Monday, 28 September 2015

Pulp fiction (1994)


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DIvUGUzR9N0
Clip
http://www.dailyscript.com/scripts/pulp_fiction.html
Script

Pulp Fiction: Burger scene 0:14-0:21

Pulp Fiction is a 1994 crime film what has the themes of debt, gangs and luck. It had been written and Directed by Quentin Tarantino and produced by Lawrence Bender. The film was funded by Miramax with a budget of $8,000,000 and made $108,000,000 gross. The key members of the cast are John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Uma Thurman, Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Amanda Pulmmer, Maria de Medeiros, Ving Rhames, Eric Stoltz, Rosanna Arquette, Christopher Walken and Bruce Willis. The film follows the story of two gang hitmen, a boxer, mob kings wife and a pair of dinner thieves and how their stories intertwine with violence and redemption. Films similar to this would be Reservoir Dogs also directed by Tarantino and Kiss Me Deadly. In this scene Jules (Samuel L. Jackson) and Vincent (John Travolta) have been sent out by their boss to go and retrieve a briefcase from some thieves who have stolen it.

When Jules and Vincent walk in the first thing that happens is Roger starting to get up however Jules tells him to get back down by lowering his hand in his direction calmly, this part of Samuel L Jackson's performance is called a nuance it is a small action what used properly can say allot about a character to the audience. The audience would be thinking at that point Jules is currently being very friendly to them. To back this up while he does this he asks how they are and tells Roger to chill. All of this is done with a slow and calm voice with no sign of threat. Seconds after Jules goes over and signifies to Roger to get his foot up off the floor without speaking by again using a nuance. This gives the audience the idea that Jules is now controlling the room moreover the people in side all with little action. To support this the look of Roger's face is showing some concern as he knows what type of people Jules and Vincent are and why they are there.

Just after that Jules goes over to Brett and apologizes for coming in during breakfast. When he says this he does it with a voice that is more upbeat and positive like he is some sort of friend. Making the audience think that he'll be kind. When he asks what they are having to eat Brett replies miserable saying hamburgers with then having Jules replied full of energy. This would be a large contrast which the audience would be able to tell that Brett and Jules are viewing this in different lights also they would be two very different people. After asking what type of burger and where from he then talks to him with some small talk. In which the audience would assume he is trying to get Brett to trust him and put his faith in him even though Brett seems very cautious. When Jules does have a bite of his burger he tells Vincent that it is a tasty burger he does it so that everyone in the room is reminded that Vincent is still there covering the entire room. The audience can see that they had forgotten they were surrounded as Brett looks behind himself this would tell the audience that the criminals here clearly aren't very smart also they aren’t observe as well. When he faces the camera after looking behind himself there's a look of panic which communicates to the audience that he is scared of what is going to happen to him adding to the tension.

Jules then to talk in a condescending manner asking questions what he knows the answer to "We're associates of your business partner Marsellus Wallace. You do remember your business partner don't you?” When this is being said Brett has a regretting look on his face this would be telling the audience that he knows who he is and that he knows something and that he is guiltily. This makes the audience excited as they want to see where it'll go and what shall happen including what he knows or has done.

Shortly after Jules asks if Brett a unrelated question it would be a method of trying to get Brett to drop his guard. When Brett answers correctly Jules again has a sudden out burst of energy. This would be putting the audience off as it would be rather strange him doing this creating the idea that Jules may be a bit unstable. After he complements him he throws his burger down as if he doesn't care showing that Jules still knows what he is there to do meaning the audience won't forget that Jules is still there to kill Brett and his friends.

After that Jules takes a drink from Brett's drink and nearly finishes it. It would be symbolising that Brett's time is nearly up that he doesn't have that much life left like his drink. While he does that he looks him right in the eyes these being dead looking eyes. This would be showing that Jules is a cold person who is trying to tell Brett that he is going to kill him. After that he asks Roger "Where you got the shit hid?" However Marvin answers creating a burst of furious anger. This would shock the audience as they wouldn't have seen Jules that aggressive in the film at that point in addition it would increase the tension of the scene making the audience excited as well. When Vincent is looking the case you can see the look on Brett's face where he is trying to calm down and appears trying to get the sweat of his brow. Meaning that he is increasingly getting more and more nervous worried of the situation he is in. When Vincent gets the case he opens it with the combination of 666. This is referencing the devil's number meaning that Marsellus Wallace (Who we haven't met yet) is either as evil the devil or worse letting the audience know that Marsellus Wallace is dangerous while being feared as well. When Vincent opens it there is a bright yellow light being shined onto him creating a sense of mystery as the audience can't see the contents however we know it must be grand as Vincent is clearly shocked by what he finds. The yellow light could be representative of Marsellus Wallace's personal hell as Vincent would of just unlocked the gates to hell or the shine of gold

After that Brett attempts to talk himself out of this. However Jules makes the same nuance as earlier meaning that Jules is still in control furthermore in unaffected by what’s happened. He then responds to him calmly while Brett had been talking very nervously being a bit more contrast. Shortly after Jules shoots Roger. Having this done Jules shows no emotional change while shooting him. This is a rapid change in pacing as in had been practically turned on its head. It now creates a large amount of contrast between Jules and the audience as the audience would be shocked wondering what happened while Jules remains calm as always making the audience slightly worried. We can clearly see that Brett is terrified not only by his facial expression but that he's moving away from Jules trying to escape. This causes Brett to be only able to say “What?” which proceeds to Jules flipping over the table that shows the audience that everything is out of control. This greatly increases the tension of the scene is being at that point this would cause the audience to be highly excited as it'd be hard to say what would happen next as it 'd be showing the unpredictability of the scene that nobody would know what's going to happen next making edge of the seat exciting.  As the interrogation goes on Jules constantly changes from aggression to being kind presenting to the audience that anything could happen making it very tense nobody knows what is going to happen. To make this more apparent Jules now has wide mad eyes still letting the audience feel uneasy as well as scarred.

Closer to the end Jules asks Brett a question. When Brett answers as it you can see Vincent begin to get out his weapon. It shows the audience that Brett's time is coming towards an end and that this is a routine thing for the pair. When Jules says his bible passage he shows such great variety and build in it. The point of doing this is that it grips the audience allot more and that Brett doesn't expect what is going to happen. When he raises his voice the audience know climatic moment of the scene is here, in addition he becomes wide and dead eyed. This would be demonstrating that Jules is again telling Brett that he is going to die. To support this just before Bret is shot he tenses up preparing himself for what is about to happen to him. When the two start to shoot there is very clearly no emotion in either of the pairs faces showing that all they are doing is just completing a job.


4 comments:

  1. Strength: You have explained what the two micro-features suggest/shows to the audience and how the actors performance in the scene help set the atmosphere.

    Improvement: You could go into further detail about how the scene engages with the audience and what it is supposed to make them feel.

    ReplyDelete
  2. What went well- you have given a brief over view of the the two micro features in the scene.
    Even better if- explained more in detail about the two micro features.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I like the fact that you have gone into detail with how the actors performed and what it meant. You have used the correct terminology. I especially liked the parts about the drink and the nuance because they stuck out to me.

    To improve, I would go more into depth with what their actions meant and how had impacted the audience and how they would feel towards certain moments.

    Other than that, it is coming along very well. Well done.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I believe that your analysis is not very in depth and requires further analysis of the micro features that are utilised and is not completing the word count of 1500 words. Good use of writing about the narrative and what occurs throughout the film while also explaining how it creates meaning.

    ReplyDelete