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, backed by Quentin Tarantino's script and direction, and it reshaped what independent cinema could look like in the mainstream. Its nonlinear structure, dialogue-driven scenes, and ensemble cast turned a crime picture into a cultural event, winning the Palme d'Or and an Academy Award for its screenplay. The film's soundtrack, needle drops, and diner conversations became instantly quotable, and it revived careers while launching a new era of stylized American filmmaking that studios and audiences alike would spend the rest of the decade imitating.
This cell preserves the title card itself, the frame where the film announces its name before any character or scene appears. Title cards are foundational pieces for collectors because they mark the exact threshold between anticipation and story, the moment a projector or screen declares what audience members are about to witness. For a film as instantly recognizable as Pulp Fiction, this particular frame carries the weight of introduction, the first visual handshake between picture and viewer, making it a natural centerpiece for anyone assembling a record of the film's theatrical presentation.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm theatrical release print of Pulp Fiction (1994).
Gauge
35mm, four perforations per frame on both edges; the strip holds three frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges; spacing appears even and the punched edges appear clean throughout the strip.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible running along the bottom edge of the picture area, appearing as a single-track white line formation.
Edge print
Bottom edge reads (mirrored): 'KV 48 2335 J0823' followed by a copyright symbol; top edge reads (mirrored): 'V A A E R T S' consistent with a Kodak edge-code sequence.
Base & colour
Base appears clear with a slight warm cast; the dye image reads as strong yellow-orange title lettering on a deep black field with no visible fading.
Projection history
Two or three fine longitudinal lines are visible across the lower portion of the strip, consistent with projection wear.
Picture
Positive image; all three frames show the same title card, indicating a title-sequence hold frame or repeated title frame, consistent with Pulp Fiction (1994) title typography.
Era check
The single variable-area optical track, Kodak edge coding, and clear safety base are all consistent with a 1990s theatrical release print of a film from 1994.
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 000063004
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
