My top 30 films - No.15

15. Reservoir Dogs (1992) - "Every 'dog' has its day."

Quentin Tarantino's calling card. This announced his arrival to the film world. "Hello, my name is Quentin Tarantino and I am a video geek. I am proud of that and if you have a problem with it..." Careful, he might set Michael Madsen on you.

As you may know, it's about six criminals who don't know each other but are hired by Joe Cabot (Lawrence Tierney) and his son Eddie (Chris Penn) to rob a jeweler. All they know about each other is their aliases - Mr. Brown (Quentin Tarantino), Mr. White (Harvey Keitel), Mr. Blonde (Michael Madsen (Thelma & Louise, Free Willy and Kill Bill)), Mr. Blue (Eddie Bunker), Mr. Orange (Tim Roth) and Mr. Pink (Steve Buscemi (Fargo, The Big Lebowski and Boardwalk Empire). The reason they've been given aliases is so they can concentrate on the job without becoming too close each other. It begins with them all in a diner having breakfast, whilst discussing songs by Madonna. The audience does not actually show them robbing the store, but the next scene involves one of them driving away with another one bleeding in the back seats. I am not going to say who it is, in case you haven't seen it. The problem is that the police were waiting for them and this leads them to believe that one of them is a rat and has tipped off the police. It then cuts back to scenes in the past, showing how certain members, for example Mr. White and Mr. Blonde, came to be involved in the heist due to their relationship with the Cabots.

The film has faced criticism in the past, especially for its large amount of violence and strong language. I will not give away which one particular scene that viewers found most unnerving, but that's the sort of thing that has made people walk out screenings of it. Somebody who did walk out of one screening was Wes Craven, who is famous for creating many infamous horror films such as The Last House On The Left, Scream and A Nightmare On Elm Street. When asked why he walked out, Craven said The Last House On The Left was a response to TV images of the Vietnam War and that the violence was about something, whereas it was just there for entertainment in Reservoir Dogs.
The beginning of the film is iconic. It is another fantastic dialogue set piece, where they start by discussing the true meaning of Madonna's Like a Virgin. Maybe they do have a point about the true meaning behind it. When it comes to leaving, they insist on giving a tip to the waitress, well everyone except Mr. Pink. He doesn't believe in it. I remember seeing an article one morning on BBC News about how much to tip people and I immediately thought of that scene. My other favourite scene is when each of them receives their colour name for the job. Once again, Mr. Pink lets himself be heard at this moment.

Mr. Pink: Why am I Mr. Pink?
Joe: Because you're a faggot, alright?
Mr. Pink: Why can't we pick our own colours?
Joe: No way, no way. Tried once and it doesn't work. You get four guys, all fighting over who's gonna be Mr. Black. But they don't know each other, so nobody wants to back down. No way, I pick. You're Mr. Pink. Be thankful you're not Mr. Yellow.
Mr. Brown: Yeah, but Mr. Brown, that's a little too close to Mr. S***.
Mr. Pink: Mr. Pink sounds like Mr. P****. How about if I'm Mr. Purple? That sounds good to me, I'll be Mr. Purple.
Joe: You're not Mr. Purple. Some guy on some other job is Mr. Purple. You're Mr. Pink.
Mr. White: Who cares what your name is?
Mr. Pink: Yeah, that's easy for you to say. You're Mr. White. You've got a cool sounding name...

One thing that stands out throughout the film is the soundtrack, which is something referred to in the opening scene, when Eddie asks "You guys been listening to K-Billy's Super Sounds of the Seventies?" Throughout the film, the audience hears the deadpan voice of Steven Wright introducing tracks, including George Baker Selection's Little Green Bag (which is played during the title sequence with the infamous walk scene) and Stealers Wheel's Stuck In The Middle With You (which appears in the unnerving scene). All the tracks are from the 1970s, from Quentin Tarantino's own collection and he believes that the music is a counterpoint to the on-screen action and violence. Those two tracks I have mentioned are famous nowadays and whenever somebody hears either of them, one of the thoughts in their head must be Reservoir Dogs.

There are two particular actors whose performances stand out for me. The first one, as mentioned before, is that of Steve Buscemi. The other one, for me, isn't Michael Madsen, although he does have that presence on the screen; it has to be Tim Roth. Watching this, you cannot believe that he is now known for playing Cal Lightman in Lie To Me. It's the same whenever I see Hugh Laurie playing the idiot that is the Prince Regent in Blackadder The Third; I think "Oh my god, this guy is House?!?" His character is at the centre of the film for a majority of it and he does portray it well. As we learn, there is more to his character that meets the eye. Even though he was born in London, he does do quite a convincing American accent. This is perhaps his standout performance on the big screen, even he did win a BAFTA and receive an Oscar nomination for his performance in Rob Roy.

Empire named this film the "Greatest Independent Film of all Time". It cost only $1.2 million to make and made approximately $14.7 million at the box office. It proved to be more successful in the UK than in America, taking £6.5 million over here. This features many theme which would later become iconic in Tarantino's career: nonlinear storyline, extreme violence, lots of swearing, references to pop culture, etc. Reservoir Dogs did gain extra popularity a couple of years later, after the release of Pulp Fiction, but I think this is only just better. You hear Little Green Bag, you want to put on a pair of sunglasses and start walking in slow motion.

P.S. "Are you gonna bark all day, little doggy, or are you gonna bite?"