Top 100 Movies Of The 1990's: #2 Pulp Fiction
Box Office: $107.2 Million Dollars
Oscar Nominations: Best Picture, Best Director (Quentin Tarantino), Best Actor (John Travolta), Best Supporting Actor (Samuel L. Jackson), Best Supporting Actress (Uma Thurman), Best Original Screenplay, Best Film Editing
Oscar Wins: Best Original Screenplay
MovieRankings.Net: 95/100
Available To Stream: Pluto TV, Paramount+, AppleTV ($4)
It sort of feels wrong not having Pulp Fiction as the #1 movie of the 1990's. I can't think of any film that better captures that specific decade of cinema. It began the true explosion of independent studios that dominated the next few years. It was also indirectly responsible for a bunch of lousy rip-off movies with criminals spouting off "witty" dialogue. But no one can blame Pulp Fiction for that. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery after all.
I was lucky enough to see Pulp Fiction in the theaters. My Dad had just passed away a couple weeks earlier and getting to see such a thrilling yet funny movie was almost cathartic for me. The whole movie just felt so cool. I even felt cool for seeing it. Which for someone like me saying they even felt remotely "cool" might be the film's greatest triumph. There was a fun energy in the theater. It's like everyone there knew we were seeing more than just a movie. This was the future of pop culture.
I may be in the minority but my favorite segment in the movie is the Bruce Willis one. I love every aspect of this movie so there is no wrong answer here. I don't know if I've ever been more on the edge of my seat then when the music drops out and Willis' Butch is running to his apartment to get the watch. Just the idea of intentionally going somewhere where you know people are waiting to kill you is such a great plot point that Quentin Tarantino pulls off flawlessly. Finding John Travolta walking out of the bathroom is perfect.
The whole movie is excellent. Uma Thurman is so sexy and cool that when she's recovering from her overdose, it's almost shocking to see her look and sound so sick. It's shocking to see that she is mortal. The chemistry between Samuel L. Jackson and Travolta is so good yet if someone drew up that partnership before seeing this movie, I'd have thought that to be a terrible idea. Harvey Keitel's Winston Wolfe is such a fun character, he somehow makes Tarantino's acting passable when they are in scenes together.
When it came out, people were really blown away with the jumping around in time that this does. I don't know if it's just been ripped off so many times but the more I rewatch it, the less I care about that. I find myself more and more drawn in to how great the dialogue is. I could listen to the people in this world have conversations all day. This is my favorite Tarantino film for that reason. This might be the greatest script ever written.
It's almost criminal that in the same year that Pulp Fiction and The Shawshank Redemption came out, Forrest Gump won Best Picture. But maybe that's the wrong way to look at it. It's more amazing that a movie written and directed by a 31 year old about hitmen, heroin users and second rate boxers would ever be nominated for Best Picture.
When I think of movies of the 1990's, this is the first one that comes to mind. It's impressive that a movie so of it's time has aged as well as it has. It moves at a great pace and having the three segments keeps it from dragging. It's also just a great movie. The great ones like Jaws, The Godfather, Back To The Future are able to defeat Father Time.
Pulp Fiction does not only that but also still remains very cool 30 years later. That should be impossible.
2. Pulp Fiction
3. The Shawshank Redemption
4. Good Will Hunting
5. Casino
6. Groundhog Day
7. The Silence Of The Lambs
8. Office Space
9. The Sixth Sense
10. Boogie Nights
11. Jurassic Park
12. Jackie Brown
13. A Few Good Men
14. The Fugitive
15. The Truman Show
16. Fargo
17. Swingers
18. Reservoir Dogs
19. There's Something About Mary
20. Sleepers
21. Schindler's List
22. Rushmore
23. Fight Club
24. Saving Private Ryan
25. True Romance
26. Dumb & Dumber
27. Kingpin
28. Donnie Brasco
29. Heat
30. Terminator 2: Judgement Day
31. Rounders
32. Unforgiven
33. Trainspotting
34. The Game
35. Out Of Sight
36. Carlito's Way
37. Seven
38. L.A. Confidential
39. Speed
40. Gattaca
41. Misery
42. Tombstone
43. Ransom
44. Wayne's World
45. The Insider
46. Back To The Future Part III
47. A Bronx Tale
48. The People Vs. Larry Flynt
49. Eyes Wide Shut
50. The Sandlot
51. Happy Gilmore
52. Contact
53. The Green Mile
54. Man On The Moon
55. Boyz N The Hood
56. Grosse Pointe Blank
57. Independence Day
58. The Rainmaker
59. Go
60. The Firm
61. Magnolia
62. The Talented Mr. Ripley
63. Tommy Boy
64. The Usual Suspects
65. In The Line Of Fire
66. My Cousin Vinny
67. Awakenings
68. JFK
69. Toy Story
70. Home Alone
71. Jerry Maguire
72. Titanic
73. Billy Madison
74. Apollo 13
75. Braveheart
76. Edward Scissorhands
77. Cape Fear
78. The River Wild
79. What's Eating Gilbert Grape?
80. 12 Monkeys
81. Stir Of Echoes
82. Mission: Impossible
83. Total Recall
84. Quiz Show
85. For Love Of The Game
86. Being John Malkovich
87. Men In Black
88. Scream
89. Alive
90. Three Kings
91. Glengarry Glen Ross
92. Die Hard With A Vengeance
93. The Blair Witch Project
94. Twister
95. Dirty Work
96. Election
97. Tremors
98. Any Given Sunday
99. The Wedding Singer
100. Clerks