An independent film , independent movie , indie film , or indie movie is a feature film or short film that is produced outside the major film studio system in addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies (or, in some cases, distributed by major companies). Independent films are sometimes distinguishable by their content and style and how the filmmakers' artistic vision is realized. Sometimes, independent films are made with considerably lower budgets than major studio films.
216-552: Pulp Fiction is a 1994 American independent crime film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino from a story he conceived with Roger Avary . It tells four intertwining tales of crime and violence in Los Angeles, California . The film stars John Travolta , Samuel L. Jackson , Bruce Willis , Tim Roth , Ving Rhames , and Uma Thurman . The title refers to the pulp magazines and hardboiled crime novels popular during
432-416: A cleaner , Winston Wolfe, who directs Jules and Vincent to hide the body in the trunk, clean the car, dispose of their bloody clothes and take the car to a junkyard. At the diner from the film's prologue, Jules tells Vincent that he plans to retire from his life of crime, convinced that their survival at the apartment was divine intervention . While Vincent is in the bathroom, Pumpkin and Honey Bunny hold up
648-490: A pawnshop . Maynard, the shop owner, captures them at gunpoint and binds and gags them in the basement. Maynard and his accomplice, Zed, take Marsellus into another room and begin to rape him. Butch breaks free and is about to escape, but decides to save Marsellus and arms himself with a katana from the pawnshop. He kills Maynard and frees Marsellus, who shoots Zed in the crotch with Maynard's shotgun. Marsellus tells Butch that they are even, and instructs him to tell no one about
864-447: A twist contest, then return home. While Vincent is in the bathroom, Mia finds his heroin, mistakes it for cocaine , and snorts it, resulting in an overdose. Vincent rushes her to Lance's house, where Lance helps revive her by injecting adrenaline into her heart . Vincent takes Mia home, and they agree never to tell Marsellus about the incident. Butch double-crosses Marsellus by winning the bout, but he accidentally kills his opponent in
1080-432: A "spectacularly entertaining piece of pop culture ... a startling, massive success." From Cannes forward, Tarantino was on the road continuously, promoting the film. Over the next few months it played in smaller festivals around Europe, building buzz: Nottingham, Munich, Taormina , Locarno, Norway , and San Sebastián . Tarantino later said, "One thing that's cool is that by breaking up the linear structure, when I watch
1296-415: A "story by" credit, so the line "Written and directed by Quentin Tarantino" could be used in advertising and onscreen. No film score was composed for Pulp Fiction ; Quentin Tarantino instead used an eclectic assortment of surf music , rock and roll , soul , and pop songs. Dick Dale 's rendition of " Misirlou " plays during the opening credits. Tarantino chose surf music as the basic musical style for
1512-430: A $ 20–25 million movie. I wanted it to look like an epic. It's an epic in everything – in invention, in ambition, in length, in scope, in everything except the price tag." The film, he says, was shot "on 50 ASA film stock, which is the slowest stock they make. The reason we use it is that it creates an almost no-grain image, it's lustrous. It's the closest thing we have to 50s Technicolor ." The largest chunk of
1728-424: A big budget adaptation of Frank Herbert 's science fiction novel Dune for Italian producer Dino De Laurentiis 's De Laurentiis Entertainment Group , on the condition that the company release a second Lynch project, over which the director would have complete creative control. Although De Laurentiis hoped it would be the next Star Wars , Lynch's Dune (1984) was a critical and commercial flop, grossing
1944-410: A billion-dollar deal, acquired New Line Cinema, Fine Line Features , and Castle Rock Entertainment in 1994. The acquisitions proved to be a good move for Turner Broadcasting as New Line released The Mask and Dumb & Dumber , Castle Rock released The Shawshank Redemption , and Miramax released Pulp Fiction , all in 1994. The acquisitions of the smaller studios by conglomerate Hollywood
2160-475: A built-in national rating, in order to avoid presenting movies to inappropriately young audiences. Following the advent of television and the Paramount Case , the major studios attempted to lure audiences with spectacle. Widescreen processes and technical improvements, such as Cinemascope , stereo sound, 3-D and others, were developed in an attempt to retain the dwindling audience by giving them
2376-641: A bully and a jerk". Tarantino went to work on the script for Pulp Fiction in Amsterdam in March 1992, possibly at the Winston Hotel in the Red Light District . He was joined there by Avary, who contributed "Pandemonium Reigns" to the project and participated in its rewriting as well as the development of the new storylines that would link up with it. Two scenes originally written by Avary for
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#17327756099022592-480: A cameo via archival footage from the Three Stooges short Brideless Groom (1947), Karen Maruyama appears as "Gawker #1" after Butch's car accident, and Julia Sweeney portrays Raquel, the daughter of the owner of the junkyard in which Marvin's body is disposed of. Producer Lawrence Bender makes a cameo as a victim of the diner robbery, credited as "Long Hair Yuppie-Scum". Jerome Patrick Hoban appears in
2808-459: A centralized archive. Founded in 1962 by Jonas Mekas , Stan Brakhage , Shirley Clarke , Gregory Markopoulos , and others, the Cooperative provided an important outlet for many of cinema's creative luminaries in the 1960s, including Jack Smith and Andy Warhol . When he returned to America, Ken Anger would debut many of his most important works there. Mekas and Brakhage would go on to found
3024-666: A conversation, Tarantino and Willis took a walk on the beach, and upon their return, Bruce agreed to join the film. Tim Roth, initially interested in the role meant for Willis, suggested Amanda Plummer as a co-star, insisting she should have a gun, a notion Tarantino later incorporated into the script. Principal photography commenced on September 20, 1993. The lead offscreen talent had all worked with Tarantino on Reservoir Dogs – cinematographer Andrzej Sekuła , film editor Sally Menke , production designer David Wasco , and costume designer Betsy Heimann . According to Tarantino, "[W]e had $ 8 million. I wanted it to look like
3240-481: A costly distribution system or concede defeat. The veteran producer Joseph Schenck was hired as president. Not only had he been producing pictures for a decade, but he brought along commitments for films starring his wife, Norma Talmadge , his sister-in-law, Constance Talmadge , and his brother-in-law, Buster Keaton . Contracts were signed with a number of independent producers, especially Samuel Goldwyn , Howard Hughes and later Alexander Korda . Schenck also formed
3456-490: A crowd of like-minded avant-garde filmmakers who were interested in creating films as works of art rather than entertainment. Based upon a common belief that the "official cinema" was "running out of breath" and had become "morally corrupt, aesthetically obsolete, thematically superficial, [and] temperamentally boring", this new crop of independents formed The Film-Makers' Cooperative , an artist-run, non-profit organization which they would use to distribute their films through
3672-442: A dark psychological analysis of a fictionalized Al Capone . These films chronicle the quick rise, and equally quick downfall, of three young, violent criminals, and represent the genre in its purest form before moral pressure would force it to change and evolve. Though the gangster in each film would face a violent downfall which was designed to remind the viewers of the consequences of crime, audiences were often able to identify with
3888-482: A decade. Unlike the former, John Waters released most of his films during his early life through his own production company, Dreamland Productions . In the early 1980s, New Line Cinema agreed to work with him on Polyester (1981). During the 1980s, Waters would become a pillar of the New York–based independent film movement known as the " Cinema of Transgression ", a term coined by Nick Zedd in 1985 to describe
4104-468: A diner robbery staged by a couple, then begins to shift from one story line to another before returning to the diner for the conclusion. There are seven narrative sequences; the three primary story lines are preceded by intertitles: If the seven sequences were ordered chronologically, they would run: 4a, 2, 6, 1, 7, 3, 4b, 5. Sequences 1 and 7 partially overlap and are presented from different points of view, as do sequences 2 and 6. According to Philip Parker,
4320-505: A fellow studio convert, George Lucas , a fan of Eraserhead and now the darling of the studios, offered Lynch the opportunity to direct his next Star Wars sequel, Return of the Jedi (1983). However, Lynch had seen what had happened to Lucas and his comrades in arms after their failed attempt to do away with the studio system. He refused the opportunity, stating that he would rather work on his own projects. Lynch instead chose to direct
4536-546: A few dozen or possibly a few hundred screens in select urban markets. Films like these usually cost less than $ 10 million, but frequently less than $ 5 million, with small marketing budgets that escalate if and when a particular film performs. The independent film industry exists globally. Many of the most prestigious film festivals are hosted in various cities around the world. The Berlin International Film Festival attracts over 130 countries, making it
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#17327756099024752-518: A friend, Adam Rifkin. Avary wrote the first element of what would become the film's screenplay in the fall of 1990, titled "Pandemonium Reigns," which eventually expanded into a feature-length screenplay. While Tarantino's short film similarly evolved into a full script, Rifkin never completed his contribution, leaving Pulp Fiction initially uncertain. The initial inspiration was the three-part horror anthology film Black Sabbath (1963), by Italian filmmaker Mario Bava . The Tarantino–Avary project
4968-491: A gang lord at a preschool. It dares Hollywood films to be this smart about going this far. If good directors accept Tarantino's implicit challenge, the movie theater could again be a great place to live in." In Newsweek , David Ansen wrote, "The miracle of Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction is how, being composed of secondhand, debased parts, it succeeds in gleaming like something new." "You get intoxicated by it," wrote Entertainment Weekly ' s Owen Gleiberman , "high on
5184-532: A gross for Pulp Fiction of $ 9.1 million, claiming that the film was on another 100 screens that had previously been overlooked. Warners then updated their gross to $ 9.3 million, claiming they had made a calculation error. Early Monday morning, Miramax reported a gross of $ 9.3 million with Warners reporting $ 8.9 million for The Specialist , placing Pulp Fiction first but other industry sources did not believe Miramax's numbers. Variety estimated that Pulp Fiction grossed $ 8.6 to $ 9 million for
5400-405: A larger-than-life experience. The 1950s and early 1960s saw a Hollywood dominated by musicals, historical epics, and other films which benefited from these advances. This proved commercially viable during most of the 1950s. However, by the late 1960s, audience share was dwindling at an alarming rate. Several costly flops, including Cleopatra (1963) and Hello, Dolly! (1969) put severe strain on
5616-478: A loose-knit group of like-minded New York artists using shock value and humor in their Super 8 mm films and video art . Other key players in this movement included Kembra Pfahler , Casandra Stark , Beth B , Tommy Turner, Richard Kern and Lydia Lunch . Rallying around such institutions as the Film-Makers' Cooperative and Anthology Film Archives, this new generation of independents devoted themselves to
5832-526: A mere $ 27.4 million domestically against a $ 45 million budget. De Laurentiis, furious that the film had been a commercial disaster, was then forced to produce any film Lynch desired. He offered Lynch only $ 6 million in order to minimize the risk if the film had failed to recoup its costs; however, the film, Blue Velvet (1986), was a resounding success, earning him another Academy Award for Best Director nod. Lynch subsequently returned to independent filmmaking, and did not work with another major studio for over
6048-428: A more significant commitment to a studio film; the film offers an opportunity to showcase a talent that has not gained traction in the studio system; or simply because they want to work with a particular director they admire. Examples of the latter include John Travolta and Bruce Willis taking less than their usual pay to work with Quentin Tarantino on Pulp Fiction . Generally, the marketing of independent films
6264-434: A negative review on the film's opening weekend. Kenneth Turan wrote, "The writer-director appears to be straining for his effects. Some sequences, especially one involving bondage harnesses and homosexual rape, have the uncomfortable feeling of creative desperation, of someone who's afraid of losing his reputation scrambling for any way to offend sensibilities." Some who reviewed it in the following weeks took more exception to
6480-450: A number of young film makers began to experiment with transgression not as a box-office draw, but as an artistic act . Directors such as John Waters and David Lynch would make a name for themselves by the early 1970s for the bizarre and often disturbing imagery which characterized their films. When Lynch's first feature film, Eraserhead (1977), brought Lynch to the attention of producer Mel Brooks , he soon found himself in charge of
6696-490: A passage from the Bible, before he and Vincent kill Brett. Jules and Vincent give the briefcase to Marsellus, who bribes boxer Butch Coolidge to take a dive in his upcoming match. Vincent purchases heroin from his drug dealer, Lance. He shoots up and drives to meet Marsellus's wife, Mia Wallace , having agreed to escort her while Marsellus is out of town for the night. They eat at a 1950s-themed restaurant and participate in
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6912-553: A relatively small group of people who cooperate in criminal acts, as with the Jesse James gang, which ended with the leader's death in 1882. However, a gang may also be a larger group with a formal organization that survives the death of its leader. For example, each of the Five Families founded in the early 20th century, outlasted its founders and have survived into the 21st century. Large and well structured gangs such as
7128-623: A result of the falling cost of technology to make, edit and digitally distribute films, filmmaking is more widely accessible than ever before. Full-length films are often showcased at film festivals such as the Sundance Film Festival, Slamdance Film Festival, South by Southwest Festival, Raindance Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, and Palm Springs Film Festival. Award winners from these exhibitions are more likely to get picked up for distribution by major film distributors. Film festivals and screenings like these are just one of
7344-508: A separate partnership with Pickford and Chaplin to buy and build theaters under the United Artists name. Still, even with a broadening of the company, UA struggled. The coming of sound ended the careers of Pickford and Fairbanks. Chaplin, rich enough to do what he pleased, worked only occasionally. Schenck resigned in 1933 to organize a new company with Darryl F. Zanuck , Twentieth Century Pictures , which soon provided four pictures
7560-499: A share of the project and the right to shop the script to a studio. Jersey had a distribution and "first look" deal with Columbia TriStar , which paid Tarantino for the right to consider exercising its option. In February, Pulp Fiction appeared on a Variety list of films in pre-production at TriStar . In June, however, the studio put the script into turnaround . According to a studio executive, TriStar chief Mike Medavoy found it "too demented". There were suggestions that TriStar
7776-451: A show for an improv group a few months prior. He read for the roles of Jules Winnfield and Brett before being cast as Marvin. Tarantino appears as Jules' friend Jimmie, in whose house they clean up a murder. Tarantino was unsure whether to play Jimmie or Lance, choosing Jimmie as he wanted to be behind the camera during Mia's overdose scene. Frank Whaley portrays Brett, who has a briefcase requested by Marsellus. Whaley met Tarantino while he
7992-491: A star in Samuel L. Jackson and spawned a still-thriving cottage industry of knockoffs and imitation films." Independent film It is not unusual for well-known actors who are cast in independent features to take substantial pay cuts for a variety of reasons: if they truly believe in the message of the film, they feel indebted to a filmmaker for a career break; their career is otherwise stalled, or they feel unable to manage
8208-581: A studio's ability to package and release their work. This table lists the companies active in late 1935 illustrates the categories commonly used to characterize the Hollywood system. The studio system quickly became so powerful that some filmmakers once again sought independence. On May 24, 1916, the Lincoln Motion Picture Company was formed, the first movie studio owned and controlled by independent filmmakers. In 1919, four of
8424-515: A vacant lot near Georgia Street in downtown Los Angeles . While there, the company decided to explore new territories, traveling several miles north to Hollywood , a little village that was friendly and positive about the movie company filming there. Griffith then filmed the first movie ever shot in Hollywood, In Old California , a Biograph melodrama about California in the 1800s, while it belonged to Mexico. Griffith stayed there for months and made several films before returning to New York. During
8640-425: A wristwatch that makes a dark journey down through the generations... The screenplay by Tarantino and Roger Avary so well-written in a scruffy, fanzine way that you want to rub noses in it – the noses of those zombie writers who take 'screenwriting' classes that teach them the formulas for 'hit films ' ". Richard Corliss of TIME wrote, "It towers over the year's other movies as majestically and menacingly as
8856-609: A year after the picture's release, British critic Jon Ronson attended the National Film School 's end-of-semester screenings and assessed the impact: "Out of the five student movies I watched, four incorporated violent shoot-outs over a soundtrack of iconoclastic 70s pop hits, two climaxed with all the main characters shooting each other at once, and one had two hitmen discussing the idiosyncrasies of The Brady Bunch before offing their victim. Not since Citizen Kane has one man appeared from relative obscurity to redefine
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9072-403: A year to UA's schedule. He was replaced as president by sales manager Al Lichtman who himself resigned after only a few months. Pickford produced a few films, and at various times Goldwyn, Korda, Walt Disney , Walter Wanger , and David O. Selznick were made "producing partners" (i.e., sharing in the profits), but ownership still rested with the founders. As the years passed and the dynamics of
9288-480: Is agreement that the members of a gang have a sense of common identity and belonging and this is typically reinforced through shared activities and through visual identifications such as special clothing, tattoos, colors, or rings. Some preconceptions may be false. For example, the common view that illegal drug distribution in the United States is largely controlled by gangs has been questioned. A gang may be
9504-478: Is also more of a push from EU National governments to fund all aspects of the arts, including film. The European Commission for Culture has an Audiovisual sector, for example, whose role is most notably to help distribute and promote films and festivals across Europe. Additionally, the Commission organizes policymaking, research, and reporting on "media literacy" and "digital distribution." As with other media,
9720-528: Is certainly not that of the publicly recognized counter-culture featured in Forrest Gump , but is, rather, a more genuinely marginal form of sub-culture based around a lifestyle – surfing, 'hanging' – that is resolutely apolitical." The soundtrack is central, she says, to the film's engagement with the "younger, cinematically knowledgeable spectator" it solicits. Pulp Fiction premiered in May 1994 at
9936-422: Is characterized by limited release , often at independent movie theaters , but they can also have major marketing campaigns and a wide release . Independent films are often screened at local, national, or international film festivals before distribution (theatrical or retail release). An independent film production can rival a mainstream film production if it has the necessary funding and distribution. In 1908,
10152-439: Is devoted to monologues and casual conversations with eclectic dialogue revealing each character's perspectives on several subjects, and the film features an ironic combination of humor and strong violence. TriStar Pictures reportedly turned down the script as "too demented". Miramax Films co-chairman Harvey Weinstein was enthralled, however, and the film became the first that Miramax Films fully financed. Pulp Fiction won
10368-406: Is often considered a cultural watershed, influencing films and other media that adopted elements of its style. The cast was also widely praised, with Travolta, Thurman, and Jackson earning high acclaim. In 2008, Entertainment Weekly named it the best film since 1983 and it has appeared on many critics' lists of the greatest films ever made . In 2013, Pulp Fiction was selected for preservation in
10584-537: Is presented as a moral outcome, it is usually seen as no more than an accidental failure. The gangster is typically articulate, although at times lonely and depressed, and his worldly wisdom and defiance of social norms has a strong appeal, particularly to adolescents. The years 1931 and 1932 saw the genre produce three classics: Warner Bros. ' Little Caesar and The Public Enemy , which made screen icons out of Edward G. Robinson and James Cagney , and Howard Hughes ' Scarface starring Paul Muni , which offered
10800-410: Is said to have observed, "The inmates are taking over the asylum." The four partners, with advice from McAdoo (son-in-law and former Treasury Secretary of then-President Woodrow Wilson ), formed their distribution company, with Hiram Abrams as its first managing director. The original terms called for Pickford, Fairbanks, Griffith, and Chaplin to independently produce five pictures each year, but by
11016-403: Is the worst thing ever written. It makes no sense. Someone's dead and then they're alive. It's too long, violent, and unfilmable.' ... So I thought, 'That's that! ' " Bender brought the script to Miramax Films , the formerly independent studio that had recently been acquired by Disney . Harvey Weinstein —co-chairman of Miramax Films, along with his brother Bob —was instantly enthralled by
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#173277560990211232-461: Is then broken down into smaller loads for smuggling across the U.S.–Mexico border . Arrests of key gang leaders, particularly in the Tijuana and Gulf cartels, have led to increasing drug violence as gangs fight for control of the trafficking routes into the United States. Cocaine traffickers from Colombia, and recently Mexico, have also established a labyrinth of smuggling routes throughout
11448-688: Is to empty the artwork of all content, thus avoiding its capacity to do anything except helplessly represent our agonies ... Only in this age could a writer as talented as Tarantino produce artworks so vacuous, so entirely stripped of any politics, metaphysics, or moral interest." Around the turn of the year, Pulp Fiction was named Best Picture by the National Society of Film Critics , National Board of Review , Los Angeles Film Critics Association , Boston Society of Film Critics , Society of Texas Film Critics , Southeastern Film Critics Association, and Kansas City Film Critics Circle . Tarantino
11664-587: The Chicago Reader wrote, "The fact that Pulp Fiction is garnering more extravagant raves than Breathless ever did tells you plenty about which kind of cultural references are regarded as more fruitful – namely, the ones we already have and don't wish to expand." Observing in the National Review that "[n]o film arrives with more advance hype", John Simon was unswayed: "titillation cures neither hollowness nor shallowness". Debate about
11880-522: The Chicago Tribune , Todd Boyd argued that the word's recurrence "has the ability to signify the ultimate level of hipness for white males who have historically used their perception of black masculinity as the embodiment of cool". In Britain, James Wood , writing in The Guardian , set the tone for much subsequent criticism: "Tarantino represents the final triumph of postmodernism , which
12096-567: The True Romance screenplay, exclusively credited to Tarantino, were incorporated into the opening of "The Bonnie Situation": the "miraculous" missed shots by the hidden gunman and the rear seat automobile killing. The notion of the crimeworld "cleaner" that became the heart of the episode was inspired by a short, Curdled , that Tarantino saw at a film festival. He cast the lead actress, Angela Jones , in Pulp Fiction and later backed
12312-546: The de facto ban on small productions; the independent filmmakers who had fled to Southern California during the enforcement of the trust had already laid the groundwork for the studio system of classical Hollywood cinema . In early 1910, director D.W. Griffith was sent by the Biograph Company to the west coast with his acting troupe, consisting of performers Blanche Sweet , Lillian Gish , Mary Pickford , Lionel Barrymore , and others. They began filming on
12528-671: The Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay . The furor around the film was still going strong: much of the March issue of Artforum was devoted to its critical dissection. Pulp Fiction garnered four honors at the Independent Spirit Awards , held at the end of the month – Best Feature , Best Director , Male Lead (Jackson), and Best Screenplay (Tarantino). At the British Academy Film Awards (BAFTA), Tarantino and Avary shared
12744-648: The American Civil Liberties Union . Following on the heels of Easy Rider shortly afterward was the revived United Artists' Midnight Cowboy (also 1969), which, like Easy Rider , took numerous cues from Kenneth Anger and his influences in the French New Wave. It became the first and only X rated film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture. Midnight Cowboy also held the distinction of featuring cameo roles by many of
12960-555: The Anthology Film Archives in 1970, which would likewise prove essential to the development and preservation of independent films, even to this day. Not all low-budget films existed as non-commercial art ventures. The success of films like Little Fugitive , which had been made with low (or sometimes non-existent ) budgets encouraged a huge boom in popularity for non-studio films. Low-budget film making promised exponentially greater returns (in terms of percentages) if
13176-708: The BAFTA Award for Best Original Screenplay , and Jackson won for Best Supporting Actor . The film was nominated for the Grand Prix of the Belgian Film Critics Association . The February 2020 issue of New York Magazine lists Pulp Fiction alongside Citizen Kane , Sunset Boulevard , Dr. Strangelove , Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid , The Conversation , Nashville , Taxi Driver , The Elephant Man , In
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#173277560990213392-550: The Cannes Film Festival . The Weinsteins "hit the beach like commandos," bringing the picture's entire cast over to France. The film was unveiled at a midnight hour screening and caused a sensation. It won the Palme d'Or , the festival's top prize, generating a further wave of publicity. The first U.S. review of the film was published on May 23 in industry trade magazine Variety . Todd McCarthy called Pulp Fiction
13608-656: The Caribbean , the Bahama Island chain, and South Florida. They often hire traffickers from Mexico or the Dominican Republic to transport the drug. The traffickers use a variety of smuggling techniques to transfer their drug to U.S. markets. These include airdrops of 500–700 kg in the Bahama Islands or off the coast of Puerto Rico , mid-ocean boat-to-boat transfers of 500–2,000 kg, and
13824-499: The Chinese Communist Party came to power in 1949 in mainland China, law enforcement became stricter and tough governmental crackdown on criminal organizations forced the triads to migrate to Hong Kong, then a British colony, and other cities around the world. Triads today are highly organized, with departments responsible for functions such as accounting, recruiting, communications, training and welfare in addition to
14040-626: The Mafia , drug cartels , Triads , Crips , Bloods , or even outlaw motorcycle gangs can undertake complex transactions that would be far beyond the capability of one individual, and can provide services such as dispute arbitration and contract enforcement that parallel those of a legitimate government. The term " organized crime " is associated with gangs and gangsters, but is not synonymous. A small street gang that engages in sporadic low-level crime would not be seen as "organized". An organization that coordinates gangs in different countries involved in
14256-617: The Mirisch brothers, Billy Wilder , Joseph E. Levine and others. By the late 1950s, RKO had ceased film production, and the remaining four of the big five had recognized that they did not know how to reach the youth audience. In an attempt to capture this audience, the Studios hired a host of young filmmakers (many of whom were mentored by Roger Corman ) and allowed them to make their films with relatively little studio control. Warner Brothers offered first-time producer Warren Beatty 40% of
14472-566: The Motion Picture Patents Company or "Edison Trust" was formed as a trust . The Trust was a cartel that held a monopoly on film production and distribution comprising all the major film companies of the time ( Edison , Biograph , Vitagraph , Essanay , Selig , Lubin , Kalem , American Star , American Pathé ), the leading distributor ( George Kleine ) and the biggest supplier of raw film, Eastman Kodak . A number of filmmakers declined or were refused membership to
14688-412: The Palme d'Or at the 1994 Cannes Film Festival and was a major critical and commercial success. It was nominated for seven awards at the 67th Academy Awards , including Best Picture , and won Best Original Screenplay ; Travolta, Jackson, and Thurman were nominated for Best Actor , Best Supporting Actor , and Best Supporting Actress respectively. As a result of the film's success, Travolta's career
14904-579: The Prohibition era of the 1920s and 1930s. The classic gangster movie ranks with the Western as one of the most successful creations of the American movie industry. The "classic" form of gangster movie, rarely produced in recent years, tells of a gangster working his way up through his enterprise and daring, until his organization collapses while he is at the peak of his powers. Although the ending
15120-750: The Rizzuto crime family . The terms "gangster" and "mobster" are mostly used in the United States to refer to members of criminal organizations associated with Prohibition . In 1920, the Eighteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution banned the sale, manufacture, and transportation of alcohol for consumption. Many gangs sold alcohol illegally for profit, and used acute violence to stake turf and protect their interest. Often, police officers and politicians were paid off or extorted to ensure continued operation. Al Capone
15336-593: The Serbian Mafia , Bosnian Mafia , Bulgarian Mafia , and so on. In China, Triads trace their roots to resistance or rebel groups opposed to Manchu rule during the Qing dynasty , which were given the triangle as their emblem. The first record of a triad society, Heaven and Earth Gathering , dates to the Lin Shuangwen uprising on Taiwan from 1786 to 1787. The triads evolved into criminal societies. When
15552-461: The U.S. domestic box office revenue was from independent studios. The 1990s saw the rise and success of independent films not only through the film festival circuit but at the box office as well while established actors, such as Bruce Willis , John Travolta , and Tim Robbins , found success themselves both in independent films and Hollywood studio films. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in 1990 from New Line Cinema grossed over $ 100 million in
15768-882: The Whyos and the Dead Rabbits . These were followed by the Italian Five Points Gang and later a Jewish gang known as the Eastman Gang . There were also " Nativist " anti-immigration gangs such as the Bowery Boys . The Italian-American Mafia arose from offshoots of the Mafia that emerged in the United States during the late 19th century, following waves of emigration from Sicily. There were similar offshoots in Canada among Italian Canadians , such as
15984-599: The World War I effort. Already veterans of Hollywood, the four film stars began to talk of forming their own company to better control their own work as well as their futures. They were spurred on by the actions of established Hollywood producers and distributors, who were making moves to tighten their control over their stars' salaries and creative license. With the addition of Griffith, planning began, but Hart bowed out before things had formalized. When he heard about their scheme, Richard A. Rowland , head of Metro Pictures ,
16200-404: The blockbuster Star Wars and Indiana Jones franchises. In fact, the only two movies of the movement which can be described as uncompromisingly independent are Easy Rider at the beginning, and Peter Bogdanovich 's They All Laughed , at the end. Peter Bogdanovich bought back the rights from the studio to his 1980 film and paid for its distribution out of his own pocket, convinced that
16416-659: The "prosumer" camera segment and film schools for those who are less autodidactic. Film programs in universities such as NYU in New York and USC in Los Angeles have benefited from this transitional growth. The economic side of filmmaking is also less of an obstacle than before, because the backing of a major studio is no longer needed to access necessary movie funding. Crowdfunding services like Kickstarter , Pozible , and Tubestart have helped people raise thousands of dollars; enough to fund their own, low-budget productions. As
16632-485: The $ 5 million film The Elephant Man (1980) for Paramount. Though Eraserhead was strictly an out-of-pocket, low-budget, independent film, Lynch made the transition with unprecedented grace. The film was a huge commercial success, and earned eight Academy Award nominations, including Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay nods for Lynch. It also established his place as a commercially viable, if somewhat dark and unconventional, Hollywood director. Seeing Lynch as
16848-423: The 1950s progressed, the new low-budget paradigm of filmmaking gained increased recognition internationally, with films such as Satyajit Ray 's critically acclaimed Apu Trilogy (1955–1959). Unlike the films made within the studio system, these new low-budget films could afford to take risks and explore new artistic territory outside the classical Hollywood narrative. Maya Deren was soon joined in New York by
17064-540: The 1970s and 1980s. It was founded and run by Ochoa Vázquez brothers with Pablo Escobar . By 1993, the Colombian government, helped by the US, had successfully dismantled the cartel by imprisoning or hunting and gunning down its members. Although Mexican drug cartels, or drug trafficking organizations, have existed for several decades, they have become more powerful since the demise of Colombia's Cali and Medellín cartels in
17280-404: The 1990s. Mexican drug cartels now dominate the wholesale illicit drug market in the United States. Sixty five percent of cocaine enters the United States through Mexico, and the vast majority of the rest enters through Florida. Cocaine shipments from South America transported through Mexico or Central America are generally moved over land or by air to staging sites in northern Mexico. The cocaine
17496-479: The B-grade shlock film soon fell to the level of the Z movie , a niche category of films with production values so low that they became a spectacle in their own right. The cult audiences these pictures attracted soon made them ideal candidates for midnight movie screenings revolving around audience participation and cosplay . In 1968, a young filmmaker named George A. Romero shocked audiences with Night of
17712-539: The Bedroom , There Will Be Blood , and Roma as " The Best Movies That Lost Best Picture at the Oscars ". Pulp Fiction quickly came to be regarded as one of the most significant films of its era. In 1995, in a special edition of Siskel & Ebert devoted to Tarantino, Gene Siskel argued that the work posed a major challenge to the "ossification of American movies with their brutal formulas". In Siskel's view,
17928-615: The Edison era of the early 1900s, many Jewish immigrants had found jobs in the U.S. film industry. Under the Edison Trust, they were able to make their mark in a brand-new business: the exhibition of films in storefront theaters called nickelodeons . Within a few years, ambitious men like Samuel Goldwyn , Carl Laemmle , Adolph Zukor , Louis B. Mayer , and the Warner Brothers (Harry, Albert, Samuel, and Jack) had switched to
18144-627: The Hollywood movie studios to sell their theater chains and to eliminate certain anti-competitive practices. This effectively brought an end to the studio system of Hollywood's Golden Age . By 1958, many of the reasons for creating the SIMPP had been corrected and SIMPP closed its offices. The efforts of the SIMPP and the advent of inexpensive portable cameras during World War II effectively made it possible for any person in America with an interest in making films to write, produce, and direct one without
18360-590: The Jack Rabbit Slim's segment as an Ed Sullivan impersonator. Susan Griffiths appears alongside Hoban as a Marilyn Monroe impersonator. The roots of Pulp Fiction can be traced back to the late 1980s, when Tarantino and Roger Avary worked together at Video Archives , a video store in Southern California. Avary recalls that their initial concept was to create three short films with three different filmmakers—himself, Tarantino, and
18576-534: The Living Dead , a new kind of intense and unforgiving independent horror film. This film was released just after the abandonment of the production code, but before the adoption of the MPAA rating system . As such, it was the first and last film of its kind to enjoy a completely unrestricted screening, in which young children were able to witness Romero's new brand of highly realistic gore. This film would help to set
18792-526: The Pickford/Fairbanks Studio, but did not own a studio lot as such. Because of this, many of their films would be shot on location. Primarily acting as bankers, they offered money to independent producers. Thus UA did not have the overhead, the maintenance or the expensive production staff which ran up costs at other studios. UA went public in 1956, and as the other mainstream studios fell into decline, UA prospered, adding relationships with
19008-561: The United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". Pulp Fiction ' s narrative is told out of chronological order and follows three main interrelated stories that each have a different protagonist: Vincent Vega, a hitman; Butch Coolidge, a prizefighter; and Jules Winnfield, Vincent's partner in crime. The film begins with
19224-449: The United States . The Hollywood oligopoly replaced the Edison monopoly. Within this new system, a pecking order was soon established which left little room for any newcomers. By the mid-1930s, at the top were the five major studios, 20th Century Fox , Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer , Paramount Pictures , RKO Pictures , and Warner Bros. Then came three smaller companies, Columbia Pictures , United Artists , and Universal Studios . Finally there
19440-500: The United States being the world's largest consumer of cocaine. Colombia is the world's leading producer of cocaine , and also produces heroin that is mostly destined for the US market. The Medellín Cartel was an organized network of drug suppliers and smugglers originating in the city of Medellín , Colombia. The gang operated in Colombia, Bolivia , Peru , Central America, the United States, as well as Canada and Europe throughout
19656-404: The United States making it the most successful indie film in box-office history to that point. Miramax Films had a string of hits with Sex, Lies, and Videotape , My Left Foot , and Clerks , putting Miramax and New Line Cinema in the sights of big companies looking to cash in on the success of independent studios. In 1993, Disney bought Miramax for $ 60 million. Turner Broadcasting , in
19872-461: The United States often joined these tongs. With a new wave of migration in the 1960s, street gangs began to flourish in major cities. The Tongs recruited these gangs to protect their extortion, gambling and narcotics operations. As American society and culture developed, new immigrants were relocating to the United States. The first major gangs in 19th century New York City were the Irish gangs such as
20088-449: The United States. As Peter Biskind describes, "It was not platformed, that is, it did not open in a handful of theaters and roll out slowly as word of mouth built, the traditional way of releasing an indie film ; it went wide immediately, into 1,100 theaters." In the eyes of some cultural critics, Reservoir Dogs had given Tarantino a reputation for glamorizing violence. Miramax played with the issue in its marketing campaign: "You won't know
20304-533: The absolute dictator of the Soviet Union had previously founded the Outfit, a criminal gang that were involved with armed robberies , racketeering , assassinations , arms procurement and child couriering . In the period of Soviet Union , Vory v Zakone emerged, a class of criminals that had to abide by certain rules in the prison system. One such rule was that cooperation with the authorities of any kind
20520-488: The acclaimed director Wong Kar-wai was a gangster movie, As Tears Go By . In it the protagonist finds himself torn between his desire for a woman and his loyalty to a fellow gangster. Infernal Affairs (2002) is a thriller about a police officer who infiltrates a triad and a triad member who infiltrates the police department. The film was remade by Martin Scorsese as The Departed . Gangster films make up one of
20736-530: The aid of any major film studio . These circumstances soon resulted in a number of critically acclaimed and highly influential works, including Maya Deren 's Meshes of the Afternoon in 1943, Kenneth Anger's Fireworks in 1947, and Morris Engel, Ruth Orkin and Ray Abrashkin's Little Fugitive in 1953. Filmmakers such as Ken Jacobs , with little or no formal training, began to experiment with new ways of making and shooting films. Little Fugitive became
20952-574: The art of moviemaking." Among the first Hollywood films cited as its imitators were Destiny Turns on the Radio (1995), in which Tarantino acted, Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead (1995), and 2 Days in the Valley (1996). It "triggered a myriad of clones", writes Fiona Villella. Internationally, according to David Desser , it "not only influenced a British brand of noir, but extended
21168-411: The availability of new technologies has fueled the democratization of filmmaking and the growth of independent film. In the late forties and fifties, new inexpensive portable cameras made it easier for independent filmmakers to produce content without studio backing. The emergence of camcorders in the eighties broadened the pool of filmmakers experimenting with the newly available technology. More recently,
21384-558: The book, but of course, Quentin got what he wanted, and he was absolutely right, and the rest is history." Bender noted that during the casting process, while Samuel L. Jackson's initial audition was impressive, another candidate later delivered a performance that "blew them away." This prompted Bender to inform Jackson's agent that they might need to consider the other actor. The agent firmly insisted, "No, no, no, you can’t do that. Sam will come back." Initially hesitant to ask him for another audition, Bender discovered that Jackson believed he
21600-661: The bosses of the most powerful families would have equal say and vote on important matters and solve disputes between families. This group ruled over the National Crime Syndicate and brought in an era of peace and prosperity for the American Mafia. Most cocaine is grown and processed in South America, particularly in Colombia , Bolivia , Peru , and smuggled into the United States and Europe,
21816-556: The budget – $ 150,000 – went to creating the Jack Rabbit Slim's set. It was built in a Culver City warehouse, where it was joined by several other sets, as well as the film's production offices. The diner sequence was shot on location in Hawthorne at the Hawthorne Grill, known for its Googie architecture . For the costumes, Tarantino took his inspiration from French director Jean-Pierre Melville , who believed that
22032-433: The business changed, these "producing partners" drifted away. Goldwyn and Disney left for RKO , Wanger for Universal Pictures , Selznick and Korda for retirement . By the late 1940s, United Artists had virtually ceased to exist as either a producer or distributor. In 1941, Mary Pickford , Charles Chaplin , Walt Disney , Orson Welles , Samuel Goldwyn , David O. Selznick , Alexander Korda , and Walter Wanger —many of
22248-463: The charismatic anti-hero. Those suffering from the Depression were able to relate to the gangster character who worked hard to earn his place and success in the world, only to have it all taken away from him. Latin American gangster movies are known for their gritty realism. Soy un delincuente (English: I Am a Criminal) is a 1976 Venezuelan film by director Clemente de la Cerda. The film tells
22464-546: The climate of independent horror for decades to come, as films like The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) and Cannibal Holocaust (1980) continued to push the envelope. With the production code abandoned and violent and disturbing films like Romero's gaining popularity, Hollywood opted to placate the uneasy filmgoing public with the MPAA ratings system, which would place restrictions on ticket sales to young people. Unlike
22680-479: The clothes his characters wore were their symbolic suits of armor. Tarantino cast himself in a modest-sized role as he had in Reservoir Dogs . One of his pop totems, Fruit Brute , a long-discontinued General Mills cereal, also returned from the earlier film. The shoot wrapped on November 30. Before Pulp Fiction ' s premiere, Tarantino convinced Avary to forfeit his agreed-on cowriting credit and accept
22896-473: The commercial shipment of tonnes of cocaine through the port of Miami. Another route of cocaine traffic goes through Chile, this route is primarily used for cocaine produced in Bolivia since the nearest seaports lie in northern Chile. The arid Bolivia-Chile border is easily crossed by 4x4 vehicles that then head to the seaports of Iquique and Antofagasta . Gangs have long been the subject of movies. In fact,
23112-569: The craft. Aspiring filmmakers can range from those simply with access to a smartphone or digital camera, to those who write "spec" scripts (to pitch to studios), actively network, and use crowdsourcing and other financing to get their films professionally produced. Oftentimes, aspiring filmmakers have other day-jobs to support themselves financially while they pitch their scripts and ideas to independent film production companies, talent agents, and wealthy investors. This recent technology-fueled renaissance has helped fuel other supporting industries such as
23328-402: The crisp and brightly lit wonderland that Tarantino conjures up. [It is] neither neo-noir nor a parody of noir." Similarly, Nicholas Christopher calls it "more gangland camp than neo-noir", and Foster Hirsch suggests that its "trippy fantasy landscape" characterizes it more definitively than any genre label. Regardless, the stylistic influence of Pulp Fiction soon became apparent. Less than
23544-490: The defiance of the now-establishment New Hollywood, proposing that "all film schools be blown up and all boring films never be made again." In 1978, Sterling Van Wagenen and Charles Gary Allison , with Chairperson Robert Redford , (veteran of New Hollywood and star of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid ) founded the Utah/US Film Festival in an effort to attract more filmmakers to Utah and showcase what
23760-495: The diner at that moment because he believes the patrons and employees will be unprepared to stop them. Honey Bunny agrees. Two hitmen, Jules Winnfield and Vincent Vega, arrive at an apartment to retrieve a briefcase for their boss, influential local gangster Marsellus Wallace, from a business partner, Brett, and his friends. After Vincent checks the contents of the briefcase, Jules shoots one of Brett's friends. Jules rebukes Brett over his attempt to double-cross Marsellus and recites
23976-540: The diner with the briefcase. Bronagh Gallagher plays Jody's friend Trudi who does little but smoke a bong during the scene where Vincent revives Mia. According to author Jason Bailey, "Quentin thought it would be funny to have this casual observer who just happened to be there. All of this was born out of the experience of, when you go to someone's house to buy drugs, there are always people who are just there". Phil LaMarr portrays Marvin, an associate of Jules and Vincent. LaMarr auditioned for Tarantino after both had done
24192-526: The distance from Edison's home base of New Jersey made it more difficult for the MPPC to enforce its patents. The Edison Trust was soon ended by two decisions of the Supreme Court of the United States : one in 1912, which canceled the patent on raw film, and a second in 1915, which cancelled all MPPC patents. Though these decisions succeeded at legalizing independent film, they would do little to remedy
24408-585: The end of the '60s and the beginning of the '80s, with the closure of the film depicting the war between the drug dealer Li'l Zé and criminal Knockout Ned . The film received four Academy Award nominations in 2004. The first yakuza (gangster) film made in Japan was Bakuto (Gambler, 1964). The genre soon became popular, and by the 1970s the Japanese film industry was turning out a hundred mostly low-budget yakuza films each year. The films are descendants of
24624-428: The fact that grosses and market share, which got all the press, were not the same as profits ... Once the studios realized that they could exploit the economies of (small) scale, they more or less gave up buying or remaking the films themselves, and either bought the distributors, as Disney had Miramax, or started their own ... copy[ing] Miramax's marketing and distribution strategies. In 2001, Variety , noting
24840-490: The facts till you've seen the fiction", went one slogan. Pulp Fiction was the top-grossing film at the US box office its first weekend with a gross of $ 9,311,882, edging out a Sylvester Stallone vehicle, The Specialist , which was in its second week and playing at more than twice as many theaters. The gross claimed by Miramax was disputed by others. Warner Bros. initially reported an estimated gross of $ 8.9 million for The Specialist with Bob Weinstein then reporting
25056-489: The features released in the United States and usually cost between $ 5 and $ 10 million to produce. Hollywood was producing these three different classes of feature films by means of three different types of producers. The superior products were the large, budget blockbusters and high-cost star vehicles marketed by the six major studio producer-distributors. Budgets on the major studios' pictures averaged $ 100 million, with approximately one-third of it spent on marketing because of
25272-454: The film Deliverance . Steve Buscemi makes a cameo appearance as a waiter at Jack Rabbit Slim's, dressed as Buddy Holly . Buscemi, who had appeared in Reservoir Dogs , was originally considered for the role of Jimmie but was unable to commit. Kathy Griffin appears as herself. Michael Gilden and Joseph Pilato also appear at Jack Rabbit Slim's as waiter Phillip Morris Page and a Dean Martin impersonator, respectively. Emil Sitka made
25488-409: The film a "triumphant, cleverly disorienting journey through a demimonde that springs entirely from Mr. Tarantino's ripe imagination, a landscape of danger, shock, hilarity and vibrant local color ... [He] has come up with a work of such depth, wit and blazing originality that it places him in the front ranks of American film makers." On October 14, 1994, Pulp Fiction went into general release in
25704-603: The film as Laura, a waitress; she reprises the role in Jackie Brown . The soundtrack album was released along with the film in 1994. The album peaked on the Billboard 200 chart at number 21. The single, Urge Overkill 's cover of the Neil Diamond song " Girl, You'll Be a Woman Soon ", reached number 59. Estella Tincknell describes how the particular combination of well-known and obscure recordings helps establish
25920-471: The film as a "self-consciously 'cool' text. [The] use of the mono-tracked, beat-heavy style of early 1960s U.S. 'underground' pop mixed with 'classic' ballads such as Dusty Springfield 's ' Son of a Preacher Man ' is crucial to the film's postmodern knowingness." She contrasts the soundtrack with that of Forrest Gump , the highest-grossing film of 1994, which also relies on period pop recordings: "[T]he version of 'the sixties' offered by Pulp Fiction ...
26136-406: The film could have a successful run in the theaters. During this time, independent producer/director Roger Corman began a sweeping body of work that would become legendary for its frugality and grueling shooting schedule. Until his so-called "retirement" as a director in 1971 (he continued to produce films even after this date), he would produce up to seven movies a year, matching and often exceeding
26352-410: The film has a weighted average score of 95 out of 100, based on 25 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale. The response of major American film reviewers was widely favorable. Roger Ebert called it "a comedy about blood, guts, violence, strange sex, drugs, fixed fights, dead body disposal, leather freaks and
26568-515: The film received seven Oscar nominations – Best Picture, Director, Actor (Travolta), Supporting Actor (Jackson), Supporting Actress (Thurman), Original Screenplay, and Film Editing. Travolta, Jackson, and Thurman were each nominated as well for the 1st Screen Actors Guild Awards , presented on February 25, but none took home the honor. At the Academy Awards ceremony the following month, Tarantino and Avary were announced as joint winners of
26784-416: The film spread beyond the review pages, with its violence often being the theme. In The Washington Post , Donna Britt described how she was happy not to see Pulp Fiction on a recent weekend and thus avoid "discussing the rousing scene in which a gunshot sprays somebody's brains around a car interior". Some commentators took exception to the film's frequent use of the word " nigger " (mentioned 18 times). In
27000-503: The film with an audience, it does break [the audience's] alpha state. It's like, all of a sudden, 'I gotta watch this ... I gotta pay attention.' You can almost feel everybody moving in their seats. It's actually fun to watch an audience in some ways chase after a movie." In late September, it opened the New York Film Festival . The New York Times published its review the day of the opening. Janet Maslin called
27216-500: The film, but not, he insists, because of its association with surfing culture: "To me it just sounds like rock and roll, even Morricone music. It sounds like rock and roll spaghetti Western music." Tarantino planned to use a power pop song, " My Sharona " by The Knack , during the film's rape scene, but ultimately discounted it. Some of the songs were suggested to Tarantino by his friends Chuck Kelley and Laura Lovelace, who were credited as music consultants. Lovelace also appeared in
27432-537: The filmmakers' production of a feature-length version of Curdled . The script included a couple of made-up commercial brands that often featured in later Tarantino films: Big Kahuna burgers (a Big Kahuna soda cup appears in Reservoir Dogs ) and Red Apple cigarettes. As he worked on the script, Tarantino also accompanied Reservoir Dogs around the European film festivals. Released in the United States in October 1992,
27648-428: The filmmaking business would slowly squeeze out the more idiosyncratic of these young filmmakers, while ensconcing the more malleable and commercially successful of them. Film critic Manohla Dargis described this era as the "halcyon age" of the decade's filmmaking that "was less revolution than business as usual, with rebel hype". She also pointed out in her New York Times article that enthusiasts insisted this era
27864-486: The first feature-length movie ever produced was The Story of the Kelly Gang (1906), an Australian production that traced the life of the outlaw Ned Kelly (1855–1880). The United States has profoundly influenced the genre, but other cultures have contributed distinctive and often excellent gangster movies. The stereotypical image and myth of the American gangster is closely associated with organized crime during
28080-608: The first independent film to be nominated for Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay at the American Academy Awards . It also received Silver Lion at Venice . Both Engel and Anger's films won acclaim overseas from the burgeoning French New Wave , with Fireworks inspiring praise and an invitation to study under him in Europe from Jean Cocteau , and François Truffaut citing Little Fugitive as an essential inspiration to his seminal work, The 400 Blows . As
28296-401: The five-per-year schedule that the executives at United Artists had once thought impossible. Like those of the avant-garde, the films of Roger Corman took advantage of the fact that unlike the studio system, independent films had never been bound by its self-imposed production code . Corman's example (and that of others like him) would help start a boom in independent B-movies in the 1960s,
28512-508: The following year, two New Hollywood directors had become sufficiently established for Coppola to be offered oversight of Paramount's The Godfather (1972) and Lucas had obtained studio funding for American Graffiti (1973) from Universal. In the mid-1970s, the major Hollywood studios continued to tap these new filmmakers for both ideas and personnel, producing films such as Paper Moon (1973) and Taxi Driver (1976), all of which met with critical and commercial success. These successes by
28728-652: The game. Though the eventual breakup of the studio system and its restrictive chain-theater distribution network would leave independent movie houses eager for the kind of populist, seat-filling product of the Poverty Row studios, that same paradigm shift would also lead to the decline and ultimate disappearance of "Poverty Row" as a Hollywood phenomenon. While the kinds of films produced by Poverty Row studios only grew in popularity, they would eventually become increasingly available both from major production companies and from independent producers who no longer needed to rely on
28944-483: The general film industry opinion that Pulp Fiction "simultaneously resurrected John Travolta and film noir". In Peter Biskind's description, it created a "guys-with-guns frenzy". The film has also been labeled as a black comedy and a " neo-noir ". Critic Geoffrey O'Brien , however, argued against the classification of Pulp Fiction into the neo-noir genre: "The old-time noir passions, the brooding melancholy and operatic death scenes, would be altogether out of place in
29160-738: The government have displaced the Vory from some of their traditional niches, although the Vory are still strong in gambling and the retail trade. The Albanian Mafia is active in Albania , the United States, and the European Union (EU) countries, participating in a diverse range of criminal enterprises including drug and arms trafficking . The people of the mountainous country of Albania have always had strong traditions of family and clan loyalty, in some ways similar to that of southern Italy. Ethnic Albanian gangs have grown rapidly since 1992 during
29376-464: The great Orion films. Ironically, when the opportunity arose, Mike deemed the script too violent." Pulp Fiction , the first Miramax Films project to get a green light after the Disney acquisition, was budgeted at $ 8.5 million, and at the end $ 500,000 was returned, bringing the final budget to $ 8 million. According to Bender, a lower budget meant that the producers could maintain more control over
29592-475: The gross on his film Bonnie and Clyde (1967) instead of a minimal fee. The movie had grossed over $ 70 million worldwide by 1973. These initial successes paved the way for the studio to relinquish almost complete control to the film school generation and began what the media dubbed " New Hollywood ." Dennis Hopper , the American actor, made his writing and directing debut with Easy Rider (1969). Along with his producer/co-star/co-writer Peter Fonda , Hopper
29808-444: The incident and depart Los Angeles forever. Butch picks up Fabienne on Zed's chopper and they drive away. In the apartment, after Jules and Vincent kill Brett, another man bursts out of the bathroom and fires at them. Every shot misses and they shoot him dead. Jules says that their survival was a miracle, which Vincent disputes, believing the man was just a lousy shot. While driving away with another one of Brett's friends, Marvin (who
30024-485: The increasing crime wave. At first, the Vory v Zakone played a key role in arbitrating the gang wars that erupted in the 1990s. By the mid-1990s it was believed that "Don" Semion Mogilevich had become the "boss of all bosses" of most Russian Mafia syndicates in the world, described by the British government as "one of the most dangerous men in the world". More recently, criminals with stronger ties to big business and
30240-431: The increasing number of actors switching back and forth between expensive studio films and low-budget independent or indie-style projects, suggested that the "watershed moment for movie stars" came with the decision by Willis – one of Hollywood's highest-paid performers – to appear in Pulp Fiction . In 2024, on the film's 30th anniversary, the magazine wrote that the film "revived the career of John Travolta, minted
30456-569: The international trade in drugs or prostitutes may not be considered a "gang". There are several organized crime groups in Italy . Notably, the Sicilian Mafia , or Cosa Nostra is a criminal syndicate that emerged in the mid-nineteenth century in Sicily, Italy . It is a loose association of criminal groups that share common organizational structure and code of conduct . The origins lie in
30672-734: The land was to become private property of the peasants. Other similarly large and powerful Italian criminal organizations, often composed of smaller gangs or "clans" generally operating under a shared criminal subculture or code, include the Camorra in Naples and Campania and the Ndrangheta in Calabria . Organized crime has existed in Russia since the days of Imperial Russia in the form of banditry and thievery. Joseph Stalin , who emerged as
30888-487: The large release campaigns. Another class of Hollywood feature film included art films, specialty films, and other niche-market fare controlled by the conglomerates' indie subsidiaries. Budgets on these indie films averaged $ 40 million per release in the early 2000s, with $ 10 million to $ 15 million spent on marketing (MPA, 2006:12). The final class of film consisted of genre and specialty films whose release campaigns were administered by independent producer-distributors with only
31104-778: The largest film festival in the world. Other large events include the Toronto International Film Festival , Hong Kong International Film Festival , and the Panafrican Film and TV Festival of Ouagadougou . The European Union , specifically through the European Cinema and VOD Initiative (ECVI), has established programs that attempt to adapt the film industry to an increasing digital demand for film on video on demand services, outside of theatrical screenings. With this program, VOD offerings are paired with traditional movie screenings. There
31320-427: The leading figures in American silent cinema ( Mary Pickford , Charles Chaplin , Douglas Fairbanks , and D. W. Griffith ) formed United Artists. Each held a 20% stake, with the remaining 20% held by lawyer William Gibbs McAdoo . The idea for the venture originated with Fairbanks, Chaplin, Pickford, and cowboy star William S. Hart a year earlier as they were traveling around the U.S. selling Liberty bonds to help
31536-566: The loudness of the gunshots. Angela Jones portrays Esmarelda Villalobos, a cab driver who aids Butch's escape. Her casting and character were inspired by her performance in the 1991 short film Curdled , later remade as a 1996 feature film with finance from Tarantino and again starring Jones. Duane Whitaker , Peter Greene and Stephen Hibbert play Maynard, Zed and the gimp. According to The Daily Beast , these "three psycho hillbillies " that rape Marsellus in Maynard's shop's basement allude to
31752-484: The mainstream movies in the genre deal with Triad societies portrayed as quasi-benign organizations. The movie gangster applies the Taoist principles of balance and honor to his conduct. The plots are often similar to those of Hollywood gangster movies, often ending with the fall of the subject of the movie at the hands of another gangster, but such a fall is far less important than a fall from honor. The first movie made by
31968-473: The members of New Hollywood led each of them, in turn, to make more and more extravagant demands, both on the studio and eventually on the audience. While most members of the New Hollywood generation were, or started out as, independent filmmakers, a number of their projects were produced and released by major studios. The New Hollywood generation soon became firmly entrenched in a revived incarnation of
32184-538: The mid- Edo period : tekiya , those who primarily peddled illicit, stolen or shoddy goods; and bakuto , those who were involved in or participated in gambling. In the late 1860s, many Chinese emigrated to the United States, escaping from insecurity and economic hardship at home, at first working on the west coast and later moving east. The new immigrants formed Chinese Benevolent Associations. In some cases these evolved into Tongs , or criminal organizations primarily involved in gambling. Members of Triads who migrated to
32400-416: The mid-20th century, known for their graphic violence and punchy dialogue. Tarantino wrote Pulp Fiction in 1992 and 1993, incorporating scenes that Avary originally wrote for True Romance (1993). Its plot occurs out of chronological order . The film is also self-referential from its opening moments, beginning with a title card that gives two dictionary definitions of "pulp". Considerable screen time
32616-706: The most notorious being the Rizhsky market where prostitution rings were run next to the Rizhsky Railway Station in Moscow. As the Soviet Union headed for collapse many former government workers turned to crime, while others moved overseas. Former KGB agents and veterans of the Afghan and First and Second Chechen Wars , now unemployed but with experience that could prove useful in crime, joined
32832-485: The most profitable segments of the South Korean film industry. Films made in the 1960s were often influenced by Japanese yakuza films, dealing with internal conflict between members of a gang or external conflict with other gangs. The gangsters' code of conduct and loyalty are important elements. Starting in the 1970s, strict censorship caused decline in the number and quality of gangster movies, and none were made in
33048-520: The most successful in UK publishing history, a top-ten bestseller. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes , 92% of 183 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 9.3/10. The website's consensus reads: "Injecting its compendium of crime tales with the patois of everyday conversation, Pulp Fiction is a cinematic shot of adrenaline that cements writer-director Quentin Tarantino as an audacious purveyor of killer kino." On Metacritic ,
33264-480: The movie itself. It became the first movie that Miramax Films completely financed. Helping hold costs down was the plan Bender executed to pay all the main actors the same amount per week, regardless of their industry status. The New York Times reported, "Most of the actors received relatively small salaries along with a percentage of the profits." The biggest star to sign on to the project was Bruce Willis . Though he had recently appeared in several big-budget flops, he
33480-437: The noir vision virtually around the world". Pulp Fiction ' s effect on film form was still reverberating in 2007, when David Denby of The New Yorker credited it with initiating the ongoing cycle of disordered cinematic narratives. According to Variety , the trajectory of Pulp Fiction from Cannes launch to commercial smash "forever altered the game" of so-called independent cinema . It "cemented Miramax's place as
33696-536: The old studios from financial ruin by providing them with a new formula for success. Indeed, it was during this period that the very definition of an independent film became blurred. Though Midnight Cowboy was financed by United Artists, the company was certainly a studio. Likewise, Zoetrope was another "independent studio" which worked within the system to make a space for independent directors who needed funding. George Lucas would leave Zoetrope in 1971 to create his own independent studio, Lucasfilm , which would produce
33912-412: The operational arms. They engage in a variety of crimes including extortion, money laundering, smuggling, trafficking and prostitution. Yakuza are members of traditional organized crime syndicates in Japan. They are notorious for their strict codes of conduct and very organized nature. As of 2009 they had an estimated 80,900 members. Most modern yakuza derive from two classifications which emerged in
34128-570: The options in which movies can be independently produced/released. Gangster This is an accepted version of this page A gangster is a criminal who is a member of a gang . Most gangs are considered to be part of organized crime . Gangsters are also called mobsters , a term derived from mob and the suffix -ster . Gangs provide a level of organization and resources that support much larger and more complex criminal transactions than an individual criminal could achieve. Gangsters have been active for many years in countries around
34344-585: The other by Salvatore Maranzano . This caused the Castellammarese War , which led to Masseria's murder in 1931. Maranzano then divided New York City into five families . Maranzano, the first leader of the American Mafia, established the code of conduct for the organization, set up the "family" divisions and structure, and established procedures for resolving disputes. In an unprecedented move, Maranzano set himself up as boss of all bosses and required all families to pay tribute to him. This new role
34560-439: The part of the audience of those forms such as the gangster films or Westerns, horror films or adventure films. And that the parody or alteration of that film creates a new form, a different experience for the audience. In a widely covered speech on May 31, 1995, Senate Majority Leader and Republican presidential candidate Bob Dole attacked the American entertainment industry for peddling "nightmares of depravity". Pulp Fiction
34776-506: The picture was a critical and commercial success. In January 1993, the Pulp Fiction script was complete. Tarantino and his producer, Lawrence Bender , brought the script to Jersey Films . Before even seeing Reservoir Dogs , Jersey had attempted to sign Tarantino for his next project. Ultimately a development deal worth around $ 1 million had been struck: The deal gave A Band Apart , Bender and Tarantino's newly formed production company, initial financing and office facilities; Jersey got
34992-628: The picture was better than what the studio believed — he eventually went bankrupt because of this. In retrospect, it can be seen that Steven Spielberg 's Jaws (1975) and George Lucas 's Star Wars (1977) marked the beginning of the end for the New Hollywood. With their unprecedented box-office successes, these movies jump-started Hollywood's blockbuster mentality, giving studios a new paradigm as to how to make money in this changing commercial landscape. The focus on high-concept premises, with greater concentration on tie-in merchandise (such as toys), spin-offs into other media (such as soundtracks), and
35208-431: The potential of independent film could be. At the time, the main focus of the event was to present a series of retrospective films and filmmaker panel discussions; however it also included a small program of new independent films. The jury of the 1978 festival was headed by Gary Allison , and included Verna Fields , Linwood Gale Dunn , Katherine Ross , Charles E. Sellier Jr. , Mark Rydell , and Anthea Sylbert . In 1981,
35424-471: The predominant critical reaction than to Pulp Fiction itself. While not panning the film, Stanley Kauffmann of The New Republic felt that "the way that [it] has been so widely ravened up and drooled over verges on the disgusting. Pulp Fiction nourishes, abets, cultural slumming." Responding to comparisons between Tarantino's film and the work of French New Wave director Jean-Luc Godard , especially his first, most famous feature, Jonathan Rosenbaum of
35640-485: The principal aim of which was to bring in the youth market which the major studios had lost touch with. By promising sex , wanton violence , drug use , and nudity , these films hoped to draw audiences to independent theaters by offering to show them what the major studios could not. Horror and science fiction films experienced a period of tremendous growth during this time. As these tiny producers, theaters, and distributors continued to attempt to undercut one another,
35856-453: The process. He plans to flee with his girlfriend, Fabienne, but discovers she has forgotten to pack an heirloom : a gold watch which belonged to Butch's father. Returning to his apartment to retrieve it, he notices a gun on the kitchen counter and hears the toilet flush. When Vincent exits the bathroom, Butch shoots him dead and departs. When Marsellus spots Butch stopped at a traffic light, Butch rams his car into him. Marsellus chases him into
36072-638: The production code, this rating system posed a threat to independent films in that it would affect the number of tickets they could sell and cut into the grindhouse theaters' share of the youth market. This change would further widen the divide between commercial and non-commercial films. However, having a film audience-classified is strictly voluntary for independents and there is no legal impediment to releasing movies on an unrated basis. However, unrated movies face obstacles in marketing because media outlets, such as TV channels, newspapers and websites, often place their own restrictions on movies that do not come with
36288-434: The production side of the business. After hearing about Biograph's success in Hollywood, in 1913 many such would-be movie-makers headed west to avoid the fees imposed by Edison. Soon they were the heads of a new kind of enterprise: the movie studio . By establishing a new system of production, distribution, and exhibition which was independent of The Edison Trust in New York, these studios opened up new horizons for cinema in
36504-598: The production, distribution, and exhibition of films. In 1942, the SIMPP filed an antitrust suit against Paramount's United Detroit Theatres. The complaint accused Paramount of conspiracy to control first-run and subsequent-run theaters in Detroit. It was the first antitrust suit brought by producers against exhibitors alleging monopoly and restraint of trade. In 1948, the United States Supreme Court Paramount Decision ordered
36720-547: The prolonged period of instability in the Balkans after the collapse of Yugoslavia. This coincided with large scale migration throughout Europe and to the United States and Canada. Although based in Albania, the gangs often handle international transactions such as trafficking in economic migrants, drugs and other contraband, and weapons. Other criminal organizations that emerged in the Balkans around this time are popularly called
36936-432: The rediscovery of how pleasurable a movie can be. I'm not sure I've ever encountered a filmmaker who combined discipline and control with sheer wild-ass joy the way that Tarantino does." "There's a special kick that comes from watching something this thrillingly alive", wrote Peter Travers of Rolling Stone . " Pulp Fiction is indisputably great." The Los Angeles Times was one of the few major news outlets to publish
37152-455: The reigning indie superpower", writes Biskind. " Pulp became the Star Wars of independents, exploding expectations for what an indie film could do at the box office." The film's large financial return on its small budget transform[ed] the industry's attitude toward the lowly indies ... spawning a flock of me-too classics divisions ... [S]mart studio executives suddenly woke up to
37368-443: The restaurant and demand Marsellus's briefcase. Pumpkin initially holds Jules at gunpoint, but Jules soon overpowers Pumpkin and holds him at gunpoint. Honey Bunny becomes hysterical and points her gun at Jules. Vincent returns with his gun aimed at her, but Jules defuses the situation. He recites the biblical passage, expresses ambivalence about his life of crime, and allows the robbers to take his cash and leave. Jules and Vincent leave
37584-466: The same people who were members of United Artists—founded the Society of Independent Motion Picture Producers . Later members included William Cagney , Sol Lesser , and Hal Roach . The Society aimed to preserve the rights of independent producers in an industry overwhelmingly controlled by the studio system. SIMPP fought to end monopolistic practices by the five major Hollywood studios which controlled
37800-559: The same time that the maverick film students of the American New Wave were developing the skills they would use to take over Hollywood, many of their peers had begun to develop their style of filmmaking in a different direction. Influenced by foreign and art house directors such as Ingmar Bergman and Federico Fellini , exploitation shockers (i.e. Joseph P. Mawra , Michael Findlay , and Henri Pachard ) and avant-garde cinema, ( Kenneth Anger , Maya Deren and Bruce Conner )
38016-561: The same year that United Artists, bought out by MGM after the financial failure of Michael Cimino 's Heaven's Gate (1980), ceased to exist as a venue for independent filmmakers, Sterling Van Wagenen left the film festival to help found the Sundance Institute with Robert Redford. In 1985, the now well-established Sundance Institute, headed by Sterling Van Wagenen, took over management of the US Film Festival, which
38232-430: The samurai epics, and are closer to Westerns than to Hollywood gangster movies. The hero is typically torn between compassion for the oppressed and his sense of duty to the gang. The plots are generally highly stylized, starting with the protagonist being released from prison and ending in a gory sword fight in which he dies an honorable death. Although some Hong Kong gangster movies are simply vehicles for violent action,
38448-408: The script and the company picked it up. Michael Shamberg , the executive producer, reflected on the bidding process, saying, "Only Harvey [Weinstein] placed a bid. Harvey believed he was engaged in a bidding war, but he wasn't. Even now, whenever I see Bob Shaye , he expresses regret for turning down Pulp Fiction. Quentin initially wanted to collaborate with Mike Medavoy , given Medavoy's history with
38664-483: The scripts were based on studio pitches and subsequently paid for by the studios, the production financing was from the studio, and the marketing and distribution of the films were designed and controlled by the studio's advertising agency. Though Coppola made considerable efforts to resist the influence of the studios, opting to finance his risky 1979 film Apocalypse Now himself rather than compromise with skeptical studio executives, he, and filmmakers like him, had saved
38880-407: The story of Ramón Antonio Brizuela, a real-life individual, who since childhood has to deal with rampant violence and the drugs, sex and petty thievery of a Caracas slum. Starting with delinquency, Ramón moves on to serious gang activity and robberies. He grows into a tough, self-confident young man who is hardened to violence. His views change when his fiancée's brother is killed in a robbery. The film
39096-501: The story." Tarantino explains that the idea "was basically to take like the oldest chestnuts that you've ever seen when it comes to crime stories – the oldest stories in the book ... You know, 'Vincent Vega and Marsellus Wallace's Wife' – the oldest story about ... the guy's gotta go out with the big man's wife and don't touch her. You know, you've seen the story a zillion times." "I'm using old forms of storytelling and then purposely having them run awry", he says. "Part of
39312-404: The structural form is "an episodic narrative with circular events adding a beginning and end and allowing references to elements of each separate episode to be made throughout the narrative". Other analysts describe the structure as a "circular narrative". A pair of thieves, Pumpkin and Honey Bunny, reminisce on their past robbery attempts as they eat breakfast in a diner. Pumpkin proposes they rob
39528-409: The studio system, which financed the development, production and distribution of their films. Very few of these filmmakers ever independently financed or independently released a film of their own, or ever worked on an independently financed production during the height of the generation's influence. Seemingly independent films such as Taxi Driver , The Last Picture Show and others were studio films:
39744-411: The studios. Meanwhile, in 1951, lawyers-turned-producers Arthur Krim and Robert Benjamin had made a deal with the remaining stockholders of United Artists which would allow them to make an attempt to revive the company and, if the attempt was successful, buy it after five years. The attempt was a success, and in 1955 United Artists became the first "studio" without an actual studio. UA leased space at
39960-408: The switch from film to digital cameras, inexpensive non-linear editing and the move to distribution via the internet have led to more people being able to make and exhibit movies of their own, including young people and individuals from marginalized communities. These people may have little to no formal technical or academic training, but instead are autodidactic filmmakers, using online sources to learn
40176-407: The time the company got underway in 1920–1921, feature films were becoming more expensive and more polished, and running times had settled at around ninety minutes (or eight reels). It was believed that no one, no matter how popular, could produce and star in five quality feature films a year. By 1924, Griffith had dropped out and the company was facing a crisis: either bring in others to help support
40392-636: The top Warhol superstars , who had already become symbols of the militantly anti-Hollywood climate of NYC's independent film community. Within a month, another young Corman trainee, Francis Ford Coppola , made his debut in Spain at the Donostia-San Sebastian International Film Festival with The Rain People (1969), a film he had produced through his own company, American Zoetrope . Though The Rain People
40608-437: The top 20. Popular engagement with the film, such as speculation about the contents of the precious briefcase, "indicates the kind of cult status that Pulp Fiction achieved almost immediately." As MovieMaker puts it, "The movie was nothing less than a national cultural phenomenon." Abroad, as well: in Britain, where it opened a week after its U.S. release, not only was the film a big hit, but in book form its screenplay became
40824-427: The trick is to take these movie characters, these genre characters and these genre situations and actually apply them to some of real life's rules and see how they unravel." In at least one case, boxer Butch Coolidge, Tarantino had in mind a specific character from a classic Hollywood crime story: "I wanted him to be basically like Ralph Meeker as Mike Hammer in Aldrich 's Kiss Me Deadly [1955]. I wanted him to be
41040-476: The trust and came to be described as "independent". At the time of the formation of the MPPC, Thomas Edison owned most of the major patents relating to motion pictures, including that for raw film . The MPPC vigorously enforced its patents, constantly bringing suits and receiving injunctions against independent filmmakers. Because of this, a number of filmmakers responded by building their own cameras and moving their operations to Hollywood, California , where
41256-404: The ultimate honor for Pulp Fiction . Like all great films, it criticizes other movies. Ken Dancyger writes that its "imitative and innovative style" – like that of its predecessor, Reservoir Dogs – represents a new phenomenon, the movie whose style is created from the context of movie life rather than real life. The consequence is twofold – the presumption of deep knowledge on
41472-413: The upheaval of Sicily's transition out of feudalism in 1812 and its later annexation by mainland Italy in 1860. Under feudalism, the nobility owned most of the land and enforced law and order through their private armies. After 1812, the feudal barons steadily sold off or rented their lands to private citizens. Primogeniture was abolished, land could no longer be seized to settle debts, and one fifth of
41688-444: The use of sequels (which had been made more respectable by Coppola's The Godfather Part II ), all showed the studios how to make money in the new environment. On realizing how much money could potentially be made in films, major corporations started buying up the remaining Hollywood studios, saving them from the oblivion which befell RKO in the 50s. Eventually, even RKO was revived, the corporate mentality these companies brought to
41904-436: The violent intensity of Pulp Fiction calls to mind other violent watershed films that were considered classics in their time and still are. Hitchcock 's Psycho [1960], Arthur Penn 's Bonnie and Clyde [1967], and Stanley Kubrick 's A Clockwork Orange [1971]. Each film shook up a tired, bloated movie industry and used a world of lively lowlifes to reflect how dull other movies had become. And that, I predict, will be
42120-457: The weekend. Against its budget of $ 8.5 million and about $ 10 million in marketing costs, Pulp Fiction grossed $ 107.93 million at the U.S. box office, making it the first Miramax film to surpass $ 100 million in the United States and Canada. Worldwide, it took in nearly $ 213 million. In terms of domestic grosses, it was the tenth biggest film of 1994, even though it played on substantially fewer screens than any other film in
42336-413: The world. Gangsters are the subject of many novels, films, television series, and video games. In modern usage, the term " gang " is generally used for a criminal organization and the term "gangster" invariably describes a criminal. Much has been written on the subject of gangs, although there is no clear consensus about what constitutes a gang or what situations lead to gang formation and evolution. There
42552-401: Was " Poverty Row ", a catch-all term used to encompass any other smaller studio that managed to fight their way up into the increasingly exclusive movie business. While the small studios that made up Poverty Row could be characterized as existing "independently" of any major studio, they utilized the same kind of vertically and horizontally integrated systems of business as the larger players in
42768-636: Was "when American movies grew up (or at least starred underdressed actresses); when directors did what they wanted (or at least were transformed into brands); when creativity ruled (or at least ran gloriously amok, albeit often on the studio's dime)." During the 1970s, shifts in thematic depictions of sexuality and violence occurred in American cinema, prominently featuring heightened depictions of realistic sex and violence. Directors who wished to reach mainstream audiences of Old Hollywood quickly learned to stylize these themes to make their films appealing and attractive rather than repulsive or obscene. However, at
42984-437: Was a blockbuster hit in Venezuela. City of God ( Portuguese : Cidade de Deus ) is a 2002 Brazilian crime drama film directed by Fernando Meirelles and co-directed by Kátia Lund , released in its home country in 2002 and worldwide in 2003. All the characters existed in reality, and the story is based on real events. It depicts the growth of organized crime in the Cidade de Deus suburb of Rio de Janeiro , between
43200-522: Was a plan in part to take over the independent film industry and at the same time start "independent" studios of their own. The following are all "indie" studios owned by conglomerate Hollywood: By the early 2000s, Hollywood was producing three different classes of films: 1) big-budget blockbusters , 2) art films , specialty films and niche-market films produced by the conglomerate-owned "indies" and 3) genre and specialty films coming from true indie studios and producers. The third category comprised over half
43416-400: Was actually a plant from Marsellus's organization), Vincent accidentally shoots him in the head after Jules drives over an unidentified inconsistency in the roadbed, covering Vincent, Jules, and the car interior in blood. They hide the car at the home of Jules's old friend and former business partner Jimmie, who demands they deal with the problem before his wife Bonnie comes home. Marsellus sends
43632-413: Was experiencing financial difficulties. Gary Beer and Sterling Van Wagenen spearheaded production of the inaugural Sundance Film Festival which included Program Director Tony Safford and Administrative Director Jenny Walz Selby. In 1991, the festival was officially renamed the Sundance Film Festival, after Redford's famous role as The Sundance Kid . Through this festival the Independent Cinema movement
43848-482: Was filming Reservoir Dogs at a lab in Sundance Institute . He recalls, "we ended up meeting and spending time together, and I liked him, so I was really happy when he asked me to be in this movie." Burr Steers appears as Roger, a friend of Brett's nicknamed " Flock of Seagulls " by Jules. The scene of the confrontation between Brett and Jules went through several takes due to Steers making mistakes. Steers recalled in an interview that he had found acting difficult due to
44064-418: Was forbidden. During World War II some prisoners made a deal with the government to join the armed forces in return for a reduced sentence, but upon their return to prison they were attacked and killed by inmates who remained loyal to the rules of the thieves. In 1988, the Soviet Union legalized private enterprise but did not provide regulations to ensure the security of market economy. Crude markets emerged,
44280-645: Was largely overlooked by American audiences, Zoetrope would become a powerful force in New Hollywood. Through Zoetrope, Coppola formed a distribution agreement with studio giant Warner Bros., which he would exploit to achieve wide releases for his films without making himself subject to their control. These three films provided the major Hollywood studios with both an example to follow and a new crop of talent to draw from. Zoetrope co-founder George Lucas made his feature film debut with THX 1138 (1971), also released by Zoetrope through their deal with Warner Bros., announcing himself as another major talent of New Hollywood. By
44496-510: Was launched. Such notable figures as Kevin Smith , Robert Rodriguez , Quentin Tarantino , David O. Russell , Paul Thomas Anderson , Steven Soderbergh , James Wan , Hal Hartley , Joel and Ethan Coen and Jim Jarmusch garnered resounding critical acclaim and unprecedented box office sales. The significance of the Sundance Film Festival is documented in the work of Professor Emanuel Levy Cinema of Outsiders: The Rise of American Independent Film, (NYU Press, 1999; 2001). In 2005, about 15% of
44712-410: Was named Best Director by all seven of those organizations as well as by the New York Film Critics Circle and Chicago Film Critics Association . The screenplay won several prizes, with various awarding bodies ascribing credit differently. At the 52nd Golden Globe Awards , Tarantino, named as sole recipient of the Best Screenplay honor, failed to mention Avary in his acceptance speech. In February 1995,
44928-416: Was one of these notorious gangsters during the Depression era for the Chicago Outfit . Capone would rise to control a major portion of illicit activity such as gambling, prostitution, and bootlegging in Chicago during the early 20th century. In New York City, by the end of the 1920s, two factions of organized crime had emerged to fight for control of the criminal underworld, one led by Joe Masseria and
45144-538: Was provisionally titled " Black Mask ", after the seminal hardboiled crime fiction magazine . Tarantino's script was produced as Reservoir Dogs , his directorial debut; Avary created the basis for the "Gold Watch" storyline of Pulp Fiction . With work on Reservoir Dogs completed, Tarantino returned to the notion of a trilogy film: "I got the idea of doing something that novelists get a chance to do but filmmakers don't: telling three separate stories, having characters float in and out with different weights depending on
45360-421: Was received negatively, and Maranzano was murdered within six months on the orders of Charles "Lucky" Luciano . Luciano was a former Masseria underling who had switched sides to Maranzano and orchestrated the killing of Masseria. As an alternative to the previous despotic Mafia practice of naming a single Mafia boss as capo di tutti capi , or "boss of all bosses," Luciano created The Commission in 1931, where
45576-408: Was reinvigorated. The film's development, marketing, distribution, and profitability had a sweeping effect on independent cinema. Pulp Fiction is widely regarded as Tarantino's magnum opus , with particular praise for its screenwriting. The self-reflexivity, unconventional structure, and extensive homage and pastiche have led critics to describe it as a touchstone of postmodern film . It
45792-407: Was resistant to back a film featuring a heroin user; there were also indications that the studio simply saw the project as too low-budget for its desired star-driven image. Avary—who was about to start shooting his own directorial debut, Killing Zoe —has said that TriStar's objections were comprehensive, encompassing the script's fundamental structure. He characterizes the studio's position: " 'This
46008-408: Was responsible for one of the first completely independent films of New Hollywood. Easy Rider debuted at Cannes and garnered the "First Film Award" ( French : Prix de la premiere oeuvre ) after which it received two Oscar nominations, one for best original screenplay and one for Corman-alum Jack Nicholson 's breakthrough performance in the supporting role of George Hanson, an alcoholic lawyer for
46224-403: Was simply reading for the role, not auditioning, and his subsequent return resulted in an outstanding performance. Harvey Keitel played a crucial role in getting Reservoir Dogs made and introduced Bruce Willis to Tarantino. Bender and Tarantino went to see him at his house in Malibu, where they learned that he could recite practically the entire movie of Reservoir Dogs, a movie he loved. After
46440-419: Was soon associated with his charges concerning gratuitous violence. Dole had not mentioned the film, instead citing two less-celebrated movies based on Tarantino screenplays, Oliver Stone 's Natural Born Killers and Tony Scott 's True Romance . In September 1996, Dole did accuse Pulp Fiction – which he had not seen at the time – of promoting "the romance of heroin". Paula Rabinowitz expresses
46656-527: Was still a major overseas draw. On the strength of his name, Miramax Films garnered $ 11 million for the film's worldwide rights, virtually ensuring its profitability. Danny DeVito , one of the film's producers, recalls that Weinstein suggested casting Daniel Day-Lewis , who had just won an Academy Award for My Left Foot . DeVito responded by stating that Tarantino wanted John Travolta and reminded Weinstein that he had final cut and cast approval. He reflects, "I think he [Weinstein] called me every name in
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