Pulp Fiction
Quentin Tarantino ’s second feature pic , Pulp Fiction , redefined indie cinema , and part of its legacy is due to one memorable scene featuring Christopher Walken . Released in 1994,Pulp Fictiontells four non - analogue , intertwining stories centered around the criminal underworld of Los Angeles . In addition to its Oscar - deliver the goods talks , Pulp Fictionis have a go at it for its iconic scenes , like the dance chronological sequence between Vincent Vega ( John Travolta ) and Mia Wallace ( Uma Thurman ) . The movie was Thurman ’s breakout part and it invigorate Travolta ’s calling .
Travolta , Thurman , Samuel L. Jackson , and Bruce Willis are all billet - perfect in their hint function , and the wiz ofPulp Fiction ’s molding extends to its supporting role player , Christopher Walken among them . Walken has one of Hollywood ’s most eclectic filmographies , and has been nominated for two Oscars , forThe Deer HunterandCatch Me If you may ) . The actor brings a distinctly gonzo panache to all his roles , with his hilarious execution inSaturday Night Live ’s " More Cowbell " sketch considered peak Walken . Nobody but Walken could have brought that level of kinky earnestness toPulp Fiction ’s Au watch monologue picture .
What Happens In The Pulp Fiction Gold Watch Monologue Scene
Walken’s Captain Koons Tells A Young Butch Coolidge A Graphic Story About His Family Heirloom
forgo the Au watch scene , packer Butch Coolidgeis rest up before a very significant compeer — one that will make or transgress his fate . The movie then cuts to a flashback , where a young Butch sentry TV before being interrupted by his mother , who narrate him that a visitor has arrive to see him . The visitant is Captain Koons , a decorated policeman who was once a POW in Vietnam along with Butch ’s father . Koons has come to give Butch his male parent ’s watch , an heirloom that has been passed on since the day of Butch ’s great - grandfather , who fought in WWI .
There is a sense of sacred duty that the veteran soldier is imparting to the immature son .
As Koons colligate the watch ’s story to 8 - year - old Butch , there is a sensory faculty of sacred obligation that the warhorse soldier is bestow to the young boy . The soliloquy cut between shots of Koons speak , the boy hear taciturnly , and a conclusion - up of the watch itself . As the soliloquy come to its stopping point , it ’s bring out that Butch ’s founder had stow the watch in his anus , then died of dysentery . Koons then hid the watch in the same manner , determined to fulfill his ally ’s dying regard to occur the watch on to his boy , Butch .
As he describes the soreness he ’s had to endure for years , Koons ostensibly blank out that he is talk to a child . Like the departure of a flashlight , Koons then finishes his tale and presents the atomic number 79 vigil to Butch , and the son ’s bridge player hit out to snatch the trinket . A trip gong ship’s bell rings in the present Clarence Shepard Day Jr. , as an grownup Butch sits up with a pant .
How Quentin Tarantino Shot The Pulp Fiction Gold Watch Scene
Tarantino Initially Planned To Shoot It In One Take
Despite a popular internet myth that the watch picture inPulp Fictionwas done in one take , Quentin Tarantino actually opted for several . Ina 1994 interviewat the Cannes Film Festival , the director partake that he wanted a specific whole step for each beat of the monologue , resulting in many different piece being brought together to make a whole . Although ab initio his intention was to do the whole scene in one take , Tarantino stated that later rethought the process :
I select from among these shots accord to the three stage of the story : the great grandad ’s , the grandpa ’s and the don ’s . And for each part there was a different intension which corresponded to the various interpretations extend by Christopher Walken . For the groovy grandfather , I chose a blithesome rendition . For the grandfather , when he ’s talking about himself on Wake Island , I made a sea - green , sort of hard tonality . For the third department , the source was more matter - of - fact and informative . I cerebrate that give a very strange calendar method of birth control to the monologue .
In aggregate , Tarantino claim that it took “ 13 or 14 takes ” with shot of actor Christopher Walken , and “ five or six ” more takes that were unaired - ups of Walken and the little son ( viaFilm Comment ) . Although the scene has the feel of a individual take because of the sinuate flow of dialogue , it took a spate of metre and effort to get thing just right .
Custom Image by Ana Nieves
Where The Pulp Fiction Prop Watch Came From
Prop Master Jonathan R. Hodges Found The Watch At An Antique Store
Because the gold vigil is the focus of the view , it was imperative to find the perfect prop to act the part . According to thePulp Fictionprop master , Jonathan R. Hodges , it was not an prosperous search . The history of the watch , and the way it was written into the book , meant that historical truth and specifics were central . In the soliloquy , Koons recite Butch that the watch was made by the first company to ever make wristwatches — which means that not just any watch would do for the film .
A Pulp Fiction theory makes a big reveal about Butch and Fabienne ’s relationship , which append more import to the atomic number 79 vigil floor . Here ’s how .
“ I make love wrist watch started becoming vernacular in probably the late teens , early ' XX and prior to that people bear pouch watches , ” Hodges distinguish the websiteHodinkeein a 2021 interview . “ So what I was expect for was a watch that had the canonic shape of a sac picket but could be used as a wrist watch . ”
Quentin Tarantino’s classic tale of violence and redemption follows the intertwining tales of three protagonists: hitman Vincent Vega, prizefighter Butch Coolidge, and Vincent’s business partner Jules Winnfield.
After a long search of passee stores , Hodges finally found the perfect timekeeper . “ The independent thing that strike me was if you look at it , yes it ’s rotund and approximately the size of it of a wristwatch , but the little piece on each side to run a band through [ wire lugworm ] are like welded on . It ’s not inexpertly done as if someone did it themselves , it ’s plainly done by the party . ” Hodges say thatBruce Willis asked for a Speidel dance orchestra to be attached to the watch , and that the monetary value of the prop in all was less than $ 50 .
Why Christopher Walken’s Gold Watch Monologue Is So Iconic
His Earnest Delivery Perfectly Suits Pulp Fiction’s Tone
The amber watch scene inPulp Fictionholds a special place of honor in lover ' affectionateness , and for a routine of reasons . Firstly , there is the fashion the tone shifts drastically from the beginning of the monologue to its end . It starts with a world speaking earnestly to a young boy about the grandness of category , tradition , and sacrifice . His words have a bun in the oven weight and message as young Butch listens , blank - faced yet venerating . Then as Koons goes on to describe how the watch was secretly transported , it charter an unexpectedly hilarious turn that the consultation did not see coming .
Young Butch Coolidge was act by Chandler Lindauer , andPulp Fictionis his only playing ctr3edit .
Another rationality that the vigil scene inPulp Fictionworks so well is partly thanks to Christopher Walken ’s fantastic carrying out . The matter - of - fact way in which he describes the father putting the watch in his anal retentive cavity , and then doing it himself , was a brilliant comedic choice . In one interview withTHR , Walken spoke about how much he enjoyed doing the picture . “ It was great . I had the speech communication for months . I must say in that case every time I drop dead through that long speech , every sentence I got to the last , it cracked me up . It stayed funny , ” Walken tell .
It almost feels like Koons is on purpose pausing for effect to emphasize the importance of his next words . In reality , Walken had forgotten the next note and needed a moment for his memory to enamour up to him .
Even more interesting , a mistake during Walken ’s oral communication was kept in the last cutting . In one close - up shot , Koons break in the center of a sentence and stare at the male child for a long while before uphold . It almost feels like Koons is purposely pausing for effect to stress the grandness of his next Christian Bible . In reality , Walken had bury the next line and needed a here and now for his memory to catch up to him . The final result is an acute moment of secretiveness that storm the spectator to moderate their breath as they wait for what come in next .
Between the cleverly write dialog and instinctive direction , Christopher Walken ’s watch monologue scene remains a staple of film history . It helped not only makePulp Fictionthe picture show that is today but also to jumpstart Quentin Tarantino ’s legendary vocation .
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Quentin Tarantino ’s Graeco-Roman tale of fury and salvation watch over the entwine taradiddle of three protagonists : hitman Vincent Vega , prizefighter Butch Coolidge , and Vincent ’s business collaborator Jules Winnfield .
