The Briefcase & The Band-Aid

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Re: The Brief Case & the Band-Aid
Posted by Pulp on 2007-07-24 00:24:39

The conspiracy theory is that Marcellus Wallace had his soul removed through a hole in his neck and it somehow ended up in the "glowing suitcase" that Vince and Jules retrieves from Brett's apartment.

Another theory is that Marcellus Wallace had a scar on his neck and the Band-Aid was simply there to cover an ugly scar. Personally I believe the first theory. After all, why would anyone care if a gangster had a scar? Aren't gangsters supposed to be scarred?

But it makes more sense to believe the diamonds from Reservoir Dogs were in the suitcase and that the scar on the back of Marcellus's head is just that... an unrelated scar. What do other people think?

Re: The Brief Case & the Band-Aid
by Vick-ee-x on 2007-08-10 04:06:16

My friend did about Tarantino in College.
It is Wallace's soul in the suitcase, because in China or somewhere, they believe you can take your soul out, and it gets removed from the back of your neck and thats why he has the plaster on.

Then you see Wallace with no plaster on and that is because he has the suitcase back with his soul in.

:)

Re: The Brief Case & the Band-Aid
by RoyaleWithCheese on 2007-08-24 05:05:16

"It's TRUE that Marcellus, or more appropriate, Ving Rhames, had a scar at the back of his head, and when Ving heard about the 'over-the-shoulders'
shot he didn't want anyone too see (Must have been a really bad scar!).
"You can find that fact on IMDb trivia section, along with many other intresting facts". "When Ringo and Yolanda are talking in the cafe at the beggining off the movie, you can actually see Vincent going too the bathroom to 'Take a Piss'."

"As for the briefcase, Tarantino announced that "It's whatever the viewer wants it to be"along with the 'miracle' it's the viewers own opinion' do you agree with Jules (Miracle) or Vincent (Luck)."

Hope I helped.
Hope I helped.

Re: The Brief Case & the Band-Aid
by emeraldeyes on 2007-09-07 13:38:17

According to wikipedia... Tarantino has stated there is no explanation for contents of the briefcase. It was originally going to contain the diamonds from Reservoir Dogs, but they decided against it. In an interview with Tarantino's fellow director and friend Robert Rodriguez, he said that the knowledge of the contents of the briefcase radically alters one's understanding of the movie.

Re: The Brief Case & the Band-Aid
by t on 2007-09-20 05:22:59

I don't usually post messages on message boards. I had to post here. I registered specifically for it. I'm sure a lot of you will have fun w/ my post and this will grow into a large thread... judging from the wise replies already posted. I was looking for a song on the Pulp Fiction soundtrack and Hedy's question caught my eye. I am a Tarantino fan and have always known what was in the briefcase. It wasn't that hard to figure out. I'm not sure if Tarantino will ever really say what should be in the briefcase according to the movie and it's trivial nature. What I can say is that the clues in the movie point to one thing and that is how I figured it out.
As for what was actually in the briefcase on the set: it was very shiny and produced a glare on Ringo's face. It also practically gave him a hard on. I think it also produced a glare on Vincent's face in the apartment earlier that morning, I can't quite remember. It was supposed to be how Marcellus cleans his gangster income (launders his dirty laundry); he most likely did this by investing in gold bricks.
I hope this clears it up and I hope I didn't blurb too much b4 giving it up. I just wanted to add a little suspense in the spirit of one of our favorite movies. I hope I didn't offend anyone by letting the secret out, if I did, feel free to rant and rave and rip me to shreds. I won't reply.. but I'll read your replies just for the fun of it and I'll enjoy all of the colorful ways you can find to tear me up.
I can't figure out the band aid thing.. sry.

Re: The Brief Case & the Band-Aid
by damnit on 2007-09-26 22:42:49

OH MY GOSH!!
You ranted and raved about it so long like you were a fucking genius for figuring out the first thought in everybody's head. The idea is that gold is too easy.
Some clarification: earlier posts are right, whats in the breifcase is whatever you want it to be. tarantino and robert pretended to clear this up on an episode of artist on artist but
On set: on set it was simply a battery pack and a yellow bulb.
Now enjoy the movie!! :D

Re: The Brief Case & the Band-Aid
by axolotl on 2007-10-02 21:54:36

One interpretation is as follows:

The symbolism is a reference to something from religion. A man's soul can be taken through the back of the neck, thus Wallace's scar. Wallace was trying to use what was in the brief case, to "buy" his soul back. Note that the combination to the briefcase was 666. In a sense you could say that the briefcase represented Wallace's salvation. Also note that Jules, who carries the brief case, has a tendency to "preach" (to his future victims:)

Re: The Brief Case & the Band-Aid
by big-kahoona-burger on 2007-10-23 05:06:52

i have to agree wid the other guy and one tarriontino i no i spelt it rong but hoo gives a fuck as i was saying one hes not that dumb to put gold in it and if it was gold bricks then no one could pick it up i no it was sad i no that but fuck u o and that soul crap what the fuck

Re: The Brief Case & the Band-Aid
by calijen on 2007-11-18 03:19:56

Actually, Ving Rhames has a scar on his neck and didn't want it to be seen. The make-up could not cover up so the band-aide was a quick fix.

Re: The Brief Case & the Band-Aid
by muzzer on 2007-11-26 13:19:39

It wasnt a scar on the back of his head, it was a spot, and tarantino hated it because all the scenes with his back turned didnt look to pretty
I think it was just a last minuit thing tarantino said before shooting rarther than the whole prosess of makeup etc

as for the breifcase i cant remember the name for it but it uses it in other films than resevour dogs and Pulp Fiction but they deliberatly dont tell/show us because it leaves suspence

Re: The Brief Case & the Band-Aid
by marv0723 on 2007-12-11 02:43:46

The Case: The Holy Grail

The Band Aid: A common Negro Scar. Black skin scars more predominantly than white skin. Band aid is a cosmetic solution and provoking bit of trivia.

Re: The Brief Case & the Band-Aid
by colossus106 on 2007-12-11 06:29:33

Hey Bad mother fuckers, i have the pulp fiction double disk dvd and within reveals all. The suitcase however is not revealed for an item in any film that only moves the story along but hasnt any real significance to the story is what as known as a McGuffin. However the plaster on the back of Marcellus Wallace's head is revealed, the actor playing Marcellus has a scar on the back of his head and make-up decided to put a plaster on, its that simple. Pulp Fiction is the telling of stories that is improbable to happen, having someone's soul removed from the neck is impossible. However a good theory, but highly unlikely.

Re: The Brief Case & the Band-Aid
by Cindy on 2007-12-15 06:48:03

I think there is drugs,money, and maybe some diamonds in the breifcase, and I think marsellus band aid thing is that maybe half of his neck got like removed in a bad gangsta fight so probably if he took off the band aid like thered be blood all over the place.

Re: The Brief Case & the Band-Aid
by samnabag on 2007-12-18 14:51:48

Ok ok. I have to be the one that breaks the conspiracy theories on this. The actor that played Marcellus Wallace has a scar on the back of his neck so he put a bandaid on top since he was a bit self-conscious about it. If you go back to the scene where he talks to Buch about going down in the 5th you can see the actually bump of the scar within the bandaid.
What ever is in the suitcase has to be of gold/yellow color since you see a yellow/gold light when it is opened. Therefor, it must be gold bars in the case.

IF there were diamonds in the suitcase it wouldnt glow yellow! In fact, it wouldn't glow at all. Only gold bars would make that glow.

Re: The Brief Case & the Band-Aid
by C_riss07 on 2008-01-09 14:23:52

fuck the breaf case... does anyone know what types of guns used vincent and jules?

Re: The Brief Case & the Band-Aid
by mikhail123 on 2008-02-06 07:51:43

Okay... now to be quite honest... anybody asking a question like this... must not call him self a Tarantino fan (I'm not saying you call yourself a big fan)...
well the truth is (i believe) that Mr. Tarantino used the briefcase as a MacGuffin.. which is a cinematic device used to motivate the plot...
in other words its put there to make ladies and gentlemen (like yourself).. post threads like this!

Re: The Brief Case & the Band-Aid
by Moe on 2008-02-09 10:16:12

I have read all your comments on this, most of you had it right but were not sure although you have all the clues in the movie to support it and make it clear and be sure for ever with no doubt, it's Marcellus's soul, that's why he had the patch on his nick and these patches are used when you have a cut not when you have a scar !!! when Vincent opened the bag he used the combination 666 which refers to the devile as he takes souls so Bret and his friends were associates for the devil, now...when Jules & Vincent got the bag with the soul, a guy comes out shooting at them but he hits nothing ! there's even a bullet in the wall right behind jules which means it went through him but nothing happened !!! it was devine intervention as they were the sould guardians now and god interfeard :)))) I'm from Dubai in the middle east, never even been to the US and I could figure it out, shame on you :P you gotta love Tarantino to really understand his style !

Re: The Brief Case & the Band-Aid
by firechief10 on 2008-02-10 20:14:09

Gold bars

Re: Pulp Fiction: The Brief Case & the Band-Aid
by Debi on 2008-02-25 09:18:04

It is supposed to be left up to your imagination. For fuck's sake. You nut jobs with you ideas on souls and shit. Give me a break.

Re: Pulp Fiction: The Brief Case & the Band-Aid
by mongoose678 on 2008-03-19 15:59:40

what the hell?
its also in the movie 'lord of the rings'
its frodo's weed!

Re: Pulp Fiction: The Brief Case & the Band-Aid
by rancidjunkie on 2008-04-02 12:22:44

These theories, could be true.. but Quentin doesn't want us to know, it would ruin the fun of letting our imaginations run wild.

The one about Marsellus's soul is the most popular, and of course the Diamonds from Reservoir Dogs, as well as the bricks theory, which I don't really believe.

There's also one about it being Elvis's gold suit.

All these are possibilities that we'll never know. I wonder if Quentin will take that to his grave?

Re: Pulp Fiction: The Brief Case & the Band-Aid
by xdirtyboots on 2008-04-03 14:07:02

I know the band-aid is just from when Ving Rhames was shaving his head, and he cut it on accident, and he put a band-aid on it.

You can interpret the suitcase however you want, but it's just supposed to represent the idea of "the-thing-everybody-is-after" and willing to kill/die for. It's just glowy because, whatever it is, it's "illustrous" and beautiful.

Re: Pulp Fiction: The Brief Case & the Band-Aid
by brill301 on 2008-04-20 10:17:09

I thought it was marsellus's "SOUL"

Re: Pulp Fiction: The Brief Case & the Band-Aid
Posted by agon60 on 2008-05-04 15:12:20

i was watching an interview on howard stern and somebody asked tarantino about the briefcase and he said all those rumors are false. he said that himself and avery purposely wrote it so that the viewer could decide for themselves what it was

Re: brief case
by ocdfan on 2008-05-17 20:42:52

I THINK, LIKE MOST COMMENTS, THE GOLD GLOW REPRESENTS "ALL THAT GLITTERS" SOUL IS GOOD THE COMBINATION WAS 666...BUT WHAT WERE THOSE KIDS DOING WITH IT??

Re:contents of brief case and band-aid
by mofo23 on 2008-05-19 00:53:09

Hey y'all,
I'm hung over and a shitty typist so I'll keep this short. I have a very good audio/home theatre system and my curiosity as to what is in the briefcase is that, on my system you can clearly hear the golden glow humming in time with the fluctuation of the glow, like some type of cinematic nuclear humming device. So, gold bricks don't hum and I think Tarantino is just trying to keep us guessing by not divulging the truth. Also, I have seen the back of Ving's neck in another movie, and he does have a scar, but if he is so self-conscious about the scar, why didn't he cover it up in the other movie. Bottom line, between the 666, the hum and the band-aid, and Ringo looking mesmerized while commenting on the beauty of the briefcase's contents, I think that it's Marsellus' soul and Tarantino won't admit it just to keep the whole mystery and guessing going.

Re:
by luvLayne on 2008-06-01 00:24:00

I always thought the bandaid was a sarcastic wound associated with shaving your head in general. The golden glow couldn't be gold bars, too heavy, everyone saw it in their own fantasy, through their own "gold tinted glasses"

Re:
by THEGIMP on 2008-06-01 16:56:56

IN THE BEGINING OF THE MOVIE, IT SHOWS THE DEFINITION OF PULP. IT SAYS THAT ONE OF THE DEFINITIONS OF PULP IS THAT IT IS A ROUGH PAPER OF LURID CHARACTERISTICS IN A MAGAZINE. THATS WHAT I THINK WHATS IN THE BREIFCASE.

Re: The Brief Case & the Band-Aid
by Nephilim on 2008-06-07 22:37:45

OBVIOUSLY its his damn soul, the Chinese mythology and Tarantino's creative writing should prove to be enough, and all those who said its not and "highly unlikely" are stupid boring people who don't believe in anything besides their own two eyes. But I think Tarantino is stupid for not telling us, I hate when writers say "we'll leave it up to the audience to decide", they are the ones who are the writers and should make up their damn minds! Gold bars and anything else solid is just boring and cliche, I love that he throws a bit of mythology in there, he should just come right out and say its his soul, people will go back and watch the movie and I think, appreciate it more, and Tarantino's creativity.

Re:
by boombkem on 2008-07-13 17:28:16

listen up and listen good..........

band aid? yes he has a scar in real life, not for the purposes of the film. but he as the band aid cos the DEVIL did take his motherfucking soul! ancient Chinese mythology fuckbitches, suggests that the devil takes a motherfucking soul from the back of the bitch ass neck!! but hes got a scar!?! shut the fuck up...our man quentin is an articulate intelligent mother fucking, he knows that people will say the devil and others will say scar, thats what the man wants... and you know what its what he gets!!

talk some more.....start of the film, that crazy bitch hunny bunny gives it the old "any of you fucking pricks move, and I'll execute every mother fucking last one of you" but at the end of this bad ass punk ass bitch ass film she says.."any of you fucking pricks move, and I'll execute everyone of you mother fuckers!" Mistake by the great man? what do you think numb nuts! anither wicked ploy to gets dumb bitches like you reading this shit talking...and what you doing? its 2am in your little dark room and your googling this shit!

in summary, the man quentin is a fucking genius and he knows what he doing, he is getting your crazy stupid dumbass motherfuckers talking and talking and talking and talking and talking and talking and talking. you wont forget this film, you wont forget his name, marcellus soul, motherfucker!! marcellus sooul

peace out with much love

Re:
by BadMOFo19 on 2008-07-14 20:50:20

ok so to everyone saying the light is only gold, there's a part where the light is red. so that means its obviously not gold bars in there. and everyone is awed by the suitcase, and honey bunny says "its beautiful" when he sees it. almost all religions state that the soul is the most beautiful part of a human being. so since marcellus sold his soul to the devil, it was red in the beginning. but when vince and jules were getting it back, it was gold.
also i have an explanation for the "miracle". vince and jules were unharmed by the man cannon, since they were doing the work of god, getting his soul back. and personally i think the band aid scar explanation doesnt really fly...wallace is a badass gangster, why would they care if he has a scar in real life?? i think the soul thing is more likely. far fetched and you can take it or leave it. let me know what you think.

Re: Reply
by Zachrichter on 2008-07-17 10:12:17

The briefcase will always be a mystery, but the band aid was to cover up a scar on the back of Ving Rhames neck.

Re: The Brief Case & the Band-Aid
by kingjef1 on 2008-08-24 12:16:05

Ok, heres what I personally think, at the rape scene you find out that Wallace doesn't like to kill people right away, he likes to make them suffer, so maybe the man he dropped out the window (the one who everyone thought gave Mia the footrub), was the one who took Wallace's "soul" from his neck, and Wallace wanted to make him suffer for it, and then as in the movie, Vincent and Jules have to recover his soul. But that is just my theory.

Re: The Briefcase and the Bandaid
by CBR44 on 2008-08-26 09:42:34

Although there are a few theories out there, we can only guess and keep guessing and commiting ourselves to believe that we know what's contained inside this case that is of great importance to Mr. Wallace. It's got a bright glow, the case has a strange combination, everyone who has seen the contents becomes mesmerized by it's beauty and for some reason some young men decided to risk they're saftey over whatever it is.....that's all I know about this. The theories are very interesting though, I'll give you that. Maybe QT should go the Carly Simon route and auction off the answer to this question to anyone who wants to pay top dollar to obtain it.

Re:
by kgbeat on 2008-09-01 10:30:43

In the briefcase is the Oscar.

Re: The Glow
by CBR44 on 2008-09-11 11:42:48

The theory that it may contain the soul of Marsellius is possible. What tips me off about this is when Jules and Vincent open fire on Brett the "glow" is again visable. Could that have been Brett's soul leaving his body?

Re:
by polon1um on 2008-10-12 05:19:29

This is over complicated. The briefcase contained gun and wallace was injecting direct into his nervous system

Re:
by Ritchie_Frost on 2008-11-01 15:50:49

I like the soul theory. But a couple of questions come up. Why did those frat boys have it? And how does one put the soul back in?

Re:
by Emceetricky on 2008-12-04 20:28:44

Never in the movie does marsellus stress that he even needs the briefcase. If it was that important to him there would be a scene where he described how much he wants the briefcase. This shows that whatever is in the briefcase is whatever the viewer wants it to be. And if ving rhaymes was just trying to hide a scar why would Tarantino do so many closeups of the back of his neck. The band aid is obviously something more significant.

Re:
by jimmie on 2008-12-13 13:16:30

we are talking about band aid 'cause is good looking! yes the scare but...good looking. That's the reason in quentin's brain. the briefcase...(quentin's brain)...mystery...just something to make mad us!!!

Re: The Brief Case & the Band-Aid
by soto_QT on 2009-01-05 04:56:30

One of the teories is that it is in fact the soul of Marsellus Wallace .This is one of the teories that makes the most sense(in a fictional way) because it is said that when one sells there sole to the devil the soul is extracted from the back of the head this explains the band-aid and since most things that are spiritual (saints ,halos,etc.)are thought to glow or produce light that might be why the suitcase glows.

What Soul?
by Looney on 2009-01-20 14:54:06

Nah, not his soul... a nice coincidence that works for the mystique. It's a MacGuffin, and the glowing case is a ref to the bang-up noir film "Kiss Me Deadly" from around '56 or so. Simple-simple...

Re: whats in the briefcase and a few more tid-bitz
by cwat on 2009-01-21 22:10:29

First and foremost the briefcase is a story tellers tool known as a “Mcguffin”.
Definition: McGuffin -noun
In film, a plot device that has no specific meaning or purpose other than to advance the story; any situation that motivates the action of a film either artificially or substantively; also written MacGuffin .
Etymology: Alfred Hitchcock's term, based on a story where this device was used in a story set on a Scottish train.

With that in mind it is supposed to represent "The Devil's Deal" the idea of The thing that holds the most value to the person looking at it(everyone would see something different), and willing to kill/die or sacrifice everything you are and or have to possess it. It has a golden illumination because, whatever it is you hold in such high regards must be so illustrious and beautiful that it emits an almost heavenly glow. Remember your true heart’s desire always looks so much brighter than how you view everyday wants.

The Combination being 666 (in my opinion) symbolizes the evil that we unleash (or unlock) by pushing past at any cost, what we know to be good right and true to obtain that which we hold in such high regards. If you think about it every time we inch our way over that moral line drawn in the sand it just makes it that much easier the next time. with that in mind we can never really posses our hearts desire, because as soon as we have it then we as a society look for the bigger better version, hence its unattainable but still we gave up our morals only to be left wanting more.

As for the band-aid well... Sometimes a band-aid is just a band-aid. I think people were reading more than was actually intended or thought of by QT, with his ability to make us question the underlying meaning of his films I think he would have had more center focus on the band-aid and left us with more questions, I mean come on the Ball-Gag had more center focus than it and I don’t hear any hidden meaning about that. (Nor do I want to.) But the one thing I didn’t hear mentioned was all the clocks during the movie were stopped(quirky trademark of the film) the time shown on most of them was 4:20, 2 were stopped at a different time.
Someone earlier asked what kind of guns Vincent & Jules had. The gun Vincent uses is a 1911A1 Auto Ordnance .45 ACP pistol that has been chromed and given pearl grips. Jules' gun is a Star Model B 9mm pistol that has been chromed and given pearl grips, too

Re:
by profchaos33 on 2009-02-10 01:04:40

My dick was in the briefcase ^_^

Re:
by genius66 on 2009-04-16 07:29:04

WELL BAD MUTHAFUKAS MY GENIUS THEORY IS THAT IT IS THE STOLEN WORLD CUP OF 1966 WHICH WE ENGLISH WON BECAUSE THERE ARE MANY CLUES WHICH ARE 1.THE AWE OF AMAZEMENT ON VINCENTS FACE SHOWING US IT IS NOT JUST GOLD BUT A PIECE OF HISTORY SOMETHING OF MORE THAN JUS VALUE 2.THE CASE LOCK IS 666 BUT IN THE FILM IT ONLY SHOWS YOU THE TWO 6'S HIS FINGER IS COVERING THE OTHER 1 UP 66' MEANING THE WORLD CUP YEAR 3. JULES IS CALLING TIM ROTH RINGO AS IN THE BEATLE COS HES ENGLISH THE BEATLES WERE AT THE HEIGHT OF THERE CAREAR IN 1966. AND LAST OF ALL THE REACTION OF 'RINGO' WHEN HE SEES WATS IN THE CASE SHOWS HE KNOWS JUST WAT IT IS AND SAYS 'IS THAT WAT I THINK IT IS' ''ITS BEAUTIFUL'' THINK ABOUT IT

Re: the brief case & the band aid
by simonjohn on 2009-05-08 14:59:31

Re: the brief case & the band aid
by simonjohn on 2009-05-08 15:07:23

marcellus wallace has 666 under the band aid on his neck. the reason for this is that marcellus wallace is the devil & the devil trades in souls.the item in the brief case is a soul, which as we know is being delivered to him by vincent vaga.( if only we all knew what a soul looked like!!?apart from a glowing gold colour ) except mr vaga himself who had a bad mishap with a toaster!! and is dead. this in turn is why when bruce willis ( old punchy) runs marcellus clean over and he does not die is because you cant kill the devil because he is already dead. are we all on the same page now!!!!!!!!!!!!

Re: the brief case & the band aid
by simonjohn on 2009-05-08 15:10:04

marcellus wallace has 666 under the band aid on his neck. the reason for this is that marcellus wallace is the devil & the devil trades in souls.the item in the brief case is a soul, which as we know is being delivered to him by vincent vaga.( if only we all knew what a soul looked like!!?apart from a glowing gold colour ) except mr vaga himself who had a bad mishap with a toaster!! and is dead. this in turn is why when bruce willis ( old punchy) runs marcellus clean over and he does not die is because you cant kill the devil, because he is already dead. are we all on the same page now!!!!!!!!!!!!

Re: The Brief Case & the Band-Aid THE TRUTH!!!
by moe39 on 2009-06-19 23:16:21

Ok ill tell all of the pulp fiction followers the answer. Now the reason why Wallace has a band aid on the back of his neck is because he had his soul taken away by the guy he threw out the window! Why did the guy take his soul, how do you take an other mans soul that question is for a other thread my friends, but anyways i will give you guys info on why this is! 1st when vincent opens the case, the combination is 666 devils number. Now you can say the guy that Wallace threw out the window is the spawn of the devil or something IDK. But anyways now when that guy comes out of the bath room and starts shooting at them and does not hit either of them, why you might ask, well because they are holding the briefcase which has Wallace's soul! Then they pop caps in hes chest. Also every time juilles has the case he starts preaching about god, this case makes him see the right path! So he quits his job, now vincent on the other hand witch does not quit or follows the right path dies because of it! Also in china they think you can take a mans soul threw his neck hence why its on his neck, and he even talks about it when looking for the boxer (look back at the movie when their in the room with the dead man that the boxer killed) sorry for not knowing the names. And at the end of the movie because of the brief case jullies knows what that stuff from the bible means because of the case! Now you might ask why did vincent kill bret and friends, why ,well because he was helping the devil with Wallace soul! Now for all the people that think its gold, well wrong, does anybody know how heavy gold it, VERY. Why do you think Wallace is going out of town, well because he is getting his soul back into him by a china guy IDK dont ask, Why do i know all of this? Because Tarantino said it in his 1996 interview i have it on dvd i will post it on youtube if i get enough request for it sorry for bursting all of your guys bubbles! This is my favorite movie in the world, my favorite actor Samuel l Jackson.And also if you refer after Wallace has the brief case you get a shot at his neck with no band-aid after he comes home from that china guy that gives him back his soul. Its all in the interview with him, if i get enough requests i will put it on youtube!!!!!! This is a fan site. We have nothing to do whatsoever with Mr. Tarantino
besides the fact we love him and his fabulous movies.
GO STEELERS

Re:
by darc_poet on 2009-07-02 20:24:20

Macguffin.....I hate that this term is used for what was originally known as a Chekov's Gun. I mean even the term chekov's gun sounds so much cooler.

Whats in the case is unimportant. Im glad that Quentin decided against using the diamonds from Reservoir Dogs in this movie. Mainly because the whole begining diner scene would make no sense because Tim Roth is the first thing you see in this movie, and he is british. Would have just been an ugly cluster fuck in my opinion. I have heard the soul theory, and it makes sense, but what is the point of trying to figure out something that isn't meant to be figured out. It could just as easily been the aliens from repo mans trunk, or whatever was in there. To me, whatever you want it to be, thats what it is.

It most probably is a soul
by Fokavius on 2009-07-16 22:15:29

The most probable content of the briefcase is a soul. The glowing and humming produced upon its being opened combined with the ease with which we see it being wielded, especially by Vincent Vega*, both rule out the possibility of its content being gold bars** and lend much credence to the soul theory. Furthermore, nothing short of a divine object could account for the raptures or shock experienced by everyone who is given the oportunity to glance at the content of the briefcase. Vincent's reaction is uneasiness, and possible reflective disinterest, dismissiveness or disbelief, while Honey Bunny & Punkin are dazzled, intoxicated, and awestruck. This too, if we are to assume that they did see a soul in the briefcase, is in concurrence with thier characters: Vincent is sceptical, and hardly religious; Honey Bunny and Pumpkin are meek, (god)fearing, and insecure. Or maybe since the soul, on some level, could be viewed as what one considers to be most valuable - what each one of them could have seen was what they considered to be the most radiant, and sacred, or even their pure idea of radiance and sacredness. This supports the McGuffin theory which actually in its own right supports the soul theory.

The band-aid, even if served to hide Wallace's actor's scar, still does not by any means eliminate the possibility that it had been employed as a clue by Mr. QT, especially since it was removed in the scenes after Wallace had received the briefcase. Is it not more than possible that that very actor got the role in the first place because of his conveniently placed scar? After a soul has been removed from a person by making an incision into the back of his neck, and then re-introduced into the same person through the same incision, wouldn't it be neat to have an actor who actually has a cicatrice at that very part of his body? Gee, I think so.

But... are we really sure it is Marcelus's soul that is inside that briefcase?

Does it not make sense that Marcelus Wallace could have previously sold his own soul to the Devil, and then obtained Tony Rocky Horror's soul*** as a replacement thus effectively cheating the Alfa-cheater himself?

In which case, the divine intervention that Jules Winnfield claimed he experienced was actually sheer coincidence in which Vincent so believed and by which he lost his life.

Or did Tony Rocky Horror steal Marcelus Wallace's soul in order to blackmail him, but got what it was coming to him and got to spend the remainder of his days in a vegetative state?

In which case, the divine intervention was an act of God helping a man who was bringing a soul back to its proprietor.

Bratt and his gang in each case are likely to have been Tony's cat's paw, which in turn explains why they had shown hesitation in handing over the briefcase.

*Vincent has no trouble brandishing it, suddenly and very rapidly flipping it over even - before opening it - and we can hear no sounds coming from the inside of the case during the process - a subtle way for Mr. QT to suggest that whatever is in that briefcase it is not heavy, it is not in separate pieces, and fills up the entire space of its interior.
** Gold, if not in some excitated state, does not hum, and would render Vincent Vega's effortlessness while handling the briefcase next to impossible, or awfully noisy at the very least.
*** Which would explain in a way the speech impediment he developed.

Re: The Brief Case
by remogaagi on 2009-07-26 15:40:55

It's piracetam from Bulk Nutrition. That's what the whole movie is about.

Re: Suitcase
by Snape on 2009-08-10 09:37:25

I saw Pulp Fiction again the other night and was struck by how Tim Roths character Pumpkin responds with complete awe and wonder when the contents of the case are revealed to him in the diner scene by Jules (Samuel L. Jackson).

'Is that what I think it is? It's beautiful.'

'That' and 'It' would seem to discount the possibillity of diamonds or gold. One gold bar? Hardly a Kings ransom. Diamonds casting a golden light? Hmm ...

I agree with most of the comments posted here. What's inside the case is actually unimportant and if provided with an answer we'd find it an anti climax. QT is playing with audience curiosity by having Roth's character speak those lines. He's taken the notion of Hitchcock's MacGuffin, (something that can be ambiguous, completely undefined, generic or left open to interpretation), and teased our expectations. He's the perfect director for our post-modern, conspiracy theory culture; if you don't get the answer you want then you create more questions!

Great movie.

Re: you ignorant motherfuckers....
by TonyRockyHorror on 2009-08-10 10:45:15

first of all, since when do gold bricks produce light? (HAHAHAH idiots)

let me break it down for you..

while all of you have been REPEATING THE SAME CLICHES ABOUT THE MOVIE YOUVE BEEN OVERHEARING FOR THE PAST DUNNO-HOW-MANY YEARS about 666 on the briefcase and the band aid and blah de fuckin blah, none of you have decided to look further at the, get this, symbolism, motifs and themes for the film!!!

i heard at least one cat say God stopped the bullets since they were messengers from God and that the frat boys were devils workers. props to you. examine even closer the tid bits of dialogue between them in that particular scene. ever hear that old saying "the road to hell is paved with good intentions"? remember when jules pops flock-of-seagulls, and retorts "oh im sorry, did i break your concentration? continue; you were saying something about 'best intentions'".....

on the surface, tarantino has created a new brand of gangster comedy that examines american culture, not just the old pop culture of the 70's, but the way we live within our comofrtable lives through the eyes of some people living in a criminal underbelly. the true meat of this picture is the spiritual journey each of the main characters takes.

One word you need to keep in mind the next time you watch this flick: REDEMPTION. After jules and vince are given a second chance, Jules heeds the call while Vince remains ignorant, and what happened? he got sprayed by Butch. and what happened after Butch escaped the clutches of the perverts? he turned around, did the courageous thing by reentering the depths of hell to save the man who wanted him dead, and was given a free walk. After all, having just been reunited with his soul, im sure Wallace was experiencing a mighty change of heart....

look, now that i got the gears turning, go reexamine my favorite movie and look for more connections such as this.

enjoy, be peace.

Re: briefcase contents
by axolotl on 2009-11-10 00:31:55

Okay, it's been over two years since I posted 'Marsellus's soul'. We now know that is not valid, because Ving Rhames had a sore on the back of his neck and it was covered with a bandaid.
The McGuffin theory is only partially correct. The briefcase does contain whatever you want it to contain. However, this applies to the characters too. For Vincent, drugs; for Ringo, gold; for Marsellus, money.

Most importantly, for Jules it contains enlightenment (in the Buddhist sense). The movie has an underlying theme of Buddhism. Jules knows what each of the others sees in the case ("Wisdom is knowing others, enlightenment is to know yourself")

btw, Butch achieves sudden enlightenment when he awakens from his dream of the gold watch.

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