From: peterme@ocf.berkeley.edu (Peter Merholz)
Newsgroups: alt.cult-movies
Subject: Re: Reservoir Dogs
Date: 11 Nov 1992 03:34:48 GMT
Organization: U. C. Berkeley Open Computing Facility
Distribution: na
NNTP-Posting-Host: headcrash.berkeley.edu

In article <1992Nov7.061629.10384@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu> dlightne@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu (David E Lightner) writes:
>WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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>   I just saw Reservoir Dogs, and although it is a very good gangster film,
>some of the violence was so intense that I found it both distracting and
>disturbing, and I usually think violence enhances a film.

I don't know if "usually" violence enhances a film... ITS A WONDERFUL LIFE
would not have been better with chainsaws or anything. However, some films
require violence as an aspect of theme, and this was definitely such a
film. Yes the violence was disturbing (that was the point, no?), but I
don't know about distracting.

>   The really disturbing scene was the cop being tortured.  I think this sort 
>of victum abuse, where the victum has no means of resisting, achieves nothing 
>but to psychologically abuse the audience.  It isn't healthy to see completely 
>helpless victums being tortured.  *Misery* is the same way.

Obviously, the cop torture scene was meant to disturb. However, did it 
distract... or engross? This was one of the most uncomfortable scenes I've
ever sat through on film, and normally, I'm offended by gratuitous violence.
However, though I was disturbed, I never really got the feeling that this was
uncalled for. I thought about this for a long time after watching the movie,
and basically I couldn't be angry at its inclusion. The point is, this guy
is a psychopathic fuck, and we're gonna show you... I mean, we never see 
the process of severing the ear (the cammera just looks away), and the
severed ear  becomes important later on (when he talks with Mr. Orange). This
was a real movie movie, with no pretense to reality, and when I watched this,
I found it so extreme so as to remove it from reality, and except it as pure
fantasy... Then it wasn't so bad! About MISERY, The torture of James Caan is
extremely necessary to the plot, so that we can feel his anguish and under-
stand the vitriol of his response. I'm surprised MISERY came up here, because
the scenes in the two movies are so thematically different.

>   All the other aspects of the film, such as the non-linear format, the humor,
>and the suspence, were quite excelent.  But again, after the torture scene, I 
>had a hard time calming down to enjoy the lighter moments.

I agree... This is the second or third best film of the year (behind DEEP
COVER and ONE FALSE MOVE). Tarantino shows an extremely capable hand for
a rookie director, and I look forward to his future efforts. I actually had
an easier time dealing with the film after the torture scene, one because
I wanted a release from that tension, and 2, I knew there was nothing they
could do to top that in discomfort, with was a relief.

--Peter M.


-- 
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Peter Merholz			*   MY GOD  * There is no god.
Research Assistant/		*    WHAT   * It's really quite that simple.
  Undergraduate F*ck-up		*   HAVE I  * Now, can't we discuss more 
UC Berkeley			*   DONE?!  * pertinent matters?
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