Best Pulp Movies. Movies based on or Similar in concept to Pulp Magazines. Movies similar to Pulp Fiction.
First of all, it’s crucial to understand that the idea of a pulp film largely derives from three interrelated sources of the 1930s and 1940s era: 1) pulp magazines; 2) radio dramas; 3) the B-serial format loosely referred to as "poverty row" pictures where lesser film studios cranked out a steady stream cheaply made genre entertainment. Separately or combined, this cliffhanger style of narrative emphasized action, mystery, romance or any generality of high excitement thrills (often cheap or exploitive) within a short running time and, consequently, at a brisk pace. By the 1950s episodic television replaced both radio and Saturday Matinee-like chapters that accompanied feature films while the printed pulps gave way to more specialized reading material such as adult 'Men’s Magazines' and the DC/Marvel superhero comic books for kids.
We'll only count 1 movie from a series, like only one will be included in our list from the Indiana Jones series. Also for Pulp Magazine Heroes like Zorro, Phantom, Flash Gordon, The Spider, Biggles, G-men, Captain Midnight, The Green Archer, Masked Marvel, The Scarecrow, The Shadow, The Green Hornet, Raffles, Buck Rogers, Doc Savage, Modesty Blaise, Fu Manchu, Arsene Lupin, Fantomas, Mabuse, Conan, we are only including their best movie.
******Other Similar Lists about Entertaining Movies*****
1. Best Romantic Action Movies :- [link]http://www.imdb.com/list/ls066359525/[/link]
2. Most Rewatchable Movies :- [link]http://www.imdb.com/list/ls064021915/[/link]
3. Best Spy Movies :- [link]http://www.imdb.com/list/ls071424185/[/link]
4. Best Grindhouse Movies :- [link]http://www.imdb.com/list/ls075548590/[/link]
5. Best Getaway Driver Movies :- [link]http://www.imdb.com/list/ls069612918/[/link]
6. Entertaining B Movies with Ridiculous Plots :- [link]http://www.imdb.com/list/ls031503179/[/link]
7. Best Parody Spoof Movies :- [link]http://www.imdb.com/list/ls066468164/[/link]
8. Thrillers featuring Disabled Individuals :- [link]http://www.imdb.com/list/ls066146681/[/link]
9. Telekinesis/Psychokinesis/Telepathy Movies :- [link]http://www.imdb.com/list/ls074646283/[/link]
10. Pulp Movies :- [link]http://www.imdb.com/list/ls011971972/[/link]
11. Best Cartoon Movies for GrownUps :- [link]http://www.imdb.com/list/ls074261367/[/link]
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We'll only count 1 movie from a series, like only one will be included in our list from the Indiana Jones series. Also for Pulp Magazine Heroes like Zorro, Phantom, Flash Gordon, The Spider, Biggles, G-men, Captain Midnight, The Green Archer, Masked Marvel, The Scarecrow, The Shadow, The Green Hornet, Raffles, Buck Rogers, Doc Savage, Modesty Blaise, Fu Manchu, Arsene Lupin, Fantomas, Mabuse, Conan, we are only including their best movie.
******Other Similar Lists about Entertaining Movies*****
1. Best Romantic Action Movies :- [link]http://www.imdb.com/list/ls066359525/[/link]
2. Most Rewatchable Movies :- [link]http://www.imdb.com/list/ls064021915/[/link]
3. Best Spy Movies :- [link]http://www.imdb.com/list/ls071424185/[/link]
4. Best Grindhouse Movies :- [link]http://www.imdb.com/list/ls075548590/[/link]
5. Best Getaway Driver Movies :- [link]http://www.imdb.com/list/ls069612918/[/link]
6. Entertaining B Movies with Ridiculous Plots :- [link]http://www.imdb.com/list/ls031503179/[/link]
7. Best Parody Spoof Movies :- [link]http://www.imdb.com/list/ls066468164/[/link]
8. Thrillers featuring Disabled Individuals :- [link]http://www.imdb.com/list/ls066146681/[/link]
9. Telekinesis/Psychokinesis/Telepathy Movies :- [link]http://www.imdb.com/list/ls074646283/[/link]
10. Pulp Movies :- [link]http://www.imdb.com/list/ls011971972/[/link]
11. Best Cartoon Movies for GrownUps :- [link]http://www.imdb.com/list/ls074261367/[/link]
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- DirectorQuentin TarantinoStarsJohn TravoltaUma ThurmanSamuel L. JacksonThe lives of two mob hitmen, a boxer, a gangster and his wife, and a pair of diner bandits intertwine in four tales of violence and redemption.Best Pulp movie ever, hands down
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsHarrison FordKaren AllenPaul FreemanIn 1936, archaeologist and adventurer Indiana Jones is hired by the U.S. government to find the Ark of the Covenant before the Nazis can obtain its awesome powers."Fortune and glory, kid. Fortune - and - glory."
- DirectorHoward HawksStarsHumphrey BogartLauren BacallJohn RidgelyPrivate detective Philip Marlowe is hired by a wealthy family. Before the complex case is over, he's seen murder, blackmail and what might be love.Humphrey Bogart takes on Raymond Chandler, starring as his detective, Phillip Marlowe. The script is by William Falkner and Leigh Brackett, though it is a bit confused (so is the novel). One character thread is completely lost. The film would later inspire the basic plot of The Big Lebowski. The novel, itself, was created by combining elements from two previous Chandler stories from Black Mask: The Killer in the Rain and The Curtain.
- DirectorGeorge LucasStarsMark HamillHarrison FordCarrie FisherLuke Skywalker joins forces with a Jedi Knight, a cocky pilot, a Wookiee and two droids to save the galaxy from the Empire's world-destroying battle station, while also attempting to rescue Princess Leia from the mysterious Darth Vader.Without a doubt the most sprawling, epic and thematically ambitious endeavor on the list. George Lucas used the B-movie pulp conceit as a tonal, structural and stylistic vehicle for his grand mythology. No need to further explain these films on a Star Wars message board. The only reason I’ve slotted them at No. 4 instead of giving them the title of numeo uno is precisely because said artistic ambition has, in certain aspects, elevated the saga to abstract, avant-garde proportions. Pulp adventure is the part-and-parcel foundation of Star Wars, but not necessarily the sum total. That title -- in perfect balance between art and form -- belongs to...
- DirectorFrank MillerQuentin TarantinoRobert RodriguezStarsMickey RourkeClive OwenBruce WillisAn exploration of the dark and miserable Basin City and three of its residents, all of whom are caught up in violent corruption.Pulp Noir
- DirectorFritz LangStarsRudolf Klein-RoggeOtto WernickeThomy BourdelleA criminal mastermind uses hypnosis to rule the rackets after death.Fritz Lang returns to the criminal genius in this film. Mabuse is believed dead, but the writings of a madman in an asylum suggests differently. This was Lang's last German film, before fleeing the country. It also features Inspektor Lohman, from Lang's film M, played by the same actor. Lohman would also turn up as Mabuse's adversary in the 60s Mabuse films.
- DirectorJohn CarpenterStarsKurt RussellKim CattrallDennis DunA rough-and-tumble trucker and his side kick face off with an ancient sorcerer in a supernatural battle beneath Chinatown.A hidden world of chop-socky and sorcery in San Francisco China Town gives rise to one of the most entertaining (and most quotable) action adventure films of all time. John Carpenter’s ode to Fu Manchu pulps, John Wayne heroics and the history of Asian martial arts films is a barrel of awesomeness, while Kurt Russell as the swaggering Jack Burton has since become a household name for any fan of the genre(s). Who can forget the back alley war between the Chang Sing (yellow sash) and the Wing Kong (red sash) or Egg Shen’s crystal rocket launcher or an exploding Thunder? Carpenter edits from start to finish with a tight economy, giving the whole enterprise an exuberance that never wanes.
- DirectorJohn HustonStarsHumphrey BogartMary AstorGladys GeorgeSan Francisco private detective Sam Spade takes on a case that involves him with three eccentric criminals, a gorgeous liar and their quest for a priceless statuette, with the stakes rising after his partner is murdered.The classic version of the Dashiell Hammett story. Bogey is the quintessential tough guy and set the pattern for every private eye to follow. John Huston's script and direction are brilliant.
- DirectorWalter HillStarsMichael ParéDiane LaneRick MoranisA mercenary is hired to rescue his ex-girlfriend, a singer who has been kidnapped by a motorcycle gang.A gritty rock 'n' roll fable from Walter Hill that mixes the urban settings of the 1950s with the music and fashion of the early 1980s music video phenomenon. Taking place in an unnamed city that evokes the L-train underworld of Chicago along with the rainy street atmospheres of yesteryear St. Louis and Detroit, the rock star diva Ellen Aim is kidnaped by a biker gang called The Bombers; a motley crew comes to her rescue, led by a stalwart ex-solder named Tom Cody. Songs that are at once dated and timeless, a stunningly gorgeous Diane Lane and a bitchin climax fight scene involving sledge hammers ...these are just a few gems this movie has to offer. It’s sexy. It’s got attitude. It’s a great movie for tough guys and tender girls alike.
- DirectorGeorge MillerStarsTom HardyCharlize TheronNicholas HoultIn a post-apocalyptic wasteland, a woman rebels against a tyrannical ruler in search for her homeland with the aid of a group of female prisoners, a psychotic worshiper and a drifter named Max.Fury Road is what happens when retro pulp meets social progress.
- DirectorMerian C. CooperErnest B. SchoedsackStarsFay WrayRobert ArmstrongBruce CabotA film crew goes to a tropical island for a location shoot, where they capture a colossal ape who takes a shine to their blonde starlet, and bring him back to New York City.The one and only. Forget that maudlin, overwrought remake from Peter Jackson. The original’s lean and mean narrative doesn’t force audiences to sympathize with Kong, but depicts the giant ape for what he is and allows us to project onto him our own 'me-against-the-world' sentiments. Even after some 80 years the stop-motion puppetry and rear-screen projections still hold a certain fantastical allure, the way Skull Island’s murky jungles beckon the imagination with its antique surrealistic qualities.
- DirectorMartin CampbellStarsAntonio BanderasAnthony HopkinsCatherine Zeta-JonesA young thief seeking revenge for his brother's death is trained by the once-great, aging Zorro, who is pursuing his own vengeance.I honestly consider this the finest Zorro film of them all and one of the best swashbucklers ever made, right up alongside the Flynn-Curtiz collaborations of yore. Both Antonio Banderas and Anthony Hopkins are handsome and utterly convincing in their roles as young and old Zorro, while Catherine Zeta-Jones is breathlessly beautiful and impassioned as Elena, the dramatic-romantic crux of what is a measured and well scripted story. Martin Campbell’s slick staging and editing of the action rounds out the film with a perfect score.
- DirectorFrank CapraStarsRonald ColmanJane WyattEdward Everett HortonWhen a revered diplomat's plane is diverted and crashes in the peaks of Tibet, he and the other survivors are guided to an isolated monastery at Shangri-La, where they wrestle with the invitation to stay.Based on the James Hilton novel, this features Ronald Coleman. A group of people find themselves shanghaied in an airplane and set down near the fabled city of Shangri-La. There, no one grows old and they have conquered disease. However, there is a catch. The novel and the film inspired many a pulp and comic book hero, with its Tibetan utopia. The novel was a favorite of FDR, who when asked where the Doolittle Raiders had struck from, he joked, "From our base in Shangri-La!" which led to the USS Hornet being dubbed the Shangri-La.
- DirectorSimon WincerStarsTom SelleckLaura San GiacomoAlan RickmanSharpshooter Matt Quigley is hired from Wyoming by an Australian rancher paying a very high price. But when Quigley arrives Down Under, all is not as it seems.Hats off to Tom Selleck. Here’s a guy who never quite reached the level of stardom he rightfully deserved. Matthew Quigley is his most polished yet effortless leading man role. Selleck strides through the film with both an easygoing persona and the moral convictions for your classic cowboy hero. This is a good old fashion Western (or extreme Southern) adventure where right is right and wrong is wrong; where the good guy saves the natives from the evils of genocide, guns down villains with a steady hand and gets the girl in the end.
- DirectorStephen SommersStarsBrendan FraserRachel WeiszJohn HannahAt an archaeological dig in the ancient city of Hamunaptra, an American serving in the French Foreign Legion accidentally awakens a mummy who begins to wreak havoc as he searches for the reincarnation of his long-lost love.A solid B-movie with an A-movie budget. Nothing more. It’s well polished and competently directed, but not brilliantly directed. The story is meat 'n' potatoes adventure narrative but lacks thematic wit. That’s okay. It’s still plenty fun enough to pass the time. Frankly, I don’t see any issues concerning the sequel, particularly any dip in quality. To me it just feels like more of the same, just bigger and with more outrages set pieces. Rachel Weiz, in particular, was the casting high point.
- DirectorMonte HellmanStarsMillie PerkinsJack NicholsonWill HutchinsA mysterious woman persuades two cowboys to help her in a revenge scheme.One of the greatest Westerns ever made is also one of the strangest. Roger Corman produced it, without credit, sending director Monte Hellman and star Jack Nicholson out into the Utah deserts with the assignment of filming two Westerns for the price of one. Ride in the Whirlwind became the other, but The Shooting (1967) is a kind of existential masterpiece, using the established Western genre to play with themes of identity. A beautiful, cold-hearted woman (Millie Perkins) enlists a couple of cowboys (Warren Oates and Will Hutchins) to escort her to some mysterious rendezvous. Halfway there, a hired gunman (Nicholson) joins them, leading to all kinds of personality clashes, and a bizarre showdown. Carole Eastman wrote the screenplay, under the pseudonym “Adrien Joyce.”
- DirectorJoe JohnstonStarsBilly CampbellJennifer ConnellyAlan ArkinA young pilot stumbles onto a prototype jetpack that allows him to become a high-flying masked hero.Still the best from Joe Johnson, this film is a winning example of a well-balanced screenplay, mixing just the right amount of character, plot and action at an even pace. There is a delightful nostalgic feel to the setting and the airborne scenes with Rocketeer really bring out the kid in all of us. Its single most inspired moment is a top secret, Max Fleischer-styled cartoon with an army of rocket pack Nazis invading the US, and the end set piece aboard the German zeppelin is pretty spectacular. Oh, and likewise for Jennifer Connelly.
- DirectorBob ClarkStarsChristopher PlummerJames MasonDavid HemmingsSherlock Holmes investigates the murders commited by Jack the Ripper and discovers a conspiracy to protect the killer.Director Bob Clark had made the first American slasher movie, Black Christmas (1974), and would later achieve fame with both Porky’s (1982) and A Christmas Story (1983), but Murder by Decree (1979) is probably his classiest film. It begins with the pulpy idea of Sherlock Holmes (Christopher Plummer) tangling with Jack the Ripper, but Clark ran with it, creating a vivid, moody, foggy atmosphere with many unique angles, as well as some subtle attempts at dry humor. James Mason plays Watson, and John Gielgud, Donald Sutherland, and Genevieve Bujold help round out the terrific cast.
- DirectorAnthony HemingwayStarsCuba Gooding Jr.Gerald McRaneyDavid OyelowoA crew of African American pilots in the Tuskegee training program, having faced segregation while kept mostly on the ground during World War II, are called into duty under the guidance of Col. A.J. Bullard.Using the latest in digital wizardry from ILM (and subset FX houses), Lucas and Co. have rendered a series of lush, vivid, clear sky aerial combat set pieces to accompany the human story of WWII's Tuskegee Airmen. But this is no contemporary telling. Instead, the film lovingly harkens back to the simpler propaganda war films of a bygone Hollywood era: broad characters, clipped scenes of hokey drama, squared framing style. But there's sincerity to it all as well. It's the dogfight sequences that shoot for the moon with sensational, even surreal, digital artifice.
- DirectorClint EastwoodStarsHilary SwankClint EastwoodMorgan FreemanFrankie, an ill-tempered old coach, reluctantly agrees to train aspiring boxer Maggie. Impressed with her determination and talent, he helps her become the best and the two soon form a close bond.Pulp Noir
- DirectorAndrew LemanStarsMatt FoyerJohn BolenRalph LucasWhile sorting the affairs of his late Uncle, a man accidentally stumbles across a series of dark secrets connected to an ancient horror waiting to be freed.The unusual The Call of Cthulhu (2005) actually is based on honest-to-goodness “pulp fiction,” written in 1926 by H.P. Lovecraft and published in Weird Tales magazine. The H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society decided to make a movie out of it, but wanted it to be as truthful to the material as possible, so they made an authentic silent movie, complete with German Expressionist imagery, film scratches, and intertitles. It’s only 46 minutes long and with a cast of unknowns, but it’s incredibly moody, and does indeed capture the chilling dread of reading an actual Lovecraft story.
- DirectorLawrence KasdanStarsKevin KlineScott GlennKevin CostnerA misfit bunch of friends comes together to right the injustices which exist in a small town.Covering just about every trope of the classic American cowboy Westerns, writer and director Lawrence Kasdan still manages to infuse his characters with a degree of sophistication while the entire cast performs with ease. Scott Glenn and Kevin Kline in particular make the absolute best of Kasdan’s subtle, witty humor. Lots of cool gunfights and horse chases, capped with a quintessential happy ending.
- DirectorGeorge StevensStarsCary GrantJoan FontaineVictor McLaglenIn 19th century India, three British soldiers and a native waterbearer must stop a secret mass revival of the murderous Thuggee cult before it can rampage across the land.It’s a real guy’s movie about a trio of sergeants fighting off a horde of mad Thuggee vermin in British Colonial India. Just a big ol’ blast of excitement with horseback battle scenes that are nothing short of epic. Clearly, this one informed many kinds of adventure films that would follow throughout the decades; the most obvious one of course doesn’t even need mentioning.
- DirectorW.D. RichterStarsPeter WellerJohn LithgowEllen BarkinAdventurer, brain surgeon, rock musician Buckaroo Banzai and his crime-fighting team, the Hong Kong Cavaliers, must stop evil alien invaders from the eighth dimension who are planning to conquer Earth.A physicist, neurosurgeon, test pilot, rock star... a samurai gunfighter with his own comic book... there’s nothing Buckaroo Banzai can’t do. If you haven’t seen this movie, really, no description or explanation can do it justice. I can only express my amazement at how unaffected the cast and overall tone is considering the material; all the makings of wacky parody and yet the movie plays it straight as an arrow.
- DirectorRussell MulcahyStarsAlec BaldwinJohn LonePenelope Ann MillerIn 1930s New York City, The Shadow (Alec Baldwin) battles his nemesis, Shiwan Khan (John Lone), who is building an atomic bomb.Don’t let its history as a box office disaster dissuade you from enjoying what is actually a visually creative crime fighting strip. There’s great art direction and the stylistic flourishes never cease. Baldwin assumes the role with equal parts cool and deliciously maniacal (his rendition of the signature Shadow laugh gets an A+) while John Lone plays the stereotypical villain with modern charm and Penelope Anne Miller looks hot slinking around in night gowns. The best feature, however, is Jerry Goldsmith’s kick-ass score.