It wouldn’t be a stretch to say that in 1994, Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction revolutionized popular cinema. While 1992’s Sundance breakout, Reservoir Dogs, made Tarantino an indie icon, Pulp Fiction made him a household name, spawning a “cool crime” genre that dominated the second half of the decade, even as the director himself moved away from the genre. The movie revitalized the career of star John Travolta, whose career had bottomed out in the nineties but soon became a $20 million a movie A-lister, and put Uma Thurman on the map in a pretty big way. It also gave Bruce Willis some street cred as a movie star wiling to dip his toe into indies, while also making Samuel L. Jackson one of the most iconic character actors of our era. In this episode of WTF Happened to this Movie, we look at the making of Tarantino’s crime epic, from its humble origins, casting hurdles, development with Miramax, controversial Cannes’ Palme d’or win and more. And, of course, there was the fact that the only Oscar it took home was a screenplay nod Tarantino shared with Roger Avary. Years later, its loss to Forrest Gump still rankles fans.
This episode of WTF Happened to this Movie is written & narrated by Mathew Plale, and edited by Diane Baldwin. Let us know how you think Pulp Fiction stacks up against the rest of Tarantino’s filmography in the comments below!