Reservoir Dogs was the debut film of notorious director Quentin Tarantino. It was released in 1992 with a budget of $1.5 million once Harvey Keitel had been cast as Mr. White.
Resevoir Dogs Plot
The film opens with all of the characters, who are assigned code-names (apart from Joe and Eddie), having a breakfast in a diner; Mr White, (Harvey Keitel) Mr. Blonde, (Michael Madsen) Mr. Pink, (Steve Buscemi) Mr. Orange, (Tim Roth) Mr. Blue, (Edward Bunker) Mr Brown, (Quentin Tarantino) Joe Cabot (Lawerence Tierney) and his son ‘Nice-guy’ Eddie, (Chris Penn). Mr Brown is discussing Madonna’s famous song ‘Like a Virgin,’ while Mr. White and Joe argue over an address book and Mr. Pink initially refuses to tip the waitress. The opening dialogue displays Tarantino’s signature sharp wit within the dialogue.
Heist
As with most of Tarantino’s films; Reservoir Dogs is not shown in chronological order. As such, the next scene cuts to Mr. Orange bleeding from a gunshot wound to the stomach and Mr. White driving. Mr White drives Mr. Orange to an abandoned warehouse; it becomes clear, through flash-back scenes that they have just committed a botched robbery of a jewellery store.
Mr. Blonde
Mr. Blonde arrives at the warehouse as Mr. White and Mr. Pink are arguing about whether to take Mr. Orange to the hospital. Blonde tells the men to wait at the warehouse for ‘Nice-Guy’ Eddie, who is on his way.
Meanwhile, Blonde shows them a cop he kidnapped in the hope that he can reveal whether or not the heist was a set-up. Mr. Pink is convinced that it is, as the police arrived at the scene so quickly.
Mr. Orange
Eddie arrives and takes White and Pink to go and pick up the jewels that were stolen, leaving Blonde and Marvin Nash – the policeman – alone in the warehouse. The famous ‘ear-slicing’ scene takes place, as Blonde tortures the cop. Mr. Blonde douses him in petrol with the intention of burning him alive when Orange regains consciousness and shoots Blonde, killing him.
Stand-Off
The rest of the group come back to the warehouse to find Blonde dead. Eddie shoots Marvin and presses Mr. Orange for an explanation. Joe arrives and accuses Mr. Orange of being ‘the rat’, as he was the only one he ‘wasn’t sure about.’ Mr. White defends Orange; a Mexican stand-off (another of Tarantino’s stylistic trademarks) between Joe, Eddie and Mr. White takes place, killing Joe and Eddie and leaving Mr. White severely wounded.
As Mr. White holds Mr. Orange, Orange reveals that he actually is a cop. Police enter the building: the camera pans away from Mr. White and Mr. Orange. The film ends with police trying to negotiate with Mr. White, who shoots Mr. Orange in the head and is subsequently killed by police.
Critique
Reservoir Dogs proved to be a huge influence for other directors: it takes the best elements from a host of other genres such as Hong Kong Films that Tarantino has always been impressed by. It has all the elements of a great film: sharp and witty dialogue, interesting characters and a fast-paced, action-packed script.
While it is hailed as being over-the-top in terms of bad language and violence, it could be argued that Tarantino condemns violence. After all, none of the characters survive to benefit from their criminal acts. It is also worth noting that while the film works around the heist, it is never portrayed on film. Nor is Mr. Blonde's torture scene: as he cuts Nash's ear off, the camera pans away. The camera pans away a second time at the climax of the film, when White kills Pink, and is subsequently shot by police.
Reception
Reservoir Dogs has become a ‘cult’ film, being more successful following the release of Tarantino’s most famous film, ‘Pulp Fiction.’ It was put into the Sundance Film Festival and has been unanimously hailed as one of the most successful independent films ever made. Reservoir Dogs was the film that put Quentin Tarantino on the cinematic map: being so successful it paved the way for Tarantino to go forward in terms of film making.
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