Like a few people have said, this is one of my favorite movies as well. When I first saw it I was 12 or 13 and immediately liked it based on the fact that so many other people didn´t (my usual reaction to anything to this say). I remember people feeling really frustrated by its order and although I would explain to them in what order things went – but that the point wasn´t to “mess with their heads”, many friends and family still felt very frustrated and confused by it. Eventually it was one of their favorite films as well but I think at the time it was about experimental of a film as you might see in the average small town movie theater.
When I was watching the film this time I noticed things I have no before, as usually happens when I take a class and read even more about film. I no longer pay attention to the order of events, since at this point I have seen the film so many time they just fall into place. What I did pay attention to was more specific stylistic elements and clues throughout the film. I first started to notice silence and inactivity. There are many moments of silence in the film, usually between characters. Marsellus and Butch have an interesting interaction early in the film. While Marsellus is talking the camera is at a point of view shot of Butch listening. For the entire conversation there is no action, only listening and a fairly blank expression on Butch. Throughout the film there are instance of the camera on the listener and not the speaker. I think this makes for a more personal interaction with the listener, not only do we know for a fact that he/she is important but we can almost feel like we are there. The volumes of the voices in the conversations between Fabienne and Butch from the bathroom to the bed make for a pretty realistic scene for me, as well as the cafe conversation between Yolanda and Ringo. Just hearing Ringo yell “garcon” after having a mid-volumed conversation about robbery, then later hearing him say it in the background while Vince and Jules are philosophizing about miracles (or not) make it a more intellectual film in the fact that it gives the viewers enough credit to be a part of their world rather than just a passive viewer.
Another thing that I noticed about the film this time was the number of scenes in the bathroom or where the bathroom comes up. There was an interesting reason mentioned by another student from Wikipedia where a relationship between pulp and shit comes into play but It made me think about all the films where actors don´t use the bathroom, don´t eat, don´t have realistic personalities or believable lives whatsoever. Can you even imagine Humphry Bogart on the can reading a magazine? I think it humanizes the characters and loosens the film up quite a bit.
The film is great regardless of genre or how much it cost to make, factors I dont think should matter when considering a films quality.
