How did Pulp Fiction break the writing rules? (SPOILERS)

[harmonica44]

Screenwriting 101 teaches writers not to have scenes that don't drive the character or plot, or have no set up, that pays off later. One example would be Travolta waiting downstairs, for Thurman to put her make up on. They could have cut straight to the restaurant and nothing would have changed. Or another rule is don't have dialogue just for the sake of dialogue such as Travolta and Jackson talking about Europe. They could have cut straight to them arriving at the apartment building, and made no difference.

These are just two examples, as those same two come along at other times in the movies too. So how does it become so big, when it leaves in all the fat, that screenwriting lessons advise against?

 

[don patterson]

Get your plane ticket to Africa, get ready for the Sahara, NickClapper! LOL, Tarantino's script is done. Been greenlighted (I would imagine). Production underway? Probably very soon.

Hey Ostrich! LOL.

 

[harmonica44]

Well I too, wanted to break the rules and have dialogue that does not need to be there, and the script would still make sense. Not in a lot of sections, but just a few. Any tips on how? Just make it good dialogue?

 

[kinglis]

Part of the allure is watching famous people do nothing. It would have been a lot harder to pull off with complete unknowns.

Another aspect is that there was an overall tone with Pulp Fiction (and all of Tarantino's work) that is slow, plodding and enveloping the viewer into the world he's created. It's the ebb and flow of buildup/release so when his dramatic tensions pay off; they are that much more powerful.

In the documentary The Cutting Edge http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ex4XGiyJugY (7:05)

Tarantino explains how much slower he wanted the scenes to be. His editor wanted to cut, he wanted it nice and slow

 

[mad_hatter]

If Quentin Tarantino makes a Kill Bill Volume Three then I will find my nearest desert (probably Sahara) and I will literally bury my head in the sand...

Save some room for me! The whole idea of Vol.3 seem terrible. For some reason, I can't see it happening. The way Tarantino seems to work, he'll probably (read, hopefully) get bored of his own idea and go with something else.

Django does look good though.

 

[harmonica44]

What about other scenes in Pulp, like Travolta, waiting for Thurman to put her make up on, which had no very little dialogue and none that was colorful. Then at the club we get a talking scene between him and Thurman. The talking scene does help us get to know her character a little, but it doesn't help the story, then they dance for like five minutes, when it could have been cut down to 30 seconds. Yeah it was bad dancing, per say, we get it, but why show so much of it?

 

[mad_hatter]

...why show so much of it?

Why not? If you got it, flaunt it.

I think that the general consensus is that Pulp Fiction shouldn't work, but it does.

I know we're focusing more on the dialogue here, but I think the most perculiar part of the film is when Mia calls Vincent a square, while physically drawing a suare on the screen... What's that all about?

 

[Gonzo_Entertainment]

"The talking scene does help us get to know her character a little, but it doesn't help the story"

Best screenwriting advice you'll ever get....

A film is NOT about what happens. It's about who it happens to.

 

[harmonica44]

I'm not quite seeing how it works. I mean I know I'm defending it, saying that since it broke all the rules, other movies should, however I did feel that it had too many unnecessary scenes, rather than just a few. A little of it can go a long way. But it does have some good necessary plot scenarios as well.

 

[Gonzo_Entertainment]

The "plot" or "story" in a GOOD film is only there to present opportunities for us to learn about the characters. It's just the vehicle, they are the cargo.

 

[harmonica44]

I think sometimes the plot is so good, that's the star though, in a good way. Like Inception. One of the best plots I've seen in a long time, in my opinion. But the characters are more or less averagely common, and not among the better or more original.

 

[Gonzo_Entertainment]

I think sometimes the plot is so good, that's the star though, in a good way. Like Inception. One of the best plots I've seen in a long time, in my opinion. But the characters are more or less averagely common, and not among the better or more original.

That may explain why I spent most of inception (in the theatre) making out with my girlfriend and thought it was a complete hunk of garbage. Making out was the only thing that stopped me from being really pissed they had stolen 2 hours of my life I'll never get back watching one of the worst films I've seen in a really long time. Convoluted, boring, bullshit.

 

[kinglis]

Tarantino creates (or used to create) such amazing characters and atmosphere.

When in real life I'm around an interesting company of friends, I enjoy looking at their movements, listening to what they say, feeling their attitude to life, laugh at their jokes.
I even enjoy looking at them when they just sit on a bench doing nothing.

Some film directors miraculously translate this energy of life onto screen.

 

[brianluce]

Tarantino creates (or used to create) such amazing characters and atmosphere.

When in real life I'm around an interesting company of friends, I enjoy looking at their movements, listening to what they say, feeling their attitude to life, laugh at their jokes.
I even enjoy looking at them when they just sit on a bench doing nothing.

Some film directors miraculously translate this energy of life onto screen.

I like this. For me, this is the best explanation I've read about why Tarantino's stuff works so well. It's in the ether and doesn't lend itself to conventional analysis.

 

[harmonica44]

Well instead of screenwriting books and sites, warning us against writing unnecessary scenes, they should be telling us how to make those scenes work then.