Breakfast with Tarantino

There are two things which Quentin Tarantino loves in his films: violence and talking. And boy does he love a lot of it. Whether it’s Kill Bill’s Bride taking on the army of Japanese warriors known as the ‘Crazy 88’, or the suited and booted Reservoir Dogs chatting over a pre-heist breakfast, Tarantino loves to pile on violence and talking in large quantities. A prime example, and possibly the best example, comes in the now famous Breakfast Scene in his 1995 film Pulp Fiction, the cult gangster hit largely renowned as Tarantino’s finest moment. The Breakfast Scene packs more sass than Samuel L Jackson’s afro, and makes for a thrilling master class of how to make films. Sit back, relax, and tuck into your Big Kahuna Burger, while I tell you why this is the greatest scene of all time.

At first glance, the scene isn’t much. Those with a short attention span might point out that the scene is about 10 minutes talking followed by roughly 10 seconds of violence. What is more, the majority of the conversation isn’t even about violence, but instead about Hamburgers and foot-massages. Those of you looking for instant Tarantino blood-guarantee might be somewhat disappointed. Disappointment, however, is no something which Tarantino allows. Homaging the Sonny Chiba 1974 martial arts flikc Karate Kiba, while interweaving some of his own loquacious dialogue, 

Tarantino delivers one of the most powerful, amusing, and utterly terrifying scenes in the history of cinema.

The two principal characters in the scene, Jules (played by Samuel L Jackson) and Vincent (played by a very quiet John Travolta), are almost unknown to us when we begin the scene. Driving to an unnamed direction, all we are given is a very basic idea of their profession – hitmen – and the power relationship between the two. Jules clearly takes a leading role in this relationship, while Vincent is more than happy to let him steal the scene with some of the cleverest dialogue in the film. A somewhat inane conversation about the term for the ‘Quarter Pounder with Cheese’ is a throwaway gag, which is brought up again later. The rest of the build acts to mount our expectations on what the particular mission at hand is: implications about the ‘badass-ness’ of Jules and Vincent’s boss, Marcellus Wallace, are made, about how he killed a man for giving his wife a foot massage. When we get to the apartment, we are almost in the edge of our seats in expectation about what is going to happen: will they burst throw the door, guns blazing, shouting profanities and shooting everything that moves?

No. They knock on the door, and casually waltz in. Clearly not in a rush, and not in any visible discomfort, Jules politely allows an unnamed man to stay reclined on the sofa, fervently apologising for interrupting them duri

ng breakfast. Samuel L Jackson stands centre stage, in the middle of the room, oozing confidence and menace in equal measure. Dropping the name ‘Marcellus Wallace’ sets an icy chill in the room, but they clearly know why these men are here. Sarcastically remarking that hamburgers are ‘the cornerstone for any nutritious breakfast’ seems absurd in this scenario: Tarantino plays with our expectations of tense drama by making small talk about burgers for breakfast. A visibly terrified Bret, the victim of this intimidation, shakes in his seat while a more than threatening Jules wolfs down his burger and finishes his drink. And like that, Tarantino tells us that playtime is over and business is beginning.

‘’What? What?’, stutters the dumbstruck Bret. ‘’WHAT AIN’T NO COUNTRY I EVER HEARD OF. THEY SPEAK ENGLISH IN WHAT?’’, booms the now terrifying Jules. The juxtaposition of side splitting dialogue and Jackson’s bloodthirsty hitman is almost ridiculous: we can’t help but feel both terrified and amused at the same time. Bret’s measly attempt at an apology is interrupted by the unflinching execution of his sofa-bound friend by Jules’ revolver. The genius of the scene is yet to come: despite retrieving the entirely irrelevant briefcase, Jules hasn’t got what he’s come for. And neither have we. We paid the admission price for a Tarantino film, and by god we want blood.

‘’The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men’’.

Samuel L Jackson preaches the bible like a gun-toting God wearing a suit, hurling out these words of righteousness at the poor, helpless Bret. 

‘’Blessed is he, who, in the name of charity and good will shepherds the weak through the valley of darkness, for he is truly his brother’s keeper and the finder of lost children.’’

 At this point, the rest of the room is still, and Samuel L Jackson’s fury-filled face fills the whole screen. His eyes glisten white with the anger of a hundred men.

‘’And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who attempt to poison and destroy my brothers.’’

Jules’ gun now points straight down the lens of the camera, onto the fear stricken victim of this abuse. Tarantino has delivered to us the perfect scene, mixing laugh out loud comedy with straight forward terror, and all he needs do now is sign off with his signature move.

‘’AND YOU WILL KNOW THAT I AM THE LORD, WHEN I LAY MY VENGEANCE UPON YOU.’’

Bang, bang, bang. And the rest is history. Jules and Vincent deliver a perfect lesson about why you don’t mess around with gangsters, money, and the ruthless Marcellus Wallace. And Tarantino delivers an lesson in how to make an impeccable scene: the film is great, don’t get me wrong, but Quentin gave us his finest stroke in this unforgettable scene. And to paraphrase Inglorious Basterds’ Brad Pitt, this might just be his masterpiece.  

Quick Top 5: Other Best Tarantino Talky/Action Scenes

5. The Jew Hunter Arrives (Inglourious Basterds)

Not only the opening scene of the film, but also the beginning of a beautiful relationship between Tarantino and Christoph Waltz, here showing off the extent of his acting chops and linguistic talent, as a conversation about milk quickly sours as his search for a hidden Jewish family results in much gun fire.

4. Wedding Rehearsal (Kill Bill Volume 2)

A 'touching' reunion of Bill and The Bride in full Black and White flashback, when we finally find out how a heartbroken man orders and executes the 'Twin Pines Wedding Massacre'.

3. Candie Land (Django Unchained)

The revenge epic comes to a climax out this more than tense dinner at the mansion of the evil Calvin Candie, superbly played by DiCaprio, and takes a turn for the worse when Django's cover is blown and the surrounding room are shot to pieces.

2. La Louisiane (Inglourious Basterds)

Whisky, accents, and a fun little card game occupy perhaps Tarantino's longest scene: an undercover meet up is blown when Fassbender's drink order gives up the game, and pretty much everyone is killed.

1. Crazy 88 (Kill Bill Volume 1)

The first of Tarantino's martial arts homages ends fittingly in a full Japanese battle, in one corner the revenge thirsty Bride (played with exceptional devotion by Uma Thurman), and in the other corner, Oren Ishii and her 88-strong army of sword wielding cronies. Let battle commence.