OK, this is off the wall, but it's something that's been gnawing at me recently....

How many days are covered in Pulp Fiction?

I wonder because the DirecTV synopsis says characters "....meet their fates over the course of two days"

Is that correct?

I count AT LEAST 3 days:

day 1 - apartment hit, marvin death and disposal, the diner robbery
day 2 - butch's fight, escape to motel
day 3 - butch retrieves watch, vincent's death, marcelus' rape, zed's dead (baby), and butch's departure from LA (the last chronological event of the movie)

Now, there are other elements:

a. vincent and mia's date/mia's overdose - we know this did not occur on day 2 or 3. it had to be day 1, or a 4th day (day 1a, perhaps) in between days 1 and 2 (we know it can't be day 2 because vincent and mia are at the arena and mia thanks vincent for dinner), and it can't be day 3

b. drug purchase at Lance's house - I always assumed this was the same day as the date with mia. But do we know this? It had to be either on some day before mia's overdose, or earlier the same day of the overdose. Could it be a 5th day, say, between days 1 and 1a? I assume it was the day of the overdose because vincent is shown driving, persumably high from the shoot-up, and then the next scene is vincent arriving at mia's house.

So, despite the synopsis, I come up with at least 3, quite possibly 4, maybe even 5 days days over which the events of Pulp Fiction take place. What do y'all come up with?

Also, do we know the days of the depicted events are consecutive? How do we know?

Note - I am not saying I know the answers. I don't, and am legitimately asking. perhaps all of this is addressed in the movie and I just can't remember - haven't seen it in awhile.

What do y'all think?












[This message has been edited by Captain Pablo (edited 7/11/2012 8:22p).]

Ask this guy.

I dont think it matters how many days. We know that Samuel L's realization of divine intervention occurs then Marsellus Wallace leaves town thus Vincent Vega is able to take Mia out. Wallace returns for the fight, Mia says hi to Vincent as he walks into Butch's room after the fight to see Wallace torturing Butch's trainer.

IIRC Vincent tells Jules that Wallace will be gone a few days...so I think it lends to a longer span. But I pose the question, does it really change any interpretation of the film if its 3 days or 30? We know that "scene X" occurs before "scene Y" but after "scene Z".

Day 1 - Jules and Vincent go into the apartment.
The shootout happens.
Winston Wolf comes to the rescue
They get back to the bar
Big Man and Palooka have their talk (Ving Rhames and Bruce Willis)
Vincent takes Mia for dinner
Fight happens that night.
Bruce escapes. Meets the annoying GF at a hotel spend the night.

Day 2:
Bruce Willis learns about the watch.
Kills Vincent
Leaves apartment
Meets Butch and Zed at the pawn shop
Butch saves Marcellus
Escapes Pawn shop, picks up annoying GF and flees LA on Zed's Harley.

Chowdah,

I think that's the only way it COULD happen, but the problem with that is after mia's overdose, the two part ways and Vincent goes home for the night, leaving mia at home by herself (marcellus is out of town that night). However, we see Vincent and Mia, with Marcellus, and fully recovered, in the locker room immediately after the fight. And she said to vincent "I never thanked you for dinner". No way the dinner, overdose, and trip to Lance's all occured the same night of, and before, Butch's fight.



[This message has been edited by Captain Pablo (edited 7/11/2012 8:59p).]

quote:

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IIRC Vincent tells Jules that Wallace will be gone a few days...so I think it lends to a longer span

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I think this is more plausible. There could have been several days between the marvin incident and the fight, as well as between the mia overdose and the fight..

Pablos, Good point!

Didn't someone post an intricate timeline graphic the other day?

If they did, I apologize. I did not see it. I do not read this board very often.

Was it a sequence of events? Did it determine the amount of time over which the events occured?

I'm about to blow your mind --

Butch is the one that keyed Vince's car. (After the "you ain't my friend, punchy scene)

Ha! Could be, shark!!

On the other hand, how do we know that? remember, they had to take a cab from Monster Joe's to the coffee shop because their car (Vincent's Nova?) was buried with Marvin. I assume they had to do the same to go from the diner to the bar. But how do we know otherwise?

[This message has been edited by Captain Pablo (edited 7/11/2012 9:46p).]

nothing to add, but THIS is a good thread.

kudos.

Duncan,

Very cool timeline. However, I think it does make some assumptions that simply are not covered in the movie. For example, we do not know when the car was keyed. The fact Lance asks him if he is still driving the (Malibu?) suggests the two have not spoken in awhile. The lengthy sales pitch and price haggling also suggests this. Had they been in close, recent contact, Lance would know what car Vincent drives, and Vincent would know Lance's selection and price structure. The key incident could have taken place a long time ago, between the present and the last time they talked.

Also, there is nothing in the movie that indicates the "ponchy" incident and the drug deal occurred on the same day. As BillonCapitalHill suggested, Marcellus went out of town. These could have occured over several days...

[This message has been edited by Captain Pablo (edited 7/11/2012 10:06p).]

quote:

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I'm about to blow your mind --

Butch is the one that keyed Vince's car. (After the "you ain't my friend, punchy scene)

---

I always thought Vincent and Jules were driving around Vincents car, it gets taken to the scrap yard with Marvin to be crushed. Thus Vincent makes up the lie that someone "keyed my car thats why I have this POS."

I dont buy that Butch keyed the Vincent's car because in that scene Vincent and Jules are getting back from the Marvin problem and they took a cab (to the restaurant, then to Wallace), b/c Winston Wolf wouldnt give them a ride. They give the breifcase to Wallace after Vincent has his "you aint my friend, pal" with Butch.

So, you have to assume Vincent's car was sitting at Wallace's bar the entire time and Butch correctly keys the dude in the Community College T-shirt's car.

Vincent crashes his car into the drug dealers house when Mia ODs

quote:

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I'm about to blow your mind --

Butch is the one that keyed Vince's car. (After the "you ain't my friend, punchy scene)

---

Interesting and plausible. I don’t think there’s evidence in the movie for it, but it’s plausible. It would have been before Butch had his wake-up call to live life with honor. So it’s… what’s the word I’m looking for… oh yeah… plausible.

quote:

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Vincent crashes his car into the drug dealers house when Mia ODs

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ah yes. But when does Vincent talk about his car having a scratch? Wasn't it with his drug dealer before the date? So after the date later that day he is driving his car?

quote:

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The fact Lance asks him if he is still driving the (Malibu?) suggests the two have not spoken in awhile. The lengthy sales pitch and price haggling also suggests this. Had they been in close, recent contact, Lance would know what car Vincent drives, and Vincent would know Lance's selection and price structure.

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The movie tells us he's been out of the country for a while.

Also, Lance's wife ("the one with all that s*** in her face") says it is "_ o'clock in the morning" when Vincent calls him on the way to his house with OD'ed Mia. Vincent and Mia did not meet in the locker room after that.

It is a minimum of 3 days.

Day 1 - Brett, Marvin, Wolf,Jimmy, Honeybunny, Punchy, Date Night

Day 2 - Fight Night, Esmerelda, Mia/Vincent/Trainer

Day 3 - Blueberry pancakes, poptarts, Vincent, Zed

is there anything that prohibits fight night and date night from being the same?

^^ Marsellus, Mia, and Vincent are all at the fight. Mia tells Vincent she never thanked him for dinner.

Also, Vincent tells Jules and Bartender that he is taking the big man's wife out, that night.

Marcellus tells Butch, "On the night of the fight, you may feel a slight sting". He does not say "tonight at the fight".

As mentioned, Mia OD's after dinner, at her place, after they arrive with the trophy. Vincent takes Mia to Lance's at "1:30 in the GD morning".

After she recovers, he takes her back to her place. No way she cleans up, he goes home to have a heart attack, and they meet up with Marcellus at the fight afterward.

I watched this again last night just because of this thread. Just wanted to say thanks.

One of my favorite movies of all time.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/noahsmith/pulp-fiction-infographic-poster

The guy who created the timeline for Pulp Fiction, is making a poster.

Love this thread.

However, the biggest question is, what was in the briefcase?

A Golden Mold of the penus Madonna sung about in Like a Virgin

Easy. Marsellus Wallace's soul.

Action Comics No. 1

quote:

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Butch: You lookin at something, friend?
Vincent: You ain't my friend, Palooka.
Butch: What's that?
Vincent: I think you heard me just fine, Punchy.

---

The order of the movie, in chronological order.

*Prelude to "Vincent Vega and Marsellus Wallace's Wife" - Day 1, talking about royal with cheese, on the way to the apt.
*The Bonnie Situation - Still day 1, Brett, bathroom man and marvin killed, they go to QT's house, wolf comes over, drop off car, then off to breakfast.
*Prologue—The Diner - still day 1, at breakfast
*Epilogue—The Diner - overlaps with prologue, different point of view. they catch cab to drop off suitcase
*Vincent Vega and Marsellus Wallace's Wife - Starts with day 1, they show up with briefcase in tshirts/shorts. that is end of day 1. Day two is Vincent going to get drugs before picking up Mia. it spills over into day 3 since it's early AM.
*Prelude to "The Gold Watch" flashback.
*The Gold Watch - The boxing match is presumably going to be day 3, but it could be day 4 as well: regardless, it has to be after vincent/mias date because of her thanking him for dinner, which is day 2. Because she OD'd and it was a late night, and at the fight, marsellus is back and vincent and mia are refreshed looking, it's safe to say a whole day went by. But, to keep at a minimum possible situation, going with day 3, that makes day 4 butch and fabienne waking up in the hotel room, and butch going back to get his watch, killing vincent, (vincent out to get butch, since he works for marsellus and butch screwed over marsellus), and finally butch saving marsellus after the rape to cancel out his wrongdoing. He goes back to get fabienne, takes off on zed's chopper, and that's the end of the timeline.

So it's at least 4 days:
day 1 royal with cheese, brett/marvin dead, bonnie situation, diner robbery, then bar scene to return the briefcase.
day 2 mia and vincents date, into the night to day 3
day 3 presumably the boxing match
day 4 butches watch shenanigans, vincent out to get butch because he works for marsellus, gets killed by butch.
Likely 5 days, with a full uneventful day between the OD and the fight. Vincent did crash a car into dealers house, but is it the same car he's referring to that got keyed? who knows.


on butch keying vincent's car: interesting note.. a version of the script exists:
From the screenplay (http://pulpfiction.no.sapo.pt/Vincent%20Vega%20and%20Marcellus%20Wallace.htm)


10. INT. CAR (MOVING) - DAY 10.

Vincent Vega looks really cool behind the wheel of a 1964
cherry-red Chevy Malibu convertible. From the car radio,
ROCKABILLY MUSIC PLAYS. The b.g. is a COLORFUL PROCESS SHOT.

11. EXT. SALLY LeROY'S - DAY 11.

Sally LeRoy's is a large topless bat by LAX that Marsellus
owns.

Vincent's classic Malibu WHIPS into the near empty parking lot
and parks next to a white Honda Civic.

Vince knocks on the door. The front entrance is unlocked,
revealing the Dapper Dan fellow on the inside: ENGLISH DAVE.
Dave isn't really English, he's a young black man from Baldwin
Park, who has run a few clubs for Marsellus, including Sally
LeRoy's.

ENGLISH DAVE
Vincent Vega, our man in Amsterdam,
git your ass on in here.

Vincent, carrying the black briefcase from the scene between
Vincent and Jules, steps inside. English Dave SLAMS the door
in our faces.


This scene was apparently cut, and both jules and vincent go to the bar instead, taking a cab, because the car jules was driving was totaled out with marvin. And the guy at door says VV, our man in amsterdam, JW, our man from engelwood.

At drug dealers house, vincent says 'car was keyed the other day', but if it was butch it would have been the day before.. seems VV would have said, 'someone keyed my car last night.'

According to IMDB:
In real life, Vincent Vega's 1964 Chevelle Malibu convertible belongs to Quentin Tarantino and was stolen during the production of the film.

[This message has been edited by 62strat (edited 7/14/2012 4:10p).]

Were Marvin and co eating leftover Kahuna burger or was it is after 1030?