a masterpiece for the crime genre

Rating: 10/10 (3 July 2014)

with this simple, bloody, and artistic masterpiece Quentin Tarantino tells the movie world with his directional debut that he is here, and he is here to stay, as perhaps one of the greatest artistically diverse directors of recent memory.
the characters of this film are some of the most memorable and quotable of film history, with so many scenes that just ooze coolness, amazing scripting, and subtle creativity that leaves the viewer wanting to see more and more of Tarantino. But perhaps the stand-out characters of this movie are not the criminal yet moral Mr. White, or the young cop Mr. Orange, no, the true stars of this movie are Mr. Blonde and Mr. Pink. Mr. Blonde, aka Vic Vega, is a calm, sadistic psychopathic killer disguised as a professional criminal - and the scene in which he tortures Marvin Nash will continually echo throughout the halls of film history as one that blends black comedy, gore, and excellent acting into one of the most memorable moments of cinema. In this, Madsen effortlessly depicts a man who takes nothing but pleasure from the pure torture of an innocent man, who in turn is revealed to be an unsung hero, for keeping the identity of Mr. Orange a secret. But Madsen's dancing to Stealer's Wheels stuck in the middle with you, is so subtly funny, that we almost do not feel sympathy for the poor cop who is robbed of his ear, yet, whilst we follow the scene from his perspective, our attentions are purely concerned with Madsen's subtle insanity. Indeed, you do ask yourself; ''why would Joe hire a guy like that?''
Mr. Pink however is the standout character of this movie; Steve Bescumi steals the show, and Tarantino leaves much to the imagination with this ambiguous and rat-like character. In a movie that is so direct in its dialogue and gore, we might almost forget about the art-work Tarantino puts into his presentation of Mr. Pink, which, in my opinion, is absolutely flawless. The opening ''tip-scene'' sets up Mr. Pink as the outside of the group, the one who applies methodical thought to his actions and reasoning, the one who will stick to his principles regardless of what the other characters are doing, and this scene alone, separates the wolf from the ''dogs''. You would never think it though would you, as Keitel's Mr. White humorously kicks the man on the floor, he looks rather helpless, squirming around, trying to find his gun to turn the odds in his favour - as the iconic image of the two men pointing their guns at each other shows us, even when he's down, Mr. Pink is ever resourceful. He is the only lead character whose identity is a mystery to us; he is an entity, we know almost nothing about this character, yet, he is the only one to escape, he is the winner of this film, leaving his partners in crime dead and bloody as he crawls away with the diamonds. The nothingness that consumes our knowledge of this character's profile is what makes him the movies defining star; he is the only man who does not reveal his identity, he follows the rules, stays, as he would say ''professional'', and for following his principles, he has emerged victorious - remember what I was saying about the tipping scene? He is the lone man who remains calm, who remains moderately objective and reasonable to the situation, as I say, emerging victorious.
Overall, Tarantino's debut is one of subtly, and yet one of brutality, that makes the most of its characters, its dialogue, its soundtrack, and , if nothing else, its awe inspiring camera work - which is textbook for any director to follow if they want to know how to use a camera.