First Take Classics: Reservoir Dogs- once upon a time in cinema history...

SYNOPSIS: When a simple jewelry heist goes horribly wrong, the surviving criminals begin to suspect that one of them is a police informant.

With his 9th film (Kill Bill is ONE film split in to two parts folks, his words, not mine) hitting UK cinemas on Wednesday, it feels right to look back at how Quentin Tarantino got his start in this industry.

Much like his later works, Tarantino writes and directs this one incredibly well, opting to not show the heist taking place and defining that non-linear storytelling approach he would utilise on 1994′s Pulp Fiction, and for a 99 minute film, it gets a lot done in that short running time. The cinematography from Andrzej Sekuła is good, and of course, that soundtrack has become archetypical of the heist/robbery genre- even more recent releases like last year’s American Animals take clear influences from this masterclass.

As for the cast, it’s hard not to argue with it, as they all absolutely kill it in this one. Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Steve Buscemi, Tarantino himself, Michael Madsen… what can be said about this group of talents that hasn’t been said since the film was released in 1993? Yes, this is a violent film. But it’s the characters who we really root for. We don’t know their real names, their histories, and as we get further along, we really do see how this group of strangers simply lose their minds to keep their cover.

THE VERDICT

Reservoir Dogs is an acquired taste for modern audiences. But considering the impact this film had on the genre, it’s hard not to argue that this film set the standard for a character-driven heist film back in the day, and effectively kicked off a long and enjoyable journey for Tarantino in this industry.

RATING: 4/5