Claim: Quentin Tarantino directed a creative work.

Reservoir Dogs is a 1992 American crime thriller film that depicts the events before and after a botched diamond heist . The film was the feature-length debut of writer and director Quentin Tarantino , and stars Harvey Keitel , Michael Madsen , Steve Buscemi , Chris Penn , Lawrence Tierney and Tim Roth . Tarantino and criminal-turned-author Edward Bunker have minor roles . It incorporates many themes that have become Tarantino 's hallmarks : violent crime , pop culture references , profanity , and nonlinear storytelling .   The film has become regarded as a classic of independent film and a cult film . It was named `` Greatest Independent Film of all Time '' by Empire . Reservoir Dogs was generally well received , and the cast was praised by many critics . Although it was not given much promotion upon release , the film became a modest success in the United States after grossing $ 2.8 million against its $ 1.2 million budget . The film was more successful in the United Kingdom , grossing nearly # 6.5 million , and it achieved higher popularity after the success of Tarantino 's next film , Pulp Fiction -LRB- 1994 -RRB- . A soundtrack was released featuring songs used in the film , which are mostly from the 1970s .