What was in the Briefcase?

Question

Can anyone tell me what was in the briefcase in Pulp Fiction? And what is the Band-Aid on the back of Marsellus's neck about? Is there a connection? You never see or hear anyone say what's in the case. Thanks, - Hedy

Potential Answer (also see comments)

Note: If you don't remember the briefcase, check out the Hamburger scene video.

Metadata

Category:   Questions
Posted Date:  
Movie/Topic:   Pulp Fiction
Posted by:   Pulp Sloth
Article Tags:  Questions   MarsellusWallace   VingRhames 

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Fokavius

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.

remogaagi

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

Snape

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.









TonyRockyHorror

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.

axolotl

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.

axolotl

Check this web site for details of the 'enlightenment theory':

cananalyze.blogspot.com

the Can Analyze blog.

Pulp Sloth

test

baalroo

strange there would be three years of comments and no mention of the spear of destiny. in christian mythology it's the spear that was driven into christ's ribs when he was on the cross and although it grants immortality to any man who possesses it, losing the spear dooms you to death.

if you want to include the bandaid on the neck it could be assumed that marsellus sold his soul in order to procure the spear.

This would also explain why the bullets go straight through jules and vincent when they have just procured the case, why vincent (supposedly a top flight professional hitman) accidentally shoots marvin in the face for no reason shortly after they take the case from him, and why vincent ends up making a rookie mistake and gets shotgunned by butch shortly after jules takes the case to deliver it to marsellus.

The only person to make it out alive is Jules, who "sees the light," gives the case away with no remorse, and decides to walk a spiritual path.

dalejr

tarantino refers to the briefcase as a mcguffin. For those who havent heard of this means he wants u to believe whatever is in that case in your own mind. Thats why its never explained. He wants u to make up your own mind which again i am referring back to what he calls a MCGUFFIN. Everyone is making it out more then what it really is. The band aid situation was that he was so self conscience about all these back head shots no make up would cover the scare to where he felt comfortable about it. No make up could correct so they used the last resort which may be odd trying to make a big deal out of something so simple and not what it was meant to turn out to be by everyone discussing it. African scars are harder to disguise then a caucasions. Thus the purpose of the band aid. Alot of people have blown these questions way out of purportion. Certain things i can go with but this is alittle far fetched. Think what u may of me but to think these weird accusations makes u pretty strange yourself.

Diddycoz

The glow has more meaning than just "what you make of it". I've seen similarities with Pulp Fiction, The Last Dragon and LOST. I call it The Glow Project.. you can watch it here...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmvFgSfpfbQ

Mattyg253

Let me clear this up: Tarantino said himself that it's up to the viewer to decide what's in the briefcase. There is no absolute answer to this at all. Of course, there are excellent theories that make total sense, but inevitably, it's the viewers interpretation.

HandfulOfPeter

I believe that Marcellus made a deal with the devil to make Mia Wallace marry him in exchange for his soul, and she does but she doesn't love him, so the devil fucked him over. So Marcellus sends Samuel L. Jackson and John Travolta to go into those guys house where he eats there cheeseburger etc and John Travolta gets the case and puts the code in "666" which contains Marcellus soul. Once Marcellus gets his case back into his possession he has that gunfight with Bruce Willis and he gets fucked (again) literally this time by those hicks, so the devil won, and another reason is near the end Tim Roth is stunned and almost hypnotised by what is inside the case because the soul is supposed to be a beautiful thing. And I think the bandaid is on Marcellus neck because it's covering up a tattoo of "666" because the devil owns him? Idk that's what I think anyway.

126soul

Vincent Vega for one would not loose his concentration for neither gold or jewelry, there was something in that briefcase that he had never seen before, but still imidiatly recoqnized for what it was. Namely something as powerful, unique and amazing as a soul. And there is one more thing: Look at those kids in the hamburgerscene. Are you telling me they ripped Wallace off in a jewelrydeal?? No way, they wouldn't even be in touch with anyone in that business normally. So why are bibelreading Bret making a deal with mr Evil himself? Because he is a Gad man.
-But they fucked mr Wallace, so why would these Christian kids cheat a mafioso? They sold him the idea that his wife would love and respect him if he gave them his soul to trade with the devil. What they knew, and mr Wallace never understood, is that to mr Wallace, the soul was gone even before it came in their hands. Knowing that he would try to trade it with the devil, they pretended to help, but with the intencion to get it back in the kingdom of Gad. -"I'm sorry that things got so fucked up between us an mr Wallace"... Bret ment it. It's just that he didn't expect this, him working for Gad and all. And one last thing: The gunshotmarks in the wall behind Jules and Vincent were there allready before the shooting. And Amanda Plummer doesn't screem the same line in the two identical robberyscenes. But that don't mather. Cause it's a pulp fiction.

StanLee

It was "The Cosmic Cube" from Captain America! Seriously, watch the extra scene after the credits in the 2011 movie Thor, Samuel L Jackson opens the briefcase and finally reveals what was in it. Tarantino you are a genius for arranging that extra scene to finally answer everyone's question after all this time! Kudos

dom

It can't be a "soul" because everybody who see's what it is, instantly gets a boner and knows what it is. I'm pretty sure nobody knows what a soul looks like. As for the gold, yes its plausible but unlikely since its heavy. Diamonds, maybe. The only reason it glows orange is because somebody on the set threw in an orange bulb, it wasn't in the script or anything. They liked it so they went with it. As for the combination, it's Quentin Tarantino, he always does shit like that. And I think the person 2 posts above me needs to learn how to spell. Jesus that was annoying to read

ckholdem181

Guys guys,

I have no idea what was in the case. But I know for a fact that Wallas has a big ugly scar on the back of his neck in REAL LIFE. There is a movie called animal that Vig made and directed. The opening scene in Animal the movie, he has a big scar on the back of his neck....exactly where the bandaid was.
Just a guess on the briefcase is....it has to be something gold....but not full of gold or they couldet just move it around so easy. I am thinking the guy brett is a smart guy...he might have worked at a place where he could have stolen something gold like king tut made of gold....when the rober ringo says is that what I think it is? It had to be something everyone knows what it is but is much more than just gold....Ringo says it's beutiful and stops him in his tracks....also the same for vincint....it stops him in his tracks as well....simple gold would not do that. Thats only a big guess on my part and I am most likely wrong! But I do know for sure that soal stealing stuff is sooooooooo wrong.....how does somebody keep a soal in a briefcase? Also if it was a soal....how would Ringo the rober have any idea what a soal would look like. You think he just opened it up and there was a stamp that said this is a human soal that glows?
Watch the movie Animal and you will see that he has a real scar on his neck.

suitcaseofsouls

Considering that there seems to be a common thread that QT is deliberately being secretive (it DOES make the whole idea cooler), and since I know this film off by heart, I have a theory with film based evidence...
I believe that what is in the suitcase is in fact Marcellus Wallaces soul.
Firstly, the band aid IS in fact representative of removing the soul from the back of the neck.
Secondly, the reactions of those who see the contents. Diamonds don't glow gold. Vincent looks gob smacked when he sees it. Do you think that a renowned gangster like him would be that shocked by seeing diamonds, remembering that Vincent Vega (though different actor) has already seen the diamonds from Reservoir Dogs when he was involved with stealing them. And of course Ringo's reaction is almost comatose at seeing it.
Third, when Jules steps sideways after the failed attempt at shooting him, bullet holes reveal that the bullets have somehow gone straight though him. So, why WOULD god come down and stop the bullets? Because even though Vincent and Jules are gangsters, they're doing gods work by retrieving stolen souls. Hence the 666 code. How do you think these young kids could do ANYTHING to someone as powerful as Wallace unless they were doing rituals and accidentally took the wrong soul. Something that even powerful people with guns can't prevent.
God chose these two to do his work, after they successfully retrieve MW soul. Jules takes the sign and continues gods work. Vincent doesn't listen to god and consequently meets his demise.

I'm not a religious person by any stretch, but watch the movie again with what I said in mind and I guarantee you'll agree!!

Alfie

I found this page very interesting. The film will never be the same to me again after reading this:

http://www.snopes.com/movies/films/pulp.asp

FanOfAFan

It was a cheeseburger.... Inside the briefcase was a cheeseburger.

VegaBrothers

It was whatever you want it to be.

JohnnyT

Case Contents
On set : Orange Lightbulb
According to the man: A small nuke in homage to
Robert Aldrich's "Kiss Me Deadly"
Meant to be: up to the viewer
Band-Aid
On set : Check the movie "Undisputed" (shower scene) - V has some gnarly scars
Meant to be : a possible release point of the soul

itsmejohnnyv

Ok it has to be said,,,vincent vega from pulp fiction and vic vega from resivoir dogs are not the same guy,,,perhaps they are brothers, only a theroy of course but it makes sence to me, the movies take place in the same area and around the same time, marcelus wallace is mentioned in resivoir dogs although he isn't acctually in it,,,as far as what is in the breifcase, diamonds, mw's soul, gold bars, who knows, for a while I thought it was full of herion but recently I watched both movies back to back and tho their are referances to each other in both they are seperate stories entirely,,,I don't believe that the diamonds are in the case because Mr. Pink got away with them,,,if it was gold bars it would be too heavy to carry in one hand,,,but I hardly believe that mw's soul was a pure and beautiful thing so the beauty shining from the case, probly not his soul...maybe it was salvation in the case

itsmejohnnyv

As a revision to what I said before, Mr. Pink got out with the diamonds...but you hear the police stopping him in the background from inside the warehouse,which means the diamonds go to the police,,,figured I should correct myself before some d-bag does the inevitable and jumps all over my little mis-speaking to try and make themselves feel better about being a no life pathetic loser,,,

pate

the band aid - ving cut his neck shaving, but a band aid on the cut and qt left it in.

breifcase - it's a 'mcguffin' (hitchcock term meaning it's just a thing used to make the action take place - there is nothing in the briefcase),

Kowaq

Because the sequence is mix in the film. All of your question is answer in the film it self. Look at it like all the symbols are a premonition.

The band aid on Wallace neck came from the fact he will have bad time with Butch

The reason Wallace throw Tony you will find it when you'll see Vince shaking hand of Mia (Same thing Tony's does. Wallace used to knew the secret...)

The car of Vince hapened to be wreck by imself on the house of Lance.

All question you ask about someting in the film have is own anser into the film itself.

So...If I'm right... what do you thing there is in the briafcase?




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