What filmmaking techniques does Pulp Fiction use?

CineCode breaks down 5 techniques in Pulp Fiction (1994): Non-Linear Narrative, Pop Culture Monologue, Rigged Camera Placement, Genre Collage and Unbroken Dialogue Scene.

Who directed Pulp Fiction?

Quentin Tarantino directed Pulp Fiction, released in 1994. CineCode also covers Reservoir Dogs (1992), Jackie Brown (1997), Kill Bill: Volume 1 (2003), Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004), Death Proof (2007), Inglourious Basterds (2009).

What films are similar to Pulp Fiction?

Films that share techniques with Pulp Fiction include Inglourious Basterds (2009), Snatch (2000), Reservoir Dogs (1992), Kill Bill: Volume 1 (2003).

Crime · Drama

Pulp Fiction

Quentin Tarantino, 1994

Several criminal storylines cross paths across Los Angeles. The film tells them out of order, and the scrambled timeline gets new meaning out of familiar genre material. It's a film about violence, redemption and cinema itself, built from pieces of pop culture into something original.

3 Narrative 1 Cinematography 1 Editing

At a glance

Pulp Fiction is a 1994 crime and drama film directed by Quentin Tarantino. This breakdown covers 5 techniques (3 narrative, 1 cinematography and 1 editing), each with the scene where you can see it. If you like how it is made, Inglourious Basterds uses several of the same techniques.

Narrative

Non-Linear Narrative

Telling the story out of order by jumping between time periods. The order you see events in changes how you understand them.

How this film uses it

Tarantino opens with the diner holdup, moves to Vincent and Jules before their near-death, then to the Mia overdose and the boxing storyline, and goes back to the diner. The film ends with Jules alive when you have already watched Vincent die. With the order scrambled, consequences depend on your point of view.

Where to see it

Vincent Vega's death mid-film. He then shows up alive in the diner sequence, which happens earlier in the timeline.

Narrative

Pop Culture Monologue

Writing long speeches where characters talk in detail about films, music or other pop culture. How they analyze these small things shows you who they are.

How this film uses it

Tarantino uses conversations about foot massages, the metric system in Europe and McDonald's menu names to build character relationships as precisely as any dramatic confrontation would. Jules and Vincent's argument about what a miracle means is structured like a debate about God, only it's carried out in crime-movie banter.

Where to see it

The opening diner dialogue. There is also the foot massage conversation in the hallway before Jules and Vincent go into Brett's apartment.

Cinematography

Rigged Camera Placement

Mounting the camera on a body, vehicle or inside an object so it travels with the subject. The attached view puts you inside the ride or the container.

How this film uses it

Tarantino uses the trunk shot (the camera looks up from inside a car trunk) whenever contraband or a captive is being retrieved. The camera sits where the dangerous thing is, so you passively occupy the most morally compromised spot in the scene.

Where to see it

Jules and Vincent taking their guns from the trunk. They are on their way to retrieve the briefcase.

Narrative

Genre Collage

Mixing several genres in 1 film, such as crime, romance, horror and absurd comedy. The clash between them keeps you from settling into a single way of watching.

How this film uses it

Pulp Fiction moves between mob thriller, kitchen-sink romance, grindhouse horror (the gimp and Zed), road movie and screwball comedy. Each section follows the rules of a different genre. The mix won't settle on a single moral tone, so you have to hold contradictions in your head at the same time.

Where to see it

The jump from the Jack Rabbit Slim's dance sequence to the horror of the Mia Wallace overdose. 2 genre moods that don't fit together sit right next to each other.

Editing

Unbroken Dialogue Scene

Letting a conversation run for a long time with very few cuts. The tension builds from the actors sharing the space and from what is said, almost said and left unsaid.

How this film uses it

Tarantino shoots long dialogue scenes (the Royale with Cheese conversation, the breakfast scene) in long takes, meaning shots that run without a cut. The actors' timing and chemistry set the rhythm. The editing stays out of the way of performances that are working.

Where to see it

Jules and Vincent's breakfast conversation about divine intervention. It comes after the miracle.

Questions

Pulp Fiction: quick answers

What filmmaking techniques does Pulp Fiction use?: CineCode breaks down 5 techniques in Pulp Fiction (1994): Non-Linear Narrative, Pop Culture Monologue, Rigged Camera Placement, Genre Collage and Unbroken Dialogue Scene.
Who directed Pulp Fiction?: Quentin Tarantino directed Pulp Fiction, released in 1994. CineCode also covers Reservoir Dogs (1992), Jackie Brown (1997), Kill Bill: Volume 1 (2003), Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004), Death Proof (2007), Inglourious Basterds (2009).
What films are similar to Pulp Fiction?: Films that share techniques with Pulp Fiction include Inglourious Basterds (2009), Snatch (2000), Reservoir Dogs (1992), Kill Bill: Volume 1 (2003).

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