There are not many other movies like Pulp Fiction (which is currently one of the best movies on Amazon Prime)... or at least there were not until after it was released in 1994. Soon after, every filmmaker and their mother wanted to replicate the style of the dementedly funny, highly quotable ensemble crime thriller that is now regarded as Quentin Tarantino's best movie by many.
However, we cannot deny that some of these tonally similar films (and even straight-up copycats) are as cherishable as whatever was in Marcellus' briefcase. So, in honor of the 30th anniversary of one of the best movies of the 1990s, here are some classics and even underrated favorites that remind us of Pulp Fiction.
Four Rooms (1995)
Ted (Tim Roth) gets far more than he bargained for on his first day as a hotel bellhop interacting with some very peculiar characters on one eventful New Year's Eve.
Why it is a great movie to watch if you are a fan of Pulp Fiction: A year after Pulp Fiction, Tarantino wrote, directed, and starred in one segment from Four Rooms —another quirky, star-studded, anthology-style dramedy with interweaving plotlines and characters which also connects to the Tarantinoverse with a Big Kahuna Burger sighting.
Rent or buy Four Rooms on Amazon.
Buy Four Rooms on Blu-ray on Amazon.
Snatch (2000)
Innocent civilians and ruthless veteran criminals alike race against each other to get their hands on a precious stolen diamond gone missing in England.
Why it is a great movie to watch if you are a fan of Pulp Fiction: One of the best Guy Ritchie movies, Snatch, earned comparisons to Pulp Fiction as another crime drama with a comedic edge involving various interweaving storylines held together by a talented ensemble cast.
Stream Snatch on Hulu.
Rent or buy Snatch on Amazon.
Buy Snatch on Blu-ray on Amazon.
Lock, Stock And Two Smoking Barrels (1998)
Four close-knit Londoners (played by Nick Moran, Jason Statham, Dexter Fletcher, and Jason Flemyng) stumble onto a potentially dangerous solution to their recent debt.
Why it is a great movie to watch if you are a fan of Pulp Fiction: Ritchie earned comparisons to Tarantino for his feature debut, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, which offers its own cheekily subversive take on the crime genre.
Rent or buy Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels on Amazon.
Buy Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels on Blu-ray on Amazon.
Layer Cake (2004)
An unnamed, successful drug pusher (played by Daniel Craig) is forced to put his early retirement on hold when his boss enlists him to search for a powerful crime lord's missing daughter.
Why it is a great movie to watch if you are a fan of Pulp Fiction: One of Ritchie's earliest frequent collaborators was Matthew Vaughn, who made his feature directorial debut with Layer Cake — another stylish thriller with witty dialogue and a likable protagonist looking to get out of the criminal lifestyle, much like Samuel L. Jackson's Jules.
Rent or buy Layer Cake on Amazon.
Buy Layer Cake on Blu-ray on Amazon.
In Bruges (2008)
After a job goes wrong, two Irish hitmen (played by Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson) are instructed by their boss to wait out in an idyllic Belgian town.
Why it is a great movie to watch if you are a fan of Pulp Fiction: Pulp Fiction's third segment, "The Bonnie Situation," essentially tells the story of two hitmen (Jules and John Travolta's Vincent) and how they deal with a deadly mistake, which is also the plot of writer and director Martin McDonough's In Bruges, which is yet another darkly comic crime thriller.
Rent or buy In Bruges on Amazon.
Buy In Bruges on Blu-ray on Amazon.
Baby Driver (2017)
Ansel Elgot plays a young, skilled getaway driver whose longing to pay his debt and live a normal life intensifies when he meets the girl of his dreams (played by Lily James).
Why it is a great movie to watch if you are a fan of Pulp Fiction: Pulp Fiction's second segment, "The Gold Watch," is a thrilling criminal on-the-run story, which is also a good way to describe Baby Driver — writer and director Edgar Wright's witty, star-studded crime thriller that, also like Pulp, has a killer soundtrack.
Stream Baby Driver on Netflix.
Rent or buy Baby Driver on Amazon.
Buy Baby Driver on Blu-ray on Amazon.
Lucky Number Slevin (2006)
After he is mistaken for his friend, a young man (played by Josh Hartnett in one of his best movies) is put in the middle of a bitter, dangerous rivalry between two notorious New York gangsters.
Why it is a great movie to watch if you are a fan of Pulp Fiction: Pulp Fiction cast member Bruce Willis also stars in Lucky Number Slevin — another crime thriller with a witty and subversive take on the criminal underworld with some fun surprises.
Stream Lucky Number Slevin on Tubi.
Stream Lucky Number Slevin on Pluto TV.
Rent or buy Lucky Number Slevin on Amazon.
Buy Lucky Number Slevin on Blu-ray on Amazon.
Amores Perros (2000)
A tragic car accident has a profound effect on multiple, disparate people in Mexico City.
Why it is a great movie to watch if you are a fan of Pulp Fiction: If you are looking for a much darker anthology-style drama with interweaving storylines, you cannot go wrong with director Alejandro González Iñárritu's brutal Spanish-language masterpiece, Amores Perros.
Stream Amores Perros on Amazon Prime.
Stream Amores Perros on Paramount+.
Buy Amores Perros on Blu-ray on Amazon.
Tampopo (1985)
The story of a ramen cook (Nobuko Miyamoto) and her fledging business is complemented with additional short stories about appreciating food.
Why it is a great movie to watch if you are a fan of Pulp Fiction: While not a crime thriller (despite featuring a few criminal characters), the delicious food movie Tampopo is an anthology-style comedy in which its most important moments take place at restaurants.
Stream Tampopo on Max.
Buy Tampopo on Blu-ray on Amazon.
Clerks (1994)
A disillusioned convenience store employee (played by Brian O'Halloran) spends what was supposed to be his day off dealing with unruly customers, loiterers, and more irritating circumstances.
Why it is a great movie to watch if you are a fan of Pulp Fiction: While Clerks is also not a crime thriller or an anthology, Kevin Smith's best movie is, like Pulp, one of the most important films of that era's indie movement for many of the same reasons, including its unique characters and razor-sharp dialogue that is predominantly based in pop culture references, sex, existentialism, etc.
Stream Clerks on Netflix.
Stream Clerks on Pluto TV.
Rent or buy Clerks on Amazon.
Buy Clerks on Blu-ray on Amazon.
Trainspotting (1996) MGM+
Young Scotsman Renton (Ewan McGregor) and his friends struggle to let go of their drug habit.
Why it is a great movie to watch if you are a fan of Pulp Fiction: Also not a crime thriller (unless you count the characters' illicit substance use) nor an anthology, director Danny Boyle's Trainspotting is a tonally resonant, quirky dramedy exploring the life of a heroin abuser, which Vincent Vega is.
Stream Trainspotting on Amazon Prime.
Stream Trainspotting on MGM+.
Buy Trainspotting on Blu-ray on Amazon.
Enjoy these movies like Pulp Fiction!
