A year after the lean, gritty revenge thriller Get Carter (1971) revitalized the British gangster film, star Michael Caine reunited with director Mike Hodges for Pulp, which traded the serious, hard-edged sensibility of Get Carter for sardonic crime comedy. Caine stars as Mickey King, a British writer in the Mediterranean cranking out lurid pulp fiction novels who is hired by a mysterious celebrity to ghost-write his memoirs and becomes the target of an assassin on the long bus ride to meet his subject. Mickey Rooney is the mystery man, a retired movie star in exile thanks to his connections to the mob, who are apparently ready to kill to stop his stories from getting out. Caine narrates as King in the manner of his detective novels with a self-deprecating twist as he endures petty tourists and hired killers with the same unflappable cynicism. Reliable character actor Lionel Stander costars as Rooney's entertainingly ineffectual man Friday, and Golden Age Hollywood movie star Lizabeth Scott sinks her teeth into a small but vivid role as the flamboyant wife of an Italian prince. Pulp was a commercial flop, but has since become a cult film, thanks to the dry wit, unconventional story, self-aware commentary, and entertaining performances by Caine and Rooney. Extras include new video interviews with Hodges, cinematographer Ousama Rawi, editor John Glen, and Tony Klinger (son of producer Michael Klinger). Recommended. (S. Axmaker)
Pulp
Arrow, 108 min., PG, DVD: $24.99, Blu-ray: $34.99 Volume 33, Issue 2
Pulp
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