Pulp Fiction

[Daz]

Does anyone know what is in the briefcase in Pulp Fiction?

[Cad_Monkey]

According to a friend, it was Marcelous Wallace's soul. If you look at the back of Marcelous's neck in one of the opening scenes, you will see a plaster covering it. Apparently, this was a tried method of removing the soul in some customs.

[snotmonkey]

i believe it was a battery and a lightbulb, what would a group of young men be doing with a gangster' soul in a breif case slung in a cupboard and how would an english criminal recognise the soul of wallace. he vagueness of what was in the case is designed to get people discussing the film, keeping it in the mind for longer. in which it has succeeded

[whiskygalore]

I've always assumed it was gold bullion. Whenever the case is opened in the film, there is a gold light reflected on the faces of those looking into it.

[speckledegg]

I always assumed it was simply metaphorical. Whatever is in there is left to our imaginations, but the cliched gold glow harks back to the days in films when villains' illicit treasure was often gold because it had enormous market value. Personally, I like the soul idea of Cad_Monkey and I'm sure I've heard this before somewhere.

[Andy9UK]

The soul story is the most popular answer and the combination for the case is 666. However, nothing was actually decided so I don't think even Quentin Tarantino knows.

[Obo]

The Marcellus's soul in the briefcase is a popular story, but regarding the plaster on the back of his head... "The band-aid on Marcellus Wallace's neck was there because actor Ving Rhames had a scar there that the makeup people felt wound be too distracting during that scene." (IMDb.com) though how a plaster is less distracting than a scar I'm not sure

[ianmorgan]

OK here we go it was an "OSCAR" well a copy of one, hence all the actors getting excited when they see it!! BUM BUM !!!

[tybalt]

One theory is that it is the stolen gold from Reservoir Dogs

[TheRossitron]

The Briefcase is a MacGuffin (sometimes McGuffin or Maguffin)which is a plot device that motivates the characters and advances the story, but has little other relevance to the story. The element that distinguishes a MacGuffin from other types of plot devices is that it is not important what object the MacGuffin specifically is. Anything that serves as a motivation will do. A true MacGuffin is essentially interchangeable. Its importance will generally be accepted completely by the story's characters, with minimal explanation. From the audience's perspective, the MacGuffin is not the point of the story.
The technique is common in films, especially thrillers. Commonly, though not always, the MacGuffin is the central focus of the film in the first act, and then declines in significance as the struggles and motivations of the characters take center stage. Sometimes the MacGuffin is all but forgotten by the end of the film.
Because a MacGuffin is, by definition, ultimately unimportant to the story, its use can test the suspension of disbelief of audiences. Well-done works will compensate for this, with a good story, interesting characters, talented acting/writing, and so on. Inferior films, which fail in those areas, often only highlight a MacGuffin, sometimes to the point of ridiculousness. MacGuffins may be acceptable to the general audience, but fail to be believable for experts in the subject matter (such as a particular technology, or historical detail).
Tarantino mentioned the film repo man starring emilio estevez as the inspiration for this macguffin as a similar gold glow appears from the boot of cars.. also a macguffin..