MovieChat Forums > Rio das Mortes (1971) Discussion > Connections to Pulp Fiction...?

Connections to Pulp Fiction...?

posted 15 years ago by wolf_patrick
3 replies | jump to latest

Watching "Rio das mortes", I coulnd't help but finding what to me seemed to be some possible similarities between "Rio das mortes" and "Pulp Fiction".
Michael and Günther for example could be archetypes for Vincent Vega and Jules Winnfield. Check the parallels in race (a black and a white dude), haircut (one short afro, one long hair) and social status (losertypes).
Also, the dancing scene between Hanna and Fassbinder reminded me of the dancing scene in "Pulp Fiction". Here I must add, that a connection between "Rio das mortes" and "A bande apart" by Godard, where Tarantino did obviously get some influence from, is likely, since Fassbinder was a huge fan of Godards, too. So it might just have been some Godard in both Fassbinders and Tarantinos work.

But still, did anyone else make the connection? And has Tarantino ever mentioned his opinion about Fassbinder?

[–] lachrymologist 10 years ago

Tarantino's production company is Band Apart as well (watch the beginning of most or any Tarantino movies to see this), as an obvious homage to Godard, so the connection is blatant. Your connection here seems a bit tenuous however.

[–] sidmsdw 10 years ago

Would be highly interested to know QT's opinion of Fassbinder, though.

[–] starrynight05 9 years ago

It's possible that Tarantino was influenced by Fassbinder, as he clearly was by Godard (at least in all the superficial ways), but I think it's more likely that Fassbinder and Taratino both were influenced by Godard. "Rio das mortes" isn't the first time we've seen Fassbinder emulate Godard. He did it in much less subtle ways in his previous film, "The Niklashausen Journey", which bordered on being a blatant ripoff, and you can even see it to some extent in his debut feature, "Love Is Colder Than Death" (which, if I remember correctly, Fassbinder actually dedicated to a few of the nouvelle vague guys, although not Godard). In any case, to me, Godard's influence on Fassbinder is beyond debate. As for Tarantino, I honestly couldn't care less. Godard and Fassbinder were artists. Tarantino is a stylist.