4. Chuck Berry, ‘You Never Can Tell (C'est La Vie)’
Pulp Fiction (1994)

The Moment:

‘Cool’ really isn’t enough. This one just flies –, the pouting grace of Travolta (‘Christ,’ you remember, ‘he used to be a dancer’) and the Godard-bobbed Thurman in fitted monochrome effortlessly twisting out an instant cultural touchstone.

Tarantino Says:

“Now, and this scene is funny because it's a situation is happening in the film where John Travolta and Uma Thurman are at this '50s restaurant and then all of a sudden, they have this twist contest.

And the thing is, everybody thinks that I wrote this scene to have John Travolta dancing. But the scene existed before John Travolta was cast, but once he was cast, it was like, ‘Great. We get to see John dance.’”

3. Stealers Wheel, ‘Stuck In The Middle With You’
Reservoir Dogs (1992)

The Moment:

K-Billy’s slow-drawl kickback radio knocks out another faultlessly cool retro tune – chilled to the point of lounge – adding to the jarring horror of Mr Blond, equally relaxed and shuffling around the warehouse hideout as he dances he way through an unflinching, ear-removing torture.

Tarantino Says:

“When you take songs and put them in a sequence in a movie right, it’s about as cinematic a thing as you can do. You are really doing what movies do better than any other art form.

And the effect is you can never really hear this song again without thinking about that image from the movie. I don’t know if Gerry Rafferty necessarily appreciated the connotations that I brought to Stuck In The Middle With You.There’s a good chance he didn’t.”

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