A watershed film and one of the most hotly debated movies of the past decade, Tarantino's magnum opus was simply begging for a Special Edition DVD release, and the long wait has finally come to an end. To the disappointment of many, no audio commentary track has been produced for this release, as Tarantino appears to have indicated that he is sick and tired of further discussing this picture. His only majore appearances in the extras section are limited to previously released archival and promotional footage. But apart from QT's refusal to contibute a yack track, it could have been a great addition to hear some other voices while watching the picture. Pulp Fiction was immediately embraced by the academic community, and a well-versed film scholar could have offered some interesting new angles for exploring a well-known film.

In an attempt to make up for the absence of any commentary, a Trivia Track has been included running alongside the movie as an optional subtitle feature. Little tidbits of information continue to appear throughout the film, some of which are simply general cast bios, others pertain to scenes that were changed or deleted. Another curious extra on the first disc is an alternative scene selection screen, offering direct access to all the songs used in the movie's soundtrack. These are however not presented on an isolated audio track.

Disc two holds the real meat of the extras, starting off with the 30-minute documentary 'Pulp Facts', a curious but fairly informative and fast-paced overview of the production, made up of cleverly edited interview snippets culled mostly fnrom EPK material with a few recent interviews thrown in for good measure. It's not as comprehensive or as in-depth as one might imagine it to be, but its tone is right and it at least makes a good selection out of the wealth of promotional material produced for this heavily publicized release. The deleted and extended scenes section runs close to 25 minutes and will be familiar to those who have seen the LaserDisc release, the 'Special Edition' VHS tape or the Canadian DVD. Tarantino offers up a quick introduction of the scenes, plus specific ones for the first four. The fifth missing scene is an extended cut of the discussion between Mia and Vincent at Jack Rabbit Slim's, and this one goes without an introduction from the director (it also wasn't included in any previous release). None of the famous scenes and shots fans know from the published screenplay and other sources are to be found here, so in that sense, this section is a little disappointing, but it's still a nicely presented and solidly entertaining presentation.

Two behind-the-scenes featurettes are made up of raw B-roll footage, showing Tarantino directing two separate scenes on-set. They have a combined running time of a little over 10 minutes and are fun to watch once. More interesting is the production design featurette, in which the film's production designer and set decorator discuss in detail how the sets were designed and built. It includes lay-out sketche and great behind-the-scenes footage of the soundstages where many of the scenes were shot.

The longest, most in-depth item on the second disc comes in the form of the full Charlie Rose interview with Tarantino, originally recorded and broadcast around the time of the film's release. Rose is an excellent interviewer, and though much of the director's background is common knowledge by now, the long interview still yields quite a few solid points of interest, and makes for a valuable addition. A few other items on board delve further into the recognition and media attention the film received upon its release. Siskel & Ebert at the Movies: The Tarantino Generation is a full 15-minute episode in which the two popular film critics make the case for the controversial film and its director. Further celebration of the film and its makers can be found in the Cannes Film Festival Acceptance Speech footage (in which Tarantino gives an upset French lady booing him the appropriate response) and close to 15 minutes of interview with cast and director from the Independen Spirit Awards.

Next up would be a collection of theatrical trailers for several countries (which are pretty much identical), and 14 TV spots. A large Still Gallery is also included, with sections on "Pulp Fiction Posters," "Behind the Scenes," "Special Photo Shoot," "Production Stills," "Academy Award Campaign and Trade Ads," "Location Scouting and Set Construction," "Production Design and Logos," and "Props and Memorabilia." Finally there's a collection of eight reviews and 12 articles about the film. So while this may be missing the definitive documentary and the eagerly awaited commentary track, this two-disc set still has enough goodies to keep any true PF-addict occupied for the better part of a long weekend.

Dan Hassler-Forest

Reviewed: September 2, 2002
updates: June 27, 2004

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