A film of genuine quality...

Rating: 9/10 (7 October 2005)

Reservoir dogs epitomises the stark violence that Tarantino was known for. His first outing as a director is the best other than the miraculous Pulp Fiction, but face it that is one of the best films EVER made. For the most part the film is set in an abandoned warehouse, where a motley crew of criminals dwell over the aftermath of a jewellery store heist gone wrong... With fantastic performances from the ensemble cast of Harvey Keitel, Steve Buscemi, Chris Penn, Tim Roth, Tarantino himself, the late Lawrence Tierney and of course Michael Madsen in a career defining role form the colour coded gang who are furious at each other as they discover there is a rat in their midst who has set them all up. But who? Of course we know, and it is quite ironic to see Mr White defending him oblivious to who he is. This creates a great elevated level of tension as you watch him biting everyones head off who suggests that he Mr Orange is the rat. Brilliant. The story is told in typical jigsaw fashion, and it lets you know how the crew came together. The ending is a very tense affair as the cops close in and the so-called professionals turn on each other. The dialogue is fantastic, great examples include. " Are you gonna bark all day, little doggie. Or are you gonna bite?" and " was that as good for you as it was for me?" These are pretty memorable, especially the latter which is said after one of the most notorious movie scenes ever, which is when Mr Blonde cuts off his poor hostage, Marvin Dash's ear... gory. But still one of the best ever scenes in film history. Sure these are great and memorable, but the film undoubtedly owes a lot to older films, in particular I think it owes a lot to The Asphalt Jungle. But I think Tarantino has created a masterful piece of film, with slick direction, brilliant dialogue and an exceptionally told story, I think this film will definitely go down in history. As it says... every dog has its day, this will have many.