Reservoir Dogs

Rating:
Summary: The embryo for "Pulp Fiction"
Review: Quentin Tarantino's first major film is a very promising start for one of the most eccentric filmmakers of the last decade. "Reservoir Dogs" has the same format as "Pulp Fiction," when it comes to switching back and forth through different time periods to elaborate on a character's background and events leading up to the film's climax, and at first it was hard to follow, and somewhat bewildering to add to that.

The cast was great too; Tim Roth, Harvey Keitel, Steve Buschemi, etc. Even Tarantino himself plays a role in the movie. I can't give it 5 stars only because I've seen it once, but it is definitely worth watching. The excessive amount of blood and violence may be too hard for some people to tolerate, and that seems to be a turn off for some movie-viewers, but this movie still is awesome.

Rating:
Summary: Still Terrific After All These Years
Review: And, it's easy to see why one of the alternate ear-amputation scenes was not used: The resulting wound, and it's pulsing blood, was reminiscent of Danny Aykroyd's cut-and-bleeding finger in his comedy skit portrayal of chef Julia Child. The film's final cut (ha, ha) was the best one, understated yet chilling.

And, the scene with the female detective who provided background on the gang members should have been left in. The movie wasn't too long anyway -- that scene would have added depth to it.

Great cast, great plot, great writing, great film.

Rating:
Summary: Revolting, unsatisfying
Review: The ONLY reason this video is in my home is because it is my husband's video. The movie lacks a plot, or any real substance. The level of violence is completely unneccessary and gory. Despite starring some of Hollywood's heavyweights, it is a true let-down. If you are looking for action, appropriate violence and a REAl plot, investigate Tarantino's masterful "True Romance."

Rating:
Summary: It hurts like the first time.
Review: Watching this DVD release of RD was the first chance I've had to see it since the theatrical run, and it was just as good as the first time... if not better. From the Madonna conversation that kicks off the film, to the empty frame that ends it, Reservior Dogs never fails to be completely on target in every aspect of production. Dialogue, pacing, editing, character development, story arc, camera movement - it all comes together in what seems to be an almost effortless display of top notch film making. I've been going around for the past few years saying that Pulp Fiction was my favorite Tarantino movie, but now that I've seen it again, I gotta give it up for Reservoir Dogs.

Several people have mentioned in their reviews that the overall effect has waned for them because of passage of time, but it has only served to make this film indelible for me. Originally I thought of it as clever and a breath of fresh cinematic air. Now I classify it as classic, and I don't throw that term around easily. There are so many moments that could illustrate this, but for me personally it has to be the scene when Mr. White, while trying to convince Mr. Orange that he's not going to die of his gunshot wound (trust me, it's NOT a spoiler), first gets Mr. Orange to repeat it after him, then starts singing it to Mr. Orange. "You're not gooonna diii-iiiieee." As if making the statement into a song will help it solidify into reality. It's a brilliant, if quick, black comic moment. Not sure if that's actually in the script or if it's a Keitel ad lib, but it sums up what is so fantastic about this film's ability to make you queasy and giddy all at the same time.

The only reason to not see Reservoir Dogs is if you are in any way easily offended by language (the F and N words), blood (copious amounts), violence (ears being sliced off) or frank ... talk (the real meaning of "Like A Virgin"). In which case I would suggest that you're probably not reading this review anyway.

Rating:
Summary: Five stars for the film, three stars for the package.
Review: Though I have mixed feelings about Quentin Tarantino's work in general, I have nothing but praise for Reservoir Dogs. It hasn't dated a bit since its release 10 years ago (though that's because of its almost vintage look to begin with) and still packs a wallop, remaining a bold, exhilarating, unique masterpiece, with all of the energy and fresh creativity of a movie-loving filmmaker but none of the pretensions.

I was positively elated at the prospect of this 10th-anniversary re-release, but I must say, the bonus materials are not nearly as satisfying as I thought they would be. First off, the commentary tracks. Tarantino himself is that oddest of species -- many actors and directors are not good at recording commentaries because they're either too bland (too much of "I love this", "I love that") or have an accent (John Woo, for example), but Tarantino's commentary track suffers from too much verbality. Much like his scene in the film Sleep with Me, Tarantino often engages in lengthy verbal diarrhea which often have only cursory relevance to the scene at hand. Producer Monte Hellman is even more irritating; on his commentary he frequently refers to the film as if he'd directed it. Grotesquely annoying. I would much rather have had more of the actors -- Tim Roth's comments on his own work are always wonderfully insightful, and I would have loved to hear Harvey Keitel talk about the film, given his crucial role in getting the film financed. A terrific surprise is cinematographer Andrzej Sekula's commentary. Perceptive, illuminating and devoid of ego, Sekula's commentary really elevated my interpretation of this film. Another surprise commentary is by Rolling Stone film critic Peter Travers, whose insight into this film's use of music is very convincing.

Unfortunately, much of the rest of the package often smacks of self-importance. The packaging (with a different character/actor on each cover) is cute and not unfitting, but the idea of selling all four in an extremely expensive pack sounds plain greedy, considering all the discs contain the same information. So you'd be paying the price of four double-disc editions solely for the different packaging. They should have simply released a larger boxed set with all the packaging but only two DVDs to cut down on cost. The cut scenes are interesting, and it's obvious from first glance why they were cut (good job, Tarantino and editor Sally Menke), but there really aren't that many of them. Other than that, it seems to me as if the descriptions of the bonus materials on the packaging are much more interesting than what's being offered. An ingenious job in marketing, perhaps, but the bonus materials somehow left me unsatiated.

I can't really explain why the seemingly abundant bonus materials somehow left me cold. Criterion Collection DVDs, for example, somehow manage to deliver much more depth: The excellent double-disc issue of Traffic, for example; even Criterion's release of Seven Samurai, with only one excellent, vital commentary track, was highly satisfying. I somehow think if Criterion had re-released Reservoir Dogs on DVD, I would be much happier with the package. As it is, I still watch this film frequently, but don't feel too often tempted to explore the extras.

Rating:
Summary: Tarantino's Best has never looked better...
Review: Welcome to the real world of Tarantino. If you like blood, guns, the f* word, and Harvey Kietel then this movie is for you, if you don't, then don't bother looking at this title.

So to the action...
Reservoir Dogs is known by avid movie watchers as Tarantino's best, he took gangster movies to the next level. What can be more entertaining than Michael Madsen dancing to K-Billy's Super Sounds of the Seventies? How about him dancing to it while torturing a cop? Remember this is raw stuff but Tarantino has placed the burden on real people, characters that you can relate to. Everyone finds themselves taking sides with characters in this movie, whether its crude Mr. Blonde or nervous Mr. Pink. --A+

So to the key factors that make this an excellent movie...
1. The natural dialogue of Tarantino.
2. The plot and method used to tell the story.
3. The incredibly well developed characters.
4. The impressive random cuts, which flow well.

Now to the dvd...
Well-done artisan. There is a cool kick with the new dvd, 5 different covers; each featuring a different character (Orange, Blonde, Pink, White, and the limited Brown). Inside each is a nice pamphlet on the character and the inside flap has some quotes, pictures, and a bio. The dvd has everything you would want: a great commentary (cast/crew/director), deleted scenes alternate angle ear scene, etc. Another great feature is that its a two disc set except each disc either has a wide screen version or a full screen version of the movie. Overall it is one of the best dvd's out there. --A+

This is one of those movies that you shouldn't miss. Its definitely for you if you like: Analyze This, Goodfellas, Pulp Fiction, and Jackie Brown.

Rating:
Summary: Shameless
Review: Don't get me wrong, Reservoir Dogs as a movie is fully deserving of 4 or 5 stars (I say 4 OR 5 because it's starting to show it's age). It's a modern classic that any real film addict must have seen by now. This reveiw is of the Special Edition DVD box set release of the film.

Listen to me carefully when I say this: THIS BOX SET COLLECTS FOUR IDENTICAL 2-DISC DVD RELEASES OF RESERVOIR DOGS. The ONLY DIFFRENCE between these 4 copies are their BOX COVERS. Content wise the discs are the same.

It was a blatant enough move to release diffrent covers for the same movie, that's an obvious grab at your wallet from ARTISAN ENTERTAINMENT. But to then release a oh-so-holy box set collecting the covers is taking it a step too far. It's best to avoid collections like this at all costs, let's not make it into a trend. Thank you Artisan, your losing any respectable reputation you may have had by the minute. Quit wasting our time.

Rating:
Summary: Tarantino Makes His Mark
Review: Quentin Tarantino's directorial debut, Reservoir Dogs is a brilliantly written, unique film that paved the way for Mr. Tarantino's breakthrough film, Pulp Fiction. The plot of Reservoir Dogs revolves around a diamond heist that goes afoul. A group of criminals who have never worked together are assembled and given names like Mr. White, Mr. Pink and Mr. Blonde. The film is intercut with flashbacks in which the characters played by Michael Madsen, Harvey Keitel and Tim Roth are explored in more detail. Mr. Madsen is incredible as the psychotic Mr. Blonde and his scene in which he brutalizes a cop in medieval fashion is alternately disturbingly brutal and humorous. Steve Buschemi is a scream as the jumpy Mr. Pink and Mr. Keitel provides the film with its backbone as Mr. White. Mr. Tarantino has keen eye for detail and the opening scene in a diner in which the crooks are discussing everything from what Madonna meant in her song "Like A Virgin" to 70's songs to tipping contains some of the sharpest dialogue in years. Mr. Tarantino also uses music to great effect and he overlays scenes with the voice of comedian Steven Wright as host of a radio show K Billy's Super Sounds of the 70's. Reservoir Dogs is a tremendous debut film and introduced Mr. Tarantino as a force.
The 10th Anniversary Edition is nice a step up in sound and quality from the first edition. The extras are good, but just the overall better sound and picture is worth purchasing this version if you already own the first.

Rating:
Summary: Why am I Mr. Pink?
Review: An excellent film about a heist gone bad. Several criminals have been assembled to do a job (each not knowing any of the others real names), but it doesn't go down very well. The most part of this movie is spent trying to figure out - who made it, what happenned, and what are we gonna do? While at the same time trying to figure out who has yet to die.

Excellent casting. Harvey Keitel, Steve Buscemi, Tim Roth, and the rest are perfect. Michael Madsen's part was perhaps the most memorable...

Rating:
Summary: Psychopath Chic
Review: If you've seen Scarface, Casino, Pulp Fiction, Boondock Saints, or countless others of the genre, then you don't need to see this one. The bad guys are once again totally hip - way cooler than the cops or ordinary citizens - this time wearing shades and matching dark suits with skinny ties and lapels, like some kind of '70's new wave band. These way cool guys go on to rob, murder, mutilate a cop, and leave a companion to bleed for the entire movie.

It's as if there is a contest between directors of this genre to see who can show the most depraved characters, or who can use the F-word the most time in 5 minutes of dialogue.

Other than the slick clothes, Steve Buscemi's character is virtually interchangeable with the one in Fargo, except that this time he likes the DeFranco Family rather than Jose Feliciano.

This movie is cliche and disgusting at the same time.