Pulp Fiction (1994)
Quentin Tarantino
Crime / Drama / Thriller
Sherlock Jr. (1924)
Buster Keaton
Comedy / Fantasy
The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985)
Woody Allen
Comedy / Romance
"Any of you f*cking pricks move, and I'll execute every motherf*cking last one of ya!" - Honey Bunny, Pulp Fiction.
"Pulp Fiction," Tarantino's fourth movie, tells the story of two hit men, a boxer, a gangster's wife, and a couple of robbers. Tarantino mixes his well known violent touch with great dialogue to create an engaging film.The movie can be found on Netflix.
As every Tarantino movie "Pulp Fiction" has a very peculiar way of building the characters and the tension on the scenes. Some scenes are so simple but you know some sh*t is about to go down. Like when Butch (Bruce Willis) is driving back to the hotel to meet with his girlfriend, he had just killed Vincent (John Travolta) so theoretically everything should be ok, right? The danger he was in is gone now. But we know that there is something else. The way the scene is compost tell us that something bad is going to happen next. I believe that Quentin Tarantino has the right touch to create anticipation and tension in all his movies, of course, Pulp Fiction wouldn't be different in this aspect.
Also, "Pulp Fiction" has a very strong sense of dialogue. The movie has some long scenes where nothing happens, just the characters talking, like the opening scene when Pumpkin (Tim Roth) and Honey Bunny (Amanda Plummer) are discussing about their next robbery; or when Jules (Samuel L. Jackson) and Vincent are at the hallway of Brett's apartment they spend a big deal of time talking about foot massage. Or even before Jules shot Brett (Frank Whaley) he has a big monologue scene. But even in these only talk scenes every word is spit with the necessary strength to help to build that tension I have just mentioned.
The movie deal with it reflexive side every time a title show up on
the screen. The movie is so involving that it is easy to forget that you
are actually in front the TV, but Tarantino makes sure to remind us of
it when he introduces the chapter titles "Vincent Vega & Marcellus
Wallace's Wife,""The Gold Watch," or "The Bonnie Situation."
Moving to "Sherlock Jr." I think that what made Buster Keaton so popular as an actor was his deadpan expression, in some of his acts he seems even bored, and his physical comedy, what I believe to be very common during the silent movies era.
While in "Sherlock Jr." we see Buster Keaton's character walking straight into the movie, in "The Purple Rose of Cairo" we see the opposite happening, one of the movie characters walk out of the movie to join the real world and this way be able to spend time with his love, Cecilia (Mia Farrow).
