It’s tough to name the quintessential Tarantino movie because he’s only made a couple of missteps in a groundbreaking career. One could argue he nailed it straight away with Reservoir Dogs, or that Jackie Brown is his most mature film, or that Django Unchained is the peak of his unique, genre-driven satirical vision. But arguably the director’s most iconic work is his sophomore directorial effort, Pulp Fiction, an anthology crime film with engaging nonlinear storytelling, spot-on soundtrack choices, and a razor-sharp pitch-black comic tone.
There are plenty of unforgettable characters in this movie, from Mia Wallace to the Gimp, but the two that make up its most memorable duo are Jules Winnfield and Vincent Vega, bickering hitmen played by the perfectly matched Samuel L. Jackson and John Travolta.
Jules: “The Path Of The Righteous Man...”
Right out of the gate, Jules’ most memorable quote is his Ezekiel 25:17 speech, which he recites to people before he kills them. This passage can’t be found in the Bible; instead, it’s taken from the epigraph at the beginning of the American cut of the Sonny Chiba martial arts classic Karate Kiba.
Jules recites the passage twice in the movie. First, he tells it to Brett before blasting him to smithereens. Then, he tells it to Pumpkin after perceiving a miracle and turning a leaf. Samuel L. Jackson gives two completely different deliveries that find new connotations and allegories in the text.
Vincent: “They Call It A Royale With Cheese.”
When Jules and Vincent are first introduced, Pulp Fiction’s snappy Seinfeldian dialogue style is established with a now-iconic conversation about how European McDonald’s franchises differ from American ones. Quentin Tarantino wrote Pulp Fiction in Amsterdam and his own culture shock found its way into the script in Vincent having just returned from a trip across Europe.
The most interesting tidbit to come out of this exchange is the Parisian name of a Quarter Pounder with Cheese – “Royale with Cheese” – because the metric system forced them to rebrand the beloved sandwich.
Jules: “Does He Look Like A B****!?”
Jules’ personality takes a sinister turn when he gets “into character” before entering Brett’s apartment and interrogating him on Marsellus’ behalf.
He asks Brett to describe Marsellus and then asks him, “Does he look like a b*tch!?” Brett replies, “No,” and Jules snaps back, “Then why’re you trying to f*ck him like a b*tch?”
Vincent: “A ‘Please’ Would Be Nice.”
After Vincent blows Marvin’s brains all over Jules’ car and he’s lucky enough to enlist the help of the Wolf, he still has the nerve to respond to the legendary crime scene cleaner’s demands by saying, “A ‘please’ would be nice.”
Harvey Keitel plays the role of the Wolf brilliantly as a riff on his similar role in Point of No Return. He replies, “Get it straight, buster. I’m not here to say ‘please,’ I’m here to tell you what to do.”
Jules: “I’m The Foot F****** Master.”
At this point, Tarantino’s infatuation with feet is about as well-known as his infatuation with cinema. After the all-male cast of Reservoir Dogs kept their shoes on for the whole movie, Tarantino’s obsession began to rear its head in Pulp Fiction with a tracking shot of Mia Wallace’s bare feet.
It’s also seen in Jules and Vincent’s conversation about the implications of a foot massage. When they disagree, Jules says, “Don’t be telling me about foot massages, I’m the foot f*ckin’ master.”
Vincent: “I Think We Should Be Leaving Now.”
The final scene of Pulp Fiction reveals that when Pumpkin and Honey Bunny stuck up the diner in the opening scene, Jules and Vincent were eating breakfast a few feet away. Jules intervenes in the robbery and manages to talk Pumpkin into returning his own wallet.
Set perfectly to the sounds of the Lively Ones’ “Surf Rider,” Jules and Vincent take a look around the diner, still reeling from the stickup, and decide it would be best if they left.
Jules: “Mmm, This Is A Tasty Burger!”
Quentin Tarantino doesn’t like to include paid product placements for real corporations in his movies, so his characters use fictional brands like Red Apple Cigarettes.
When Jules bursts into Brett’s apartment to shake him down, they’re in the middle of a breakfast of hamburgers from the made-up Hawaiian-themed fast-food chain Big Kahuna Burger. Jules takes a bite and says, “Mmm, this is a tasty burger.”
Vincent: “I Don’t Know If It’s Worth Five Dollars, But It’s Pretty F****** Good.”
When “the big man’s wife” Mia Wallace orders a milkshake at Jack Rabbit Slim’s, Vincent is shocked to see that it costs $5. He doesn’t believe any milkshake in the world could be worth $5.
Mia offers him a sip when it arrives and he assesses it pretty succinctly: “That’s a pretty f*cking good milkshake. I don’t know if it’s worth five dollars, but it’s pretty f*cking good.”
Jules: “English, Motherf*****, Do You Speak It!?”
Jules loses patience with Brett quickly when the latter struggles to keep up with his mind games. To every question Jules asks, Brett just says, “What?” Jules says, “‘What’ ain’t no country I’ve ever heard of. They speak English in ‘What’?”
But Brett keeps saying, “What?” Eventually, Jules snaps and yells, “Say ‘what’ again. I dare you. I double dare you, motherf*cker, say ‘what’ one more g*ddamn time!”
Vincent: “Oh, Man, I Shot Marvin In The Face.”
The dark comedic tone of Pulp Fiction is one of its selling points. Audiences love laughing at things they’re not supposed to – like a leatherbound sex slave or “itty-bitty pieces of skull” – and Hollywood is rarely bold enough to allow it. In Pulp Fiction, Vincent forgets to put the safety back on his gun as he’s leaving Brett’s apartment with Jules and Marvin.
In the car, when Vincent is speaking to Marvin in the back and using his gun to gesture, Jules goes over a bump, he accidentally pulls the trigger, and Marvin’s head is splattered all over the rear window in broad daylight. And Vincent just casually says, “Oh, man, I shot Marvin in the face.”