Reservoir Dogs

The film, Reservoir Dogs, written and directed by Quentin Tarantino, was released in theatres in 1992. It can be described as a Neo-Noir film, perhaps a step forward from the classic Film Noir genre/style. The movie starts with a group of men, drinking, smoking, and talking with each other. Right away, we know that the film is a part of the Noir genre/style. The talk is real, the people, though scripted, do not seem scripted. The words and mannerisms are not only natural, they are also crude. The first scene ends in the men discussing whether or not waitresses should be tipped, and this is also characteristic of Noir films. It is already a bit gritty and the camera angles (though Tarantino is great at what he does) are not anything special. The next scene, after the opening credits, one man is carrying the other because he has been shot in the stomach and is bleeding profusely. Another characteristic of the Film Noir genre/style: crime. It is revealed that there was a scuffle with guns and the police. It is said that Film Noir does not always have to be a crime movie or a movie about a group of gangsters, etc. but crime takes up a large portion of the genre.

The first scene is a bleeding man, and it is clear that something has gone down. However, the two men who remain unhurt cannot agree on how the events took place. One of the main characters, Mr. Brown, has an elaborate police chase in mind, while Mr. Pink is convinced that the police came to bother them. The group of people had tried to rob a store, and this is when everything broke loose. The format of the film is that, at first, the director allows us to see what happened at the end of the film – the great drama moments. After establishing this, Tarantino allows the audience to know each individual character, and what his life is like, what his place was before, during, and after this robbery. In between these scenes, it flashes back to current events as Mr. White and Mr. Pink discuss whether or not to take Mr. Orange to the hospital and they begin to turn against each other as they struggle to figure out who ‘ratted them out.’

Reservoir Dogs is realistic in that life is not always pretty and scripted with a happy ending for all. Despite the fact that it flashes back to fill in the gaps of the story, the men speak to each other naturally and things happen in real time.

At one point, Steve Buscemi’s character says “nigger” and this is yet another arrow that points toward Reservoir Dogs being a Film Noir. It is not the most pleasant thing to say, and it makes a lot people cringe, and it makes plenty of them angry. It is another aspect of how these films are slightly unsettling because they are that part of gritty, grimy real life that no one likes to see or hear about. In the classic film noir, the lighting is almost non-existent, and everything – including music or sound effects – is dim. In this film, they almost play the film along the soundtrack of a 70s themed radio music show. However, the audience does get the feeling that the director has used a filter that makes the film seem as if it were filmed in the 1950s or 60s.

Reservoir Dogs is a classic film for several reasons. As a crime film with Noir tones, it tells a story that is almost timeless. Crime stories will always be relevant; the psychological issues that go into being a lifetime criminal, a job that someone eventually comes to enjoy what they do. As well, the character Mr. Blonde is a step above the other ‘bad guys.’ He is the type of ‘bad guy’ that any generation is going to be able to relate to. The cop, undercover as Mr. Orange is also a timeless character. Timeless character stories and themes are what make this film a true classic.

Bibliography

Tarantino, Quentin. Reservoir Dogs. Film. Directed/Performed by Keitel, Harvey. Original. 1992. Miramax Films. Online.