Announcement
Collapse
No announcement yet.
Reservoir Dogs
Collapse
X
Collapse
-
Reservoir Dogs
Released by: Artisan
Released on: 3/18/2003
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Cast: Harvye Keitel, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen
Year: 1992
Purchase From Amazon
The Movie:
Reservoir Dogs, Quentin Tarantino's breakthrough film, is a simple but effective tale of a heist gone wrong. A group of criminals carry out robbery at a diamond warehouse but things don't go as planned and they end up on the run from the police after the alarm is set off.
Four of the original gang survive, and once they're safely hidden away at their hideout, they start to wonder just how the cops knew what they knew and why things went wrong. This leads them to assume that they might just have a snitch among them. Giving away any more information about the plot would be spoiling it for those who haven't seen it, and would be redundant for those who have.
While the film pulls together a lot of different ideas and themes from a lot of different films, it's most obvious influence is Ringo Lam's Chow Yun Fat vehicle, 'City on Fire' from 1987. The influence of Lam's film on Tarantino's effort is undeniable and the similarities uncanny.
But influences and originality aside, Reservoir Dogs is a great movie pulled together by razor sharp dialogue and memorable characters. The performances in the film as well are all top notch, Steve Buscemi as Mr. Pink, Harvey Keitel as Mr. White, Tim Roth as Mr. Orange, Michael Madsen as Mr. Blonde and especially the late, great Lawrence Tierney as Joe Cabot, the ringleader of the group.
Highlighted by memorable scenes of intense violence and black humor, Reservoir Dogs remains one of the best crime movies of the 90s, if hardly the most original. But hey, if you're going to steal, steal from the best.
Video/Audio/Extras:
Artisan has presented Reservoir Dogs in a newly re-mastered 2.35.1 anamorphic widescreen transfer as well as a 4:3 fullscreen version and viewers have the choice of watching the film in their preferred format.
For the most part, the transfer looks pretty good, but the colors are a slight bit softer than the previous barebones release, and the blacks aren't nearly as deep as they need to be. That being said, there is a fair bit more picture noticeable on this release, and Tarantino does state in one of the interviews on the disc that the movie was shot in scope and that this is how it is supposed to look. If you've never seen it on DVD before, you'll be happy with the transfer here, but if you have the older release, you'll definitely notice that it isn't quite as sharp. It's still a very good transfer though, and it's great to see it with an anamorphic transfer.
Again, as with the video, you have a choice with the audio as well. Whether you want a Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround track, a DTS track or a Dolby Digital 2.0 track, it's here, and the sound is just fine. While the film is primarily dialogue, it's never a problem understanding anything being said on screen, even when the funky 70s soundtrack kicks in or when gunshots are fired. Everything comes through crisp and clean sounding, just like it should.
This is where the newer release kicks the older one to the curb and then some: lots and lots of extras. First off is a 'selected scene' audio commentary. This is exactly what it sounds like, selected scenes with a different cast member talking overtop. Not exactly the ideal commentary track, but still informative and interesting none-the-less.
There are also some newly recorded interviews with Tarantino, Lawrence Bender, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen, Eddie Bunker and Kirk Batlz, which are also interesting and most of the cast and crew seem to remember the film fondly.
Three deleted scenes are included as well, 'Background Check', 'Just Doing My Job' and 'No Protection.' The scenes don't really add too much to the film, but it's great to see them here, along with two alternate angles of the infamous 'ear cutting' scene, one of which is in extreme close up and is pretty grisly to watch (it even has a disclaimer before it).
A moderately interesting short documentary about the development of the RD action figures is also included, so if you've ever wanted to know how little plastic Tarantino's have come to take over your favorite toy shop, here's where you can learn.
'The Class of 92' is an informative look at some of the independent features of the early 90s that reportedly changed motion pictures. There's a fair bit of information in here for those so inclined, regardless of what you might think of the movies covered themselves.
K-Billy Interactive Radio is an interesting feature allowing you to play with the onscreen radio dial and listen to some of the music from the film and some dialogue as well. Not really too original as far as content goes, but interesting.
There are some smaller extras as well, including a tribute to Lawrence Tierney, 'Film Noir Web' which examines some of the influences that some specific writers have had on the genre, a Reservoir Dogs 'Style Guide', location scouting footage, a poster gallery, the films original theatrical trailer, and the 'Reservoir Dogs Director Tribute' where Tarantino talks a bit about the directors who influenced the movie.
The Final Word:
Despite the slightly mute video quality, this is the definitive version of the film and is the one to own and you even have your choice of which character you want on the cover.Posting comments is disabled.
Categories
Collapse
article_tags
Collapse
- album review (218)
- album reviews (274)
- arrow video (272)
- blu-ray (3225)
- blu-ray review (4162)
- comic books (1392)
- comic reviews (872)
- comics (988)
- dark horse comics (484)
- dvd and blu-ray reviews a-f (1969)
- DVD And Blu-ray Reviews G-M (1711)
- DVD And Blu-ray Reviews N-S (1757)
- DVD And Blu-ray Reviews T-Z (878)
- dvd review (2513)
- idw publishing (216)
- image comics (207)
- kino lorber (391)
- movie news (260)
- review (318)
- scream factory (279)
- severin films (300)
- shout! factory (537)
- twilight time (269)
- twilight time releasing (231)
- vinegar syndrome (497)
Latest Articles
Collapse
-
Released by: Kino Lorber
Released on: February 22nd, 2022.
Director: Gianfranco Parolini
Cast: Lee Van Cleef, Jack Palance
Year: 1976
Purchase From Amazon
God’s Gun – Movie Review:
Directed by Gianfranco Parolini in 1976, quite late in the spaghetti western boom years, God's Gun (Diamante Lobo in Italy) introduces us to a bad, bad man named Sam Clayton (Jack Palance) who, along with his gang of equally bad, bad men, start wreaking...-
Channel: Movies
04-17-2024, 12:10 PM -
-
Released by: Kino Lorber
Released on: October 8th, 2019.
Director: Mario Bava
Cast: Christopher Lee, Reg Park, Leonora Ruffo, Gaia Germani
Year: 1968
Purchase From Amazon
Hercules In The Haunted World – Movie Review:
Directed by Mario Bava in 1961 and featuring a screenplay by Bava (and Sandro Continenza, Francesco Prosperi and Duccio Tessari), Hercules In The Haunted World (also known as Hercules At The Center Of The Earth and...-
Channel: Movies
04-17-2024, 12:08 PM -
-
Released by: Cinématographe
Released on: March 26th, 2024.
Director: Jack Nicholson
Cast: Jack Nicholson, Mary Steenburgen, Christopher Lloyd, John Belushi
Year: 1978
Purchase From Amazon
Goin’ South – Movie Review:
Made at the height of his career as an actor, 1978’s ‘Goin’ South’ sees Jack Nicholson once again in the director’s chair, seven years after his directorial debut, ‘Drive, He Said,’ failed to set the...-
Channel: Movies
04-17-2024, 10:29 AM -
-
Released by: Radiance Films
Released on: April 20th, 2024.
Director: Noburo Nakamura
Cast: Miyuki Kuwano, Mikijiro Hira
Year: 1964
Purchase From Amazon
The Shape Of Night – Movie Review:
Directed by Noburo Nakamura for Shochiko in 1964, ‘The Shape Of Night’ follows a young woman named Yoshie Nomoto (Miyuki Kuwano). In the opening scene, she’s working as a streetwalker on the outskirts of town and soon enough, she’s picked...-
Channel: Movies
04-17-2024, 10:26 AM -
-
Released by: Film Masters
Released on: April 23rd, 2024.
Director: Bert I. Gordon
Cast: Richard Carlson, Juli Reding, Lugene Sanders, Susan Gordon
Year: 1963
Purchase From Amazon
Tormented – Movie Review:
The late Bert I. Gordon’s 1963 horror film, ‘Tormented,’ is an effectively spooky ghost story made with an obviously low budget but no less effective for it.
The story revolves around a professional piano player...-
Channel: Movies
04-17-2024, 10:19 AM -
-
Released by: Grindhouse Releasing
Released on: March 12th, 2024.
Director: William Grefé
Cast: William Shatner, Jennifer Bishop, Ruth Roman, Harold Sakata
Year: 1974
Purchase From Amazon
Impulse – Movie Review:
Directed by the one and only William Grefé, 1974’s Impulse is one of those rare films that allows you to witness what it would be like if a really sweaty William Shatner got mad at a lady carrying balloons. Before that...-
Channel: Movies
04-15-2024, 01:20 PM -