Pulp Fiction French New Wave Influences?

[Victor Diaz Zapanta]

I will be doing an 8-15 paper on Pulp Fiction for a class. I plan on
examining two films which inspired Tarantino's style in the film, both of
which need to be Non-U.S. films. Can any of you recommend two films which
will complement Tarantino's films in a way that would create a cohesive 8-15
page paper? I am thinking of sticking to French New Wave Cinema films, but
I am open to all suggestions. Thanks.

[Alex Ward]

As far as the New Wave goes, Jean Pierre Melville is a close influence. Bob
le Flambeur falls slightly before the historical boundary lines of the new
wave movement, but it's worth a look. Breathless might be worth a look
also. The tricky thing about the new wave is that the "new wave style" is a
pastiche of other styles -- american noir, italian realism, etc. Truffaut's
"Shoot the Piano Player" is a nice one (the milk splattered window
anticipates jules's blood splattered window), but again, it's pretty
derivative of American noir, so you might be better off skipping the
middleman and heading right into The Big Heat country.

I think you'd have an easier time linking Pulp to the New Wave not in terms
of visual style, but with regard to the deconstruction of genre conventions,
self-reflexivity etc. etc.

"Victor Diaz Zapanta" <vdza...@REMOVETHISTOEMAILucdavis.edu> wrote in
message news:b466jk$ssf$1...@woodrow.ucdavis.edu...

[Alex Ward]

Oh, how could I forget the line "Dont Jimmy me, Jules"? Truffaut would be
honored.

[Asiteapart]

Well, QT was influenced by Jean Pierre Melville's French crime films that were
kinda like the precursor to the whole French New Wave movement. Stuff like Le
Samourai, Le Doulos, Bob La Flambeur. All excellent crime films.

Godards films such as: Breathless, A Bande Apart ( Band Of Outsiders), Les
Caribiners, Contempt, etc influenced his style heavily. Godards visual style
and characters was directly influential on QT cool characters.

Truffaut films like : Jules Et Jim (a reference taken for Jules and Jimmy in
Pulp), The 400 Blows, Shoot The Piano Player..

I'd also look into the films by Eric Rohmer, Claude Chabrol and Gabin.

Check out some Japanese films like: Yojimbo, Branded To Kill, Tokyo Drifter,
The Streetfighter, The Bodyguard.

John Woo Hong Kong crime films: Hard Boiled, The Killer, A Better Tomorrow 1
and 2.

Hope I helped out a little.

cheers,
pete