When a simple jewelry heist goes horribly wrong, the surviving criminals begin to suspect that one of them is a police informant.When a simple jewelry heist goes horribly wrong, the surviving criminals begin to suspect that one of them is a police informant.When a simple jewelry heist goes horribly wrong, the surviving criminals begin to suspect that one of them is a police informant.
- Awards
- 13 wins & 23 nominations
- Mr. Blue
- (as Eddie Bunker)
- Sheriff #4
- (as Stevo Poliy)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe film's budget was so low that many of the actors were asked to simply bring their own clothing as wardrobe; most notably Chris Penn's track jacket. The signature black suits were provided for free by the designer, based on her love for the American crime film genre. Steve Buscemi wore his own black jeans instead of suit pants, and Michael Madsen wore a jacket and pants that came from two different suits.
- Goofs(at around 59 mins) When Mr. Blonde is pouring gasoline on Marvin Nash, Nash's legs are taped to the chair. When the angle changes you can see his legs kicking up in the air. And then they go back to being taped up.
- Quotes
Nice Guy Eddie: C'mon, throw in a buck!
Mr. Pink: Uh-uh, I don't tip.
Nice Guy Eddie: You don't tip?
Mr. Pink: No, I don't believe in it.
Nice Guy Eddie: You don't believe in tipping?
Mr. Blue: You know what these chicks make? They make shit.
Mr. Pink: Don't give me that. She don't make enough money that she can quit.
Nice Guy Eddie: I don't even know a fucking Jew who'd have the balls to say that. Let me get this straight: you don't ever tip?
Mr. Pink: I don't tip because society says I have to. All right, if someone deserves a tip, if they really put forth an effort, I'll give them something a little something extra. But this tipping automatically, it's for the birds. As far as I'm concerned, they're just doing their job.
Mr. Blue: Hey, our girl was nice.
Mr. Pink: She was okay. She wasn't anything special.
Mr. Blue: What's special? Take you in the back and suck your dick?
Nice Guy Eddie: I'd go over twelve percent for that.
- Crazy creditsThe opening credits leave out Writing and Directing credits. They are then shown first during the end credits.
- Alternate versionsThe ear slicing scene was cut in the Finnish VHS release
- ConnectionsEdited into Who Do You Think You're Fooling? (1994)
- SoundtracksLittle Green Bag
Performed by George Baker Selection
Written by Jan Gerbrand Visser and George Baker (as Benjamino Bouwens)
Published by Screen Gems-EMI Music Publishing Inc. O/B/O EMI Music Publishing Holland B.V.
Courtesy of Rhino Records/Jerry Ross Productions
When this film came out in the UK it caused an absolute firestorm of controversy over it's violence, even to the point that it was banned in the UK for a while. I still find this absurd and am very glad we have moved to a more tolerant society where generally the BBFC protect vulnerable groups but let adults decide for themselves. Looking at the media's adoring welcome for the ultra violent Kill Bill one can't help but marvel at how things have changed. Looking at Reservoir Dogs now (or even then!) it simply isn't THAT violent. However what it is is very sudden and all the more powerful for it.
Tarantino directs the film and writes the film in such a way that it was impossible to ignore him even if the film was only a cult hit. The dialogue is both witty at points but, more importantly, very tough and loaded with testosterone. It is the writing that makes us like these coffee shop jokers at the start before shocking us by suddenly throwing us into a backseat bloodbath. The entire job happens off camera, and only occasionally do we actually see the immediate effect of violence - usually we get the aftermath. It is incredibly tight and very tense throughout, I was about 16 when my father took me to see this film - it has stayed with me since and I still considered it to be one of the best `job gone wrong' films of my generation. It may not be original (there's a thin line between a homage and a rip off) but it is certainly effectively done.
The cast are excellent and turn the hardboiled dialogue into convincing scenes. Keitel is wonderful. His character is a father figure of sorts and he is wildly out of control at times and balanced at others. Likewise Buscemi is wide-eyed and freaking out for much of the film, but he does it well. Roth is more balanced but is still good for it; it is his job to carry the emotional weight of the film and he does it well, despite a wandering American accent at times. Madsen is great, maybe not the best character but wildly out of control. Tierney was a great piece of casting, as was Bunker. Penn is good but not the best of the cast.
Tarantino mercifully has little acting to do, but it is his film as writer and director. The flashbacks during the film was a brave way to do it but it really works well - mixing stories with flashbacks and so on. No matter what the time of the scene, it all keeps moving tensely towards the climax. It may be a homage and not as original as some films but so what - it is tight and tense, macho, violent, funny and very enjoyable.
- bob the moo
- Jan 27, 2004
- Permalink
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official site
- Language
- Also known as
- Perros de reserva
- Filming locations
- 5860 North Figueroa Street, Highland Park, Los Angeles, California, USA(interiors: mortuary warehouse & Mr. Orange's second floor apartment)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $1,200,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $2,832,029
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $147,839
- Oct 25, 1992
- Gross worldwide
- $2,931,191
- Runtime1 hour 39 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1