Reservoir Dogs has bite
By Andrew Kanak

Recently released on DVD is Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs.
Reservoir Dogs, written and directed by Tarantino, was first released in the theatres ten years ago. Reservoir Dogs is just as great a movie as Tarantino's more popular Pulp Fiction.

Reservoir Dogs tells the story of a group of criminals assembled by Joe (Lawrence Tierney) to pull off the perfect crime. To keep each of the criminals' identities secret from the others Joe assigns them each colors, so that we get Mr. Pink, Mr. Blonde, Mr. Orange, Mr. White, Mr. Blue, and Mr. Brown. (Respectively Steve Buscemi, Michael Madsen, Tim Roth, Harvey Keitel, Eddie Bunker and Tarantino himself.) When the robbery they planned turns into a bloody mess it becomes clear that one of them is actually an undercover cop.

The story in Reservoir Dogs is told non-linearly just as Tarantino did in Pulp Fiction. The opening scene actually occurs after the attempted heist, then through flashbacks it is revealed how they got where they are.

Another similarity to Pulp Fiction lies in the dialogue. In most movies all dialogue pertains to the plot, but in Tarantino's movies the characters talk as if they were real people-they talk about stuff that's irrelevant. Think conversations about French Quarter Pounders and tipping waitresses.

Both Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction feature a lot of blood and gore, but the violence is implied rather than shown. The bonus DVD features some of the more violent scenes deleted from the movie.
Despite the large amounts of blood, the movie is quite funny at times. Steve Buscemi always plays funny characters and his Mr. Pink is sarcastic and whiny. Even during the infamous torture scene there is some comedy. Michael Madsen dancing with a gas can in hand to "Super Sounds of the Seventies" on the radio could be the definition of dark-comedy.

Reservoir Dogs is a great film with great acting, which I would recommend even if you're not familiar with Tarantino's later films or a fan of his later works.

25 September 2002