A striking debut of Mr. Tarantino (or Brown)

Rating: 9/10 (20 October 2002)

Quentin Tarantino's love affair with cinema is clearly visible with this debut film of his, RESERVOIR DOGS (1992), a film which belongs to one of the most memorable and important American films of the 1990's. Tarantino wrote and directed this film and the result is great. This is the kind of film that doesn't require millions of dollars from some major studio and it's (of course) ten times better and noteworthy film than many of those which require.
The story is taken from Hong Kong film maker Ringo Lam's masterpiece City on Fire (1986) which is one of Tarantino's favorite movies which I understand. A bunch of criminals unknown to each other and following a plan which was meant to be flawless and water proof rob a diamond store. Something went wrong and a violent gun battle and quest for life and freedom took place and it was obvious there was a "rat" among them who informed the force about the details of the robbery. The film is told as a flashback as some of the gangsters, Mr. White (Harvey Keitel), Mr. Pink (Steve Buscemi) and Mr. Orange (Tim Roth), arrive to their meeting place in an abandoned storehouse waiting for the others, Mr. Orange very severely injured as a result of a gun shot wound. Other cast includes Tarantino himself, Eddie Bunker, Lawrence Tierney, Michael Madsen and Chris Penn and they're all as great and interesting as the story and its many sides.
The film is a homage to masters like Martin Scorsese and several Hong Kong directors like John Woo and of course Ringo Lam. Their films usually depict honor and loyalty between men and criminals and how they are ready to risk their lives for a friend and the one they love. RESERVOIR DOGS has these same themes and they are as soulful and believable here as in GoodFellas or A Better Tomorrow, to name just a few films. Also the statement about tipping and the position of many "uneducated females in America" at the beginning is definitely an important one and despite the scene being pretty funny, it is also serious and important.
The characters are great and speak much, but not in vain. They are interesting and real and the dialogue just secures this by forcing the viewer to go with the verbal flow inside the characters' soul. The dialogue is often very clever and also very funny and witty without being stupid. Tarantino is great screenwriter and story teller, too, and the flashback structure of RESERVOIR DOGS proved this for the first time. The soundtrack is again very nostalgic with many seventies classics which Tarantino grew up with so it is another homage this film maker wanted to make with this first film of his.
The film is occasionally pretty violent but the violence is never glorified or made look good and entertaining. It is raw and painful and never without its results. Mr. Blonde (Madsen) is one of the most sadistic screen psychos of the nineties and he is definitely willing to use violence "just for the fun of it" but it doesn't pay in this film any more than in real life, either, and the gangsters learn it the hard way during the film and their fateful 2 minutes robbery.
RESERVOIR DOGS is personal and intelligent film and began the film career its director had dreamt about during the years he worked at the video store, and this film once again proves what can be done when there are talented makers and ideas which don't require major studios and huge amount of money. It is great Harvey understood the talent of Tarantino and wanted to help him begin his life as a film maker.
9/10