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Dom Robinson reviews
Momentum Pictures
- Cert:
- Cat.no: MP008D
- Running time: 95 minutes
- Year: 1992
- Pressing: 2000
- Region(s): 2, PAL
- Chapters: 20 plus extras
- Sound: Dolby Digital 2.0 (Dolby ProLogic)
- Languages: English
- Subtitles: English, Dutch
- Widescreen: 2.35:1 (Super 35)
- 16:9-Enhanced: Yes
- Macrovision: Yes
- Disc Format: DVD 9
- Price: £19.99 (or £29.99 for the boxset)
- Extras: Theatrical Trailer, Introduction by Quentin Tarantino
Director:
- Quentin Tarantino
(Jackie Brown, Pulp Fiction, Reservoir Dogs)
Producer:
- Lawrence Bender
Screenplay:
- Quentin Tarantino
Music Supervisor:
- Karyn Rachtman
Cast:
- Mr. White: Harvey Keitel
Mr. Orange: Tim Roth
Nice Guy Eddie: Chris Penn
Mr. Pink: Steve Buscemi
Joe: Lawrence Tierney
Mr. Blonde: Michael Madsen
Mr. Brown: Quentin Tarantino
Mr. Blue: Eddie Bunker
“Like A Virgin” is all about a girl who digs a guy with a big dick.
Those are the first words you hear, but isn’t this supposed to be anultra-violent heist movie? Why are they chatting about what’s in the chartsfrom years gone by? That’s because Tarantino’s script for this – and hissubsequent films, Pulp Fiction and Jackie Brown, show thateven men with guns can talk about the less meaningful things in life. Theyall have discussions about nothing just like us – it’s just that previousfilms have rarely, if ever, gone at great lengths to make their charactersseem more human and it’s all the better for that.
Note though that this isn’t a film for those who take offence to charactersusing a constant stream of strong or racist language.
The film is a part rip-off, er.. I mean “homage”, to John Woo‘sCity on Firewhich starred Chow Yun Fat, including the final four-way confrontation,but here it takes place over a weekend on which the local radio station ishaving a “K-Billy’s Super Sounds of the 70s weekend” – and all thosetracks make the soundtrack, including Stealer’s Wheel‘s “Stuck inthe Middle with You” during the infamous torture scene, which was apedin an episode of The Simpsons‘ “Itchy and Scratchy” cartoon “with guestdirector Quentin Tarantino”.
In another homage to another heist film, The Taking of Pelham One Two Three,all the characters have the names of colours to protect their own identity.
Told in flashback, six men are recruited to pull off a heist at a jeweller’sshop with a brilliant cast: the thoughtful Mr. White (Harvey Keitel),the shit-scared Mr. Orange (Tim Roth), the fast-talking Mr. Pink(Steve Buscemi) most-knowned for the fact that “I don’t tip.”,the psychopath Mr. Blonde (Michael Madsen), Madonna fan Mr. Brown(Quentin Tarantino) and the man for whom we know little Mr. Blue(Eddie Bunker).
Managing the job is Mr. White’s friend Joe (Lawrence Tierney) andthere’s back up from his son “Nice Guy” Eddie (Chris Penn).
What makes this different from other films is not only the flashback sequencestelling you what went on, since the post-opening-credits-sequence openswith Mr. Orange bleeding over the back seat of a car and Mr. White panickinglike hell, but the links between this and others with which Quentin Tarantinohas been involved.
Mr. White also used to go out with Alabama, the girl played by PatriciaArquette inTrue Romance,which was also written by Tarantino, as was Pulp Fiction and thatfilm’s Vincent Vega (John Travolta) is the brother of this film’sMr. Blonde, aka Vic Vega. Tarantino also wrote Natural Born Killers,but its director Oliver Stone rewrote it and Tarantino had his nametaken off it.
Also, although not a Tarantino link, it’s interesting to know that the womanwho put the bullet in Tim Roth’s stomach was his dialogue coach. He gets tofire back, but he wanted to have some way of getting back at the person whoforced him to perfect his American accent.
The film is presented in its original cinematic ratio of 2.35:1 and isanamorphic. Tarantino uses the full width of the frame very well indeedand it looks gorgeous throughout with no artifacts. It’s set during the dayso there are no night-time scenes bar occasional flashbacks. The only slightdownside comes during chapter 7 when the dialogue goes very slightly out ofsync with the picture for about 3 minutes.The average bitrate is 5.49Mb/s, occasionally peaking over 9Mb/s.
The sound is Dolby Pro Logic as it was filmed – with English dialogue only -and films the room with rich sound during the many songs featured, occasionalgunfire and plenty of background ambience.
Extras :
There’s not much in the way of extras here, but I’m just glad to have thison DVD anyway. We are given a near-two-minute Theatrical trailer innon-anamorphic 16:9 and a 9-minute Introduction by Quentin Tarantinowhich tells us how the film came together and how impressed he was whenHarvey Keitel told him how much he’d love to star in it.
The only subtitles come in English and Dutch and the main menu featuressome subtle animation with a snippet of “Coconut” plaing in the backgroundon a short loop.
The Reservoir Dogs boxset (£29.99) contains:the DVD, 10 full colour postcard prints
and the “Quentin Tarantino: The Man and His Movies” book.
This a film I could watch a million times, but for the rest of you who arenew to it, after you’ve seen it for the first time and know who the rat inthe house is you can watch it again and see how the others reacted to therat at any particular point in the film.
And why is it called Reservoir Dogs? According to Tarantino, “Becausethey’re DOGS man.. and they’re like, from the RESERVOIR, man!”. Hmm…
PICTURE QUALITY
SOUND QUALITY
EXTRAS
OVERALL
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.