Pulp Fiction Question?

Question

What was in the briefcase?

Answer 1

I just watched the special features the other day on that ! They're not saying. Some people say it is Marcellus Wallace's soul since the combination to the briefcase was 666 and he had a band aid on the back of his neck. But Quentin Tarantino said that's not it -- and he'll never say what's in the brief case.

So there you go -- nobody knows!

Answer 2

There is countless speculation, but Tarantino himself said he left it up to the audience to decide...


Speculation abounds as to the nature of the mysterious glowing contents of the case:
Could it be Elvis's gold suit, seen worn by Val Kilmer (as Elvis) in True Romance (1993)?
The most persistent theory (most usually attributed to a friend of a friend who saw it posted on a message board by someone whose brother had read a report of a radio interview with Tarantino himself) is that it is Marcellus Wallace's soul. The story goes that when the Devil takes a person's soul, it is removed through the back of the head (this isn't part of any known religion, but this is what the message board posters say). When we see the back of Marcellus's head he has a Band-Aid covering the precise spot indicated by tradition for soul removal. Perhaps Marcellus sold his soul to the devil which would also explain why the combination to open the briefcase is 666.
Quentin Tarantino has said that the band-aid on the back of Marsellus Wallace's neck had nothing to do with an allusion to the Devil stealing Marsellus's soul... but that the actor Ving Rhames had a scar on the back of his neck he wanted to cover up.
Or could it be simply a 20-watt light bulb?
According to Roger Avary, who co-wrote the script with Quentin Tarantino, the original plan was to have the briefcase contain diamonds. This seemed neither exciting nor original, so Avary and Tarantino decided to have the briefcase's contents never appear on screen; this way each filmgoer could mentally "fill in the blank" with whatever struck his or her imagination as best fitting the description "so beautiful". The orange light bulb (projecting shimmering light onto the actors' faces) was a last-minute decision and added a completely unintended fantastic element.
In a radio interview with Howard Stern in late 2003, Quentin Tarantino was asked by a caller the contents of the briefcase, and he answered, "It's whatever the viewer wants it to be."

Answer 3

Hello Kaye G,

Quentin Tarantino is a big movie buff. The attache case is an homage to a film noir movie cult classic, (and pulp fiction hero) Mickey Spilane's "Kiss Me Deadly" from 1955. It's the "great whatsit". It's what Hitchcock called the "McGuffin". It's a nonsensical thing in the movie that doesn't really have anything to do with the plot of the movie.

--Rick

Answer 4

There are a lot of rumors.
Some say the diamonds from Reservoir Dogs are in it.
The one I like the most is that Marsellus Wallace's soul is in it. According to ancient scripts, the Devil took the souls of his victims from the back of their heads. The first shot Marsellus is in, shows him with a bandit in the back of his head. Plus, remember what was the combination for the briefcase...666!!
Quentin Tarantino has never denied this rumors nor he has accepted them.

Answer 5

Marcellus' soul.
Marcellus has a band-aid on the back of his neck, and the Bible says that is the place where the devil extracts one's soul.
It glows.
The code to open the case is "666." 'Nuff said.
The men Jules and Vincent kill to get the case back are actually servants of the devil. Something went awry in the deal between Marcellus and the Devil, and it's "divine intervention" when all those shots miss the two hit men.

Answer 6

"There's a passage I got memorized,
seems appropriate for this
situation: Ezekiel 25:17. "The path
of the righteous man is beset on
all sides by the inequities of the
selfish and the tyranny of evil
men. Blessed is he who, in the
name of charity and good will,
shepherds the weak through the
valley of darkness, for he is truly
his brother's keeper and the finder
of lost children. And I will
strike down upon thee with great
vengeance and furious anger those
who attempt to poison and destroy
my brothers. And you will know my
name is the Lord when I lay my
vengeance upon you."

Answer 7

In the comic "Radiation" is in the briefcase.

Answer 8

They never really say. They just suggest that it is very fascinating and shiny. Maybe gold bullion from the way John Travolta was staring at it.

Answer 9

Once again- John Travolta's career.

Answer 10

Money