigh stops at a set of lights to see her boss crossing the road. The pawn shop rape is clearly reminiscent of 'Deliverance', made in 1972 by John Boorman. 'The Bonnie Situation' contains Jules and his friend Jimmy, clearly a reference to Francois Truffaut's film, 'Jules et Jim'. The character of Wolf in this story is taken from Jean Reno's portrayal of a 'cleaner' in Luc Besson's 'La Femme Nikita', a role reprised by Keitel himself in the American remake 'Point of No Return'. In addition, the films of John Woo, Sam Peckinpah, Brian De Palma and Don Siegel are all important. 3. Why did Mia overdose at her house? She thought that she was snorting cocaine whereas she was taking Vince's extremely pure heroin. His heroin had been packaged as cocaine would normally be because his dealer had run out of the standard heroin packaging. 4. Why did Butch return to the pawn shop to save Marsellus? Redemption is one of the central themes of this film and this scene along with Jules' saving of Honey Bunny and Pumpkin in the diner are the best examples of this. Butch's conscience made him go back to save Marsellus and this acted as his redemption for killing Wilson in the previous night's boxing match. 5. Why did Vince leave his gun on the counter at Butch's apartment when he went to the bathroom? Quite simply, he didn't, the gun belonged to Marsellus. Vince was clearly with somebody else at the apartment as he didn't react when Butch came in, thinking it was his partner. Jules had given up 'the life' by this point and Marsellus was probably filling in on this job. For further evidence look at the scene where Butch runs Marsellus over; the 'big man' is carrying two cups and as he is near to Butch's apartment, we can assume that he is Vince's partner. 6. Why are Honey Bunny's lines different from the beginning of the film and at the end? A lot of people think this was probably a mistake. It has also been thought by some that Tarantino was showing us the difference between perceptions of different people in the diner, the second time being Jules' perception. It is interesting to note that in a early version of the script the difference isn't there, but it was added in a later version. 7. What was Winston Wolf doing in a tuxedo at 8:30 in the morning? Where was he? The script explains that Winston was in a hotel suite where people were gambling. If you listen closely, you can hear someone in the room telling the gamblers to 'place their bets'. 8. What was the book that Vince was reading on the toilet? "Modesty Blaise", a pulpy novel written by Peter O'Donnell in 1965 which is very much in keeping with the film's title. 9. How does a guy like Jimmy know a gangster like Jules? Why does Jules refer to him as 'his partner'? Quentin has said in an interview (Denver Post) that Jimmy used to work for Marsellus, but when he married Bonnie she made him quit, and Jules respects that. 10. Who was Marvin and why did Jules and Vince take him with them? I think we can assume that Marvin also works for Marsellus as Vince refers to 'our guy' before they go up to the apartment. 11. Why is there a band-aid on Marsellus' neck? The actor Ving Rhames simply had a rather ugly looking scar on the back of his neck and so the make-up artist covered this up with a band-aid so that the scar didn't distract the audience too much. 12. There's bullet holes in the wall behind Jules and Vince before 'The Fourth Man' (a.k.a. Seinfeld) empties his gun. Was this an editing error? It seems to be possible that the holes might have been there for other reasons, it's not a great apartment, but it could be a mistake in editing. 13. Red Apple cigarettes appear throughout the film, what are they? Tarantino seems to have invented this brand presumably to minimize the amount of product placement in the film. This is also done by using other brands which were around in the 1970's but are no longer available (i.e. Fruite Brute cereal). 14. What happened to the Gimp? Did butch kill him, or was he just knocked out? The script explains that Butch hitting the Gimp caused him to hang himself to death on his leash. 15. Did Butch key Vince's car outside Sally Le Roy's? The script has Vince pulling up to a white Honda in a near-empty parking lot outside Sally Le Roy's. There is no such scene in the filmed version, so it's tough to say what Tarantino's intentions were here. It's leaves the possibility open. 16.Trivia a) During the opening scene, you can see the bottom half of Vince as he makes his way to the bathroom. Look out for his book, shorts, t-shirt and 'strut'. b) The Buddy Holly waiter in Jack Rabbit Slims is played by Steve Buscemi who as Mr Pink in Reservoir Dogs, refused to tip waitresses. c) The room in Lance's apartment where Mia receives the injection of adrenalin contains two board games, Operation and Life. d) The cabdriver, Esmeralda Villa Lobos (Angela Jones) appeared in a 30 minute short called 'Curdled' in which she played a character who cleaned up after murders. This makes her fascinated by the idea of murder. Tarantino saw this film and decided to include this character in Pulp Fiction but as a cabdriver. e) When Butch is sneaking up to his apartment, there is an advert for Jack Rabbit Slims on the radio. f) Butch's great-grandfather bought the gold watch in Knoxville, Tennessee and this is also where Butch is meeting his connection. Knoxville is Quentin Tarantino's birthplace. g) The undercard for Butch's fight is Vossler vs. Martinez; Russell Vossler and Jerry Martinez are two friends of Tarantino's from Video Archives who use to live together and their constant fighting was the butt of jokes around the store. h) Jerry Martinez's brother, Steve, painted the picture of Uma Thurman in Mia's house. i) Lawrence Bender plays the 'long haired yuppy scum' in the restaurant hold up. j) The guy who comes out of the bathroom is played by Alexis Arquette who is the brother of Rosanna and Patricia. k) The cartoon being watched by the young Butch was 'Clutch Cargo', a kid's show from the sixties. The film playing in the motel room was 'The Losers' directed by Jack Starrett in 1970; it's about five Hell's Angels sent to Cambodia by the CIA to rescue a presidential adviser who has been captured by communists. The Man From Hollywood ---------------------- In this, the final segment of the anthology 'Four Rooms', Tarantino plays Chester Rush, a new Hollywood hot-shot partying with a few close friends in the penthouse of a posh Hollywood hotel on New Year's Eve. The bellhop of the hotel, played by Tim Roth, gets caught in the middle of a wager held by Rush and his friends. 1. Where did Tarantino get the idea for the story? The story, titled 'The Man from Down South', was originally written by Roald Dahl and featured on his 'Roald Dahl's Tales of the Unexpected'. It was most notably done by Alfred Hitchcock on 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents' in 1960, and stared Steve McQueen and Peter Lorre. This specific version was mentioned as the inspiration for the bet within Tarantino's story. A newer version of Alfred Hitchcock's stared John Huston and Kim Novak. 2. Why was the ball of twine and the nails requested by Chester when they were never used? In some other versions of the story, the particular person's hand was tied and nailed down to the table, I suppose to avoid last minute second thoughts. 3. Why wasn't Bruce Willis in the credits for the story. This was nothing more than an uncredited cameo, something not all that uncommon in many Hollywood films. Bruce has said he did the role as a favor to Tarantino. You will notice a credit for 'Bruce Willis' hair stylist' appears in the final credits. 4. Trivia a) Fans will recognize both Bruce Willis, who played Leo, and Paul Calderon, who played Norman, from Tarantino's 'Pulp Fiction'. b) Although not in Tarantino's segment, longtime friend and producer Lawrence Bender plays another 'long hair yuppy scum'. Tarantino Miscellany: Jules' speech from Ezekiel 25:17: 'The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the iniquities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he who, in the name of charity and good will, shepherds the weak through the valley of darkness, for he is truly his brother's keeper and the finder of lost children. And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who attempt to poison and destroy my brothers. And you will know my name is the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon you.' This is actually not directly from Ezekiel 25:17 and in fact, only the last sentence and part of the second last sentence will be found there. The racism question: I've decided not to tackle this subject because whatever I write is not going to change anybody's viewpoint. However, Tarantino has said, "...that's the way my characters talk in the movies I've made so far. I also feel that the word 'nigger' is one of the most volatile words in the English language and any time anyone gives a word that much power, I think everybody should be shouting it from the rooftops to take the power away. I grew up around blacks and have no fear of it, I grew up saying it as an expression." Movieline, Aug 1994