National Film RegistryLibrary of Congress · Inducted 2013
“By turns utterly derivative and audaciously original, Quentin Tarantino's mordantly wicked Möbius strip of a movie influenced a generation of filmmakers and stands as a milestone in the evolution of independent cinema in the United States, making it one of the few films on the National Film Registry as notable for its lasting impact on the film industry as its considerable artistic merits.”
Independent Spirit Awards — 3 wins, 4 nominationsLos Angeles Film Critics Association — 3 winsNational Board of Review — 3 winsBritish Academy Film Awards — 2 wins, 8 nominationsAll 23 wins · 45 nominations on record
Independent Spirit Awards: Best Director
Independent Spirit Awards: Best Male Lead
Independent Spirit Awards: Best Screenplay
Los Angeles Film Critics Association: Best Actor
Los Angeles Film Critics Association: Best Director
Los Angeles Film Critics Association: Best Film
National Board of Review: Best Director
National Board of Review: National Board of Review: Top Ten Films
National Board of Review: Best Film
British Academy Film Awards: Best Actor in a Supporting Role
British Academy Film Awards: Best Original Screenplay
Academy Awards: Best Writing, Original Screenplay
Golden Globe Awards: Best Screenplay
David di Donatello: Best Foreign Actor
Cannes Film Festival: Palme d'Or
New York Film Critics Circle: Best Director
National Society of Film Critics Award: Best Screenplay
National Society of Film Critics Award: Best Director
National Society of Film Critics Award: Best Film
MTV Movie Award: Best Dance Sequence
MTV Movie Award: Best Movie
Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award: Best Film
London Film Critics Circle Award: Actor of the Year
Scholarship
Named in the title of 25 peer-reviewed works
Examples
Sources: Wikidata · Library of Congress · OpenAlex. The record of the motion picture, not an assessment of this cell.
FILM NOTES
Pulp Fiction arrived in 1994 through Miramax, riding the wave of independent cinema's crossover into mainstream success. Quentin Tarantino's nonlinear crime saga, with its razor dialogue and pop culture-soaked soundtrack, reshaped what a studio picture could look like on release and helped define nineties American film. It took the Palme d'Or at Cannes and went on to earn multiple Academy Award nominations, cementing its place as a touchstone of the decade and a permanent fixture in conversations about modern screenwriting and structure.
This cell carries the name Vincent Vega, the hitman played by John Travolta whose loyalty, boredom, and dry wit anchor much of the film's midsection. Vega is one of the two central figures collectors seek out first, since his scenes carry the bulk of the film's tonal shifts between menace and comedy. A 35mm cell bearing his name preserves a fragment tied directly to that character rather than to any single scripted exchange, making it a straightforward piece of the film's identity for anyone assembling a collection built around its cast.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm Dolby Digital release print of Pulp Fiction (1994).
Gauge
35mm, confirmed by four perforations per frame visible on both edges; the strip holds three frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges; spacing appears even and the punched edges appear clean with no torn or missing perforations visible.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible running along one edge beside the picture area, consistent with a mono or stereo optical print; a dense chequered pattern below it is consistent with a Dolby Digital data block strip between the perforations.
Edge print
Upper edge reads, mirrored: 'A G E V A E R I T'; lower edge reads: 'KA 16' and a frame-counter symbol; 'SAFETY' designation not fully legible in this capture.
Base & colour
Base appears warm-amber, typical of processed colour print stock; the dye image shows warm, saturated colour with no obvious fading or red shift visible.
Projection history
Light vertical lines consistent with projection wear are visible across the frame area; no splices or cue marks seen.
Picture
Positive colour image; all three frames appear to be consecutive frames from a single shot, consistent with a release print of Pulp Fiction (1994).
Era check
The combination of Dolby Digital data blocks between perforations and a variable-area optical track alongside is consistent with a mid-1990s theatrical release print, matching the 1994 release date on record.
Read from the original intake capture shown below. Observations only — film is authenticated, not graded.
This original motion picture film element has been examined and authenticated by Crown Grading in partnership with National Film Vault, and encapsulated for archival preservation.
Why so little survivesRelease prints were leased to theaters, not sold. When the run ended they went back to the distributor to be destroyed, and most were. What collectors hold today came from the prints that escaped that order, and no new 35mm prints of these films are being struck.
CROWN SERIAL 000062989
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
