| ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. | |
| PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids. | |
| OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. | |
| NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
Parents need to know that this film glorifies violence, drug use, and sexual themes. Gunplay, robbery, swearing, drug use, drug dealing, lying, cheating, violence, male rape, sadomasochism, and driving under the influence. A character is shot in the face and it's played for jokes. In one extremely graphic scene (one that supposedly incited seizures in some epileptic audience members), a character plunges a syringe into a woman's chest to save her from experiencing a heroin overdose. The director seems to mock product placement by featuring original brands created for the film.
PULP FICTION combines four storylines, revealing them in a non-linear fashion, using an immense all-star cast of characters connected in seemingly random ways. They include professional hit men Jules (Samuel L. Jackson) and Vince (Travolta), their powerful drug-dealing boss Marsellus Wallace (Ving Rhames), Wallace's wife, Mia (Uma Thurman), aging boxer Butch (Bruce Willis), and a host of others. Each character encounters each other throughout the film, resulting in a chain of events that changes the course of their lives.
Due mostly in part to its groundbreaking direction, cinematography, screenwriting, soundtrack, and extraordinary performances (particularly by Thurman, Travolta, and Jackson), Pulp Fiction had an immeasurable impact on both mainstream and independent filmmaking in the 90s. Despite the film's innovation and success, however, the extreme violence and sexual content featured in the film makes it wholly inappropriate for kids and all but the most mature teens.
Families can talk about the film's popularity, despite its majorly mature content. What role did sex, violence, drug use, and language play in this film's success? Did you find anything here offensive -- or does the humorous tone somehow soften the content?
| Studio: | Buena Vista |
| Director: | Quentin Tarantino |
| Cast: | Bruce Willis, John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Uma Thurman |
| Genre: | Drama |
| Run time: | 154 minutes |
| Theatrical release date: | October 14, 1994 |
| DVD release date: | May 19, 1998 |
| MPAA rating: | R |
| MPAA explanation: | strong graphic violence and drug use, pervasive strong language and some sexuality. |