As a die-hard movie buff and self-proclaimed Tarantinophile, I can’t help but marvel at the sheer audacity of Quentin Tarantino‘s masterpiece, Pulp Fiction. Thirty years on, it still stands as one of the most captivating and unconventional films in cinematic history.
The groundbreaking film “Pulp Fiction,” directed by Quentin Tarantino, was brimming with unsettling sequences. These included the unintentional killing of Marvin (Phil LaMarr) by Jules (Samuel L. Jackson) and Vincent (John Travolta), Mia Wallace’s (Uma Thurman) drug overdose, and Captain Koons (Christopher Walken) revealing a secret about Butch (Bruce Willis)’s father’s watch. However, no scene in “Pulp Fiction” is more shocking than the one involving the gimp character. Portrayed by comedian Stephen Hibbert, the character is simply referred to as ‘Gimp.’ He has no dialogue in the movie. Interestingly, Tarantino was concerned that censors might compel him to delete this scene. As a surprise move, he included an even more distressing moment, which he initially did not plan to preserve in the final edit.
Discussing the 30th anniversary of “Pulp Fiction,” Phil LaMarr shared with Variety his short stint on the iconic crime film and revealed Quentin Tarantino’s clever strategy to deceive the rating authorities. In the final edit, Marvin is unintentionally shot by Vincent in the back of the car, causing blood to spatter on the windshield as the scene cuts outside. However, Tarantino originally conceived a much more gruesome finale for Marvin, a version that was exclusively produced to influence the rating board’s decisions. LaMarr elaborated:
“The other choice was that they built a bust of me that was rigged to shoot tons of brain and blood onto the back window, though Quentin never planned for that to be in the final cut.”
Tarantino was concerned that censors might require him to remove the ‘Gimp’ sequence featuring Butch and Marsellus Wallace (played by Ving Rhames). To counter this, he crafted a scene intended to enrage the rating boards, thereby diverting their attention from a disturbing scene further into the film. LaMarr added:
He stated, “‘We’re planning to broadcast a shocking scene of a young African-American boy being fatally shot for higher ratings. They can edit out certain parts, but they’d have to keep in the scene with the character ‘Gimp.’ If my brains hadn’t been destroyed, they would have had to cut that part.’
Marvin’s Death Was Original Going to Be Even More Brutal
Initially, Quentin Tarantino intended to mislead the rating boards with a more gruesome portrayal of Marvin’s demise, as revealed by Phil LaMarr. Originally, it was planned for Marvin to suffer a more agonizing, yet still accidental, fate. In an unused sequence, Marvin is unintentionally shot in the neck instead of the head by Vincent. Upon attempting to save him, Jules and Vincent ultimately choose to end his suffering humanely. However, this revised scene raised John Travolta’s apprehensions regarding audience response to his character, as explained by LaMarr.
Initially, Marvin was intended to be hit twice: first in the throat, followed by a decision to end his suffering, and then Vincent kills the boy. However, John felt that intentionally killing him would make the audience dislike him. As a result, they altered the scene to only include an accidental shot instead.
30 years after its debut, Quentin Tarantino’s “Pulp Fiction” remains one of his most recognizable movies, serving as a key representation of ’90s cinema. Although “Reservoir Dogs” was successful for Tarantino, “Pulp Fiction” solidified his box office potential and granted him creative freedom for the rest of his career, enabling Tarantino to establish his unique cinematic legacy.
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2024-10-16 17:31