Reservoir Dogs

Reservoir Dogs.



Quentin Tarantino established himself as the king of cool with 1996’s Pulp Fiction, but before that he’d grabbed Hollywood by the balls with the ultra-violent Reservoir Dogs.

The Dogs in question are a group of bank robbers assembled by Joe and his son, Nice Guy Eddie (Chris Penn), to steal some diamonds. The plan is fool-proof; Right down to the fact that none of the robbers know each others names. They’re all known by individual colours.

The action takes place before and after the heist, without showing the audience the robbery itself. But it’s easy to see that something’s went wrong. There’s a police snitch among them and they’ve walked into a trap.

Mr White (Harvey Keitel) drives a bleeding Mr Orange (Tim Roth) back to the rendezvous point and deliberates over whether to take him to hospital. Mr Pink(Steve Buscemi) shows up, having safely stowed the diamonds. Mr Blonde (Michael Madsen) arrives with a captive cop in his boot.

The gangsters try to suss out who the rat might be, suspecting everyone and no-one. Eventually turning on each other in a bloody climax.

The film is filled with iconic set-pieces and dialogue: Such as the chat about what Madonna’s song ‘Like a Virgin’ actually means; Mr Blonde performing some un-required cosmetic surgery on a cop to the sounds of Stealer’s Wheel. And that two minute slow-motion walk to ‘Little green bag’.

The violence in this film is so extreme that it’s dripping with irony as well as gallons of blood. Not everyone can laugh at an ear being hacked off, but, trust me, it is funny. Especially when Mr Blonde starts talking into it.

Tarantino had to sell True Romance for $30,000 to Tony Scott to finance Reservoir Dogs. The fact that he managed to draw such a great brand of actor owes more to the story than it does to the salaries on offer.

Without the success of Dogs, Miramax would never have given Tarantino free reign to make Pulp Fiction. Can you imagine a world without Pulp Fiction.? Go on, try. You won’t like it.

Verdict 10/10
An essential for all Movie fans.