Reservoir Dogs (1992) * * *

 

Directed by:  Quentin Tarantino

Starring:  Tim Roth, Harvey Keitel, Steve Buscemi, Lawrence Tierney, Chris Penn, Michael Madsen, Steven Wright (voice), Quentin Tarantino

Quentin Tarantino's first feature film has achieved near-iconic status in the film world.  It is not a perfect film, but it is made with nerve, confidence, and with sharp dialogue spoken by actors who inhabit this gritty world as if they were born into it.  Reservoir Dogs is about a jewel heist gone wrong, but that's only describing the plot.  The movie lives and breathes with its characters, who desperately try to survive without being nabbed by the police.

The one who makes out the worst is Mr. Orange (Roth), who was shot while trying to steal a getaway car by the vehicle owner.   He bleeds profusely and lies in a puddle of his own blood at the gang's hideout.  When I first saw Reservoir Dogs, I wondered how the poor guy didn't go into shock or die from blood loss, but I learned Tarantino employed a medic on set whose job was to watch how much blood was lost and make it realistic.   With that being said, I was able to remove this obstacle from my mind and enjoy the Roth performance...when he's awake anyway.  

Why the names Mr. Orange, Mr. Pink (Buscemi), Mr. White (Keitel), etc.?  This is the idea of mob boss Joe Cabot (Tierney-always fearsome), who figures if the gang members don't know each other's real names that they can't rat on them if they're caught.   Besides Joe, the most lethal of the gang is Mr. Blonde (Madsen), who rejoins Joe's gang after a prison stretch.  He is bone-chillingly psychopathic; the kind of man who rips off people's ears and lights them on fire for the fun of it.   

The famed opening sequence involves an amusing conversation about Madonna and then tipping which exhibits Tarantino's natural flair for dialogue (even if it's sometimes extraneous) and serves us the undercard to the main event.   Perhaps talking about Like A Virgin is their way of hammering out the pre-heist jitters.  Reservoir Dogs moves at a briskly paced 99 minutes with comedian Steven Wright's droll monotone narrating a radio countdown of 70's hits which mark the soundtrack.  This is by far Tarantino's shortest film, but it's assured writing and filmmaking which only increased with future films.  Two years later, Pulp Fiction was made, and a legend was born.