The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, October 21, 1994, Page 7, Image 7
Mr. Saturdi
LIGHTSCAMERAREACTION
STEPHEN BROWN Staff Writer
PULP FICTION
(out of four stars)
One moment you're pulling back in horror. And
the next moment you can't control your laughter.
Thafs the thrilling sensation director Quentin
Tarantino creates in his splashy new piece, "Pulp
Fiction," an audacious interweaving of three stories
about a surprisingly sympathetic, vulgar underclass
amidst the modern American crimescape.
It is complete with blood-drenched violence, un/*nmnmmiainrr
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"Fiction" takes a humorous glimpse at commonplace
themes through people far removed from
mainstream reality. Definitely not a film for the
weak of heart, it contains harsh language, graphic
violence, explicit sexual references and blatant
drug use as vital elements to the storyline and
themes.
One of the keys to Tarantino's modern masterpiece
is the casting of the primary characters. The
strutting '70s icon John Travolta plays the longhaired
Vincent as a somewhat clumsy but likable
criminal with a goofy grin. Vincent faces preposterous
scenarios ranging from escorting the wife of
his crime boss on an awkward arranged date and
blowing an otherwise perfectly good day by acci
dentally shooting a friend in the backseat of his car.
His afro-headed partner Jules, played by Samuel
L. Jackson, is an over-the-top scripture shouting
sadist who bills himself as "Superfly TNT." Together
they engage in wild discussions of popular culture
reminiscent of the discourse in Tarantino's landmark
first film, "Reservoir Dogs." The two also engage
in violence when necessary.
Other main characters include Butch, a cowardly
prizefighter played by Bruce Willis; Mia, a
mysterious gangster moll played by Uma Thurman;
Mr. Wolf, a discrete crime clean-up specialist played
by crime movie legend Harvey Keitel; and Tarantino
himself as a neat freak and unwilling accomplice
to murder.
The film's violence supplies it with a deft comic
touch. The crime lord Marsalis, after being attacked,
vows, Tm gonna get medieval on your ass," promising
ultimate revenge with pliers and blowtorches.
When Butch searches for a weapon in a pawn shop,
he puts down a bat, then a chainsaw, settling instead
on a classical but effective samurai sword.
Tarantino. who scriDted the film and co-wrote
its stories with Roger Avary, has a brilliant command
of vocabulary. Among the pure joys of his
work is the dialogue, often containing lines the viewer
simply does not expect at a given time. Characters
are most prone to discuss food directly after a
murder. And the violence of the story is so commonplace
that it seems only natural for a character
to tell another, "You should be on brain detail,"
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First, if you qualify, the Montgomery GI Bill can |
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Strutting '70s icon John Travolta oiavs Vincent
as he cleans up the bloody mess of a freshly splattered
corpse.
Double entendres such as "taking her out" and
"taking care of him" result in humorous double takes
when it is unclear whether the characters love others
or want to kill them.
The fact that characters retain a keen ear for
grammatical correctness even when using racial
jargon, spewing four-letter words and killing indiscriminately
underscores Tarantino's premise
that violence is so commonplace in society that other
topics (such as dangling prepositions, rather than
dangling arteries) are much more shocking. Vincent
is flabbergasted at one point during mass mayhem
that Mr. Wolf does not say "please" when giv
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ing oraers.
The music is all over the place, shifting with the
tone of the film. The scrolling opening credits look
like a B-kung fu movie as the soundtrack blasts
"Jungle Boogie" by Kool and the Gang. Later, Vincent
and Mia take part in a twist contest at a nostalgic
drive-in style restaurant, a comic touch harkening
back to Travolta's boogie days and demonstrating
Tarantino's obsession with the effect of pop culture
on the American Way. When Mia dances furiously
to the sound of Urge Overkill, her pent-up sexual
tension reaches a fever pitch.
Tarantino overlaps his stories carefully. One of
the plots revolves around lovers played by Amanda
Hummer and Tim Roth who hold up liquor stores
in their spare time. When they hold up a coffee shop
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: Vega in Quentin Tarantino's "Pulp Fiction." C<
during the film's introduction, they have no idea ^
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to join them.
One classic sequence involves Vincent's quest ^
to save Mia's life when she overdoses on drugs. For ^
most people the logical place to go would be the hos- ^
pital, but Vincent and Mia's world is altogether dif- ge
ferent They find themselves at the home of Lance af
(Eric Stoltz) who supplies Vincent with the longest ar
needle in history with which to bring Mia back to '
consciousness. The horror of her bloodied nose laced
with white powder is juxtaposed with a foot-long cj
adrenaline needle that Vincent must stab through
her breastplate into her heart gj.
Tarantino has crafted a film most people will ar
not like or understand. He features the death and
torture of innocent people for laughs, utilizes fake ^
looking rear projection as a serious technique, includes
biblical scripture as the basis of violence and ^,
supplies scathingly brutal language which is deroga- /
tory to every ethnic group he can imagine. But given
the context he is creating, the director is per- ^
fectly justified in all of these cases. His dark humor q
about an alternative American landscape is at once at
sickening, bitinj and extremely funny. Whether
fact or fiction, "Pulp" is one of the most uncompromising
and enjoyable films of the year. It reflects
the whimsical notion that life is not always glam- gi
orous or logical. Gritty and episodic, "Pulp Fiction"
is the work of a stream of consciousness moviemaking
genius.
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tial fluid of life and there is
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cines save thousands of -pi
re in our community. JT 13SIT13.
your time each month can \^\n Cqvp
ence in someone's life. 1UU kJdVv
UDENTS and others to help T JVPC
alth with people in need. If *
tars old and meet our health AA/lsilrk
in start saving lives while V Illlv
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st, 254-6683 Money!
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le Koger Center presents "A Festlvi
inday, Oct. 23. Tickets are $10 for
faster Series
vorld-renown
THER WUSSEIL Staff Writer 1
If you are looking for an elegant ?
ay to spend the evening or simply,
ant to expose yourself to a bit more f
lture, you might want to consider
ing to tonight's concert at the Koger
inter.
Guest pianist Alexei Sultanov will
i playing with the South Carolina
lilharmonic's Master Series.
Sultanov, who is known for his
chnique and phrasing, will be perrming
Tchaikovsky's Piano ConcerNo.
1. Also to be performed in the
i a . . if . .1... n _
cona concert 01 tne master aeries T
e Berlioz5 Symphonie Fantastique
id Chabrier's Espana under the diction
of Nicholas Smith. t
'The Master Series focuses on heavy >
assical music by composers like c
ozart, Strauss, Dvorak and I
lostakovich, and it features guest ?
tists from outside the country,"
aanne Chin, Philharmonics' marting
assistant, said. . >
Sultanov, a native of Tashkent, c
zbekistan, formerly part of the So- ?
it Union, began his career at a young *
je. Sultanov, who studied at the Cenal
Music School of the Moscow State t
mservatoiy, made his formal debut j
the age of seven.
Not only did Sultanov start at a
ung age, he earned world-wide recogtion
at a younger age than most. 1
iltanov won the Eighth Van Clibum 3
iternational Piano Competition in 1
>rt Worth, Texas, in 1989. He was i
e youngest of the 38 competitors. >
However, Sultanov did not rest on a
fTHE NUTTIEST PL
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Jjii SUNDAY is "BLOODY SUNDAY
jin $3.00 GIANT Bloody Marys
Wjy MONDAY NIGHT - $3.00 Pitche
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WEDNESDAY is REGGAE NIC
$1.25 Red Stripe
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Friday - $1.00 Natural Lights
/?& & $9.00 Pitchers of Long Island 1
MM & Electric Lemonade
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DOMEST]
X\ IIVX3E?<Z>X?.T
fHOUSE LIQ
I1_JI
ember Grad
iet Left Out i
With your 25
graduation an
and envelope;
Announcemer
Your name
Undergrad/ Gi
Your major/]
Packaging & 1
L included
I iBalfoi
^ |I609 BLOSSOM ST. 254
|V9HE&^ %
m
ST ill^lllllllly
USC Marketing and MwSa
il of Strings" at 7:30 p.m. on
adults and $8 for studants.
welcomes
ed Sultanov
lis laurels, nor did he shy away from
sxposure.
Since his victory, Sultanov has perormed
in both Europe and America,
de has played with the Moscow, Halle,
?nvol rVmoor+croKmiw anH Rnvcil PViil.
larmonic symphonies and in the fesival
La Roque DAntheron in Europe,
^s for American performances, Sulanov
has played with the Detroit, Atanta
and Pittsburgh symphonies and
vith the Rochester Philharmonic and
he Philadelphia Orchestra, as well
is appearing at Carnegie Hall and the
Kennedy Center.
Added American exposure for Sulanov
has occurred in the form of television
appearances. He has performed
>n the Today Show, Late Night with
David Letterman and the Tonight
Show with Johnny Carson.
If the Philharmonic performs as
veil tonight as it did in rehearsal, the
?ncert will provide an evening of mulic
and culture well worth the price of
;he best seats in the Koger Center.
For more information, you can call
he Philharmonic box office at 254?HIL
(254-7445) or stop by from 9
i.m. to 5 p.m. today.
Besides the Master Series, the Phillarmonic
offers two other series this
fear, the Philharmonic Pops, which
ncludes the laser show and the Famly
Classics, which is geared more tovard
children. Both start in early November.
ACE IN 5-POINTS
TY CAFE I
Ice Tea jfik
rc - Six ^
S - $1-75
:s - $3.00 Smb.
uor - gHy
- $3.00
uates
in the Cold!
personalized
nouncements
5 for $38.75
its include:
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urogram
landling
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