Reservoir Dogs (1992)

Director:

Quentin Tarantino

Writers:

Quentin Tarantino (written by)
Roger Avary (background radio dialog) ...

Release Date:

23 October 1992 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

Seven Total Strangers Team Up For The Perfect Crime. They Don't Know Each Other's Name. But They've Got Each Other's Color

Plot:

After a simple jewelery heist goes terribly wrong, the surviving criminals begin to suspect that one of them is a police informant.

Plot Keywords:

Police | Robbery | Diamond | Undercover | Flashback

Awards:

8 wins & 6 nominations

Cast

Harvey Keitel	...	Mr. White - Larry Dimmick
Tim Roth	...	Mr. Orange - Freddy Newandyke
Michael Madsen	...	Mr. Blonde - Vic Vega
Chris Penn	...	Nice Guy Eddie Cabot
Steve Buscemi	...	Mr. Pink
Lawrence Tierney	...	Joe Cabot
Randy Brooks	...	Holdaway
Kirk Baltz	...	Ofcr. Marvin Nash
Edward Bunker	...	Mr. Blue (as Eddie Bunker)
Quentin Tarantino	...	Mr. Brown
Steven Wright	...	K-Billy DJ (voice)
Rich Turner	...	Sheriff #1
David Steen	...	Sheriff #2
Tony Cosmo	...	Sheriff #3
Stevo Polyi	...	Sheriff #4 (as Stevo Poliy)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong violence and language.

Runtime:

99 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Finland:K-16 (cut) | Finland:K-18 | Hungary:18 | Argentina:16 | Singapore:M18 (cut) | Philippines:R-18 | Brazil:18 | USA:TV-MA (cable rating) | South Africa:16 | Singapore:R(A) | Argentina:18 (DVD rating) | Canada:18A (Alberta) (2009) | Australia:MA (Cable TV rating) | Canada:18+ (Quebec) (Original rating) | Australia:R | Belgium:KNT | Canada:16+ (Québec) | Canada:R | Denmark:15 (DVD rating) | France:-16 | Germany:18 | Hong Kong:III | Iceland:16 | Ireland:18 | Israel:18 | Italy:VM18 | Japan:R-15 | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:R18 | Norway:18 | Portugal:M/16 | South Korea:(Banned) (original rating) | South Korea:18 (re-rating) | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Johnie's Coffee Shop - 6101 Wilshire Boulevard, Fairfax, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Live Entertainment

Trivia:

Mr. Pink's numerous references to being "professional" are a reference to movie director Howard Hawks, a favorite of Quentin Tarantino's.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Mr. Blonde is pouring gasoline on the cop, the cops legs are taped to the chair. When the angle changes you can see his legs kicking up in the air. And then they go back to being taped up.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Mr. Brown: Let me tell you what 'Like a Virgin' is about. It's all about a girl who digs a guy with a big dick. The entire song. It's a metaphor for big dicks.
Mr. Blonde: No, no. It's about a girl who is very vulnerable. She's been fucked over a few times. Then she meets some guy who's really sensitive...
Mr. Brown: Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa... Time out Greenbay. Tell that fucking bullshit to the tourists.
Joe: Toby... Who the fuck is Toby? Toby...
Mr. Brown: 'Like a Virgin' is not about this sensitive girl who meets a nice fella. That's what "True Blue" is about, now, granted, no argument about that.
Mr. Orange: Which one is 'True Blue'?
Nice Guy Eddie: 'True Blue' was a big ass hit for Madonna. I don't even follow this Tops In Pops shit, and I've at least heard of "True Blue".
Mr. Orange: Look, asshole, I didn't say I ain't heard of it. All I asked was how does it go? Excuse me for not being the world's biggest Madonna fan.
Mr. Blonde: Personally, I can do without her.
Mr. Blue: I like her early stuff. You know, 'Lucky Star', 'Borderline' - but once she got into her 'Papa Don't Preach' phase, I don't know, I tuned out.
Mr. Brown: Hey, you guys are making me lose my... train of thought here. I was saying something, what was it?
Joe: Oh, Toby was this Chinese girl, what was her last name?
Mr. White: What's that?
Joe: I found this old address book in a jacket I ain't worn in a coon's age. What was that name?
Mr. Brown: What the fuck was I talking about?
Mr. Pink: You said 'True Blue' was about a nice girl, a sensitive girl who meets a nice guy, and that 'Like a Virgin' was a metaphor for big dicks.
Mr. Brown: Lemme tell you what 'Like a Virgin' is about. It's all about this cooze who's a regular fuck machine, I'm talking morning, day, night, afternoon, dick, dick, dick, dick, dick, dick, dick, dick, dick.
Mr. Blue: How many dicks is that?
Mr. White: A lot.
Mr. Brown: Then one day she meets this John Holmes motherfucker and it's like, whoa baby, I mean this cat is like Charles Bronson in the 'Great Escape', he's digging tunnels. Now, she's gettin' the serious dick action and she's feeling something she ain't felt since forever. Pain. Pain.
Joe: Chew? Toby Chew?
Mr. Brown: It hurts her. It shouldn't hurt her, you know, her pussy should be Bubble Yum by now, but when this cat fucks her it hurts. It hurts just like it did the first time. You see the pain is reminding a fuck machine what it once was like to be a virgin. Hence, 'Like a Virgin'.
Joe: Wong?

Movie Connections:

References Mean Streets (1973)

Soundtrack:

I GOTCHA

A Neo-Violent Joy

This is without a doubt one of the best movies I've ever seen and definately deserves its position on the Top 250. It's an acquired taste, but if you've been desensitised to violence (as i have), then you will want to watch this again from the minute it ends. Every single actor was perfectly fitted for its character. Steve Buscemi as the squirrely Mr. Pink, Harvey Keitel as the veteran Mr. White, and of course, Michael Madsen as the phsycotic Mr. Blonde. The list goes on and on.

Some people said that the violence was unnecessary and didn't move the plot forward as it did with Pulp Fiction. I agree, but the violence was used to develop the character's personalities. It showed their disregard for human life and that our anti-heros saw killing a cop as being as stepping on a cockroach .

I urge future viewers of this movie not to instantly compare it to Pulp Fiction and enjoy it as it's own film. An interesting thrill-ride crime drama from beginning to end, I give this film *****/*****