Ep. 64 Pulp Fiction
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Today’s movie is Pulp Fiction directed by Quentin Tarantino.
Pulp Fiction is such a bold, creative film. We both think it is a standout in Quentin Tarantino’s filmography. The tone is so unique and has been imitated so many times since that it’s easy to forget just how original Pulp Fiction is.
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August 11th - 12 Angry Men
August 18th - Magnolia
August 25th - Spotlight
Ep. 64 Pulp Fiction
Pulp Fiction is a fantastic film, no doubt about it. For me it acted as a gateway to French cinema of the 60s. Watching films by Rohmer and Godard, my experience was filtered through Tarantino's reinterpretation of their cinema.
You might have heard of Harold Bloom's concept of "apophrades," when a new work of art is so strong that it forces a reinterpretation of older works. I think Tarantino captured lightning in a bottle with Pulp Fiction, the ideas he explored were in the air but nobody executed it as convincingly as he did.
For American cinema that could be viewed as precusor, like you said the Coen brothers also made neo-noir films a bit earlier than Tarantino. There's also Robert Altman who did ensemble cast movies before Tarantino. He also did some reinterpretations of genre movies, so his ideas are somewhat similar —though, personally, I find Tarantino's screenplays more punchy and captivating.
Moreover, Wild at Heart by David Lynch is close in spirit to Tarantino, with nods to French New Wave and Akira Kurosawa. He also uses grotesque and humorous violence. But Lynch is more unsettling.