Jump to content

Plates in "Pulp Fiction"


Recommended Posts

I saw part of "Pulp Fiction" on cable tonight and I noticed that when Butch the boxer is in the cab,

not only was the scenery out the rear window exceedingly fake looking but the quick part that I saw

looked like the background is in black and white even though the cab interior is in color. Does anybody

know about this?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Premium Member

It's a stylistic choice by Tarantino, he's done it in his other films as well (it's pretty obvious in Kill Bill for example). While it may look fake it still looks 'cinematic' because of all the older films that have used similar techniques.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Remember that almost the entire movie was shot in 35mm anamorphic on 50 ASA stock, 5245, including night scenes. So occasionally certain things look odd. I don't remember that shot though so I can't answer the question.

 

50 ASA for night scenes? Wow.

 

It was a projected background, and another dead give away was the fact that the smoke from his 'Red Apple' wasn't going anywhere when he had the window open.

 

They must have been having fun. I'm sure they have fans in Hollywood.

 

It's a stylistic choice by Tarantino, he's done it in his other films as well (it's pretty obvious in Kill Bill for example). While it may look fake it still looks 'cinematic' because of all the older films that have used similar techniques.

 

Yes, I think so, although I'll have to look at the "Kill Bill" films now. Thanks.

 

It reminds me of how the backgrounds behind cars in so many Hitchcock movies look fake

and I've never minded.

 

It also reminds me of how in the remake of "Breathless", I didn't mind the similarly fake

looking plates while it drove my friend nuts.

 

" While it may look fake it still looks 'cinematic'" Oliver Stone said (in "Premiere"

magazine) that Tarentino doesn't make movies; he makes movies about movies.

Edited by Jim Feldspar
Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's a stylistic choice by Tarantino, he's done it in his other films as well (it's pretty obvious in Kill Bill for example). While it may look fake it still looks 'cinematic' because of all the older films that have used similar techniques.

 

Correct. Oliver Stone used RP for some of the same reasons in "Natural Born Killers."

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 year later...
Remember that almost the entire movie was shot in 35mm anamorphic on 50 ASA stock, 5245, including night scenes. So occasionally certain things look odd. I don't remember that shot though so I can't answer the question.

 

 

Watched it last night after a long time and really astonished to hear that he shot it 50 ASA when the key was throughout the film 2-3 stops overxpsd!!

Great look!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes, Andrzej Sekula, the dp for pulp fiction...

 

I was watching "vacancy" the other night, a movie Andrzej Sekula shot, and was noticing the complete mastery of a palette of earth reds, dirty yellow/oranges, with touches of green neon... His color palette grafted such a sickening yet earthy/bowels/underground mood onto an already frightening film.

This color palette was what I thought was one of the most striking things about pulp fiction, too, the constant attention to reds and yellows, where it creates a happy mood in the flashback with Christopher walken, then has this hellish effect in the basement dungeon rape scene. He's so good with these colors that he can create nearly any mood from them.

 

But back up to the original thread post, I think also that rear projection in the cab scene is in black and white to boot, further making it look 'fake'.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...