Film: Reservoir Dogs

[Rated E]

I finally saw this movie last night (inspired by my recent introduction to Pulp Fiction).

I thought it was excellent.

Especially the presence of Steve Buscemi.

A funny thing that I noticed. The characters had a similar blase attitude towards death, eg.

Mr. Pink: You kill anybody?
Mr. White: A few cops.
Mr. Pink: No real people?
Mr. White: Just cops.

that was evident in Pulp Fiction; except of course Mr White (Harvey Keitel), in relation to Mr Orange (Tim Roth), though they were team mates so it was somewhat different. However in the opening scene, many of the characters in the diner expressed sympathy for how low paid waitresses are:

Nice Guy Eddie: C'mon, throw in a buck!
Mr. Pink: Uh-uh, I don't tip.
Nice Guy Eddie: You don't tip?
Mr. Pink: Nah, I don't believe in it.
Nice Guy Eddie: You don't believe in tipping?
Mr. Blue: You know what these chicks make? They make shit.
Mr. Pink: Don't give me that. She don't make enough money that she can quit.
Nice Guy Eddie: I don't even know a fucking Jew who'd have the balls to say that. Let me get this straight: you don't ever tip?
Mr. Pink: I don't tip because society says I have to. All right, if someone deserves a tip, if they really put forth an effort, I'll give them something a little something extra. But this tipping automatically, it's for the birds. As far as I'm concerned, they're just doing their job.
Mr. Blue: Hey, our girl was nice.
Mr. Pink: She was okay. She wasn't anything special.
Mr. Blue: What's special? Take you in the back and suck your dick?
Nice Guy Eddie: I'd go over twelve percent for that.

I also thought it was funny how these people are all criminals, so they basically have a disregard for laws and certain other socially accepted behaviours, however they find Mr. Pink's refusal to tip offensive. It's as if they care strongly about a social norm, in the form of tipping, yet they don't care about other social norms, in that they break the law as part of their job.

 

[L2R]

rate this classic!


i love it. i remember when it came out, this really old woman at my high school brought it up and strongly and vehemently recommended that we avoid this god awful film, so naturally i went to see it first chance i got. loved every second.

i even saw a stage production of it at an intimate comedy club one time. good shit. i still rock the tshirt that came with the dvd!

5/5

 

[Rated E]

5 stars.

It doesn't get any better for me. I loved every second of this movie.

 

[His Name Is Frank]

Yes! I rented this soon after I saw Pulp Fiction in theaters. Not as fun as PF,but ranks just as high for me. 5 stars!!

 

[drew345]

great movie I like it better than pulp fiction

 

[supertrav77]

I just saw it for the first time in about 10 years lately. Compared to QT's later stuff, its a little rough around the edges at times. It's agood but not great movie.

 

[Rated E]

haha

I'm undecided on which I like better.

Probably Pulp Fiction. But I like the idea that Reservoir Dogs is set mostly in that same warehouse, I thought that was cool.

 

[GlassAss420]

Reservoir Dogs was more straight forward I thought..

5/5 loved it more everytime i seen it.. always a good vid to watch if someone hasn't seen it..

 

[L2R]

reservoir dogs is heavily influenced by an earlier john woo film. some even call it a remake.

 

[ego_loss]

^^
Most of what Tarantino does is heavily inspired by lots of other movies.

The dude was a massive movie geek before he sold his first screenplay. MASSIVE.

 

[ozzifar]

one of my all time favourites it has such a cool edge about it, and a nasty one.

"stuck in the middle with you!"

 

[tambourine-man]

"Hey... why do I have to be Mr Pink?"

"Because you're a faggot!"

:D

This thread has just reminded me of how humorous the dialogue was and how masterful the entire film still is. Gotta watch it again.

 

[GratefulFloyd]

everytime I hear stuck in the middle with you I think of this movie, it is a great movie. One time I got wasted at a wedding and this song came on and I started dancing like him.... only a few people got what I was doing

 

[L2R]

i really dug the superbly detailed action figures when they came out (didn't buy any)

(with removeable ear action!)

and i never played the video game

although it doesn't look TOO bad

although now that i hear it was banned, i might go try and find a download.

 

[eggman]

Watched Reservoir Dogs last night after not seeing it for a few years.

Im watching the cafe scene and listening to the 'Like a Virgin' monologue when it comes to me...

I hate Tarantino's acting.

Its wooden, 2 dimensional and phoney sounding. If it wasn't the director of the film and most importantly in retrospect, not QT, then would people stand for it.

Jimmy in Pulp Fiction wasn't much better.

Am I alone here or not?

Clearly I love QT but I have just realised his acting irritates me

 

[eggman]

reservoir dogs is heavily influenced by an earlier john woo film. some even call it a remake.

Are you referring to City on Fire?

It had Chow Yun-Fat in it but wasn't directed by Woo, is there another film that I am missing?

 

[L2R]

actually i think it was city on fire

and you're right about tarantino's acting. of all the characters in pulp fiction, he's the only one that mumbles. he got better over time methinks. his voice is much clearer and confident in death proof.

 

[Benefit]

Reservoir Dogs is a less polished precursor to Pulp Fiction. Personally, I am not a fan of sensationalistic and gratuitous violence just for the sake of being violent and therefore am not a huge admirer of Quentin Tarantino's. Pulp Fiction had some other things going for it in addition to the violence; Reservoir Dogs less so. It could have used a little less screaming Tim Roth as well. A lot of young people, and especially drug users, love Tarantino films because they are depraved psychopaths and they like to see stylized versions of their fantasy selves on the screen.

I don't think it's a masterpiece or a classic by any stretch and is quite overrated in some circles, but it's worth seeing because of the story behind its creation and it is good for an independent relatively low-budget production. However I wouldn't personally read too much into it. Reservoir Dogs is stylish, hyperbolic, gruesome and well acted with flashes of violent pop culture existentialism and chock full of Tarantino's patented machine gun dialogue. There is a certain appeal to Tarantino's style of dialogue, but it's got nothing on a good Robert Towne script.

It's hard to go wrong with Lawrence Tierney and Harvey Kietel.

 

[ego_loss]

A lot of young people, and especially drug users, love Tarantino films because they are depraved psychopaths and they like to see stylized versions of their fantasy selves on the screen.

Kind of like how a lot of rich kid types love Wall Street because they wish they were as cool as Gordon Gecko?

 

[Rated E]

Or how 50 Cent watches Scarface and wishes he was Montana?