With Pulp Fiction writer-director Quentin Tarantino stunned the filmmaking world, exploding into prominence as a cinematic heavyweight contender after initial success with 1992's Reservoir Dogs. But Pulp Fiction was more than just the follow-up to an impressive first feature, or the winner of the Palme d'Or at Cannes Film Festival, or a script stuffed with the sort of juicy bubblegum dialogue actors just love to chew, or the vehicle that re-established John Travolta on the A-list, or the relatively low-budget ($8 million) independent showcase for an ultra-hip mixture of established marquee names and rising stars from the indie scene (among them Samuel L Jackson, Uma Thurman, Bruce Willis, Ving Rhames, Harvey Keitel, Christopher Walken, Tim Roth, Amanda Plummer, Julia Sweeney, Kathy Griffin and Phil Lamar). It was more, even, than an unprecedented $100-million-plus hit for indie distributor Miramax. Pulp Fiction was a sensation. It packs so much energy and invention into telling its non-chronologically interwoven short stories (all about temptation, corruption and redemption among modern criminals, large and small) it leaves viewers both exhilarated and exhausted--hearts racing and knuckles white from the ride. (Oh, and the infectious, surf-guitar-based soundtrack is tastier than a Royale with Cheese.) --Jim Emerson

The stories of two mob hit men, a boxer and a pair of diner bandits intertwine in four tales of violence and redemption.

Mark (Christian Slater) runs a pirate radio station and causes an uproar when he speaks his mind and enthralls fellow teens.

In 1977's hit documentary, Pumping Iron Arnold Schwarzenegger works the crowds, plots strategies for defeating multiple opponents, shares his parents' values with the press and inspires legions of admirers with his resolute optimism about the future. And all of this long before he decided to run for governor of California. Larger than life, though not necessarily larger than his rivals for the Mr Universe and Mr Olympia bodybuilding titles (especially a young Lou Ferrigno, hot on Schwarzenegger's competitive trail but much less interesting), he still comes across, at age 28, as a consummate politician, smart, likable, and crafty about exploiting others' psychological weaknesses.

The film still feels redundant (there's only so much beefcake the human eye will tolerate), but the emotional dramas--the unrewarded hard work, the unanswered hopes--are compelling. This 25th Anniversary edition includes a revealing 2003 interview with Schwarzenegger and a reunion of the film's bodybuilders and director. --Tom Keogh