Reservoir Dogs on DVD

If you’ve seen one Tarantino movie you’ve seen them all.

You have a plot you can sum up in two sentences, several instances of more-violence-than-there-needs-to-be, and plenty of witty dialogue to stretch the shoestring plot into a full-length movie.

Reservoir Dogs picks up right after a jewelry store robbery has gone awry. Mr. Orange has suffered a gunshot wound and Mr. White is taking him to the rendezvous point to, hopefully, get him fixed up. We soon learn that one of the “dogs” involved in the robbery is actually a police informant.

But who?

The rest of the movie is either flashbacks or a continuation of the story. We learn how each of the criminals came to be involved in the heist, and their relationships with each other.

As you would expect (provided you’re familiar with Tarantino’s work), the movie features countless swear words and conversations that have nothing to do with the story.

The movie itself is not bad, just unnecessary. It’s nothing more than an excuse for Tarantino to show off his skills. Since this was his first movie, he hadn’t quite found his niche yet, and so it’s not nearly as artsy as Pulp Fiction or Jackie Brown.

And once again, the film has a great ensemble cast, consisting of Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Chris Penn, Steve Buscemi, Lawrence Tierney and Michael Madsen. All do a great job, considering they never do anything but speak in one of two tones.

I was impressed with how the movie started after the heist had already gone wrong, instead of picking up right before or ending with it. But I guess that’s how they got away with making the movie for such a small budget.

Much like Pulp and Jackie, if you’re a Tarantino fan, you’ll probably eat up Reservoir Dogs. If you’ve never seen it, try not to expect too much.

The opposite can be said, however, of the DVD. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the release of the film, and it’s been given a great disc treatment. It features both 2.35:1 widescreen and Pan&Scan versions on (thankfully) separate discs. The picture quality is superb considering it’s a low-budget movie released a decade ago. It can get a little soft at times, but is otherwise a lot better than you would expect.

The audio, which also gives you a choice, in this case 5.1 Dolby Digital or DTS, is pretty good as well. Surround use is limited to mainly sound effects (which consists mostly of gunshots), but overall it’s perfectly clear.

Extras include some deleted scenes, including two alternate angles of the “Ear Scene,” all-new interviews with Tarantino and the cast, a tribute to Lawrence Tierney, a tribute to directors who influenced the film, a featurette on the 1992 Sundance Festival, an Action Figure development documentary, a “Film Noir Web,” select scene audio commentary, a style guide, location scouting, and promotional stuff.

Reservoir Dogs, from Alliance Atlantis Home Entertainment
100 minutes, anamorphic widescreen (2.35:1) 16X9 enhanced, full frame, 5.1 Dolby Digital, DTS
Starring Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Chris Penn, Steve Buscemi, Lawrence Tierney and Michael Madsen
Produced by Lawrence Bender
Written and directed by Quentin Tarantino

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