Reservoir Dogs

USA 1992
produced by
Lawrence Bender, Richard N. Gladstein (executive), Monte Hellman (executive), Ronna B. Wallace (executive), Harvey Keitel (co) for Dog Eat Dog Productions, Live Entertainment
directed by Quentin Tarantino
starring Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen, Chris Penn, Steve Buscemi, Lawrence Tierney, Edward Bunker, Quentin Tarantino, Randy Brooks, Kirk Baltz, Steven Wright (voice), Rich Turner, David Steen, Tony Cosmo, Stevo Polyi, Michael Sottile
written by Quentin Tarantino, special makeup effects by K.N.B.EFX Group

review by
Mike Haberfelner

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It all starts with a bunch of guys at a diner table talking trash, and the only thing about them is that they all address one another with colours, not names ... and in the next scene, Mr White (Harvey Keitel) drives Mr Orange (Tim Roth) into a warehouse, and it seems Orange is badly wounded. A few minutes later, Mr Pink (Steve Buscemi) joins them and it becomes apparent that a jewellery heist has gone awry, for one because Mr Blond (Michael Madsen) started killing people, for the other because the police showed up too soon. Way too soon, Pink figures, he figures there's a snitch in the gang. Pink and White sort of trust each other, and they figure it can't have been Orange because he caught a bullet, it can't have been Blond because an undercover cop wouldn't kill people ... but yeah, Blond's a psychopath, and he's dangerous. Then Blond shows up, with a tied up cop (Kirk Baltz) in the trunk he wants to make confess who the snitch is. He keeps back until White and Pink go dump their cars, then to get a confession out of the cop, Blond cuts off his ear, then wants to burn him alive ... but is shot dead by Orange, who now confesses he's the snitch.

When White and Pink return, they seem to be quite happy Blond's death and don't question Orange's motives or suspect him of anything, but when their boss (Lawrence Tierney) and his son (Chris Penn) arrive, both lifelong frineds of Blond, the tables are turned on Orange, and when White won't give up defending him, it all ends up in everybody gunning down everybody else ... and only Pink somehow gets away with the loot.

One of the few instant cult classics that does stand the test of time, basically because it tells a tense story in a tense way, does feature sharp dialogue to more than make up for the relative lack of action, and the directorial effort is very subtle, while the typical Quentin Tarantino trademarks that got a bit annoying over the years - like constant pop culture references and a predilection for for vintage pop music - still seem relatively fresh here. Plus, the film doesn't steal half as much from Tarantino's favourite movies than later Tarantino-flicks, and doesn't put half as much emphasis on its grindhouse heritage but focusses on telling a good and engaging story.

Many might disagree, but in all probability Quentin Tarantino's best still!

review © by Mike Haberfelner

 

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