Pulp Fiction
Movie, 1994, The '90s, Set in Los Angeles
Pulp Fiction is #3 of 13 in release order and #2 of 13 in chronological order in the Quentin Tarantino.
The story
A burger-loving hit man, his philosophical partner, a drug-addled gangster's moll and a washed-up boxer converge in this sprawling, comedic crime caper. Their adventures unfurl in three stories that ingeniously trip back and forth in time.
Pulp Fiction recap
Pulp Fiction (1994) weaves together stories of Los Angeles hitmen, a boxer and a gangster's wife, told out of chronological order. Jules Winnfield (Samuel L. Jackson) and Vincent Vega (John Travolta) recover a briefcase for their boss Marsellus Wallace (Ving Rhames), survive a hail of bullets that somehow misses them, and need the fixer Winston Wolfe (Harvey Keitel) after Vincent accidentally shoots a man in their car. Vincent takes Marsellus's wife Mia (Uma Thurman) to a 1950s-themed restaurant and has to save her from an overdose. Boxer Butch Coolidge (Bruce Willis) is paid to throw a fight, wins it instead, and goes back for his father's gold watch. Pumpkin and Honey Bunny (Tim Roth and Amanda Plummer) bookend the film with a diner robbery. Tarantino wrote it from a story conceived with Roger Avary, and it won the Palme d'Or and the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. As his second feature, it follows Reservoir Dogs.
Pulp Fiction ending explained
Pulp Fiction ends at the diner, which in story time comes before Vincent's death. Pumpkin and Honey Bunny rob the room, and Jules, having decided the missed bullets were divine intervention, talks them down and lets them leave with his own cash while keeping the briefcase. Earlier in the film but later in time, Butch kills Vincent at his apartment, then rescues Marsellus from the pawnshop basement, and Marsellus lets him leave town. Jules walks away from the life, and Vincent, who stays, is the one who dies.
Post-credits scenes
No. Pulp Fiction has no mid- or post-credits scene.
Where to watch Pulp Fiction
Pulp Fiction is streaming on Prime Video, fuboTV, Paramount+, and YouTube TV in the US. You can rent or buy it on Amazon, Apple TV, and Google Play.
Ratings
IMDb 8.8/10, Rotten Tomatoes 92%
Where it fits
- Release order: after True Romance, before Natural Born Killers.
- Chronological order: after Reservoir Dogs, before Jackie Brown.
Cast
- John Travolta as Vincent Vega
- Samuel L. Jackson as Jules Winnfield
- Uma Thurman as Mia Wallace
- Bruce Willis as Butch Coolidge
- Ving Rhames as Marsellus Wallace
- Harvey Keitel as The Wolf
- Eric Stoltz as Lance
- Tim Roth as Pumpkin
- Amanda Plummer as Honey Bunny
- Maria de Medeiros as Fabienne
- Quentin Tarantino as Jimmie Dimmick
- Christopher Walken as Captain Koons
Directed by Quentin Tarantino.