Reservoir Dogs
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Reservoir Dogs is a 1992 American crime film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino in his feature-length debut. It stars Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Chris Penn, Steve Buscemi, Lawrence Tierney, Michael Madsen, Tarantino, and Edward Bunker as diamond thieves whose planned heist of a jewelry store goes terribly wrong. The film depicts the events before and after, but not during, the heist. Kirk Baltz, Randy Brooks, and Steven Wright also play supporting roles. It incorporates many motifs that have become Tarantino's hallmarks: violent crime, pop culture references, profanity, and nonlinear storytelling.
The film is regarded as a classic of independent film and a cult film, and was named "Greatest Independent Film of all Time" by Empire. Although controversial for its depictions of violence and use of profanity, Reservoir Dogs was generally well received, with the cast being praised by many critics. Despite not being heavily promoted during its theatrical run, the film became a modest success in the United States after grossing $2.8 million against its scant budget. It achieved higher popularity after the success of Tarantino's next film, Pulp Fiction (1994). A soundtrack was released featuring songs used in the film, which are mostly from the 1970s.
Plot
Eight criminals eat breakfast at a Los Angeles diner. Led by Joe Cabot and his son Nice Guy Eddie, all other criminals use aliases: Mr. Brown, White, Blonde, Blue, Orange, and Pink, respectively. After discussing the Madonna song "Like a Virgin" and arguing over Pink's habit of not tipping, the group leaves the diner to execute a diamond heist.
After the heist, White flees with Orange, who was shot in the stomach by an armed woman while hijacking her car, and is bleeding severely. At one of Joe's warehouses, White and Orange rendezvous with Pink, who believes that the job was a setup, and that the police were waiting for them. White informs him that Brown is dead, Blue and Blonde are missing, and Blonde murdered several innocent civilians during the heist; White is furious that Joe, his old friend, would employ a "psychopath" like Blonde. Having hidden the diamonds nearby, Pink argues with White over getting medical attention for Orange, and the pair end up arguing and draw guns at each other. They stand down when Blonde arrives with a kidnapped policeman, Marvin Nash.
Sometime earlier, Blonde meets with the Cabots, having completed a four-year jail sentence. To reward him for not having given Joe's name to the authorities for a lighter sentence, they offer him a no-show job. Blonde insists that he wants to return to "real work", and they recruit him for the heist.
In the present, White and Pink beat Nash for information. Eddie arrives and orders them to retrieve the stashed diamonds and ditch the getaway vehicles, leaving Blonde in charge of Nash and Orange. Whilst dancing to Stealers Wheel's "Stuck in the Middle with You", Blonde tortures Nash, slashing his face and cutting off his right ear with a straight razor. Blonde then retrieves a gasoline can from his car and douses Nash with gasoline, but before he can ignite it and set Nash on fire, Orange suddenly awakens and shoots Blonde to death, rescuing Nash. Orange then reveals to Nash that he is an undercover police officer and the police will arrive shortly.
Earlier, Orange, whose real name is Freddy, uses an elaborate tale of drug delivery to gain acceptance into the gang. Shortly thereafter, White befriends Orange.
Back in the present, Eddie, Pink, and White return to the warehouse where Orange tries to convince them that Blonde planned to kill them all and steal the diamonds for himself. Eddie impulsively kills Nash and accuses Orange of lying, as Blonde was a longtime friend of his father. Joe then arrives with news that the police have killed Blue. Before Joe can execute Orange, whom he suspects is the traitor, White intervenes and holds him at gunpoint, insisting that he doubts Orange is responsible. Eddie promptly aims at White, creating a Mexican standoff. All three fire; both Joe and Eddie are killed, and White and Orange are hit.
Pink, the only uninjured person, takes the diamonds and flees. As White cradles the dying Orange in his arms, Orange confesses that he is an undercover officer; White, upset at the betrayal, reluctantly presses his gun to Orange's head. In the background, Pink is heard attempting to escape as the police storm the warehouse and order White to drop his gun. White shoots Orange and collapses as gunfire erupts.
