12 out of 12 (Imperial System)

Rating: 10/10 (3 February 2020)

My Tarantino retrospective continues with "Pulp Fiction" a film I know well, and love. Having been slightly underwhelmed by "Reservoir Dogs" a few weeks back I was delighted to find that "Pulp Fiction" is as Iconic as ever.
Told with a convoluted timeline, "Pulp Fiction" revolves around two Hitmen, Jules Winnfield (Samuel L Jackson) and Vincent Vega (John Travolta), who recover a briefcase for their boss, the criminal Kingpin Marcellus Wallace (Ving Rhames). Several calamities befall them as they attempt to return the case. Wallace then arranges for fading boxer Butch Coolidge to take a dive in a prize fight, when Butch double crosses him, Wallace goes after him, which has extreme and unexpected outcomes for both of them.
Iconic really is the only word that fits. Each scene is chocked full of quotable dialogue and legendary moments of cinema. So many sections have been parodied in things like "The Simpsons" and "Spaced", the film is a juggernaut of popular culture. The jumping backwards and forwards in time, help take what is a relatively straightforward story to the next level. There is a good time to be had just mentally putting the film together again in the correct order.
Visually, it's a step up from "Reservoir Dogs" as the camera is much more dynamic that it was, travelling with characters through sets and shooting locations. Performance wise too it's a lot better, flush with the success of "Dogs" Q.T was able to keep the best from that cast, but also attract some enormous talent. Samuel L Jackson is probably the standout. . and this is probably the best performance of his career. Every line, every intonation, every eye bulge is (and here's that word again) Iconic. The music choices are fabulous - just as they were with "Dogs". Every song fits the tone of directly into the scene perfectly.
It's not totally perfect though. Tarantino's scenes in front of the camera make me cringe. He's not a good actor, and on top of that his use of the N-word seems a bit egregious, or that a character like Jules would let him get away with it.
That though doesn't spoil what is quite simply one of the greatest films of all time, perhaps even the only true masterpiece in Tarantino's catalogue (I'll see as I check out the rest).