UHD Review A Few Words About A few words about...™ - Pulp Fiction -- in 4k UHD (1 Viewer)

[Jeffrey D]

Plagiarize not but certainly absorb and pay homage...I would say how Kubrick played with narrative time and structure in THE KILLING very much influenced Pulp Fiction - and even shows in R DOGS and JACKIE BROWN

I’ll have to watch The Killing- I started watching it a while ago, and didn’t finish it.
This is the Sterling Hayden heist film, right?

 

[Robert Crawford]

I’ll have to watch The Killing- I started watching it a while ago, and didn’t finish it.
This is the Sterling Hayden heist film, right?

That's correct, the last 20 minutes of the film is Kubrick at his best.

 

[jayembee]

Plagiarize not but certainly absorb and pay homage...I would say how Kubrick played with narrative time and structure in THE KILLING very much influenced Pulp Fiction - and even shows in R DOGS and JACKIE BROWN

Well, some think that "homage" is just the French word for "rip off".

Everybody does it. Some are more skillful at hiding their tracks, others aren't.

 

[jayembee]

I’ll have to watch The Killing- I started watching it a while ago, and didn’t finish it.
This is the Sterling Hayden heist film, right?

One of them, at any rate.

 

[Colin Jacobson]

Just like Christopher Nolan.

But Nolan wants his movies shown in the best possible way. The guy's done more for 65mm IMAX than anyone else in the business.

 

[sbjork]

Well, some think that "homage" is just the French word for "rip off".

Everybody does it. Some are more skillful at hiding their tracks, others aren't.

Tarantino isn't. And I say that as someone who enjoys his films. But there's no denying that he casts his nets far and wide when it comes to finding "inspirations."

 

[sbjork]

Plagiarize not but certainly absorb and pay homage...I would say how Kubrick played with narrative time and structure in THE KILLING very much influenced Pulp Fiction - and even shows in R DOGS and JACKIE BROWN

Semantics. There's homage, and then there's homage, and then there's Tarantino. You could say that Ringo Lam's City on Fire "influenced" Reservoir Dogs, and that's certainly true, but it's also being charitable. Tarantino drew more than mere inspiration from it.

And the structure of the finale in The Killing didn't merely "show" in Jackie Brown; Tarantino openly cribbed it for that film. It was actually less of an influence on Pulp Fiction than it was on that film. The chronological discontinuity in Pulp Fiction is of a different ilk. Both Jackie Brown and Reservoir Dogs have The Killing as a much more clear antecedent than Pulp Fiction does.

Again, I enjoy Tarantino's films. Acknowledging the fact that he builds his films out of elements "borrowed" from other films in no way precludes enjoying them.

 

[OliverK]

But Nolan wants his movies shown in the best possible way. The guy's done more for 65mm IMAX than anyone else in the business.

I would think that Quentin Tarantino would not also like his movies to be shown in the best possible way, at least when they get released.

Nolan indeed has done a lot for 65mm IMAX but he has also done a lot against movies just being shown with proper masking and with a constant aspect ratio so partly shooting in an overblown TV format is not something that I would count as a positive except for the fact that it will probably keep Eastman Kodak afloat for a little longer so this is a good thing and because of it I have high hopes for Nolan to continue making those movies where he shoots as much as possible in Imax. Other than that I never liked those switching aspect ratios with varying height nor the square picture and I am rather disappointed that this has caught on so much that it is rare these days to see a superhero movie with only one aspect ratio.

Luckily Paul Thomas Anderson and Quentin Tarantino have a more traditional way of working with analog film that I prefer. They also do not seem to think that movies should predominantly have a blueish/greenish tint most of the time. To each his own of course but overall I am not exactly endeared to the Nolan visual style even though I like most of his movies.

 

[SeanSKA]

One of them, at any rate.

And as much as I love "The Killing", as far as Sterling Hayden heist films go, I might rank "The Asphalt Jungle" just a little bit higher

 

[SeanSKA]

I believe he said on that podcast that he preferred the pan and scan version of Dressed To Kill. I love his work but he has some... peculiar ideas every now and then.

Tarantino has always been a bit of a ....strange guy, to say the least

 

[Robert Crawford]

And as much as I love "The Killing", as far as Sterling Hayden heist films go, I might rank "The Asphalt Jungle" just a little bit higher

It’s the opposite for me!

 

[Stephen_J_H]

Well, some think that "homage" is just the French word for "rip off".

Everybody does it. Some are more skillful at hiding their tracks, others aren't.

Ergo, the phrase, “Good artists borrow; great artists steal.”

 

[jayembee]

And as much as I love "The Killing", as far as Sterling Hayden heist films go, I might rank "The Asphalt Jungle" just a little bit higher

The two films are my favorite noirs, and I've always placed The Asphalt Jungle just above The Killing. Mostly, I think, due to the presence of Louis Calhern (one of my favorite character actors) and especially Sam Jaffe. In the latter case, I loved that his and Hayden's characters were so different, yet they forged such a strong bond.

 

[mskaye]

The two films are my favorite noirs, and I've always placed The Asphalt Jungle just above The Killing. Mostly, I think, due to the presence of Louis Calhern (one of my favorite character actors) and especially Sam Jaffe. In the latter case, I loved that his and Hayden's characters were so different, yet they forged such a strong bond.

They are both masterpieces of noir. The Killing is as nasty and as cynical/bleak as they get and just so ahead of its time stylistically. The Asphalt Jungle is more classic but equally stylish, so well acted and cast and has that devastating heartbreaking component.

 

[Lord Dalek]

No, but he does plagiarize pretty much everybody else!

Hey at least that's good for variety!

 

[Colin Jacobson]

I would think that Quentin Tarantino would not also like his movies to be shown in the best possible way, at least when they get released.

Nolan indeed has done a lot for 65mm IMAX but he has also done a lot against movies just being shown with proper masking and with a constant aspect ratio so partly shooting in an overblown TV format is not something that I would count as a positive except for the fact that it will probably keep Eastman Kodak afloat for a little longer so this is a good thing and because of it I have high hopes for Nolan to continue making those movies where he shoots as much as possible in Imax. Other than that I never liked those switching aspect ratios with varying height nor the square picture and I am rather disappointed that this has caught on so much that it is rare these days to see a superhero movie with only one aspect ratio.

Luckily Paul Thomas Anderson and Quentin Tarantino have a more traditional way of working with analog film that I prefer. They also do not seem to think that movies should predominantly have a blueish/greenish tint most of the time. To each his own of course but overall I am not exactly endeared to the Nolan visual style even though I like most of his movies.

Seeing Nolan's movies 65mm IMAX accounts for some of the greatest moviegoing experiences I've ever had, so you'll never hear a negative peep from me about that.

And I have no issue whatsoever with changing AR movies, whether in theaters or at home.

Really, only time it's distracted me was with one of the Bay "Transformers" movies, just because the AR changed so often - and was so illogical - that it became a distraction.

Don't even notice with other movies.

65mm IMAX on a real IMAX screen is just stunning.

 

[Colin Jacobson]

Tarantino has always been a bit of a ....strange guy, to say the least

QT is undeniably a great filmmaker. Even if he does "borrow" from others, that's true for lotsa people, and he gives the material his own twist.

He has some perplexing (to me) ideas about what movies are great and how they should be seen - the whole "let's watch movies that look like they were run through a wheat thresher" thing just boggles my little mind - but the man usually puts the goods on screen.

 

[Lord Dalek]

QT is undeniably a great filmmaker. Even if he does "borrow" from others, that's true for lotsa people, and he gives the material his own twist.

He has some perplexing (to me) ideas about what movies are great and how they should be seen - the whole "let's watch movies that look like they were run through a wheat thresher" thing just boggles my little mind - but the man usually puts the goods on screen.

I suspect his opinions have been colored by years of watching his collection of bad off-airs from the Z Channel. In fact it wouldn't surprise me if QT thought the first non anamorphic Pulp Fiction dvd was the best release because it looked like something that could have aired on the Z.

 

[Colin Jacobson]

I suspect his opinions have been colored by years of watching his collection of bad off-airs from the Z Channel. In fact it wouldn't surprise me if QT thought the first non anamorphic Pulp Fiction dvd was the best release because it looked like something that could have aired on the Z.

QT is undeniably a fetishist in a variety of ways.

He endorses so many not-actually-good movies as great for his own peculiar reasons.

And he seems so smitten by the "grindhouse" experience - which makes it then bizarre when he does stuff like shoot "Hateful 8" 65mm.

And that doesn't even get us started on his thing for dirty female feet!

 

[TravisR]

And that doesn't even get us started on his thing for dirty female feet!

Oh, I never noticed that before.