Stars: Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Christopher Penn, Steve Buscemi, Lawrence Tierney, Michael Madsen, Randy Brooks, Kirk Baltz, Quentin Tarantino

Director: Quentin Tarantino

Summary: A group of criminals carry out a jewel heist which results in a battle with the police to secure an escape. Suspicions are roused at the readiness of the police and an informer is sought.

Former video store clerk Quentin Tarantino's directorial debut, RESERVOIR DOGS, is a brutally funny, supercharged introduction to his supremely distinct cinematic vision, which was later to become one of the most mimicked styles of the 1990s. Mastermind Joe Cabot (Lawrence Tierney) assembles a crew of top-notch criminals to pull off a jewelry store heist. As the film opens it becomes immediately clear that the plan backfired, forcing the survivors, who have gathered at an abandoned warehouse, to figure out if one of them is, in fact, a police informer. The crew--Mr. White (Harvey Keitel), an aged veteran; Mr. Orange (Tim Roth), a wounded newcomer; Mr. Blonde (Michael Madsen), a psychopathic parolee; Mr. Pink (Steve Buscemi), a bickering weasel; and Nice Guy Eddie (Chris Penn), Joe's son--begin to unravel as the pressure becomes too much for them to handle. When Joe arrives, the truth becomes clear in a vicious Mexican standoff.
Tarantino takes liberally from Hong Kong action flicks, most notably Ringo Lam's CITY ON FIRE, but his ultra-hip '70s soundtrack and hysterical pop culture dialogue make the film seem wholly original and new. Taking a cue from the French New Wave--most notably Jean-Luc Godard--RESERVOIR DOGS remains one of the decade's most influential motion pictures.

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Reviewed by: cooljimbop
Posted on July 20, 2005 1:01 PM

In my opinion, Tarantino finest film. This fantastic underworld, gritty thriller works so well as around 75% of the film is set in one room. The tense and enthralling story notoriously sets around a failed robbery, and contains some of movie history's most famous scenes including the torture scene and mexican stand off. This is a simple idea done extraordinarily well and will keep you hooked right until the ending. The script is instantly quotable and unmistakable Tarantino. The acting is superb throughout .
The extras aren't too bad either, though the movie itself is the best bit.

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Quentin Tarantino came out of nowhere (i.e. a video store in Manhattan Beach, California) and turned Hollywood on its ear in 1992 with his explosive first feature, Reservoir Dogs. Like Tarantino's mainstream breakthrough Pulp Fiction, Reservoir Dogshas an unconventional structure, cleverly shuffling back and forth in time to reveal details about the characters, experienced criminals who know next to nothing about each other. Joe (Lawrence Tierney) has assembled them to pull off a simple heist, and has gruffly assigned them colour-coded aliases (Mr Orange, Mr Pink, Mr White) to conceal their identities even from each other. But something has gone wrong, and the plan has blown up in their faces. One by one, the surviving robbers find their way back to their prearranged warehouse hideout. There, they try to piece together the chronology of this bloody fiasco--and to identify the traitor among them who tipped off the police. Pressure mounts, blood flows, accusations and bullets fly. In the combustible atmosphere these men are forced to confront life-and-death questions of trust, loyalty, professionalism, deception and betrayal.

As many critics have observed, it is a movie about "honor among thieves" (just as Pulp Fictionis about redemption, and Jackie Brownis about survival). Along with everything else, the movie provides a showcase for a terrific ensemble of actors: Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Steve Buscemi, Michael Madsen, Christopher Penn and Tarantino himself, offering a fervent dissection of Madonna's "Like a Virgin" over breakfast. Reservoir Dogsis violent (though the violence is implied rather than explicit), clever, gabby, harrowing, funny, suspenseful and even--in the end--unexpectedly moving. (Don't forget that "Super Sounds of the Seventies" soundtrack, either.) Reservoir Dogsdeserves just as much acclaim and attention as its follow-up, Pulp Fiction, would receive two years later. --Jim Emerson

Aspect Ratio:	2.35 Anamorphic Wide Screen
Main Language:	English
Region:	Region 2
Special Features:	Commentary Writer Director Quentin Tarantino And Producer Lawrence Bender And Selected Cast And Crew, Trailer, Deleted Scenes, Original Interviews Featuring Chris Penn Kirk Baltz Michael Madsen Lawrence Bender Tim Roth And Quentin Tarantino, Class Of 92 Inter
Year:	1991
Release Date:	June 7, 2004
Runtime:	95 minutes
Certification:
Catalogue Number:	M P 345 D
Keywords:	Special, Action, Dogs, Two, General, Edition, Adventure, Discs, Reservoir
Genre:	Action/Adventure