Why is Pulp Fiction's opening scene different to the one near the end?
In the opening scene of Pulp Fiction at the restaurant, right before the titles, Honeybunny says:
Any of you fucking pricks move, I will execute every motherfucking last one of you!
But when the movie again reaches this scene at end of the movie (with Jules and Vincent in the restaurant) we hear Honeybunny saying the same dialogue but now it is:
Any of you fucking pricks move, I will execute every one of you motherfuckers!
Why is there such a difference in two scenes? Am I missing something?
Best Answer
It clearly looks like a continuity error, but if IMDb's Pulp Fiction FAQ page is to be believed:
Why is what Yolanda says in the beginning different from what she says at the end?
Tarantino has explained that this is not an error, rather, he did this on purpose. When we first examine the scene, we are seeing Ringo and Yolanda's conversation from their perspective. Obviously, because this is their conversation, what we hear first is probably what was actually said. However, at the end of the film, what is said is different because we are no longer viewing the situation from Ringo and Yolanda's perspective, but rather everyone else in the diner, most specifically Jules.
So it is claimed that, in effect, this was done intentionally to further punctuate Pulp Fiction's disjointed, non-linear narrative with a Rashomon-inspired scene as presented from different perspectives (so it's simply remembered differently).
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Why is the line different in Pulp Fiction?
This change is attributed to the non-linear narrative of Pulp Fiction as it's a way to remind the audience, even if subtly, that each segment is told from the point of view of different characters, thus making way for unreliable narrators.Why Pulp Fiction is shot out of order?
It's because Tarantino reorganizes Pulp Fiction's narrative into the order that maximizes our emotional response to the story.Are there two versions of Pulp Fiction?
Alternate Versions (14) The Canadian DVD version of the film includes the two alternate scenes mentioned above, plus a few additional ones. A longer scene of Vincent Vega purchasing heroin at Lance (Eric Stoltz)'s house, complaining about how rude people are.Pulp Fiction - What it all Meant
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Answer 2
Yes, it was on purpose. Another example of Quentin Tarantino still keeping this alive today is in The Hateful Eight when Major Marquis Warren is telling the story of Chester Charles Smithers. His lines are very intense compared to the flashback of Joe Gage poisoning the coffee whereas his lines are much calmer and almost casual. Joe Gage's point of view vs. Major Maquis's point of view.
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