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Reservoir Dogs is the 1992 debut feature film of director Quentin Tarantino. It incorporates many of the themes and aesthetics that have become Tarantino's hallmarks — violent crime, pop culture references, memorable dialogue and nonlinear stories. It features Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen, Chris Penn, Steve Buscemi and Lawrence Tierney. Tarantino has a minor role, as does criminal-turned-author Eddie Bunker. Tarantino (who had been working as a video store clerk in Los Angeles) was originally going to shoot it with his friends on a budget of $30,000 on 16 mm with producer Lawrence Bender playing Nice Guy Eddie. However, actor Harvey Keitel became involved via the wife of Bender's acting class teacher, who had managed to get a copy of the script to him. He agreed not only to act in the film, but to co-produce. With Keitel's assistance, the filmmakers were able to raise $1.2 million to make the film, fairly large for an independently-financed film, but a small fraction of the typical Hollywood production.
A video game based on the film was released in 2006 for PlayStation 2 and Xbox. However, the game does not feature the likeness of any of the actors with the exception of Michael Madsen.
Plot synopsisSpoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.
BeginningImage:Quentin Tarantino.jpg Mr. Brown (Tarantino) offers insight into Madonna's song "Like a Virgin". The film portrays the events preceding and immediately following a badly botched Los Angeles jewel heist (but not the actual heist itself) orchestrated by Joe Cabot (Lawrence Tierney) and his son "Nice Guy" Eddie Cabot (Chris Penn). Six men are recruited by the Cabots to carry out the heist and, for reasons of security, are given "color" aliases — Mr. White (Harvey Keitel), Mr. Orange (Tim Roth), Mr. Blonde (Michael Madsen), Mr. Pink (Steve Buscemi), Mr. Blue (Eddie Bunker), and Mr. Brown (Quentin Tarantino) — to protect their identities and are further instructed to never tell one another anything of their personal backgrounds (name, birthplace, etc.) Reservoir Dogs begins with Joe, Eddie, Pink, Orange, Brown, Blue, Blonde, and White eating breakfast at a large diner before the heist. Mr. Brown at length discusses his interpretation of Madonna's popular song "Like a Virgin", after which Mr. Pink expresses his anti-tipping policy. Title Sequence
The warehouseThe scene jumps to a car with Mr. White and Mr. Orange immediately following the failed robbery. Mr. Orange has been seriously injured by a gunshot to the lower abdomen, and Mr. White is attempting to comfort the hysterical Mr. Orange while at the same time trying to navigate the car back to the pre-arranged rendezvous, a warehouse. At the warehouse, Mr. White and Mr. Orange discover that they are the first to arrive. White sets Orange down on a ramp for elevation and lies with him comfortingly. Mr. Pink comes in shortly thereafter, and discusses with Mr. White what went wrong while Mr. Orange lies on the warehouse floor bleeding profusely. Mr. Pink suggests a setup since a large contingent of police officers with guns drawn arrived almost immediately after the alarm had been set off. Mr. White says that Mr. Brown has been killed by the cops. Mr. Pink reveals that he was able to take the diamonds and hide them. Image:Rd-carjack.jpg Mr. Pink makes his escape. Flashback: Mr. Pink sprinting down the sidewalk, a valise filled with millions of dollars worth of diamonds in hand and police hot on his tail. He is hit by a car at an intersection, but manages to get up and wrench a kicking and screaming driver out through the window, shoots one of the pursuing officers, and drive off amidst a hail of gunfire. Back in the washroom at the warehouse, Mr. Pink and Mr. White both express their anger at and confusion over the fact that Mr. Blonde shot and killed several of the hostages after the alarm was set off. They discuss briefly their views on unnecessary violence, and Mr. Pink suggests that the Cabots will likely turn them in to the police in an effort to deflect some of the blame for the slaughter from themselves. Mr. White and Mr. Pink return to the badly injured Mr. Orange on the main floor of the warehouse. Mr. White and Mr. Pink argue over whether or not to leave the warehouse in fear of being apprehended by the police, and whether or not to take Mr. Orange to a hospital. When Mr. White reveals to Mr. Pink that he'd told Mr. Orange his place of birth during the course of "natural conversation", as well as his first name in the car to comfort him (he is Larry from Milwaukee) -- in violation of Joe Cabot's instructions -- Mr. Pink begins to fear for his own safety and argues with Mr. White, briefly accusing Mr. White of being a police informer. Image:Blonde white pink trunk-shot.jpg Mr. Blonde, Mr. White, and Mr. Pink look into the trunk with the tied-up officer inside. The argument turns violent, and climaxes with both men pointing loaded pistols at each other. Unnoticed, Mr. Blonde steps in sipping a soda and speaks up; he had been watching for some time now. Their arguing continues, although not as dramatically (Mr. Blonde speaks in a cool, smooth manner), until Mr. Blonde takes them outside to his car. Mr. Blonde opens the trunk to reveal a captured police officer. Flashback: Joe Cabot's office and the revelation of Mr. Blonde's true name, Vic Vega. Vic has just been released from prison after serving four years for taking the blame for a crime Joe had committed (Omertà). Eddie and Vic wrestle around on the floor for a bit in a friendly way, while a testy Joe looks on in dismay. Joe and Eddie offer Vic a steady job with good pay (longshoreman) to reassure Vic's suspicious parole officer and allow Vic to move out of the state-run halfway house. Vic expresses a desire to perform "real work" (i.e., criminal activity); after some deliberation, Eddie asks to include Vic on the team for an upcoming diamond heist as a "good luck charm". Joe and Vic agree. Eddie's arrivalThe film returns to the present. Eddie is driving hastily towards the warehouse, talking on a cellular phone, discussing the "major problem" with one of Joseph's assistants ("Dove"). He mentions a telephone conversation had with Vic (Mr. Blonde) beforehand regarding the botched heist and Vic's "fucking driving around with a cop in his trunk". The scene is spliced together with shots from the warehouse of Pink, Blonde and White chaining the officer up and beating him excessively. Eddie arrives at the warehouse and storms in to see them pounding on the police officer (Kirk Baltz), already an unrecognizable bloody mess. The three summarize the events of the afternoon to Eddie, who refuses to believe there is any setup. Eddie orders Mr. Pink and Mr. White to come with him to move the cars they arrived in and to retrieve the stolen diamonds from Mr. Pink's hiding spot, while ordering Mr. Blonde to stay with the dying Mr. Orange and the tied up police officer. Mr. White refuses to leave Mr. Blonde alone with Mr. Orange and the officer, calling him a psychopath, while Mr. Blonde calmly defends himself. Eddie dismisses the claims and takes Mr. White and Mr. Pink outside with him to move the cars and gather the diamonds, leaving Blonde alone with Mr. Orange and the officer. The ear-cutting sceneAt this point, the infamous ear-cutting scene begins. Mr. Blonde and the officer exchange some words. The officer denies knowing anything about the setup, and begs to be released. Mr. Blonde, in a disturbingly calm way, states that he does not care what the officer does or does not know, but that he is going to torture him in any case because he finds it amusing. After taping the officer's mouth shut, Mr. Blonde then draws a straight razor from out of his boot and tunes a radio to K-Billy's "Super Sounds of the '70s" marathon, which is playing "Stuck in the Middle With You" by Stealers Wheel. Moving slowly and sadistically in rhythm with the music towards the officer, he begins waving the blade about in front of his face. He slashes the officer's left cheek and takes a few steps backward. He then moves back up to the officer and violently grabs his head. The camera pans away as Mr. Blonde cuts off the officer's right ear with a protracted sawing motion, then pans back as he dangles it in front of the officer, who screams behind the tape in agony. Mr. Blonde, in a teasing manner, speaks inside the ear by saying, "Hey, what's going on? Can you hear that?" Mr. Blonde then casually walks out of the warehouse while the officer continues to scream in agony. He takes a metal one gallon can of gasoline from the trunk of his car and brings it back inside. He opens the container and splashes gasoline over the officer and leaves a small trail of it on the ground as he steps back a few feet. Image:Orange shooting blonde.jpg Mr. Orange shoots Mr. Blonde. Mr. Blonde rips the tape from the officer's face, and the officer tearfully begs for mercy. Mr. Blonde dismisses his requests and prepares to ignite the gasoline with his cigarette lighter. Suddenly, a series of gunshots ring out and hit Mr. Blonde several times in the chest, causing him to stagger backwards and fall into the wall. It is revealed that the shooter is the now-conscious Mr. Orange. Mr. Orange, clearly dying from his wound, tells the officer that he is actually an undercover police detective named Freddy Newandyke. The tied-up officer, who gives his name as Marvin Nash, reveals that he knew this all along, having met Mr. Orange five months previously (Mr. Orange did not remember this). Mr. Orange reassures the officer that a large police force is waiting a few blocks down the road for his signal to advance. The officer begs him to call in the force in light of both men's serious injuries, but Mr. Orange refuses to call anyone in until Joe arrives. Revelations about Freddy/Mr. OrangeFlashback: Mr. Orange, who is also referred to as Freddy throughout this scene, and a police detective named Holdaway (Randy Brooks) meet at a restaurant. Freddy tells Holdaway that he has secured a spot in a heist with Joe Cabot. Freddy talks about his first meeting with the other members of the gang, and, judging from Mr. White's discussion about the Brewers, Holdaway guesses he is from Milwaukee. Flashback: the first meeting, where Mr. Orange tells a story - which Mr. Orange memorized from a script Holdaway provided - about how he was almost caught by sheriff's deputies and their German Shepherd while carrying a travel bag full of marijuana while in the men's room at a Los Angeles train station. He tells the fully detailed story to White, Eddie and Joe in a nightclub. Flashback: A police station, Freddy and Holdaway search for info on Mr. White, who they discover is named Larry Dimmick. (This was omitted from the released version of the film but can be viewed as one of the extras on the "Anniversary Edition" DVD.) Flashback: Mr. Orange's apartment a few days before the robbery, where he is called down to Eddie's car by cellular telephone. Mr. Orange arms himself with two handguns, places a wedding band on his finger (it's left ambiguous to whether it's a prop, a good luck charm, or that Mr. Orange is or was married), looks at himself in the mirror and tries to calm himself down. Mr. Orange then proceeds to the warehouse where the robbers will receive their aliases. Image:Ltierney2.JPG Joe Cabot (Lawrence Tierney) talks to the group at a club. Flashback: The rendezvous warehouse, before the robbery, where some of the group is talking and joking. When everyone finally arrives, Joe begins to explain the master plan and gives everyone — except for himself and Eddie — their aliases. Mr. Pink protests his name as being too effeminate (sounds more like "Mr. Pussy") and Mr. Brown says his name sounds too much like "Mr. Shit." The group argues until Joe quickly and bluntly lays down the law and regains control of the meeting. The scene ends as Joe begins describing the holdup plan. Holdaway asks Freddy what Joe is like. Freddy at first can't really describe as being other than a cool guy. But then comes up with the best description of Joe as The Thing from The Fantastic Four. Flashback: Freddy and Holdaway discussing the robbery plan. Freddy expresses his discomfort with the entire undercover operation but Holdaway calms him down and assures him that protection will be there for him. (Another scene which was deleted from the released version.) Flashback: Mr. White and Mr. Orange sitting in a car in front of the diamond exchange several days before the robbery discussing the plan in detail. Mr. White quizzes Mr. Orange on the plan's details and offers advice on how to deal with any problems that may arise. There seems to be good chemistry between the two and Mr. White appears to have taken a liking to Mr. Orange. Flashback: Mr. Brown, Mr. White and Mr. Orange fleeing from the police immediately following the robbery. Mr. Brown, driving, is bleeding from a gunshot wound to the head and crashes into the back of a parked car. Mr. White jumps out of the car and runs to the end of the alley to find a police car coming around the corner. As the police car stops, Mr. White rapidly fires his two pistols into the car's windshield, killing both officers. Mr. White comes back to the car to find Mr. Brown dead. Mr. White and Mr. Orange proceed to the end of the alley and force a car to stop and order the driver out. The driver (Suzanne Celeste) however, is armed with a revolver and shoots Mr. Orange in the stomach just after he opens the door, explaining the wound seen throughout the movie. Mr. Orange shoots the driver in the chest, killing her instantly. Mr. White pulls Mr. Orange, shocked by what he just did, into the car and they begin to drive to the rendezvous warehouse, the same scene with which the film proper began. Climax and conclusionMr. White, Mr. Pink, and Eddie return to the warehouse to find Mr. Blonde dead and the officer bloodied and covered in gasoline. Mr. Orange tells them that Mr. Blonde went insane and was going to burn the officer alive, and then kill Mr. Orange and the rest of the gang when they return, to take the diamonds for himself. Mr. White believes him, Eddie thinks he is lying, and Mr. Pink is neutral — trying to calm everyone down. Eddie, furious at Mr. Orange, pulls out his gun and shoots the tied-up officer several times in the chest, killing him. To Mr. Orange, he then reveals Mr. Blonde's history of loyalty to the Cabots, how he did four years without ever revealing anything to to police, and how after he gets out, and the Cabots make good on their obligations towards him, how it would be absurd for Mr. Blonde to just "Decide, out of the fucking blue, to rip us off!". Joe walks in and claims that anything else Mr. Orange says would just be "more bullshit". He also tells the group that Mr. Blue, whose fate had been unknown to this point, was killed (presumably by the police). Joe then accuses Mr. Orange of being an undercover cop because he wasn't "100% sure" that he could be trusted. Mr. White dismisses Joe's claim and adamantly defends Mr. Orange, stating that he "knows" him and he "wouldn't do that". Joe pulls his gun out and points it at Mr. Orange; Mr. White pulls his gun out and points it at Joe; and Eddie pulls his gun out and points it at Mr. White. Mr. Pink screams for everyone to calm down as the three yell at each other and threaten to shoot. Eddie breaks the soft voices by yelling, "Larry, stop pointing that fucking gun at my dad!" Suddenly, everyone except for Mr. Pink and Mr. Orange open fire all at once. In the script the standoff is not described. If one watches the film closely one can see that, in sequence:
The bullet hitting Eddie is not seen, although Mr. White's gun points in his direction and fires a round; the mistake was acknowledged by director Tarantino as an error involving blood squibs that did not go off. Mr. Pink, unharmed, stares in shock at the carnage for a second. On the ground are the corpses of Joe, Eddie, Mr. Blonde, and the fatally wounded Mr. White and Mr. Orange. He then grabs the valise full of diamonds and runs out of the warehouse. As police cars roar outside the warehouse, Mr. White pulls Mr. Orange close to him and Mr. Orange tells Mr. White that he is a cop, and that he is sorry. Mr. White, clearly feeling horrified and betrayed by this statement, puts the gun to Mr. Orange's cheek as he tries to control his tears. During this, police sirens can be heard and police yelling with Mr. Pink. Shots are fired and Mr. Pink surrenders to police and is arrested. The police then storm inside and demand Mr. White put the gun down. At this point the camera pushes into a close-up on Mr. White's face. One shot is heard, followed by several more, implying that Mr White shot Mr Orange and was in turn shot by the police. After this scene, the film immediately cuts to the credits, accompanied by Coconut by Harry Nilsson. Spoilers end here.
InfluencesReservoir Dogs is influenced by numerous films, particularly Hong Kong action cinema, French New Wave, the heist film and Samuel Fuller. It also draws influence from Stanley Kubrick's crime film, The Killing. These influences can be seen in the suits the characters wear (inspired by the finale of John Woo's A Better Tomorrow II, itself possibly inspired by the Blues Brothers), to the color code names from The Taking of Pelham One Two Three, to Tierney's line about John Dillinger (he played the famous Indiana bank robber in the 1945 film Dillinger). The use of popular music as a backdrop to an extremely violent atmosphere is likely due to the influence of Martin Scorsese's film Goodfellas. The screenplay, written by Tarantino, was partly inspired by Hong Kong director and York University film graduate Ringo Lam's 1987 Long hu feng yun (City on Fire), starring Chow Yun-Fat and Danny Lee. Reportedly one of Tarantino's favorite films, he borrowed several key plot points and scenes, though the styles, dialogue and stories are quite different. In particular, the "Mexican standoff" at the end of the film is similar to one that takes place in City on Fire, and both stories are told from the point of view of an undercover cop with conflicting loyalties. Though it is hardly mentioned, Tarantino also makes use of comic books as another one of his pop culture references. When describing Joe Cabot, Mr. Orange likens him to "The Thing" from Marvel Comics Fantastic Four. Also, one can clearly see a Silver Surfer poster in the background of Freddy Newandyke's apartment when he is talking to himself before he leaves. Tarantino himself has been candid about his influences. In a 1994 interview with Empire magazine, he said, "I steal from every single movie ever made. If people don't like that, then tough tills, don't go and see it, all right? I steal from everything. Great artists steal, they don't do homages."[citation needed] Reservoir Dogs itself inspired many similar films in the 1990s, often low-budget independent films. Movies often cited as examples include Destiny Turns on the Radio (which featured Tarantino), Suicide Kings, Thursday, Two Days in the Valley, Killing Zoe (Tarantino was the executive producer), S.F.W., and Mad Dog Time. Tarantino's scripts have also influenced the Indian cinema. For example, the Indian movie Kaante (2002) had an extremely similar plot to Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs while also getting some of its ideas from Bryan Singer's The Usual Suspects (1995). ReceptionReservoir Dogs opened in 19 theaters with a first week total of $147,839 domestically.[2] The film was never released to more than 61 theaters and totaled $2,832,029 at the box office domestically.[2] The vast majority of people who saw the film saw it on videotape, especially after the popularity of Pulp Fiction. DVD Release Comparison
Both DVDs contain 4 audio commentary tracks as well: one with Quentin Tarantino, Lawrence Bender, and selected cast and crew, and 3 by critics Amy Taubin (Film Comment), Peter Travers (Rolling Stone), and Emanuel Levy (author). The only difference is that the 10th anniversary edition has the cast & crew commentary on the widescreen disc, and the critics' commentaries are relegated to the full screen disc. The 10th Anniversary edition is missing a line of dialogue as Mr. White checks on Mr. Orange. When Mr. Pink asks about him, Mr. White says "I think he just passed out". This line is present in the original non-anamorphic release and restored in the 15th Anniversary edition, marking the first time that the film has been released on DVD with both an intact soundtrack and an anamorphic transfer. The 15th Anniversary transfer also includes more vivid colors as opposed to the more washed-out look of the 10th Anniversary transfer. TriviaSpoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.
References in other Tarantino films
References in popular cultureReservoir Dogs has frequently been referenced in other works due to its iconic nature.
Image:Reservoir Cats.png Reservoir cats featuring a caricature of Quentin Tarrantino.
CastImage:Reservoirdog.jpg The opening sequence
Crew
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