'Pulp Fiction' turns 25

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L-R Tarantino, Roth — ABC/Steve Iervolino(LOS ANGELES) — Monday marks the 25th anniversary of the Quentin Tarantino movie Pulp Fiction, arguably one of the most imitated and quoted movies of the last 50 years.

The 1994 film — which featured intersecting storylines involving a pair of hitmen, a gangster’s wife, a boxer and other assorted characters — breathed new life into John Travolta’s career, inspired a new generation of filmmakers, and, like Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs before it, led to a legion of cinematic imitators.

Travolta, as hitman Vincent Vega, famously dances in the film with Uma Thurman, who plays Mia Wallace, a mobster’s wife, who later takes a needle of adrenaline to the heart to reverse an overdose.  Samuel L. Jackson plays Jules Winnfield, Vega’s Bible-quoting hitman partner.  Both Vega and Winnfield work for Ving Rhames’ crime boss Marsellus Wallace, while Bruce Willis plays fighter Butch Coolidge, who runs afoul of the gangster.

Their co-stars included Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Amanda Plummer and Christopher Walken.

Reportedly made for $8 million, Pulp Fiction grossed more than $107.9 million domestically and $213.9 million worldwide.  It was nominated for seven Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director for Tarantino. Travolta, Jackson, and Thurman were also nominated for their performances.  The film won a Best Original Screenplay Oscar for Tarantino and co-writer Roger Avary.

The Pulp Fiction soundtrack was a hit, to boot, thanks in part to Dick Dale & His Del-Tones’ rendition of “Misirlou,” which played during the opening credits of the movie, along with Kool and the Gang’s “Jungle Boogie.”

Pulp Fiction in 2010 was named one of TIME‘s 100 Best Movies of All Time, and in 2013 was selected for preservation by the National Film Registry in 2013.

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